Four Best Two-Way Satellite Communicators

[Glenn MacGrady]

". . . the selection of satellite communication devices has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, with the latest generation of gizmos offering all the bells and whistles of smartphone-enabled apps."

4 Best Two-Way Satellite Communicators For Off-Grid Adventures

Is it time to upgrade your ability to send messages from space? Stay in range and in touch with the best two-way satellite communicators for paddlers.

paddlingmag.com

 

[jdeerfoot]

I would endorse the Garmin unit. Just got back from an extended trip in Manitoba and a buddy had the Garmin. It was totally reliable and was able to get messages to whomever they were directed to flawlessly. He even arranged a pickup two days early with the plane coming in as requested.

 

[Tryin']

Love my Zoleo. I run the $4 hibernation plan for most of the year and kick it up to whatever level I need for trips. It's just a matter of signing into your account and changing your preferences. Three years trouble-free.

 

[Robin]

I have had good luck with my SPOT X, I actually bought it on eBay used (like new) after I reached out to the seller who only used it on one long hiking trip out west, great savings and his expertise was better than the manual.
It’s worked flawlessly on quit a few trips.

 

[Keeled Over]

I'm a Garmin inReach guy. Considering my hatred of almost all electronic gizmos this works well and is very easy to use. Considering upgrading the weather reports. The Basic report tells you literally what you already know. For the Basic plan it is $14.95/yr.

 

[Gamma1214]

I love my inReach but I'm not at all a "gotta have the new & flashy" kinda guy so IMO the best one would be the one you already own (at least as long as it's still working)

 

[Patrick Corry]

Love my Zoleo. I run the $4 hibernation plan for most of the year and kick it up to whatever level I need for trips. It's just a matter of signing into your account and changing your preferences. Three years trouble-free.

I'll second this. As a solo paddler, being able to let my wife know I'm safe in camp at the end of each day relieves a little bit of her stress, and therefore if she's less anxious... so am I. And, since my plan allows a limited number of messages for the minimum plan I can legitimately avoid being too chatty; 'saving' messages for real necessity only.

 

[cnmjr123]

Love my Zoleo. I run the $4 hibernation plan for most of the year and kick it up to whatever level I need for trips. It's just a matter of signing into your account and changing your preferences. Three years trouble-free.

I'll second the Zoleo. I wanted a simple and reliable GPS communicator. Not as sexy or feature-packed as the bigger names but it's been exactly what i've been looking for.

 

[CaptainOllieWest]

I am still using a SPOT Gen 3. I have avoided upgrading as I really don't want a 2 way commicator. I can send check-in messages and family can view my tracks via the SPOT app.

The only thing missing is providing details if the day comes when I need to hit the SOS button. I imagine my wife freaking out, especially if our son is with me.

 

[RickR]

We like our Garmin InReach Explorer plus which we've had for about 5 years. We got it so our kids can contact us in an emergency, but the SOS feature with interactive communication is a nice feature which we hope never to need. It came preloaded with topo maps of the US, Canada and Mexico. It's a quality piece of hardware which has always worked flawlessly. Battery life is impressive. The feature we appreciate most though are the premium weather reports ($1.00/request). 7 day extended forecasts with all the usual, but especially, wind speed and direction.

 

[alsg]

Another happy Zoleo user here.