I purchased the Garmin Mini InReach to replace a competitor’s product that in this review shall be called Sx. Sx did not perform well in ‘suburban’ testing over three days and never made it to field tests. I had been a user of the Sx’s previous generation of products for over a decade, so I am somewhat well versed in the abilities of it’s system. The InReach Mini exceeded those benchmarks in every way. The InReach Mini passed the same suburban tests without issue in a few hours, moved to field tests where it performed flawlessly and is now just part of the normal gear.
THE SHORT STORY:
I works fine all day! Having that SOS button could seriously save your life. Tracking and messaging will keep the family and friend at home happy!!! Messaging is great. Tracking works. Twitter works. Facebook might work but is not that great. It is not a good tool for navigation but in a pinch it would work. It is small so it is never in the way. If you want a good tracker with flawless messaging, go for this. I recommend this product!
THE GOOD:
Messaging, the weak point of the Sx, has been flawless with the Mini. The speed of sending and receiving is far superior to the Sx and to me, amazing! The Mini usually accomplishes message traffic in a minute when well exposed to the sky. When it accomplishes a message process, it can chime (if you want it to), which is a very nice indicator. Only once did it have trouble sending, and the Mini indicated this on the screen. I was in a canyon, I moved over about 15 feet to the middle and it sent the message. Messaging is the real stand out of the inReach Mini’s functionality. Messaging is truly perfect. That alone is worth the price!!
Tracking is on par with other devices. When set up to do so, it sends track points to Garmin and these can be viewed by others on a web site. You can password protect that website if desired. It is very useful and works well.
Part of messaging is the ability to post to Social Media via the device. Twitter works perfectly! So, one can have a Twitter account dedicated to the InReach and it will then show your progress publicly as you like with links to a map if you want. This can be useful for sharing select information without making all of it public. Facebook was a different story (see The Maybe OK).
The Sx is bulky. The InReach Mini is not. It is almost tiny! Sure the Mini does not have a key board, but one can get around that by using a phone and the Earthmate app (which works perfectly and is far better than that which is used with the Sx) . The Earthmate app also can be set up with topomaps and aerial phots to make it a very cool system! If you do not ant to use the app, see The Good To Know below. Anyway, the lack of bulk is very nice. I put it on may pack shoulder strap and hardly know it is there at all.
Battery life is very good. Without Bluetooth, and set to track at 10 minute intervals, an 11 hour hike in which I messaged a lot and did turn on Bluetooth a few times to type a message, it took away about 25% of the battery!! The Sx fully discharged in less than 24 hours. The InReach Mini could easily last a several days if used correctly (turn it off when not in use).
Setup is simple. The Explore Garmin web site is simple. You sync changes made there using your phone (or similar device) and the Earthmate app. There really is not a lot of work involved in getting it all to work.
It comes with a nice loop and carabiner for hanging on the pack. It also comes with Garmin’s sliding mount you can put on it and use it with a plethora of straps, holders and mounts.
THE JUST OK:
The screen can be difficult to read at times and having just four buttons to navigate, it can be a bit tedious. However, it is not something one uses all the time, just a few times a day. and there are work-a-rounds. So, it is not a bid deal.
THE MAYBE OK:
At this time, the web site one which one sets up their InReach Mini lists Facebook support as possible. At the time of this review it did not function, had not in some time and resulted in error messages. It is a minor issue and one of which Garmin is aware. In fact as of today, they seem to have fixed this but one can possibly only post to a “Page” rather than to one’s own Timeline. This has not been tested and seems somewhat useless if one would like to use Facebook to announce a need for some form of non-emergency assistance. Pages are often victims of Facebook’s need to sell clicks and your posts could be lost in an algorithm. There are work-a-rounds but not particularly good ones. Facebook is not so important so as to be a deal breaker. If it is, know that the Sxis not better here.
Navigation is not a strong point. You can put in routes and waypoints but there is no map or anything to assist with navigation. It would be good enough in a pinch, maybe. The little device is not really for navigation and Garmin offers other InReach products that fill this void. It you want to use it to navigate, get one of those other products. You could use a phone connected to the InReach as well.
To make the device function fully, you need to pay for services. The InReach subscriptions cost more than that which one needs for the Sx, and far more if one desires unlimited messaging. It is a small price to pay for the communication and the safety of that SOS button. Get the insurance as well, just in case.
THE BAD:
In regard to functionality, there is no bad. The InReach Mini works very well.
I made one support request, it did not go particularly well and they seemed a bit confused about their product and its documentation. In the end the ‘ticket’ seems to be left in limbo! So, I'd grade support as poor. I would have taken away one star for it, however, the support experience for the Sx was far worse! Plus the In Reach Mini works so well, it does not need a lot of support (I hope). So, though there is room for improvement on their part, it is not such that it is a major consideration when looking at the InReachMini.
THE GOOD TO KNOW:
When I bought it, the black one was cheaper than the orange one! Check before you buy to save a few bucks.
We know there is no keyboard on the InReach Mini and typing a message on the user interface is tedious at best. You can pair it with you phone (using Bluetooth which uses battery a tiny bit faster) but, you could also set up your trip at the start and type nothing while out. Say you are planning a hike and you will be turning on various trails and stopping at various points along the way. You want to send messages from the major trail changes and stopping points. You can create Quick Text Messages (via the web site) for each turn and point. I number them, in order of my route, so I can easily tell which one to send. Example “[7] I am at the summit of Mt. Amazon! I will be leaving on the Shopper Trail, north to Checkout Canyon.” Now on the trail you just send them in order as they apply. This with your three Preset Messages, can pretty much cover 99% of your trail communication without a keyboard, without your phone and very quickly.
They sell very nice little covers (in colors) for the Mini and screen protectors. Get them if you want it to stay nice.
The RAM mounts will let you create a very secure mounting system for a car or off road truck that will also let the device sit for enough into the windscreen so as to have a decent via of the sky.
There is a newer model of this item:
Garmin inReach Mini 2, Lightweight and Compact Satellite Communicator, Hiking Handheld, Orange - 010-02602-00
$399.99
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$399.99
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This Item  Garmin 010-01879-00 InReach Mini, Lightweight and Compact Satellite Communicator, Orange |  |  | |  |  | |
| Price | $299.99 | $389.90 | -11% $355.42 List: $399.99 | -16% $299.99 New Price: $355.42 | $409.99 | $409.99 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Sunday, May 19 | Get it as soon as Sunday, May 19 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 20 | Get it May 16 - 20 | — | Get it as soon as Sunday, May 19 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| User interface | ||||||
| Battery life | ||||||
| Touch Screen | ||||||
| Easy to use | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Sold By | Tech-Boutique | Digital Village | Amazon.com | Techno Toys | Sports-and-Gadgets | Sports-and-Gadgets |
| mounting type | — | Handheld | Handheld | Handheld | Handheld | found in image |
| batteries included | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| battery average life | 90 hours | 336 hours | 336 hours | 336 hours | 30 days | 30 days |
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4yrs of Use - All You Need to Know. FULL REVIEW and DEMO
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REVIEW Garmin InReach Mini Satellite Communicator
Jones Family Travels
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Tiny and sturdy
First. This device (and all inReach actually) will not work without a subscription. The subscription is what allows it to connect to the Iridium satellite network. In other words, without a subscription is just a regular GPS (without maps) and a digital compass. Since the SOS button will not work without a subscription, if you are not comfortable paying for one, this device is not for you.First impressions: The inReach mini is tiny and feels sturdy. The screen is pretty similar to the one on the fenix watches, which is incredibly easy to read in direct sunlight (I will have to make a side by side comparison). The box contains a carabiner and the Garmin attachment that you can use with other mounts, such as a car, bike, etc.I discovered that you couldn't have it connected to a computer and use it at the same time. BUT, you can charge it and use it without issues. The activation process is easy to follow and without weird steps.Now, you can provide fast updates to your family/friends using the preset messages. You can pre-program, on the inReach web, three preset messages that you can send for free, even if you have the most basic plan. You can have other premade messages, which although you have to pay for, you can quickly select them from the device, making it entirely independent of a smartphone. Although, if you want to type a message, the smartphone application (Earthmate) will be faster for this, since the inReach and the fenix widget will be really slow to type in. Regardless of where do you type a message, 160 is the character limit.The inReach mini will connect to a fenix 5 series watch using ANT+. From the watch, you can check new messages, send preset messages, type one (if you are patient) and even initiate the SOS function. I found this pretty convenient since I always keep the inReach mini hanging on my backpack and with this I can check messages without stopping to manipulate the inReach.On the Earthmate app, once you log in to your Garmin account, you will be able to download Topo maps to your smartphone and use them without the need of cellular data, which is when you probably will need a topographic map. The maps available in the US are Topo North America, Open Street Map (which will also cover many areas around the world), USGS Quad Sheets, Color Aerial Imagery. For Europe and South America, Open Street Map provides an excellent option to other paid options. Also noteworthy, you only download the maps and aerial images of the areas that interest you, so you don't have to consume all your phone memory on maps.Regarding costs, the cheapest option is a "freedom plan" that you can suspend the months that you are not planning to use it and it starts at $14.95 per month, plus an annual program fee of $24.95. Keep in mind that if you plan to use it all year long, this is not the cheapest option but the annual contract for $11.95 per month. Finally, you can send a test message (for free) before leaving home to test if the device and satellite connection are working correctly.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2020
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Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2021
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