Garmin inreach mini 2 - advice

Hi folks,

Ive a 3 week trip in May and with some luck ill head to Norway. It will be the longest, furthest trip ive done on the bike so a little nervous

I do use a PLB for kayaking so have that usually with me for long trips but looking at the Garmin inReach mini 2. How do people find it to use, is it as easy as a phone to text or is it cumbersome.

Do you think its value for money at about €400 plus the plan.

Any thoughts or opinion on the device would be a great help. Im happy out with the costs of the plans etc so its more so the device and how user friendly it is.

Thanks

I have one. I have used it on two long trips - London to Beijing and Nairobi to Cape Town - mainly to share the tracking maps with friends and family so that they can follow my journey. I also use those tracks at the end of trip, to see exactly where I've been.

It is useful for sending sms messages when there is no cell-pone coverage but in reality the only gets used when I'm out of cell range for long stretches (24-hours plus) and want to let people know I've arrived safely. I've never had to use it in emergency.

It's very easy to use to send messages. It connects to your phone using bluetooth and the Garmin Earthmate app. You the the message on the phone and the inReach transmits it. You can also pre-format messages and senders so that things like "arrived safe" or "I've broken down" are very quick to send.

I shall be using it again next year for Colombia to Patagonia. For shorter trips, where there will be near-constant cell-phone coverage I don't bother with it.

PLB…. I had to Google that one…… Emergency position-indicating radiobeacon

AB, you made same great comments on my Irish route posts and I’ve enjoyed your reports and pictures of the travels around Ireland. By way of reciprocity, here’s my take on it.

A. Don’t be nervous about going to or being in Norway. It’s a big place, for sure but if you can manage the wilder ends of Ireland, you can do most things. It is still Western Europe, after all. Lots of bods on this site have done it, along with families of mums, dads and kids in the Volvo and blokes on a pushbike, so it can’t be too bad.

B. A basic GPS device will serve you perfectly well, backed by a handful of maps.

If you want to send your position to someone, a text of ‘What Three Words’ will have you pinpointed, though the man from the Amazon somehow still struggles to find my sister’s farm in Warwickshire, two miles from the M40.

There is lots of good advice in the Travel section, with knut in particular being really helpful. I can’t remember anyone asking about PLB’s, not even for the wastes of Morocco.

https://www.nperf.com/en/map/NO/-/1...l/?ll=72.65958846878621&lg=19.16015625&zoom=3

https://norway.nordicvisitor.com/travel-guide/information/telephones/

I have an inreach, the one with maps on it, mainly for use in the hills here and abroad. It works anywhere in the world which is reassuring so if I do, e.g. a crew role on a trans Atlantic yacht delivery I would take it along. I can send as many of the preset messages a day as I like and they give my location plus "I'm okay".
You can also type out a message and receive a reply, I have 10 of those free form a month in my plan.

If though I'm away on my bike in Europe I don't take it, I consider my phone to be adequate. If I did a trans Africa I would take it. So, it depends where you want to go. For me in the hills for a couple of days by myself camping out it is a comfort.

Thanks folks, I appreciate the replies.

PLB-Personal Locator Beacon. Small device straps to your life jacket, press the emergency button and it submits and tracks your co ordinates at intervals. Designed for someone in the water who needs help and may be drifting with the tide. The co ordinates are held centrally in the data base in the UK who in turn call the coast guard in the area that you are closest to. Works world wide and if I remember rightly it was a one off fee 10 years back. Contacted them last year to change my address and contact details and sure enough I was ready to go within minutes.

I may well be over thinking the Norway trip, phone, satnav and maps may cover it although im a gadget geek. Ive often hit no signal in Ireland and never gave it a second thought as Id be within range in a few hours usually.

Thanks for the links Wapping, it seems fairly active with cell service

Welcome.

I think you might be overthinking it. I am a big believing in making plans, rather than winging it all the time. But, Norway holds no terrors, unless I meet a polar bear. That being said, I don’t really want to hit an elk. I’ll think I’ll stay at home

Interesting this, I’m starting to do a lot of multi day hikes in the mountains and I’ve been looking at the Garmin Montana 700 Inreach jobbie and the Garmin GPSMAP 66 / 67i. Has anyone got either of these and if so, what are they like to use? Is the Montana being fazed out?