Delorme Inreach

DeLORME inReach SE Satellite Communicator

Two way texting.

by Martin Hackworth

Photos: Martin Hackworth

Last year, after working with Jimmy Lewis on his Tour of Idaho movie, I decided to upgrade from my SPOT Connect to the DeLORME inReach SE. The reason for this was simple - two-way texting. My SPOT proved over many years to be a rock solid sat communicator - but only one way. You could upload a text message but, flashing led's aside, there was no assurance that the message got through. The DeLorme inReach allows texting both ways.

I chose the inReach SE over the more expensive inReach Explorer because I already have several dedicated gps units and I wanted this solely for communication. Among other things that means that the Delorme inReach SE stays attached to me which is better, IMO, than being attached to the bike. The inReach sends and receives up to 160-character text messages. It may also be used to send an SOS to the authorities and for anyone to track your trip on the web - all via satellite.

I've used the inReach SE for over a year now and it's just as reliable as the SPOT. The unit itself is feature rich (more so than the SPOT) and very easy to use. When paired with the free Earthmate smartphone app the inReach SE makes a pretty good backup gps - as long as you understand its limitations. DeLorme's website is easy to navigate and their customer service is good. As with the SPOT you'll ultimately pay more for the service than the unit itself but as with the SPOT there are many plans to choose from $11.95 to $79.95 per month.

DeLORME inReach SE

MSRP: $299.95

The Good: Alone, but never alone.
The Rad: Two way texting.
The Gnarly: And there's some little girl in the FBI, keeping papers on me 6 feet high, it gets me down...

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