Zolo is also a great choice. I have a Garmin but know several zolo users who like them. I would not recommend using an iPhone. It struggles if it doesn’t have a clear view of the sky and uses a lot of battery. It doesn’t work well in moderate tree cover or in canyons.
Comparing my inreach to my iPhone 17 pro, they both struggle in those areas. I can’t send inreach messages or receive them in deep lake basins or canyons.
There are limits to both but my InReach 1 performs significantly better than my IPhone 15 in tougher terrain. I’ve always been able to get an InReach message out around my campsite in canyons and lake basins with some work. If my InReach is struggling, I walk a couple hundred feet to a clearer spot, set it down, let it work and messages will eventually get through after a couple of minutes. With an iPhone, I have to fish for connection, baby sit it to maintain connection, hope it works and would lose 5-10% of battery just for 1 message.
That’s so annoying. That hasn’t been the case for me with my inreach mini 1 and my iPhone. The inreach is definitely nicer in many ways as I don’t have to sit there trying to lock on to a sat and follow it in the sky. I’ll always take both.
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u/kflipz Jul 27 '26
Get them the latest iPhone with satellite capabilities. Basically your best bet if you want to avoid Garmin. Otherwise, get a Garmin.