I was so excited about this feature, but not being able to communicate in a non-emergency way via satellite makes the inReach still important to have. The inReach being able to send "made it to camp" type messages is huge for me.

I have to say, despite the shortcomings, this feature alone convinced me to buy the 14 even though I haven't planned it at all. I hike and run alone, often in places where there's no signal, but it's not really a backcountry either, so I never thought of buying inReach, but this extra level of security is just great.

A great comprehensive review of these. I'm a motorcyclist and a boater. I have an inReach mini 2 already, but I'm also waist-deep in the Apple stuff (typing this on a iMac, with an iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch within 3 feet) so this appeals to me. Especially the crash detection feature of the watch and then using the sat aspect of the phone if a crash is detected. Makes solo riding a little safer.

Kudos on the interject about being able to reach emergency services on older phones as well and not just the latest models. 👍

I have been waiting for this specific presentation from you. This is a high quality, thorough presentation, like your others. You are suburb with hiking, KZfaq presenting, and research. I look forward to all your channel presentations. Thank you very much for your time. You are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for doing such a thorough review of these!

I just ordered the iPhone 15 (10/20/23) and I went looking for information about the satellite features. This was a very Informative, thorough review. Just what I was looking for. Thank you.

Excellent video as always. I love my inreach and most definitely will gladly keep paying my annual susbcription and wilk continue using it during my hikes. The durability and sturdiness of the inreach as well as the reliability of their center of operations is what is all about. Thank you so much for such great review.

Thank you very much for your detailed comments and recommendations….I am sure many of your listeners will benefit from your content…..keep it up!!

Dude, you rock! What a thorough report. Big kudos, very informative. Thanks!

Thank you for the comprehensive overview!

Thanks for the in depth review. Very informative.

What a thorough comparison!! Thank you

Thank you for this info. This was the major factor to my upgrading the phone.

Thanks. Very informative. Answered a number of questions that I had about both devices.

Thanks! You have been so helpful in the last few months to understand better the in reach system. Just bought a 67i. Wish you a great time over these holidays.

Excellent informative in depth video. Thank you for taking the time!

Thank you, you presented a really great review. There is definitely a big difference between an Iridium / InReach and Globalstar systems. Hard core adventurer vs urban area users is a clear distinction for me.

This is such a well done comprehensive video. Great job.

Great review … thank you very much. Didn’t know about sharing my location via find my app. Will definitely use that when hiking

I watched a youtube report of hiking Mt. Whitney. The group ascended from the parking lot few hours before daylight for few miles, ran into a group of stranded returning hikers with a disabled partner. The ascending hikers used InReach to send SOS. The stranded group had a satellite SOS device requiring the support of a phone; but the phone AND the backup battery charger both fully drained! It took more than 6 hours till the rescue arrived while the helping group continued communicating on InReach! Together they carried the disabled hiker down to a location the rescuing helicopter could land. Lesson: the SOS communication may take a long time. Not every gadget has the long endurance as InReach has.

Thank you! Valuable, insightful, helpful video 👏🏻🙏🏼

Superb & thorough video. Well done! Thanks you!

EXCELLENT! Thanks for presenting!

I stumbled across your channel, and so far i love these in-depth testing/review videos, really underrated, easy sub!!

Very cool article. This just motivated me enough to upgrade from the 13 pro max to the 15 pro max as of Sept 2023. Now, I see they've added 'Roadside assistance' to the satellite functionality. The inReach seems like another great option to take safety & security to another level. Their basic service is very reasonably priced.

Excellent & very informative video. Yes, I've given it a thumbs up, Yes, I'm a longtime subscriber. My primary navigation tool is the Garmin 62S GPS that I ALWAYS have with me when out in the boonies. My last ditch, Life or Death communicator is a PLB, specifically, the ACR ResQLink. Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada.

Liked and subscribed! Thank you for making this. Very informative

Very helpful; thanks so much! I have family members who hike and fish offshore in the ocean. I appreciate the great comparisons. subscribed

Very thorough video. Great job!

Very comprehensive review, thank you

THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE INFO

Wow! This video must have taken you MANY, MANY hours/days to research for us. You contacted many organizations and studied lots of technical data. Much Appreciated.

Dude. I found your website yesterday when trying to understand about GPS (nav, watches, satellite, and PLB) devices. I read several articles on the website and today I'm watching numerous videos. I'm blown away by the thoroughness of your reviews. I've never owned GPS navigation, watch, satellite or PLB communicator devices (other than Google Maps and testing out GaiaGPS over the last week)... so you helped me go from zero knowledge to quite a lot of knowledge very very quickly. What an immense help. I feel like I know exactly what to expect if I were to purchase a given device (pros & cons). This has rapidly helped me narrow down what I thought I might want to more appropriate choices. Big time props and THANK YOU so much for putting all of this information together to help others.

Wow! Sounds like the features were very well thought out.

I agree with IPv6Freely: emergencies are critical but - thankfully - rare; but, the need to contact people to tell them about your situation ("arrived", "getting there late", etc) is very important. So, inReach still has the nod for me for the moment. Also, its "purpose built" form is very influential to me - especially battery life! And, let me not forget: this is a great review!!

thanks for this informative and balanced video

Good overview of iPhone vs InReach. I have the iPhone 11 now, and am going to start Motorcycle camping.

Solid comparison video and, for me, a good understanding of the iPhone capabilities versus the inReach Mini 2 that I already have. I use Android phones, which will be adding this capability in the upcoming OS release. Thanks for making this video!

great explanation in detail this was VERY helpful and useful.

Thanks for this! I'm somebody that really would only use this in an emergency situation. I was recently looking at the Garmins but man - not cheap. I'd also been semi-interested in upgrading my phone. For the cost of paying off my current contract for the 12 Pro, going up to the 14, I'm actually saving a bit. Thanks again for the awesome information!

Very informative. Thanks!

Your video helped me make a difficult decision. Thank you

WOW❗️This is a 5 Stars Review❗️I think it shows when a KZfaqr do it with compassion. I am amaze about all the details you provide us. Bravo Hiking Guy❗️

Thanks for a great review

Excellent video, thanks for the info.

Great video, Just picked up an iPhone 14 and tried out the Find my phone app several times here in The Highlands of Scotland. Works really well. Tells the other people in your group that you have used satellite if they look. Handy to have as its essentially free.

Thank you for the information in this video I have an i phone 14 but didn’t really know how the satellite part of this phone worked. I am new to i phone. Your video was very helpful. I also didn’t know about the other device as a comparison good info Thanks!

Great review! I just got an iPhone 14 and I did not know this. I was a SAR member 30 years ago and I remember the many stories which didn’t end well, this technology is definitely a great step forward to help people and searchers will have vital information that they need right away. One of the cons with the iPhone is the battery and to counter that bring a battery bank as a back up. You mentioned trying this is a narrow canyon by Las Vegas and I’m thinking “Ice Box Canyon” if so that is very impressive

Great video!! I'll keep an eye on the iPhone 14 (worldwide coverage and two way messaging is important to me).

Very timely and thorough video Cris - Thanks. Bought a iPhone 14 just for the additional SOS capability and pack a 3 day battery pack with it. Non emergency 2 way communication on the inReach is still a great deal, especially for use between different groups in the back country. Awesome job - keep up the great work!👍

Very helpful, Thanks for sharing.

Great review, thanks 👍

I was thinking about this very subject earlier today, during my trail run. Great informative video HikingGuy. Thanks!

I really enjoy your channel. I have learned so much from watching your videos. Thank you!

Was wondering… thank you!

Excellent review. I’ll keep both for now.

Very clear and helpful thanks 🙏

Great job. Love my InReach.

You are amazing Thank you!🙏

New sub...very good review...quite in depth...thx

Great video. Thank you

Chris you make great videos, thanks for this. Its so informative!

Very good video on comparing these valuable communication systems. The inReach carried along with iPhone 14 would be ideal - as having a backup system is worth having. Thank you for sharing !!

Wow Thank you Lots of info

Thank you for the knowledgeable reviews on these products in a rapidly changing market. Helped me see that both the Iphone14 and Inreach are important to have in the backcountry. Made the Garmin purchase through your links to cement my gratitude!

Great job! Thanks

Thanks for the great review of the two devices. I used the inreach for part of the JMT and was able to let my wife know we were ending the hike, no emergency and within ½ of arriving in Lone Pine my wife came from the OC to pick us up. It was a bit laborious in sending non preset messages but it worked great even in tree cover. sold it this year and planning on finishing the rest of the JMT and will buy a 14 pro and hopefully not need to use it. Thanks again and REALLY enjoy your videos.

Glad to see that this works so well. I still like the features of my InReach Explorer Apple isn't as rugged either.

Excellent information. Cheers! 🍻

Good to learn what will or will not function for us in S E Asia. I am semi-retired here and doing a bit of exploring with my family.

Incredibly comprehensive video. Thanks so much. Just a super minor addendum though, "watching videos" aren't actually as intensive as most people expect, it's such a common use case that there's significant portions of the overall hardware dedicated to video encode/decode, which makes those operations rather efficient. Heavy use of the cellular radios in low reception areas would definitely consume more power than video consumption, so I suspect Emergency SOS via satellite is probably several times more expensive than video playback.

For the InReach mini 2 the waterproof housing offered by Garmin is another feature that scuba divers have found to be useful.

This is very useful, thanks

Interesting... thank you, thank you, thank you. thanks for sharing

Very impressive presentation 👍

Fantastic demo’s and comparison. Just received a Garmin mini2 having zero idea about the iPhone 14 feature. Which I happen to own. This video answered more than all my questions. Thank you. Doing regular road trips to the north west coast and planning an Alaska trip realized on the Verizon map the abundance of dead zones could be dangerous. Hearing banjo Deliverance (movie if you don’t know should be the soundtrack for SOS devices 😅) music every time I think of driving through the mountains of no cell service risking a what if. Since I provide a map of stops to people before I leave and text screen shots of where’s me like Waldo periodically from google maps this is a secondary check in preset up. Based on your information for me the Garmin mini 2 isn’t necessary. My son does a lot of outdoor back woods no tech outings with friends. Sent him the video to use for comparison, too. Super appreciate this video comparison very much ❤

Very nice comparison, thanks for posting! I have Garmin 66i and like it a lot in spite of Basecamp and Caltopo limitations for navigation. In reach texting had worked well. How does Gaia navigation and initial map route creation compare to 66i?

Thanks for the information

I purchased a Garmin Tread Overland for the GPS & InReach functionality, and when my phone was giving out I upgraded to the iPhone 14 for the additional GPS feature.

Got the Garmin Messenger (feedback after 6 months). Amazing! Reliable! Get quick connection. Perfectly compatible with Fenix. Great piece from Garmin. I hope the compatibility will be extended to other devices (Venu 3).

Great info. Laughing about the durability. I have broke two spots, my Garmins hold up so much better.

Great video!

Thank you for all of the great work you do posting extraordinary instructions about the GPS and mapping. There is a 3D map you show in this video near Red Rocks, Las Vegas. What is the source of this mapping ? Thanks again for all your postings.

Great Video!

Two-way emergency notification capability can work in both directions: I will cut short my backcountry trip if I am notified of a problem back home.

The inReach will also track your hike and update a trail map to allow others to follow you during a hike and notify them by text and email every 10 minutes or less. You do not have to go into satellite mode if your cell is out of cell range which is usually the case. My inReach Explorer+ worked great hiking in Patagonia and out on a cruise ship to Antarctica. If you can afford it, the best combination would be a Garmin inReach Explorer+ and the iPhone 14 Pro. If you want to keep family and friends informed about your whereabouts, including where you are on a map and be able to interact with them, then the inReach Explorer+ would be better. If you are in an emergency situation in North America, then perhaps Apple.

Very good presentation. I have a Mcmurdo 406 which costs about $250 but does not need a service plan. It’s a one time use emergency beacon that also works worldwide. I think I’ll get the iPhone 14 to compliment it as you suggested. The Mcmurdo is rugged, transmits a couple of days, has a strobe, but you cannot advise the nature of your emergency. Thanks again for your informative video.

Nice comparison. One thing you didn’t mention was that Garmin offers an insurance plan that covers the cost of rescue worldwide. This can get expensive if you have to get a medivac via helicopter or other means, to a hospital or back to your home country.

Thanks for a great video! I'll be interested to see how the iPhone functionality develops. I'm not ready to trade in my Garmin just yet, however. I frequently use the InReach messaging feature to communicate with family and friends when I am hiking or camping in locations without cell service. During a solo hike last spring I suddenly felt like I was going to pass out. (It turned out to be atril fibrillation - AFib) I did not have to activate the SOS feature, but was able to message my husband every 15 minutes to let him know what was happening - and that I was still walking and still okay. It was worth every dollar I've paid to Garmin to be able to do that! Happy New Year!

Thanks for this. My setup for remote sea-kayaking expeds on the West Coast of Scotland is ordinary mobile for comms, PLB (by Ocean Signal) for dire emergencies and a LW Radio (Sony ICF-SW100) for the shipping weather forecasts from the BBC on Long-Wave. It all works fine, no subscription to InReach👍🏻. About ½ the time we can get a mobile signal (in camp). We have 2 phones on different carriers. So we can use the internet for the forecast and some comms, but as we are ‘away from home’ we tend not to want to communicate as that interferes with the wilderness experience for us, YMMV. When there is no mobile signal in camp we have the PLB for emergencies only and the Radio for the forecast. My only ‘concern’ is the BBC are making noises about turning off the Long-Wave transmission at some point in the future. So I’d have to be looking at using some satellite comms to get the forecast. I’m assuming this is possible now with InReach type devices, but I haven’t investigated properly yet. I use Garmin GPS of various flavours all the time. Many have an InReach built-in option, so that might be an option to reduce the number of gadgets carried. Satellite weather forecast on an iPhone would obviously be very good, if it’s ever an option! I also like the idea of the location tracking message working easily when there is no mobile signal 😎, as mentioned by someone in the Scottish Hills 👍🏻.

Thank you thank you

Wow. If I hadn’t bought an iPhone 13 just last year, I would jump in the 14 for the SOS feature alone. My InReach is a pain in the butt to use!

Great video.

Great comparison review! Subscribed. Very articulate and great subject matter covered. Thanks so much. ? When using the Find My feature for nonemergency, does the other person need to have an iPhone 14 as well? Or could it be an iPhone 13 and below?

Nice review.. I just upgraded two family members to 14’s. I’ll continue to use my Garmin Inreach mini for now. Edit: during the recent severe storms in the NE of the 🇺🇸, I read where as many as 27 people died in their cars, when stranded. Imagine having had an iPhone 14 to prevent that. I get that most people in those situations would never own a PLB so a phone would have been a lifesaver.

You are the best reviewer and teacher for the outdoors hiking exploring. As a prior Sierra Mountain Guide I know how knowledgeable you are how thorough how objective and realistic your advice is. Keep up the good work and TY!

The Starlink T-Mobile style comms are starting to spread to others like AT&T with AST Spacemobile. And it probably will be easier to connect and more reliable because it uses existing cellular frequencies and the phone thinks you’re on a tower. Can’t wait to see this action.

Thank you

Nice video, thanks :)