I bought the new Garmin Inreach plus which has bidirectional messaging using the Iridium Satellite constellation which provide a more reliable service. The subscription is much more reasonable and can be suspended without penalty. My only concern is that I cannot upload OS maps so I am not sure how good the included Garmin map is. I will combine an OS MAP offline subscription, OS PLANNED ROUTES on my iPhone plus the Inreach for security. The most essential is of course paper maps and compass and skills. I really wish OS and Garmin were more aligned as I want OS COORDINATES ON MY INREACH!

Hi. Another first time challenger here. I've used a Delorme Inreach SE for about a year and a half. Works great for sending and receiving messages. Very slow to send. Tedious to enter text unless you use the phone app. The website to let others follow your progress is fun. Battery lasts for days if you turn it off at night. Very detailed local weather reports available at least here in the US. There are several reasonable plans at different price points. You can change to a different plan or suspend service, I believe, without penalty.

Using earthmate app with the Garmin Inreach seems to be a great combination. I am still playing with it. It allows downloading of the global garmin atlas which seems to give good coverage of the Scottish hills. I thus am covered via earthmate plus inreach plus OS downloaded maps and my routes. Most importantly though I have map and compass and pencil. The inreach is important for emergency or trauma situations and the messaging will give people at home confidence that I haven’t been eaten by hares or midges.

Thanks Ray and Dara

Sounds good. I’m just waiting for the Garmin InReach to reappear in the Ordnance Survey sale and I’ll take the plunge. Still undecided which plan to go for but will probably go for the Freedom plan as I won’t need it all the year round. Looks a decent device.