very rugged. underwent the test of a backcountry hunt and did well.

Bought this for emergency satellite phone but it only has text function—read description carefully!

I travel out of cell range alone — sometimes for days. My friends decided I needed to check in so ‘someone knew where I was’ and have SOS capability. I purchased this ~9 months ago and only just took it out of the package to use on an international solo jaunt. While at first the instructions seemed overly simplified to the point of confusion, the YouTube videos and Google searches helped tremendously. Yes, the two necessary apps seem overly complex—they truly make the process of using the this tool easier, you just have to put a little investment in beforehand. And of course, subscribe. I used the most inexpensive subscription; it meets my needs. Tip 1: make sure those who want updates are in your contacts. I couldn’t get the cell phone numbers to work but email did. Probably a user error in my part…but email worked. Tip 2: prepare check in messages that are brief but don’t leave question in mind of recipient. E.g., “Checking in. I’m ending my trip. Everything is good.” If you leave off ‘everything is good—people worry why you are ending your trip Tip 3: add to contacts any hotels, travel agencies or drivers/guides for which you have contact information. If something detains you while out of service range, it’s very helpful to be able to communicate to them about your status.

This is actually the second one I've bought. I wear one while diving, and I bought the second one for my adult daughter who also dives. We've been in some crazy current and storm situations before and I can tell you, you feel very small floating out there hoping the boat can see you and your SMB. I keep a whistle and mirror in my pocket too, but worst case scenario, we always have the Garmin for backup! Also use it hiking and when paired with my Garmin Mk3i, the tools are incredible!

Works so much better than early versions of the inReach. Highly recommend….