I have the inreach model without the maps. The yellow one. Bloody brilliant. I have no need for maps as I use a separate Garmin gps. I use it for text and email function to let home know what I'm up to (delayed etc), getting the weather forecast which is surprisingly accurate and the SOS function is there as a backup.
As long as it has a clear line of site to the sky it works perfectly. Eg outside the hut.
I get a good 3 days out of one battery charge leaving it on and using it pretty heavily. I carry a small battery pack to charge it over night for longer trips.
I'm on the basic plan for 27nzd approx per month. You can park it when you're not hunting for 7nzd ish per month.
Better reception than a sat phone and the email function works when the recipient has no mobile coverage.
Only down side is the keyboard text input is clunky. Think old school Nokia phone! But if you carry your smartphone you can Bluetooth to it and send msgs just like you would text normally. Each msg sent can have your location transmitted automatically for the recipient to open in GEarth
Has already paid for itself!
Someone above was asking about buying in US. Yes you can do this and save yourself about $150. However when it arrives in nz you need to register it here and guess what it costs, yup $150! Lol
Have never used the sos button but it looks like you can send emergency msgs to the emergency services via Aussie whilst waiting for the chopper which could be useful.
Hope this helps but if anyone wants anymore info just shout...
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