Delorme Inreach price drops

[rob_gendreau]

Dunno if people are into 'em (I'm still on the fence) but you can get a Delorme Inreach SE now through the end of the year with $50 off via a rebate from Delorme. You still gotta subscribe to one of their plans, although they have a feature where you can pause the plan and pay zero (although it's a bit more expensive per month when you DO use the plan).

The Explorer version is $75 off (and maybe not a good deal IMHO; from what I've seen it probably won't be worth it if you already have even a semi decent GPS).

Amazon has the SE for $230 before rebate; that's way cheaper than anywhere else I could find.

I'm wavering because the SE is text based communication (but it's a least two-way, which puts it light years ahead of a SPOT). Unfortunately, no emergency roadside service I know of will dispatch based on texts (I've corresponded with the biggies). But you could reach a friend, who calls them, and then perhaps after an hour of explanation you get somewhere (Good Sam did say they could use text AFTER an initial phone contact; good on them).

But I may finally pull the trigger just based on the fact that since I'm out more often for longer I need the ability to RECEIVE important/emergency communications more readily. For me at least, that's an order or two of magnitude more important than needing to send an SOS myself (or even call for a tow).

[xcnick]

I spent time with Triple A asking if they could take text or email. No luck.

You can send text and/or emails. The communications contains your location. I just set up a friend to relay for a tow.

The explorer seems redundant if you already have a GPS, but some consider redundancy a safety feature.

Real time tracking is the best feature. If things go so bad you can't even send out a message, there is a website with a bread crumb trail.

I use it for soaring so my tracks will look crazy.
https://share.delorme.com/NicholasThomas

[JWA]

Originally Posted by xcnick

I use it for soaring so my tracks will look crazy.
https://share.delorme.com/NicholasThomas

Looks like worms having an orgy!

[carringb]

I think the best option is to have a dedicated contact or 3 who knows where you are going and what you drive, who could call for Roadside Assistance after getting a SMS from you. I've had AAA come out for me after being relayed through a friend, and I've gone out on AAA calls after being relayed by another caller, and sometimes even by a caller who had to drove 40+ minutes to get service. AAA would actually pay us to go look a for a possible stranded motorist, even on the faintest details (landmarks, minutes from the closest town etc).

Also another tip: If you have a low-cost phone carrier with limited roaming, that phone will roam on other networks only for 911 calls. I've been dispatched by 911 for stranded motorists when 911 was the only number they could dial.

[xcnick]

Originally Posted by JWA

Looks like worms having an orgy!

it took a while to teach the wife how to filter for just today's trip and she got confused by the waypoints I entered. I would have already taken them out, but it looks like you have to delete one at a time, even though I put them all in at once.

These things can feed to other sites. The soaring association has a site where you can look up those of us flying anywhere in the US. That is a true worm orgy 'cause we are all flying at the same time.

[pfreeman]

Delorme Employee Here:

The suggestions to dedicate a person to text to relay info to AAA is the best option. I have actually had to do this once. Worst case scenario- the SOS dispatch center will relay to a local tow operation as recommended by regional authority (I.e. county Sherriff) But this should only be done as a last resort.

Happy to answer any other questions! I will be at Overland Expo, Northwest Overland Rally , and a handful of other events next year as well.
Patrick.freeman@delorme.com