[Revolutionary]

 In the picture below, on the right side of my dashboard, I have a DeLorme Inreach SE. It's battery powered, and backed up/kept full by power from the ZForce.

I fly a plane, I sell backcountry & survivalist property to people that come here from all over, and this is a tool I've had in the plane with me for the last couple of years or so. Here's what it does, and what it costs:
It's a beacon, it sends my location; speed, altitude, and direction to a satellite in space every 2 minutes.
When I get home, I can see everywhere I've been on excellent topo maps; and I can click on each 2 minute interval & see where I was, etc, at what time.
It's primary purpose is an emergency locater beacon; so if I'm in my plane (an old plane, 1954 Beechcraft Bonanza); and I lose my engine, or if I'm on one of the CZF Moto's, and there is an emergency, I can hit the "Emergency" button on the Inreach, and it sends my location via GPS coordinates through satellites to pretty much everyone; State Police, Civil Air Patrol, NFS, County Sheriff, telling them that I am having an emergency, and where I am. It's instant, pretty much.

Past that, if I crash, and I'm hanging from a tree, I can also text & receive texts on it, so I can tell people that matter that I'm not dead, but send help & Budweiser. 

This thing costs about $350 I think, and the yearly subscription is about $250.00 a year. For the places I go, fly to, ride to etc, it's an excellent safety device, IMO, because here, it really IS wilderness, and getting caught out in it is deadly. I love that when I get home, I can look at where I was, and get a lot better comprehension of the trip, itself. Mountains can be really deceiving, time wise, and location wise, so it's great to be able to see "the rest of the story".
Best-
Chris   

[WalkinTarget]

Very nice writeup, and this is truly one of those 'lifesaver' gadgets that is essential where you ride. That yearly charge is quite hefty, but again, if it saves your life, what does it matter what it costs ? Its unique in its function, alerting the proper authorities at the press of a button, and making rescue a truly one touch process. 

[chuddly]

I can for sure see the need for someone like you who rides/fly's where you do.  For myself it would be a total waste though.

[Revolutionary]

Thanks Walkin; and I agree, this kind of thing isn't for everybody, or all areas even. Here, you can go w/o it & never need it, but IF you do, one day, it can be the difference between life & death. There are plenty of examples; here, of hikers or motorcycle riders who went off of either cliffs or real steep ravines that weren't found until years & sometimes decades later, and a lot of them were alive for days & weeks after the accident; most died of dehydration & exposure. Bad way to go.

I think the mapping info on it is awesome, (for post trip analysis of "where the heck were we??")  

[bigjimstewart]

Cool device for sure much needed in a plane over back country I'm with chuddly on this one I never ride alone anyway. It would be nice to be able to call help with no cell service and just a press of the button pros and cons.

[Revolutionary]

A lot of you guys must ride in places where it's easy to get help, huh? To me; even if I ride with another rider (which we always do), there's no guarantee that the other rider can get a person out of a wrecked up rig or get them to a hospital without doing more damage.

I've been involved with more than a few wrecks in Michigan & here in North Idaho, (not me wrecking, mostly friends & guys I was riding with on snowmobiles, dirt bikes etc). Saw a total of 3 friends die, too; (since 1983) and when the accidents happened I would have given anything to get someone there quicker; I've been trained as an EMT & Fireman, (volunteer) and it doesn't matter, I know what I can do, and can't, and when somebody's in trouble, I think that anything that can be done to get them help is good, with the press of a button, a helicopter is on the way; but to each his own; it's like a first aid kit, you don't need it 'til you need it.

EDIT: I mean no offense to anyone, at all; anywhere. I stood there with another couple of friends once & watched a friend pass as a result of blood loss & shock while 2 other guys ran (snowmobiled at warp speeds) about 24 miles for help; by the time the Medivac got there an hour later, it was over.         

[bigjimstewart]

@revolutionary first off I'm very sorry that those things happened to you. I also meant no disrespect either and I hope none was taken. Your experiences give you a different perspective and quite frankly it's an eye opening one thanks for sharing where could one but this device again thanks for sharing

[Revolutionary]

Bigjim, thanks, but it happens, sorry to say; and truthfully there's plenty of people out there that have seen more than I have.

No disrespect taken here; and I just wanted to make sure none was going the other way. I think you can get the units at Amazon or Cabelas; Bass Pro or most outdoor outfitter type companies.

[callum]

thanks for this post, I live in a remote part of Alberta have looked at things like spot ,but they are not very good. This thing will give me great peace of mind i have 2 boys that ride hundreds of miles to their favorite spots  with the invincability of youth, even on the hiway cell service is apalling This thing though expensive will be perfect for my situation . Again thank you

[Revolutionary]

I just found out that the SE has a Bluetooth wireless output, and that you can load DeLorme Maps on a tablet type thing & have the GPS output location to the maps....THAT would be nice, the DeLorme maps are first class topos....

Callum, I'm with you 100%, and fyi, you can also "ping" the units from home, so if you want to know exactly where the kids are, you can see them in a few seconds....anytime you want to.

[callum]

the topo maps of my area are really pretty awful , it looks like if you spring the extra hundred bucks for the explorer model   you can literally build your own maps, finding it hard to find info by owners using them in the field to see how capable each model is

[Revolutionary]

Hey Callum,
The topos here are good, but if I were you I'd not spend the money on the Explorer, the screen is the same size as the SE, (it's too small to be readable...) But you can get some really good maps, at least for here (Idaho) & display them on a tablet of some kind, then you can actually SEE them...I just bought a new SE (one for the plane & one for the CF Moto) for $270.00 delivered; (Ebay). Below is a map I use, it works ok but not all of the trails are right, probably 90% or more of them are right. My understanding was that you can download whatever maps you want from Delorme & display them on a tablet or Iphone/Android; and that they work the same on either unit, big difference is the Explorer will give you the mapping info on it's (tiny) screen, the SE won't; but you output the gps data to the tablet etc anyways.