Inreach mini2 or GPSMAP 66i?

The GPSMAP 66i has the same inreach capabilities, but is also a handheld GPS. The additional cost is well worth getting to see topo maps whenever I want imo. (Plus the GPSMAP sells used for cheaper than a new mini2) 
Any reason (besides weight) that I should go with the the mini2?

Don't know anything about anything with the 66i, but the apps integration with the mini is pretty dope.

Samuel Ridgley wrote:

but is also a handheld GPS.

So is your phone.

My Phone’s resolution on location is pretty poor… I was hoping (perhaps foolishly) to get better locational performance out of the gps 

Put the CalTopo app on your phone and you'll have access to a wider range of topo maps than you can access on any Garmin handheld device. Most smartphones can access GPS and every other satellite navigation system in operation today. I've tried a couple handheld Garmins and I'm ready to leave them at home and just use my phone to navigate. The Garmin handhelds seem to have more sensitive antennae, so they can theoretically pick up satellite signals faster than a phone, but that hasn't been a problem for me yet. The big drawback to a phone is that the battery life isn't real good, especially in the cold. If I'm out in winter I can stick a couple lithium AA cells in my handheld Garmin, which solves the problem of cold batteries. Otherwise the phone and an InReach Mini 2 work just fine for me for backcountry navigation and communication.

Samuel Ridgley wrote:

My Phone’s resolution on location is pretty poor… I was hoping (perhaps foolishly) to get better locational performance out of the gps 

Mine is quite good (2nd generation iPhone SE), although it can take a little while in bad terrain/tree cover. What kind of phone are you using?

I have an iPhone 13 Pro, so maybe the problem isn’t the phone but actually the app I have been using.
I have been using AllTrails, is there a better alternative? I have heard others use Gaia? 

mark felber wrote:

The big drawback to a phone is that the battery life isn't real good, especially in the cold.

Put the phone in a small wool sock, and pop a hand warmer in there. Keep it all in a pocket. 

How much navigation are you doing in the Winter? Is this for a week's long (or longer) trip, or you just getting to a crag a mile away?  

Also just to add a data point, my inReach has also turned off due to cold. Makes sense, as the problem is the battery and both a phone and inReach use approx. the same battery chemistry. I do the sock+hand warmer trick for it, too. Hand warmers rule my world - I'll put them in my insulated water bottle holder as well, which helps stop the water from freezing for a few more hours.

I've been going out for day trips and overnight trips on snowshoes and skis. I generally keep an Anker power bank next to my body with a cable sticking out to plug the phone in when the battery gets low. I also keep the phone in a pocket as much as I can. From how quickly the power bank charges up the phone, it seems to be warming up the battery as well as charging it. I know about hand warmers, I've just been happy so far with a power bank next to my body for body heat, and recharging the phone as needed. My InReach is usually turned off, I only carry it for emergencies.

Sam Ridgley, CalTopo  is generally regarded as one of the better mapping apps out there. GaiaGPS has its fans, too. AllTrails seems to be a good way to find hikes that other people have done, but it's not quite as good for navigating and planning your own trips as CalTopo. Get the free versions of CalTopo and GaiaGPS and decide which one you like better, then decide if you want the free version or if you want to pay for more features. I have CalTopo and GaiaGps on my phone, but I seem to use CalTopo about 99% of the time. 

Samuel Ridgley wrote:

My Phone’s resolution on location is pretty poor… I was hoping (perhaps foolishly) to get better locational performance out of the gps 

I use a 66i 120 days a year for work and can confirm that there is no advantage to the average outdoorsman or climber that a handheld GPS adds over a cellphone and an inreach mini. For one most modern phones have as accurate of a GPS as Garmins, for 2 you don't ever need the 3m GPS resolution that a Garmin offers anyways unless you are doing survey work or something that requires precision that you wouldnt get from just looking at a map of the area. The 66i would be ideal for someone who plans to use the GPS constantly in an environment where a phone would likely be damaged during use (like crawling through brush for miles), but for most practical applications is too rough and tumble imo. 

If its cold and you need to navigate with your phone use a base layer with a chest pocket.

You asked for alternatives to alltrails but someone already mentioned caltopo, which I second.

This all helps!! Anyone have any thoughts or experience with the inreach messenger? Seems like if my phone does everything else, and all I need is the satellite connection, why not just go with the messenger?

99% of the time, I'm using the preset messages on the inReach Mini. You can get a lot done with "Starting" "Finished" "Summit" "Bailing" - whatever your use case is - that's enough to check in with whomever you're wanting to check in with, without getting into a texting sess, which is time-consuming, can be expensive, and is not what I want to do when I'm doing anything that I need an inReach for. I guess that the inReach Messager isn't going to allow you to do that, as there's no screen? I'm a little wary of needing a phone to do any messaging. The  inReach Mini - at least the OG one is a nightmare to do anything more than the preset messages, but you could tap out something else if you have the patience. In very rare circumstances, do I need to talk to someone on the other end with a request like, "I'm injured" or, "fuck this stupid hobby" and then I'll connect the Mini to the phone and tap out a discussion for them to pick my lily butt up.

The Mini 2 does have a little map on there with a track (you'll need to load) to follow, which is nice - and covers the "oh yeah, so what happens when you lose your phone and don't have Caltopo anymore?" use case, without going full-bown Garmin GPS. Not sure if the Mini 2 has a better experience writing out custom messages using just the device, but anything would be an improvement. 

I'm another Caltopo fan. I'll take hours and hours making maps with custom layers, marker icons, etc and then share them. Here's an example: 

https://caltopo.com/m/MNA8

To have that on the desktop, and on the phone and be able to share just with a QR code/URL - that's great. (Loading tracks on a Garmin is surprisingly a chore). Caltopo is very powerful albeit pretty geeky (but if you're a geek, hooooo boy). I got really frustrated with my Garmin GPS unit, as there's limits on track size, amount, and custom marker icons. And the GPS unit's screen just isn't large.

+1 to everything said above. I have the 60CSx GPS which is borderline useless due to the low resolution and it taking multiple seconds for the screen to refresh when I change zoom or pan. The 60CSX is 160x240, the 66 is 240x400, and a normal phone (Galaxy S10) is 3040x1440... The only advantage the GPS has is that it is a TFT display so it works "better" in bright daylight, but even that is a flimsy argument.

A Cell phone with CalTopo is good enough for 99% of my use cases. Concerned about battery/ruggedness, consider carrying a second phone to use exclusively for your GPS purposes. Get an older model like a Galaxy S10, they're "waterproof" (mine spent close to 10 minutes at the bottom of the Green River and still worked for a few years after I recovered it). Also, make sure to pre-download your maps so you can use them when you are out of cell service. 

Does InReach work with AllTrails?

This is without a doubt the most productive MP thread I have ever seen. Thanks y’all for your opinions! Picking up a mini2 this evening. My fiancée will appreciate my improved ability to send  “still not dead”. 

For those of you phone advocates, let me ask a question:

Say I have Caltopo on my phone. Then, I use my phone to determine location. Will that location automatically show up on Caltopo (or what ever maps I have on my phone)? Or will the location show up on some other default, non-topo map program on my Android phone?

I've been using the Explorer+ for several years, but the screen is so tiny! And I prefer not to carry both a phone and a satellite messenger.

FrankPS wrote:

For those of you phone advocates, let me ask a question:

Say I have Caltopo on my phone. Then, I use my phone to determine location. Will that location automatically show up on Caltopo (or what ever maps I have on my phone)? Or will the location show up on some other default, non-topo map program on my Android phone?

I've been using the Explorer+ for several years, but the screen is so tiny! And I prefer not to carry both a phone and a satellite messenger.

Not sure what you mean by “Then, I use my phone to determine location”. On my iPhone, I need to use a specific app to “determine (my) location“. To see my location on CalTopo, I open CalTopo and press the icon to show current location, which is then displayed on the map. I hope this helps.

Terry E wrote:

Not sure what you mean by “Then, I use my phone to determine location”. On my iPhone, I need to use a specific app to “determine (my) location“. To see my location on CalTopo I open CalTopo and press the icon to show current location, which is then displayed on the map. I hope this helps.

That helps. Thanks, Terry.

Jared Angle wrote:

Does InReach work with AllTrails?

I don't use AllTrails (ie: AllFails), but if AllTrails allows you to download tracks in a GPX format, that can then be used for anything related to mapping more or less, including using on your inReach. I assume they use their own app with a map and tracking, so who knows if they allow you to just d/l the GPX - anyone can confirm?