# Sat phone recommendations/rental



## unlucky (Sep 2, 2012)

Sat phones start at about $1000 new. We use the Iridium network.

If you own the phone you can just rent the SIM cards vs maintaining a plan (about $600 per year. Similar to cell phone but limited minutes cards are a few bucks a day)

There are some devices that you can text on that work well but if you want to be able to talk you have to go the phone route.

Renting starts at $9 to $10 per day. Skycall in SLC, UT is an iridium dealer and rents phones. They can mail them to you too.


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## erose (Aug 28, 2015)

Thx much, interested in comparing PLB's vs sat messenger vs sat phones for backpacking and river trips. effectiveness, weight, cost etc. Any info/recommendations welcome!


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## ski_it (Aug 27, 2015)

*Inreach*

Do a search for InReach. Pretty good. Cost is $15 per month and can be turned off when not used (so pay by month). Sometimes better connection because of lower bandwidth requirement. Often one can be purchased for the same price as a Sat phone rental.

Oh ya- anyone know if these are acceptable for Grand Canyon?


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## duct tape (Aug 25, 2009)

I've used Russ at Skycall for three trips. Good service and cheaper than buying one + service.


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

*Nice to have but pricey to use.*

The sat phone is not bad for about 1,200 dollars. The talk time is what gets pricey, for a card it's around 800 dollars for eight hours of talk time or one year which ever comes first. Eight hours can go really fast, like three to six months and that is using it sparingly, with friends along or kids the minutes go alot faster, you get the idea. Than another 800 dollars for 12 months or 8 hours of talk time. I own an Iridium 9555 which is a decent sat phone. But it could be a real life safer in an emergency situation, is what I originally purchased it for. I'm sure there are different phone plans out there at a better price.


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## ski_it (Aug 27, 2015)

INreach- $250-300 (or less), lots of real-life emergency rescues (search on-line). Same with phone of course.

I've used both a bunch, but never in an emergency. Both work as expected (except the band-width issue with the phone sometimes).

The Sat-phone seems to get used to call home and say hi.

The InReach to text home (or send the present) to say hi.


Know lots of people with InReach and are very happy (small size).


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## dsrtrat (May 29, 2011)

I have a Iridium 9575 phone. On a recent Main salmon trip I compared it to a Globalstar phone one of the other trip members had.

Both phones had about equal lock on and duration of signal with the Globalstar ahead of the Iridium depending on if we had a good look south from camps.

I just keep the phone for emergency use and use Roadpost for a service provider. $52 a month with 10 free minutes and 10 text messages, after that $1.39 a minute.

Iridium is best if you want global coverage. Globalstar is cheaper to buy and is fine for the lower 48.

You can text from the Iridium but it doesn't have a keyboard so you are stuck with an old school press the button system.

The 9575 has a GPS and an SOS button that works like the Spot locater. Press the SOS button and it transmits a signal to a center that contacts EMS. This is a free service via Iridium. It is free to receive incoming text messages sent from the Iridium website, 25 cents to send one out.

I have found the GPS a bit slow to get a lock in deep canyons and this is also true for the phone signal. You get dropped calls as the satellite moves behind the walls of the canyon and have to wait for another to appear on the horizon. With a clear view of the sky I have a good signal as one satellite appears before the other is out of range. Don't expect to get coverage in a slot canyon. 

With the GPS system you can send an e -mail to a group like with the Spot. It provides a link to Google maps so you can see where the message was sent from.

Lot's of options and plans out there, shop around and beware of signing up for a plan you can't cancel easily. You can get used phones on e-bay or from service providers if you don't mind used. After all You are using a used phone when you rent.

Not cheap in the long run but if you run a lot of different rivers each year or spend time where there isn't a cell signal like I do and want something for an emergency I feel a phone is best. 

Two way real time communication in an emergency can help EMS with deciding when and how to deal with the situation.


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## ski_it (Aug 27, 2015)

InReach is 2-way but text only.

My experiences have mainly been in the arctic regions (some in Utah too)
and InReach is very popular. Above the circle, I think the sat. coverage for different companies is quite different, and all not nearly as good as lower 48.


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## brendodendo (Jul 18, 2004)

I have a Iridium 9555. It is not currently active. I may be willing to "loan" it out if you paid shipping to and from your location and get a sim card for it. I would need a CC# to hold onto while you had it.


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## wetwildandscenic (Jul 30, 2016)

I always rent from Satellite Phones Direct, based in Atlanta. They 2-day ship the phone in a Pelican case to me in WA and I just ship it back when I am done. It's very easy, affordable, and the owners are super understanding and professional. I highly recommend them. 

Also, I never purchase an airtime package, and although that makes the minutes expensive, I never plan to use the phone unless an emergency happens, and at that point, I don't really care if I am paying a dollar a minute or whatever.


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## Whitewater Worthy Equip (Dec 11, 2013)

I switched to the Global Star Network this year when Irridium raised their rates yet again. Now I have a smaller hand set with more minuts than I'll ever use for less money. Its still expensive but cheep insurance if you need it. It's also work great to call in "under the weather" to your employer It's really nice to be able to confirm people and vehicals are where they are suppose to be when dealing with complex lodgistics. 

We just got off a back to back Lodore/ Deso trip and I was able to call the shuttles from Jones Hole and confirm the rigs were in place so we could resupply and head for Sand Wash. 

I have used the phone on the Rogue, Owhyee, MFS/MS, Lodore this year and found signal every time. 

Send me a PM and I can put you intouch with the dealer I went through.


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## jerseyjeff (Apr 16, 2016)

I just finished up a 18 day Lees to Pearce trip, and it was pretty awesome. I ran with Moenkopi and rented a Sat phone from them, and it never came out of the box, except at the put in to confirm it turned on. 
We did have 3 inReaches on the trip, and I also have an ACR locator beacon that I bought as well. 2 of the inreaches lived in small pelican boxes (highly water repellent, but not completely water proof, and one was out in a PFD. The one that was out had moisture issues, and had to be fully torn down and reassembled. The other two worked brilliantly. I ran mine at sending tracking points every 30 minutes, and 50% brightness and was able to get about 4 days per charge. The cool thing about the inReach is that it only has to see the satellite for a short time to send out a text, and it will keep trying until it can, with the sat phones I was told that there are many places that by the time the phone is connected, it loses sight of the satellite and then drops the call. The interface on the original inreaches is a royal pain, and it pays to have a bluetooth enable other thing to send messages with (I bought an old smartphone) I was glad to have it, and the folks at home could monitor our progress and see us get down the river. 
I live in a part of NJ that got thrashed by sandy, and we were able to communicate out far better by text than phone, and that had a lasting impression on me. 
For any multidays in my future, I see an inReach and Sat phone combo on the trip. 
I can wax on for a while about the inReach if you have any questions...


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## Ole Rivers (Jul 7, 2005)

Google then create a Google Alert for "SpaceX satellite internet" (Elon Musk-Tesla) and "OneNet satellite internet" (Jeff Bezos-Amazon). 

OneNet says it will cover almost all of Alaska in 2019. *Global* satellite internet 2018-2024. 1 Gig/bps or thereof.

Stream Game of Thrones on top of Everest... 


Sent from my iPhone using Mountain Buzz


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## Cascade River Gear (Aug 12, 2014)

We rent the iridiums and we ship! Let us know if we can help you out and have an amazing trip. Keep it right side up 😁 ~ Renee


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## PoppyOscar (Jul 8, 2012)

Just spoke to these people this morning about renting for a short labor day trip, https://www.cellhire.com/rentals/products/satellite-phone/rental/iridium

Iridium 9555 is $80 week + 40 shipping. The rub is incoming calls are 8816 sat numbers and can be anywhere from $4-$10/minute. However texts are cheap!

More a solution to stay in touch and keep peace of mind that there aren't work/family issues and not break the bank. Doesn't appear to offer a one touch emergency service.

I did check Cascade River Gear first, they were on backorder, I'll plan ahead next time.


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## Pine (Aug 15, 2017)

Not sure of the details of particular models, etc., but in general, they sure seem to have limitations in deep river canyons. We used one at Indian Creek on the Middle Fork Salmon to call a plane in to evac a team member. We had a heck of a time getting a decent connection. Call kept dropping, poor audio quality etc. It took several calls to get the arrangements set up. Also used one on the Grand Canyon with similar results. Not saying they dont have value, just be aware of limitations.


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## peterholcombe (Mar 8, 2006)

The Garmin Inreach worked Amazingly well on our last trip. We sent out daily journal posts to our blog and Facebook. We also had a sat phone but the one time I used if I got only 30 seconds till it dropped the call. Garmin was much better. 


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