Satellite Messenger vs Satellite Phone for the Wilderness

With the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness canoeing season (and canoeing season elsewhere) kicking in, I thought it would be a good time to write about ways for someone in the wilderness to communicate with someone outside the wilderness. Basically, it comes down to a Satellite Messenger vs Satellite Phone. This seems like a pertinent topic this year considering all the paddling accident reports, including this near death experience in the Boundary Waters.

As I see it, you have few options to communicate in the wilderness. Of the options that you have, you have satellite phones, satellite messengers, VHF or other radios and cell phones. I’ll cover them as I see it. You may have different ideas or experiences, and if so, please, leave your ideas in the comments.

For this article, I’m going to ignore how bringing along a device that allows you to communicate with the outside world moves your experience on the wilderness experience/workaday life axis more towards the workaday life. Let’s just say that you’ve decided that you are okay with that.

Satellite Phones

They are expensive to buy and expensive to run, but they give you the ability to communicate by voice directly with basecamp (or your home) or potential rescuers. To reduce the expense, you can rent them. For example, Paragis out of Ely, Minnesota rents them for $25 a day plus $3 per minute of talking.

The downside is if you need a rescue and nobody answers the phone. To avoid that, make sure to carry all the local emergency numbers. 911 isn’t going to work. This is also true with cell phones.

As an example of how 911 may not work, I was on a trip in Death Valley a couple of years ago when we came across a motorcycle wreck in the backcountry. The victim had an unstable shoulder injury. We helped evac the victim, and when I got a signal I called 911. I connected with a 911 service that was way outside the park. It took awhile for them to figure out how to get me to the NPS EMS. If I would have had the park number at the time, it would have been faster. She was stable, so it wasn’t a big issue, but it could have been if she had been in worse shape.

Satellite Messengers

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Satellite messengers vs satellite phones are cheaper, and the plans are relatively inexpensive. While you don’t have the ability to communicate directly via voice with basecamp or rescuers, you can communicate via text. You can set the texts before the trip, ie. “Here’s where I’m at,” “We’re running late but okay,” “Pick me up,” or with some plans you can use your smartphone to text directly. Both are handy, so get a plan that allows both.

As an example of why the later is handy is this story from when we ran the lower canyons on the Rio Grande a couple of years ago. We found a canoe pinned in rapids. We freed the canoe, stashed it at a campsite, and then I texted my wife who called NPS to tell them where they could find it. They had questions, so my wife texted me back. I answered, and she told the park our answers. The funny thing is that after the trip, one of the trip members talked to NPS down there and they said that they still had our canoe. It wasn’t our canoe.

The big deal with satellite messengers is the SOS button. There’s a button on the messenger that you push and it starts a rescue. You can also use the device to send a track at set intervals. The cool thing about the track is that if something goes wrong and the device stops working, rescuers can see your track and narrow their search based on what they see. Personally, I’m sold on the idea of pushing a button and then a rescue starts. 

The two main satellite messengers are Spot and InReach. Both Spot and InReach are good. InReach is owned by Garmin. I use an older InReach, but if I was buying today I’d get an InReach Mini 2.

If you go with a satellite messenger, you have to decided on plans. I use the Freedom plan. That means I pay $35 a year to keep the device active, and then I buy service months as needed. If I don’t need tracking, it’s $15 a month. With tracking, it’s $25 a month. I usually buy two to three months each year to cover my trips into the Boundary Waters. The nice thing about InReach is that you can also get a basic weather forecast if needed. It costs a text message per report, but I have used it when a storm looked to be coming in. It gave me a heads up about what I was about to get hit by. The cool thing about Spot is that they have a device that has a keyboard built in. 

VHF and Other Types of Radios

VHF and other types of radios are problematic. There are no repeater towers in the wilderness and the line-of-sight is poor. Few people use VHF radios and the rescuers won’t likely have them. Law enforcement and rescue all use the MNDOT ARMER system now, and ARMER doesn’t reach into the BWCAW completely. ARMER is Minnesota’s version of the standardized communication systems that was mandated by federal law after 9/11. Recreational users aren’t even allowed access to ARMER system. Personally, I’d consider hauling a VHF into the BWCA basically wasted weight. The only upside is that VHF radios also get NOAA weather radio, which is available in most if not all of the BWCAW.

If there are multiple canoes, it might be worthwhile hauling Rocky Talkies. Personally, I’d just make sure all the canoes travel together, but if part of the group is going to paddle off on their own, assigning each canoe one Rocky Talkie would help if the paddlers in that canoe get into trouble while separated from the main group.

Cell Phones

Most of the BWCAW doesn’t have cell service, but unlike in the past there are now a few towers that do reach into parts of the BWCA. There’s an AT&T near Ely and on the Gunflint Trail that cover a limited amount of the BWCAW. I’d consider bringing a cell phone just in case you are in an area that does get service. If going with satellite messenger vs satellite phone, you can use your phone to communicate directly via text through the satellite messenger.

Power Banks

I’d also suggest including some type of USB power bank in the kit just in case. Nightcore’s NB10000 Ultra-Slim 10000mAh QC Quick-Charge Power Bank weighs only 5 ounces. It can recharge a normal sized cell phone once plus an InReach Mini 2 two to four times or a regular cell phone twice. On a typical trip, it’s likely all the power you would need for powering your InReach and phone. If you don’t pull out the phone often, it’ll last you a month or so. There’s a case to be made for not using your power-hungry phone to take photos.

What Would I Do?

I’d do what I currently do. I’d haul along a Garmin InReach, my cell phone just for texting over the InReach and a small power bank. I’d consider bringing Rocky Talkies if the group was going to split up.

I’d be curious to hear your ideas.