Garmin’s small satellite communicators are on sale for up to 40 percent off

REI’s anniversary sales don’t do that Runs until March 15thbut that hasn’t stopped Garmin from offering discounts on a range of devices — including its InReach Mini satellite communicators. Now, for example, you can grab Mini 2 in Amazon, REIand Garmin For $249.99 ($150 off) or Mini 3 For $399.99 ($50 off) through the same retailers (Amazon, REIand Garmin). That’s the lowest price we’ve seen on the newest InReach model, which launched in late December.

As someone who has used both the Mini 2 and Mini 3 in remote areas, I’m a big fan of dedicated smartphone satellite communicators, even ones that support satellite SOS and messaging services. The Mini 2 and Mini 3 are much more powerful than your average phone, for one thing, and each device offers multi-day battery life, which is certainly not the case with the iPhone 17 and 17 series phones. Google’s latest Pixel phones. They also operate at higher temperatures and allow you to pull up a weather report, which is a huge plus when you’re off the grid and exposed to ever-changing weather patterns.

However, the basic functions of the Mini 2 and Mini 3 are largely the same. The two palm-sized satellite communicators leverage the Iridium satellite network for coverage, allowing you to send text messages, share your location, and even trigger SOS alerts in the event of an emergency. The big differences between the last generation model and the Mini 3 are that the latter features a color touch interface, which makes it much easier to navigate menus and type messages (the screen Mini 3 Plus Also adds support for images and voice messages).

Keep in mind that whichever model you choose, you’ll need to subscribe to one of Garmin’s InReach consumer plans, which Starting at $7.99 per month. Each tier provides you with a certain number of messages, however, if they run out, you will have to pay an additional fee per message. I’ve never found the different levels to be that restrictive – I try not to send too many messages in remote areas – but it’s something to keep in mind nonetheless.