Garmin InReach Mini 3 Plus Satellite Messenger review: Solid with lots of sales

The maps on inReach were pretty much useless. The offline maps on the Garmin Fenix ​​8 Pro and Garmin Forerunner 970 have more detail. There’s also no upcoming turn notifications, like you get on the Fenix, just an alert if you veer 50 meters off course. After a while, I stopped following my path on the inReach Mini 3 Plus.

Besides live tracking and emergency SOS tools, satellite messaging is InReach’s most useful tool. Adding audio is a big step forward. Typing messages on a touchscreen is beyond absurd. So, for anything other than quick, pre-made, personalized messages, it’s much easier to record a quick 30-second voice note. Alternatively, you can use the Garmin Messenger app on your phone to take longer messages and send them via Bluetooth to inReach for satellite transmission. I’ve found this to be incredibly useful for longer speeches.

Voice messages are also helpfully transcribed for recipients in Garmin Messenger, as are replies to your inReach Mini 3 Plus. It’s also easy to take a photo on your phone and send it via Messenger, although sending a simple text and photo can sometimes take up to 10 minutes via satellite. The moment it’s not.

Stay in power

When it comes to battery life, the Garmin inReach Mini 3 Plus lasts for 55 hours using performance messages with two-minute location updates. This extends to 350 hours of low-power messaging with 10-minute tracking intervals. In testing, I set the tracking at 10-minute intervals and the screen at 75 percent brightness with a 15-second timeout. I put messaging in performance and GPS mode on all multi-band systems. I also turned on navigation and did a moderate level of messaging.

The 80-mile trip took a total of 51 hours, and I left the inReach running while I slept. It left Florence with 97 percent battery life and arrived in Bologna with 29 percent remaining after a total of 21.5 hours of live tracking and navigation. The overnight burn was surprisingly high, but obviously you can save energy by turning on the auto-off function. Or just turn off the device. Plus, it’s very fast to charge. I fully charged the battery in just over an hour.

Overall, the Garmin inReach Mini 3 Plus is an excellent satellite messenger. It’s well built, easy to use, sturdy enough and compact enough for long adventures. It also has a range of security and messaging tools that give you a lot of peace of mind.

However, when you take into account the purchase price, activation fee, and monthly subscription, this is a significant investment. The inReach Mini 3 Plus is worth the higher price compared to the Mini 2, but it’s probably only useful if you regularly explore away from the cell phone network. Otherwise, a combination of your smartphone and a decent sports watch that offers live tracking may be all the backup you need.