Welcome to my random musings on all things backpacking. If you haven't already guessed, my name is Dan. I was bit by the backpacking bug in 2014 and since then haven't gone one day without thinking about my next adventure. I'm from Chicago, a great city but...not so much known for its bountiful backpacking opportunities. Nevertheless, I haven't let that stop me from enjoying the outdoors. Hope my videos leave you with one or two takeaways, or even better, inspire you to head out on the trail. Thanks for watching! Have fun out there! - Dan
I use both the Safety Plan & Expedition Plan When I go MTB, kayaking & hiking, I use the Garmin inReach Mini with the safety plan And when I go backpacking I use the Garmin... I forgot the name of the device but I use the Expedition Plan
For the freedom plans, do you pay the activation fee once per year, or each time you activate? Does it make more sense to keep it active for a consecutive series of months, vs say 2 months active, deactivate 2 months, then 2 more months active?
Thanks so much for the detailed explanation of the subscription features. And for the clarification on the tracking part of it (sending vs. just tracking on device). VERY helpful and MUCH appreciated!! :)
Hi Dan! Thank you for the video, very helpful! One question, what would be your feedback on the columbia shirt in particular, I checked it out and it is made of polyester, and in past I found myself sweating a lot more in polyster shirts vs cotton one, and feel when it is sticking to skin is worse compared to cotton, did you find same when wearing this columbia shirt?
I haven't found myself sweating more in this shirt necessarily. But what I love about it is it dries super quickly, unlike cotton. And one benefit of it being a little oversized is it also promotes good airflow.
Is there a way to pay for a year upfront? My wife and I are RV’ers. We travel often. We do a little hiking, but nothing beyond my limited physical limitations. I’m concerned about safety when we have no cell service, which does happen a few times a year. I’m also a bit of a prepper, always concerned about being prepared for anything. I carry a GMRS radio but it’s not as robust as sat commissions. I’m going with the inreach2. It sounds perfect for our needs.
I have a question @dangoesHiking (and anyone else that can answer). My question is; with the limited texts, does this mean that anyone that texts my phone during that time? I receive over 1500 texts a month from far too many people, I can't control the influx, it's part of my day to day, so I can't reduce and I guess would need to get the unlimited unless someone has another option. Please help, I can't find an answer anywhere.
I dont understand why you would need a puffy for temperatures above freezing, but I guess I am just used to having wool in different thicknesses. My favorite is the mid thickness wool fleece which I got in the army and I havent been able to find anywhere these days. When I use a light and roomy wind jacket and that sweather (same weight as the torrid), I am totally fine down to freezing temperatures. I plan on getting a down jacket for nordic skiing trips in winter. Down is weight efficient warmth compared to a thick wool sweater. That way I can throw the down jacket on ontop of my anorak during breaks to trap heat, and you really dont need moisture protection on below freezing temperatures like that. My point is that I think the industry does what best serves the industry, meaning that the hiking culture develops into people using way too many thin layers, because this means that manufacturers can sell more gear, which deteriorates the overall breathability for the consumer. A puffy basically is like bringing two extra layers of wind protective shells when most people allready have another shell or rain jacket in the pack. I know its a comfy feeling walking around in what most people associate with their sleeping system, but I am not so sure its the most efficient 3-season gear relative to the rest of the arsenal that most people allready need to have in terms of rain and wind protection. Personally, I prefer one light breathable wind jacket, one rain jacket and then swap between 3 different thicknesses of wool, meaning I will always just use two layers in total at any time.
shocking how expensive the inreach mini 2 is. especially compared to other Garmin products. for example, a fish locator has a full color touch screen, detailed maps, GPS, as well as sonar, a transducer, and very detailed menus and features. A locator such as the Striker 4 has all of those feature and is only about $150. By comparison, and inreach mini has way way less to it than that, and shouldn't cost more than $100. Instead, it sells for $300-400 and on top of that you have to pay monthly for it. I understand the subscription fees, but the base unit is extremely expensive for what Garmin sells in comparison, when you look at the piece of hardware and how it lacks so much compared to other Garmin products.
At around the 8 minute mark, I had a question. How does logging your location on the device do any good for sharing your location with others? The point was about the cost of sharing your location with others and I don't understand how logging it on the device actually gets that information out to others as was indicated in the video?? And since it automatically logs bread crumbs, I don't know why it would be done manually anyway.
You pay for it with OUR money if you actually get paid for all of these RU-vid views. Collectively, the viewers are where the money comes from.. If you don't get paid for views, then that's different. 😀
I have one and somehow the handles are the most comfortable of them all. I'm surprised you didn't figure out you can just flip the lid and - voila you have no sticking sharp edges and you have some (admittedly not much) extra volume. You just need to shove the whole thing in a mesh bag. But you'd have to do that anyway as the lid wouldn't stay put no matter what. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thanks for this! I'm normally a hammock camper, but I bought the Gatewood Cape & net tent as an option for when I'm a groundling. (I also own a SlingFin SplitWing bundle, but I was drawn to the idea of the shelter also serving as rain gear.) So far I've not been able to use the Gatewood set-up, but I plan to use it on several hikes as soon as the snow melts out. It seems to me that this is a "love it or hate it" piece of gear. I've come across multiple people who love it & have used it for thru hikes, and I've come across lots of people that hated it. I hike primarily in Washington State, and a lot of that is in the Cascade Mountains. I once got rained on for a week straight. I always carry an umbrella with me. It's shelter from rain, portable shade from a harsh sun, and it can block out an overly-bright full moon on cloudless nights. Having to relieve yourself in the rain is a lot more comfortable under an umbrella. As far as all the folks who worry about it being torn, I point to my experience with Frogg Toggs ultralight gear: on the second day of that week-long rainy trip, I tore a 16" long gash in the jacket taking off my pack. If something tears, you sew it up with dental floss (I carry silk dental floss when I hike) and/or you patch it with Tenacious Tape.
I’m puzzled by your conclusion that 4.1 months is the break-even point between Annual and Freedom plans for Safety and Recreation. I understand that the Annual Recreation plan costs $24.95 per month ($299.40 per year), while a year of the Freedom Recreation plan costs $24.95 plus $34.95 per month the plan is used. To find the break-even point, we need to solve the following equation, where M is the number of months the Freedom plan is used: $299.40 = $24.95 + $34.95*M Rearranging terms we get: M = ($299.40 - $24.95) / $34.95 = 7.9 How did you get 4.1?
I’ve had this titanium pot for at least 10 years and love the thing. Be sure to get the hot lips so you don’t burn your lips when drinking. I would definitely buy it again, but the thing is indestructible so there is no need.
Another consideration, I think, is switching from recreational for a month when you're doing extended backcountry trip to safety, maybe in the off season when you're only doing day trips and just want to have it along in case of emergency.
Thanks Dan this is so helpful. I have a question about the Freedom plan Basic subscription duration however the question could apply to all plans. If my plan starts in say at the beginning of February and expires at the end of February and if I only use the plan for a couple of days in February then suspend it will the plan expire at the end of February or will the unused days roll over until I start using it again?
Good question. I believe freedom plans have a 30 day minimum, so if you activate and suspend it within the same month it should be active for a total of 30 days, if I'm reading their fine print correctly.
Thanks Dan. Since raising the question I suspended my plan and got an email from Garmin saying that “Your inReach service will remain suspended until you move into an active plan or cancel your subscription.”
It was just north of the waterfall, so if you're hiking there loop clockwise and you hit the waterfall, turn around and go back down the hill and you'll see it. Have fun!
Hey Dan, I am moving to a colder countryy and just recently I was in about 40-48F temps and I felt my TNF Thermoball alogn with a fleece and shell wasnt quite warm enough, I was thinking of replacing the THermoball with something like this, how cold could you go with this jacket and maybe a shell?
Dude! Your nerdy interest is very appreciated. I’ve just bought a mini2 and started to surf yt looking for such information while scratching my head. Thank you!
Going to be doing the same thing from the inside. Than after it dries. I believe I’m going thin it out a little extra an put some in a syringe an use a 25 gauge. An pack it with a pillow an made a water jug. An hang it from the straps. To see which seams have the most tension on them. An use that thinner batch an that thin blunt needle an run a thin bead down the seam folds from the outside so it stays looking unmessed with an clean there. An have a little more reinforced protection. Done with some precision
