UKH

I do quite a few solo overnight Munro bagging trips and liked the idea of the Garmin inreach mini as a way of staying intouch with the wife and incase of a emergency, that was until I seen the price of the unit and then the monthly charge ( about £250 for unit then £13 or £15 monthly airtime plan).I know that someone will say you can't put a price on the value of your life, but not everyone  and certainly not myself can afford this price. So does anyone have any recommendations as to a cheaper alternative that does the same job ie sends a text to let people know your safe and sends your location in a sos emergency.

I’ve been looking at these. I haven’t made a decision but I found this article useful:

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-personal-loca...

There’s a price comparison table towards the end that’s in dollars but gives some idea of the relative costs of a number of devices. I was interested to see that some devices offer the chance to opt in and out of subscriptions, which may be useful to you. Also that one or two are US only.

It's certainly not a cheap option, however you can suspend your account on a month-by-month basis. I do this and then enable it for my holiday periods, which works out ok for me. Also for the monthly 'freedom' plans there's a £35 annual charge

As with all safety gear, it is vital to familiarise yourself with the unit and procedures, and this includes giving detailed instructions to anyone who may be supporting you, and testing communications with them. Being Garmin an' all, the functionality is not at all intuitive imho. The only time so far I had the need to use it in anger, I was very fortunate to be in radio and mobile contact with those who could push the rescue button. Despite the foregoing, no-one had registered that I had sent messages, although that was arguably because we had used other systems.

Watching this thread ...

ff

I have the freedom plan too (the middle one) and I think its fair value.  OK, if only using in Scotland, then it may seem pricey.  But for worldwide coverage, I think its hard to argue.  Though mine is a 66i, so more expensive initial outlay, but a pretty good gps unit combined (once proper maps are purchased... the garmin 'topo' ones are about as much use as an empty wine bottle).

I've heard of someone using a marine PLB which didn't have charges (just a one off cost), but I'd be concerned if it would actually be effective in reality... not that the operator receiving the signal just assumes its an error because its from the middle of scotland, not the ocean.

Given that its life saving equipment, I think its something worth spending more on, especially relative to other equipment (how much is a goretex jacket?).  Its like the old thing about spending thousands on a fancy bicycle and then buying a cheap helmet...

I use a marine PLB (McMurdo Fast Find 220). When you buy it you register on a gov website where you input your activities. For mine it's climbing, mountaineering etc. 

I haven't had to use it for real as of yet, but it cost me £180, no monthly charges and a ten year battery.

Of course it doesn't send texts so may be useless for what the OP wants...

When activated, whom does it inform of your location?

According to the manual, it will ping a signal (for at least 24hrs) to the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system. They then refer this to the relevant search & rescue body.

https://www.cospas-sarsat.int/en/about-us/about-the-programme 

Mountaineering Scotland have a page on PLBs - https://www.mountaineering.scot/safety-and-skills/thinkwinter/emergency-bea...

It's certainly not as useful as an InReach, but for me, it did what I needed and was a bit better on the wallet.

An option could be a PLB. I have a resqlink one that I bought for some offshore boating I was doing. IIRC it cost me around 150. When you register it you specify where you’ll be using it. It’s good for land or sea rescue. 
You don’t get any of the features of the garmin but it’s a lifeline if you need one. 
There’s no ongoing subscription and they replace it for free if you ever have to use it in an emergency situation

A further issue when I bought the inReach mini was that the network coverage was better than its main competitor the Spot. However things may have moved on. This looks like a good comparative review with some of the alternatives mentioned by other posters:

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-personal-loca...

I long thought these devices looked to expensive for my use (a couple of times a year in either the Highlands or Scandinavia). However, the Freedom Plan on the InReach Mini swung it for me. So, now that I've forgotten about the initial large outlay (I did find it a bit cheaper with a discount), I only have to pay the £35 odd annual fee, and then about £15 for any month I use it in. You do need to remember to activate the plan though, and I'm not sure if its a month from reactivation day, or if its from the start of the month.

I've only used it once, on a 3 night solo canoeing trip. As I was camped away from mobile signal, I also found the text function useful (if cumbersome!), as well as the weather forecast. The latter has a Premium version (free on top plans, or £1) which proved quite useful as it included wind (critical to me as a paddler on big lochs). The basic free forecast did not include wind.

It was also nice, but not essential, to see my tracks on the Garmin software. 

I didn't full test the messages and tracking, but the short test I did seemed fine. 

I have the older DeLorme SE, which was brought out by Garmin. I've used it in Scotland and Scandinavia and haven't had any trouble getting a text through. It's worth having the Earthmate app as it makes texting so much easier. 

It's really useful for telling family if you've had to change your plans. I've not needed to use the panic button but I believe if you do, the first thing that happens is the operator texts you back to find out what the emergency is. While this is happening they will alert the rescue services in the area you are in. 

With a PLB all they can get from you is the initial SOS.

I went through this decision a few years ago for solo paragliding and ended up with a Ocean signal PLB1. Things that haven't been mentioned above is that the PLB spec is higher than the inreach in that the signal is more powerful to more reliable satellites, there's also a radio signal for homing helicopter too. The big disadvantage (not sending a text, you can do that from most summits,) was no tracking, so you had to physically activate it, if you couldn't, people were none the wiser, whereas an inreach (better satellite network than spot and able to text message,) allowed people to track you and see your last known point. 

I bought myself an inReach Mini, and signed up for the monthly contract fee, in anticipation of getting away on lots of solo trips to wilderness areas... Just before the pandemic arrived. 

A fantastic bit of kit. Needless to say, my GPS plots have now explored every inch of my living room. I once tried to trigger an SOS call from the bog - a tragic casualty of the loo roll hoarders - but I didn't have any reception. 

P.S. Entirely coincidentally, I've just received an email from Garmin, re. my inReach Mini:

"... We are writing to inform you that, effective immediately, the price of your monthly subscription fee will decrease from £14.99 per month to £12.99 per month."

... A refreshing change. 

Seriously?  Must be spam... nothing like that has ever happened in the real world.

Straight up, Guv... I was proper chuffed, innit?