Looking at renting and using one one a late hunt in the wilderness. Your experiences? Thanks.

usually there is a cost to rent and a cost to use.

all the ones I've used weren't as easy as a cell phone.

made sense to use them (for me) before I needed them, so if I needed it, I wouldn't stumble.

cheap insurance.

garmin inreach is impressive, same though, pay to buy it, pay to activate it (by the month i think)

can send text by satellite pretty handy

I have used my friends in reach on the same hunt 2 times prior. It worked well. The sat phone is about $18 to 25 a week. There may be a few other charges but overall pretty reasonable. I wil be in the middle of the Frank church. About as remote as it gets in the lower 48. Map says it has coverage, just wondering...

Make sure the sat phone you rent works well in the area where you plan to use it. On my last trip, a couple of moths ago, I rented an Inmarsat from the Satellite Phone Store and it had great reception. They have very reasonable weekly or monthly equipment rental rates and pre-paid talk time packages which will save you quite a bit.

On prior trips I had rented an Iridium sat phone. Although it worked well in the Northern hemisphere, reception was poor well south of the equator.

It pays to check the available coverage maps for the different sat phone systems, before you decide on the equipment you rent. PM me if you want more details.

Never missed... the times i used them

Didn't rent one but I borrowed a buddies back in '11 when we hunted the N slope of the Brooks. We bought 100Min ahead of time and were able to use it any time we wanted/needed it.

Ive rented from Surveyors Exchange in anchorage . They shipped it freight to Kenai where I picked it up. Fee for that. Also to ship it back. Minor.

Rental fee just puts it in your paws. Paid by the use minute. Could not get the airplane in When needed without it.

If no cell service, it’s money well spent.

I didn’t know you could rent them.

I am retired from the Forest Service and we used them a lot on remote forest fires. Always worked well.

I went on my first remote Alaska hunt in 2004. One of the guys on the trip had been in the bush on 9/11/01. They didn't have a sat phone. You probably remember that the government shut down all air traffic for several days. Their bush plane ride back to the hub community was a week late. They had no idea why because weather was OK. He told me that their food ran out and they ate a lot of moose meat, fish and wild berries. His wife was frantic and he said he would not go on the 2004 trip unless we had a sat phone. He made a phone call to his wife every night.

I've rented one every time that I have gone on a remote Alaska hunt. The most valuable use is to communicate with your bush pilot. But you can call anywhere in the world for the same air time price. If someone got seriously injured, it would be absolutely priceless to call for evac.

It costs +/- $10/day to rent the phone and then if you actually use it, you have to pay for air time ($1.50 - $2.00/minute) on top of that. Of course you split this costs among everyone on the trip, so your individual cost is not that much.

I have used Outfitter Satelite Phones but there are others.

Outfitter Satelite Phones

One of the guys who went with me on a caribou hunt in Newfoundland rented one. His wife didn't want him to be out of her control. Nuff said.

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I've used them several times over the years, they can be a life saving device and I wouldn't do a remote hunt without one.

I rented one when I had my Strip deer hunt in Arizona. They work good but I tried to use the texting feature just to save money when I checked in daily with my wife. A true pain in the a$$. If you rent one just call when you need to and keep it short to save money.

I have used a sat phone twice.

My experience is it will not work in a canopy, you have to have a clear path to the satellite.

The one in the Republic of Congo literately saved my ass after two weeks in the rain forest.

The other one was more for convenience on a fishing trip in Brazil.

I used these guys for the Brazil trip

Explorer Satellite Communications


The phone rental $75.00 per week
Prepaid for 100 minute $139.00
Plus shipping charges

Had them on a couple of remote rafting trips. Used one on a trip once. Worked fine. Iridium.

Rented one on two trips to Zimbabwe. They work great out in the open but not under trees. They are a lot heavier than a cell phone so I kept mine in camp. During my last trip I was told the Chinese are building cell phone coverage for the entire country, even the bush.

I used one a New Zealand south island back country hunt. Would power up the phone and sit and wait for coverage. When we got coverage it was only for a couple of minutes at most. Overall was happy with the rental and even happier I was never charged for the rental.

'till the locals steal the copper and other metals out of the towers.

Thanks guys, for all the feedback. Think I will call and get one sent my way for the upcoming hunt.

The Chicoms will have electrocution fences around their towers.

Surveyors Exchange in Anchorage is where I go when I need a Satellite phone on remote trips. As mentioned before they’re not as “easy” as a cell phone but they worked great enough. Called home to check on the family and let them know we were still alive and it came in handy for some hunters that found us out of desperation. They had a caribou down and their flight service refused to come get them. Lent them our sat phone while they cursed the bastards at Moose Pass and then arranged our flight service to come get them. They’d been eating their caribou for several days and were down to having to hike out of the bush, which they figured would take a couple weeks. We shared some whiskey with them and they shared some caribou with us. They got out safe and sound and we flew out during the same break in the weather.

I wouldn’t go in the bush without a way to communicate with the outside world. I worry about my loved ones too much and since worry doesn’t jive with relaxation a satellite phone is cheap insurance.

I think between the rental and the number of minutes used it was $125 for the week or 10 days we had it.

Just got to get of their buddies to go first. Then they'll steal the fencing.

Rented one from the outfitter when the wife and I took an extended trip into the wilds of the Boundary Waters. If I had gone alone I would have passed but the wife is a worrier and having the phone relieved her stress. We called the kids a couple of time to tell them all was well. I can't really remember the cost but I remember thinking it was pricey, especially the minutes.

I rent one every year. I've rented from both Surveyors exchange and the Satellite phone store here in Anchorage. This year I think it cost me $99 for 8 days with 30 minutes prepaid. Well worth the cost if you ever need it.

That sounds like the “deal” I got, with 30 minutes prepaid. If anything, the price of that technology is “cheaper” than it was just 10 years ago.

I’d opt for more minutes than you think you’ll need because we had several dropped calls and bad reception at times. The dropped calls and poor reception could usually be blamed on the weather but it could be hit or miss even in clear skies and no overhead obstructions. I eventually figured out that the valley we were in was enough to obstruct the satellite link.....sometimes.

If I remember correctly the satellite companies compute the time of a call a little differently so be aware that the time spent talking isn’t all you pay for. Ultimately it’s not a big difference (usually) and it’s definitely money well spent in case of an emergency and it’s good piece of mind for you and your loved ones.

I would also rent the best one available and the rental company can answer your questions that pertain to the area or region that you plan to use it in.

If you go overseas, check local laws. I know someone who was detained in India for having an Iridium sat phone.

Have rented them several times.

Nice to talk to yer squeeze and sometimes they are handy to get meat hauled when you don't want 2 moose in the boats.

And there are emergencies ...as for towers.....well there is a reason they are called " Sat" phones.

Says you- where you are! I rented one out of Fairbanks for a week when my adult son and I went to the remote cabin without my wife (she worries) and it was in excess of $100/week no prepaid? - 3 or 4 years ago. Never used it. Was for emergencies only. Would have been handy the year before when I blew the clutch 120 miles out of Fairbanks, with no cell phone service. Road crew at the bottom of the hill had one, tho. and kept my boat secure for 5 days...

Pretty complicated to use in an emergency, I won't rent another. I've been dealing with the Bush for 50 years- one day it might catch me out, but fuggit. My kids are grown and my wife is competent.

My friend Seth Kantner In Kotzebue owns one, but discourages anyone to call him on it unless vital. Expensive! He prefers to use it only on outgoing calls, sparingly. The one time I thought I might need to call him when he was 200 miles away upriver and the furnace went out (he was my landlord), I checked the padlock on the furnace room door - locked. But I had a bolt cutter available , and then found the "reset" button.

"Good call" he said.....

Good insurance at 30 below if chit goes south, and you don't have a bolt cutter.

Missed a Wyoming Elk hunt in 16 with a tibial plateau fracture. One friend rented a sat phone, it was needed. Another friend had his atv come over and land on him. 18 rib breaks, ruptured spleen and broken arm. Had to be evacuated by chopper and flown to a hospital in Idaho. Doc said another 15-20 minutes he would have bleed out. Cheap insurance!

If yer gonna be stupid, anal, or paranoid, carry a sat phone. Yeah, I know - chit happens, even if none of the previous applies...and then your ass is saved. It really is a good idea.

I hunt solo a lot. Probably gonna catch me up one day....

I'll be in good company- Hugh Glass, etc.- not that I'm in their class.

But I'm lucky. So far.

I have not used one. I went with ham radio instead. I carry a handheld and bounce off the huge number of radio repeater stations in this part of the country.

I used one in Afghanistan in 2003. The company I was working for supplied it. Other than it worked, I couldn't tell you anything about it. Only drawback was I had to stay up late to call the US.

Same here. But we are all lucky until we aren't...

I hope when my time is done I'm in the wilderness and having the time of my life. (And leave me there for mother nature to consume). I've been on many an adventure without means of communication and lived to tell the tales. Had things gone south, well, see the first sentence of this paragraph.

My recommendation is for one of the InReach products. One of my hunting partners has an older Delorme model. I recently purchased a Garmin Mini. Used primarily for communicating with flight service provider on Kodiak/Afognak. Nice tool for communication with family to give them peace of mind, and serve to summon emergency services if needed.

When I die- if I'm lucky- God is going to need a helicopter to find me.

I'm pretty sure I'm not that lucky...

I rented one a few years running when traveling to a cabin in the bush. Had a wife and little kids. Leave them in the summer with cows, calves etc. So I felt pretty bad not being there, day in and day out. We rented a sat phone and it worked well.

It had the capability to send and receive text messages and it had voicemail so I would turn on the phone at a set time every evening. Could see any messages, if there were any. Talked to the wife and crew a few times over the week. Like many others, paid for a week's rent and prepaid for a set number of minutes.

I have switched to the Garmin inReach. The outfit I rented out of was in Florida maybe. They shipped me the phone and it had a prepaid return label to ship the phone back to them.

Worked great overall. One time we were in the float plane pulling away from the dock and realized we forgot the phone in the cabin. that would've been an expensive mistake.

I’ve owned an Iridium phone for over 20 years.

Lotsa places in AK cell phones don’t work. Particularly the places I love.


Glad to have it in case shtf on a remote hunt.

Thankfully it’s never been used for such.

But being gone up to 6 weeks, nice to check in at home.

Be prepared to lose satellite strength during a call & having to call back.

I keep my in a 1150 pelican box w 2 extra batteries 2 for talking, 1 reserved for shtf

Have never used up both talking batteries on a trip.

Was talking to my dad on a fogged in sheep hunt, while talking to him a sub legal ram walked up to see what that noise was I guess

. (life in the bush "nugget". )

Love them. Used an epirb for many years also but sat phone is nice comfort to communicate your needs. They sign off wh3n the satellite goes by but you can reconnect quickly.100 a week or less is usual price.

a fishing buddy uses one all the time when way out in the Gulf of Mexico. I don't know what brand, but it works well.

We have an Iridium at work in the gulf. Foreman makes a call once a month to make sure it works. We use it when our other comms go down to call the pipeline companies meter readings hourly. It works pretty well unless its a driving rain.

Mulitpath signal disruption, physical obstruction and ephemerality of the constellation would be only a slight reason for gaps in connectivity. With as many as birds as that platform has, within 4-10 minutes more birds would be over the horizon to pick up and connect the call.

Used to have pdop gaps in our Trimble rig, just go grab a milkshake or take a smoke break and a fresh batch of birds would be up over horizon and power down reboot the h-star almanac and go again, similar prinicple I would think.