Garmin inReach Mini 3 & 3 Plus In-Depth Review: 37 Things to Know!

Everything you need to know about the Garmin inReach Mini 3 & 3 Plus, a complete long-term in-depth review. (Links help support the channel, thanks!!!) The Garmin inReach Mini 3 & Mini 3 Plus is the most substantial update to the Garmin inReach lineup in years. If not, ever. At first glance it might seem like perhaps just a color change, and for the base unit, that might be a bit true. However, for the inReach Mini 3 Plus, it’s definitely a big update with a ton of changes. It continues to solidify Garmin’s position However, before you get too excited, there are also some big caveats. Not just the price of the unit or the activation/subscription fees, but rather the fact that I had some pretty big satellite failures in my testing. Leaving me questioning how well this unit would work if I needed the emergency features to get out of a bad situation. A concern I’ve never really had in my many years of using many different inReach devices, across many different adventures, well outside of cellular range. I’ve been putting this unit through its paces in all sorts of activities. From long hikes deep into the wilderness, to rides (road and mountain), to runs, sailing, skiing, and more. Testing both new features, and existing ones alike. 0:00 The Models & Pricing 1:06 What’s in the box 1:08 Voice Messages (Sending/Receiving) 2:07 Photo Support (Sending/Receiving) 2:35 New Speaker/Microphone 2:46 Emergency Siren Basics 3:03 Increased Character Limit 3:17 New Iridium Antenna Design 4:12 Voice Notes and Voice Commands 4:47 Display changes (a bunch of them) 5:45 Changes in unit weight 6:02 Changes in water/dust resistance 6:12 Added MIL-STD-810 compliance 6:18 Added dual-band GNSS/GPS 6:42 Added Garmin Share/Explainer 7:00 Added “Maps” 7:23 New Quick Control Menu & User Interface 7:37 New sport profiles option 7:55 Increased a bunch of limits 8:17 Battery Life Specs/Changes 8:37 Complete User Interface Walk-Through & Explainer 9:31 Emergency SOS Triggering 10:06 Subscription Costs/Service Plans 10:50 Navigation & Maps Explainer 12:30 LiveTrack & Mapshare Explained 14:09 Messaging (Text, Photos, Voice) 15:54 Weather 16:13 Emergency Siren Range Test 17:15 Battery Life Testing & Results 17:41 inReach Mini 3 Base vs Plus Comparison 19:03 Bugs & Failures 20:16 Recommendations & Final Thoughts