Every summer I rent a satellite phone for two weeks for tripping in BWCA/Quetico. I have rented from various companies and I highly recommend Range Global. As far as I can tell they have the best rates. Other companies may seem to have lower rates but there might be hidden charges, like expensive shipping or they might require you to pay for lots of airtime minutes when you don't plan to make phone calls and only use the phone for emergencies.
Range Global doesn't make you pay for airtime minutes if you don't need them.
Also, they are very generous in allowing a few extra days at the beginning and end of your rental time. They ship the phone to you plenty of time in advance of your trip and allow you time to ship the phone back to them after your trip.
Range Global rental plans

Is this an advertisement?

No thanks, I try to get away from tech when I'm tripping.

PLB, spot, inreach, sat phone are like life jackets. You seldom need them, but when you do they are a life saver. It is not always about "me". It might be someone else life you save. I know of no experienced person of the bush that is with out emergency way of contact. If you have family and friends that love and care about you they would suffer if you die.

These devices have saved 10s of thousands of lives.

I said I try. I do have a PLB, but I draw the line at devices that can send me any news from home. I like my thoughts to be in the woods too and not worried about whats going on somewhere else. I try to get home life ready for my trips so that I can really get away. It's getting harder and harder to really get away like you could even up until the 90's. Thats one of the big appeals of wilderness for me. Incommunicado. To even have the thoughts about when to send a text or call is disruptive to my experience and then the info received from said call further takes me out of the here and now. To each their own though, I'm not trying to tell anyone how/what to do. I'm just conveying my view point on it. We all have different goals tripping. Mine is to get away as much as possible and just be.

Bushpilot: "PLB, spot, inreach, sat phone are like life jackets. You seldom need them, but when you do they are a life saver. It is not always about "me". It might be someone else life you save. I know of no experienced person of the bush that is with out emergency way of contact. If you have family and friends that love and care about you they would suffer if you die.

These devices have saved 10s of thousands of lives."

I have gone many many times and I have zero emergency way of contact up there.... so now you know one :)

I'm not against people using them but to me I like to truly get away from everything. My family and friends are aware of this. Sometimes you have to do stuff for yourself and not for others.

x2jmorris … if you are talking about the bwca as "up there" then I don't always carry a emergency device. Unless I have someone very old or unhealthy. Like my father who couldn't walk for half an hour and has had several strokes but still enjoys the bwca.

I can't think of any place in the b-dub that someone in the party couldn't be out of in a day. Maybe if I ever went solo I think I might carry a plb. Quetico I might have to rethink it. I was talking about the "bush". Like a place you couldn't get out of with out a plane or days of foot and water travel. Planes all have locator beacons in them. Still most pilots flying into the bush also carry a back up incase of mechanical or crash.

Bushpilot: "x2jmorris … if you are talking about the bwca as "up there" then I don't always carry a emergency device. Unless I have someone very old or unhealthy. Like my father who couldn't walk for half an hour and has had several strokes but still enjoys the bwca.


I can't think of any place in the b-dub that someone in the party couldn't be out of in a day. Maybe if I ever went solo I think I might carry a plb. Quetico I might have to rethink it. I was talking about the "bush". Like a place you couldn't get out of with out a plane or days of foot and water travel. Planes all have locator beacons in them. Still most pilots flying into the bush also carry a back up incase of mechanical or crash. "

I was referring to the bwca. And I agree if I went somewhere truly remote I would probably have a different opinion.

I don't want to be reached when I'm in the BWCA. If I had a device capable of communication, to include a sat phone or cell phone, I don't think I'd have the willpower to not check it often. My wife usually brings her phone in, but to take pics. She is far more disciplined in that realm than I am.

So, I suppose we could use her phone in case of emergency, though it is not brought in for that purpose.

When I solo, I tell my wife my entry point and anticipated area of travel. I don't have a beacon or spot or sat phone or anything. All I have is a whistle and a signal mirror. Yes, injury could befall me and I totally accept that. So does she.

Mike

Checking in daily with my Inreach keeps my wife from worrying her ass off while I'm on my solo trip. Worth every penny in that regards.

x2jmorris: "Is this an advertisement?"

More of a review than an advertisement.
Every now and then someone is asks for recommendations for sat phone rentals. I rent a sat phone for 2 weeks every summer. I've rented from various companies and I was impressed with this company so I thought I would let people know.

Bushpilot: "PLB, spot, inreach, sat phone are like life jackets. You seldom need them, but when you do they are a life saver."

The post at the link below explains why we take a sat phone on Quetico trips.
Link to post about the rescue