I'd been carrying a SPOT for a few years before I looked seriously at two-way satellite messengers. It was buggy, expensive, and one-way — you couldn't receive messages. Given I already carried a satellite phone and a GME PLB, I wasn't convinced a two-way messenger would add much. Then I needed my mate Dennis to follow my track on a Simpson Desert trip and be able to communicate with him quickly to find specific locations. That's what pushed me to look at both the Zoleo and the Garmin inReach Mini 2 at the same time.
I tested both for two months, including one month nearly every day on a remote trip covering the Flinders and Simpson Desert. The result surprised me. I changed my mind about two-way messengers entirely — the ability to stay in contact with my kids and family while out there was more valuable than I expected. Messages going back and forth constantly. For that alone, I'll keep one of the two. Which one you'll see below.
A note on the Garmin inReach Mini 3: Since I filmed this review, Garmin has released the inReach Mini 3. I haven't tested it, so I can't comment on what's changed or whether the issues below have been addressed. This review covers the Mini 2 only.
Specs at a Glance
The Zoleo is bigger and heavier than the Garmin: 150g vs 100g for the inReach Mini 2. Zoleo is IP68 (dust and water resistant to 1.5m for 30 minutes); the Garmin is IP67 — no dust resistance rating, but waterproof to 1m for 30 minutes.
Operating temperature is near identical. The Zoleo has a larger battery, but it actually has less operating time than the Garmin — and because the Garmin uses USB-C and has a smaller battery, it charges faster. The Zoleo uses micro USB.
On satellite connectivity, the Garmin has a clear advantage: it uses five constellations — GPS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou, and GLONASS. The Zoleo uses only GPS and GLONASS. More constellations means faster connectivity and better accuracy, particularly in terrain where sky view is partially blocked.
The other fundamental difference: the Garmin inReach Mini 2 has a built-in display and can operate fully without a phone. The Zoleo has no screen — it requires a phone for everything except SOS and check-in messages.
Battery Life
I ran both units simultaneously for four days and nights with the Garmin set to the shortest tracking interval and highest detail setting, with a few messages sent on each. After four days, the Zoleo was at 18% remaining; the Garmin still had 28%.
Battery life varies with tracking settings, message volume, and environmental conditions such as open sky versus dense vegetation, so a direct apples-to-apples comparison is hard. But the pattern was consistent throughout the month: the Garmin inReach Mini 2 has better battery performance and recharges faster despite the smaller battery.
Cost — What It Actually Costs in Australia
Upfront, the Garmin is more expensive: RRP around AU$679 versus AU$345 for the Zoleo, though both are available at discounts through retailers.
Subscriptions are where it gets more nuanced. If messaging is your primary use case, the Zoleo plans are significantly cheaper. On the base non-unlimited plan, Zoleo includes more than double the messages of Garmin; on the mid-tier, it's five times more. Extra messages cost less too. For pure messaging value, Zoleo wins clearly.
The catch is Zoleo requires a minimum three consecutive months subscription in the first year, where Garmin requires only one. If you're planning to use a Zoleo in February, August, and December, you're still paying for five months in year one. Garmin would cost three.
If all you want is a backup SOS device with occasional check-ins, the Garmin actually works out cheaper overall. If messaging is the priority, Zoleo's plans are better value.
Garmin inReach Mini 2 — What Works
The most important advantage for me is the screen. If your phone is flat, damaged, or lost, the Garmin still functions fully — you can send and receive messages, navigate, track back to your vehicle. That independence from a phone is not a minor feature if you spend time away from the car.
Track sharing is the second big one. With the Garmin you can share a password-protected web link showing your live track log with a 10 to 20-minute delay. I used this constantly to let people know where I was in the Simpson. The Zoleo has since added a similar tracking feature, but at the time of testing it was limited to 100 track points — which at six-minute intervals gives you roughly 10 hours of tracking. That's not useful for a multi-day trip. The Garmin tracked my entire month without issue.
The navigation features — compass, trackback, waypoints — are not a full replacement for dedicated navigation software like Memory-Map with the HEMA map pack, but they have been genuinely useful. On one desert excursion we walked far from the vehicles over multiple dunes and completely lost sight of the cars. The trackback feature got us back. That's a real-world use case.
Other things I rate on the Garmin: the ability to mute notification sounds (the Zoleo woke me up more than once when it was sitting in the car), USB-C charging, and the five-constellation GNSS setup. The basic weather forecast works — it costs one message; the advanced forecast costs AU$1.50.
Cons on the Garmin: The app is slightly less polished than the Zoleo app. All messages transmit via satellite only — no Wi-Fi or cellular fallback to save your message count. Purchase price and most plans are slightly higher. Like the Zoleo, an SOS goes to an overseas IERCC rather than Australian emergency services directly, which can introduce delays. The message count display in the app never updated accurately during the trip — it showed the same number for days regardless of how many messages I'd sent. Minor issue overall, but worth knowing.
Zoleo — What Works
The Zoleo's strongest feature is messaging. When you sign up, you get an Australian mobile number and email address — anyone can contact you by normal SMS or email without downloading an app. Messages come in and go out through the Zoleo app, which is genuinely well-designed for messaging.
The key convenience is that the Zoleo tries to send messages via Wi-Fi and then cellular before falling back to satellite, which keeps your satellite message count — and your costs — down.
The weather forecast is better than the Garmin's: more detailed, better design, more information. The medical assistant feature — where you can message a doctor for non-urgent issues — is something I haven't tested, but it's a genuinely useful concept when you're remote and feeling off.
Cons on the Zoleo: No screen, which means no independent operation without a phone. No navigation features. Micro USB. Only two satellite constellations. And the tracking limitation mentioned above: 100 track points makes the location-sharing feature impractical for anything longer than a day.
The Connectivity Issues — This Is Important
I had three notable problems with the Zoleo during the month-long trip, and they matter.
Problem one: The Zoleo disconnected from my phone entirely and would not reconnect. Nothing I tried worked for hours. My kids were messaging me, the family expected replies, and I had no way to respond. Eventually I had to re-bind the device from scratch in the app, which was not intuitive and took a long time to figure out. This is not acceptable behaviour in a remote area where you're relying on the device.
Problem two: The Zoleo tries to send via Wi-Fi before falling back to satellite — which sounds useful. But I run a 4G router in the car that creates a Wi-Fi signal even when there's no internet reception in the middle of the outback. The Zoleo saw the Wi-Fi signal, assumed it could send, and wouldn't fall back to satellite. Messages didn't go out. I had to disable Wi-Fi on my phone for the Zoleo to send at all. I gave this feedback to Zoleo suggesting a simple timeout fix — if a message hasn't sent via Wi-Fi within X seconds, try satellite. At the time of testing, it hadn't been implemented.
Problem three: The Zoleo app crashed completely and wouldn't restart. Other apps on the phone were unaffected. Only a phone restart fixed it.
I had none of these issues with the Garmin inReach Mini 2 across the same month of daily use.
Which One — and When
Choose the Zoleo if: messaging is your primary reason for buying and you're on a tight budget. The plans give you far more messages for the money, the app is better for pure messaging, and the entry price is significantly lower. If you stay close to your vehicle and your phone is reliable, the lack of a screen matters less.
Choose the Garmin inReach Mini 2 if: you plan to hike, walk away from the car, or want a device that functions even if your phone fails. The screen gives you independence. The navigation features — compass, trackback, waypoints — are genuinely useful when you're on foot. It's lighter, has better battery, and five satellite constellations. For anything beyond car-based travel, this is the better universal unit.
I used the Zoleo primarily for messaging and the Garmin primarily for hiking and walking. The Zoleo issues during the trip pushed me toward the Garmin as my main unit. That said, the Garmin inReach Mini 3 is now available — I haven't tested it yet, but if you're buying new today it's worth comparing the two generations.
Does Either Replace a PLB? No.
This question comes up every time, so I'll be direct: a two-way messenger does not replace a Personal Locator Beacon.
The reasons are practical. A PLB has a seven-year battery — flat battery is never a concern. A PLB transmits for at least 24 hours continuously from activation, far longer than a satellite messenger. A PLB's SOS signal goes directly to Australian authorities (AMSA and RCC Australia), not via an overseas call centre. And critically, a PLB emits a 121.5 MHz homing signal that air and sea rescue assets use to locate you precisely once they're in the search area. Neither the Zoleo nor the Garmin inReach has a homing signal.
If weight is an absolute premium — multi-day hiking where every gram counts — I would carry the Garmin inReach Mini 2 and leave the PLB behind. For everything car-based, the GME MT620GR PLB lives in every one of my vehicles. The two-way messengers are on my grab bag and hiking pack.
A Real SOS Story
I witnessed a real-world helicopter rescue triggered by a Garmin inReach Mini 2 at Wounded Knee Canyon in the outback. What I learned from watching that unfold — including what happens after you press the SOS button and why the choice between a PLB and a two-way messenger could be your most critical safety decision — is in this video:
Everything You Need to Know About PLBs
If you want the full breakdown of PLBs vs EPIRBs, why a satellite messenger isn't a replacement, and how to use the GME MT610G step by step:
If you're heading somewhere genuinely remote — the Simpson Desert, the Kimberley, the Pilbara — think carefully about your full communication stack: navigation, messaging, and emergency. They're three separate needs and one device rarely covers all three well. My full Simpson Desert planning guide covers how I approach this, and the book goes into even more detail.
Both devices are legitimate choices depending on what you need. The Garmin inReach Mini 2 is the better all-round unit for anyone who spends time away from the vehicle. The Zoleo is the better choice if messaging is your sole focus and budget is a priority — provided the connectivity issues have been resolved since my test. More gear reviews and trip videos are on the AllOffRoad YouTube channel.
