Somewhere past the last community, your phone becomes a camera. Across most of Canada’s North and Alaska’s backcountry, there is no cell coverage — and the moment you need help is exactly the moment that matters. A satellite device is not a luxury up here. It’s the difference between a bad day and a fatal one.
Here’s how the main options compare.
Personal Locator Beacon (PLB)
A one-button SOS that broadcasts your position on the international 406 MHz search-and-rescue network. No subscription, no messaging — just a distress signal to the people whose job is to come get you.
- Best for: a rock-solid, battery-frugal last resort.
- Limitation: it’s one-way. You can’t tell anyone you’re okay, only that you’re not.
Two-way satellite messenger
Devices like the Garmin inReach or ZOLEO run on the Iridium network and let you send an SOS and two-way text messages. You can update your contact, get a weather forecast, and — critically — confirm you’re fine so nobody launches a search unnecessarily.
- Best for: most backcountry trips. The two-way messaging is what makes a trip plan work.
- Limitation: requires a subscription and a charged battery.
Satellite phone
Actual voice calls over satellite. Overkill for many trips, but valuable for larger expeditions, guided groups, or anyone who may need to coordinate a complex evacuation.
- Best for: groups, guides, and long or committing trips.
- Limitation: cost, weight, and it still needs power and sky.
Redundancy is the real strategy
The device matters less than the system around it. A satellite messenger with a dead battery is no messenger at all — and cold drains batteries alarmingly fast. So:
- Carry a power bank, and keep it and your device warm on your body, not in the top of your pack.
- Don’t rely on a single link. A messenger for routine check-ins plus a PLB as a no-subscription backup is a common, sane setup.
- Know your device’s limits. Trees, canyons, and heavy cloud degrade the sky view it needs. Send from the open.
When you build a checklist with WayUpThere, “no satellite backup” gets flagged the moment your route runs through country with no coverage. It’s the single most common gap we see — and the easiest to fix before you leave.