Backpack

T-Mobile satellite offers backcountry communication with voice and video calls, maps, and live location sharing. *Gear I'm Using Now:* * inReach: https://hkgy.co/inreach * Hiking App: https://hkgy.co/app * Watch: https://hkgy.co/watch * Shoes: https://hkgy.co/shoes * Pack: https://hkgy.co/backpack * Rescue Insurance: https://hkgy.co/insurance *Full Hiking Gear List (What I Use Now - Tested & Not Sponsored):* https://hikingguy.com/gear *Links:* * Maps: * Website: https://hikingguy.com * Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/hikingguy * Monthly Hiking News (free): https://www.patreon.com/c/hikingguy/ * Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/Hikingguy T-Mobile satellite is useful for hikers, backpackers, and backcountry travelers who want more ways to communicate when cell service drops. This video covers real-world use over months in the field, including WhatsApp chat, voice calls, limited video calls, map loading, and live position sharing. The speaker shows how a smartphone can act more like a satellite phone, with apps such as WhatsApp supporting chat and calls over satellite. They also highlight outdoor navigation tools like Caltopo, which can load map tiles over the satellite data connection, and AllTrails live share, which can update someone at home with your location. A key takeaway is that satellite data features can work in practical ways for outdoor communication, mapping, weather checks, and trip tracking. The video also explains that performance is slow and inconsistent at times, especially for video, and that battery drain is a real drawback when the phone keeps reconnecting. The main caveat is reliability. The speaker says T-Mobile satellite is promising but not yet dependable enough to replace a dedicated satellite communicator for serious backcountry use. For SOS, stable messaging, and longer battery life, they still carry a Garmin InReach and use phone satellite features as extra redundancy. --- *Disclaimer:* Some of these links are affiliate links where I’ll earn a small commission if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you. I only recommend gear I actually use and trust.