Well, I just ordered an inreach SE. I read a lot of reviews, including all the posts on this thread and decided that the negatives weren't important to me. Most of the negatives concerned the use of the device as a GPS replacement and many suggested that it came up short. Well, I have a GPS that I rarely use, most of the time I use Topo Maps on a tablet or phone along with paper maps. As long as I know where I am I don't really find much use for route planning, back tracking, etc. This approach also helps keep me more aware of my surroundings, the lack of which is a common pit fall in many GPS based "emergencies." I am never going to follow my GPS up Lippencott Rd in a rental Camry for instance. Yes, this happened to some hapless poster on deathvalley.com. Remarkably, they survived.
I'm planning on using the device mainly for out of range communication and emergency need. But I am looking forward to seeing the mapping ability as we're going to Scotland this spring and for some reason the USGS hasn't seen fit to publish quadrangles of that area, being a US agency and all. Also we're hoping to avoid the exorbitant international data rates that one incurs using google maps, et al on a tablet or phone.
We've had a 1st gen Spot for some years now and it has given some peace of mind but the ability to actually communicate, albeit at a fairly basic level, is much looked forward to. I imagine we'll keep using paper and digital much as we have in the past but with added communication.
Side note, (not really a rant). Digital maps are great, you can zoom in, you can zoom out, but you just can't really replicate the brain's ability to see both at the same time. This is why I still use paper maps. We don't really see with our eyes, we take in data with our eyes, we interpret (see) that data with our brains and no app, to date, can replicate the brains ability to see both the big picture and the detail at the same time and put it all into perspective. This is the main reason I still use paper maps, but the ability to find yourself on a digital map, via 22 satellites spinning in space, if freakin' amazing. There is a reason why there is more than one tool in the tool box; as long as you don't try to tighten a small bolt, or much else for that matter, with a large crescent wrench.