Most outfitters rent these - so much per day or week and so much per minute of use.  Canoe Country Outfitters in Ely charges $15/day or $75/week plus $2.50/minute.

Are you trying to go another route?  You might at least check with byour outfitter to see who they use, since they probably all have selected the same service because it works best up there.

Pulled the trigger and went with Mobal.com iridium sat phone. 9.00/day. we'll see how it goes.... you may be wondering "well why'd he ask then?" good question. itchy trigger finger.

thanks dd. i was wondering iridium or not. as it turns out we'll be in the upper half. the rental comes with 2 batteries. i'm not bringing a charger so we will have to work out some sort of battery conservation plan.

I've used these guys a couple of times and found them easy to work with.

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

I used the Motorola 9505A which is $9.99 per day, with a bundle of 50 minutes at $1.79 per minute.  If you really don't plan to use it except in emergency you can just pay 1.99 per minute and only pay for what you use.

Worked great overall and was easy to use.

Sounds like Mobal might be cheaper...if they don't charge more per minute than what I was paying.

I would like to hear an after-trip report on Mobal if it's not too much trouble.  If it's cheaper and they are not a hassle to work with, I'd give them a try next time I need one.

We rent satellite phones out of our business. We recommend people set a time to check in with folks back home and only turn the satellite phone on at that time.  Otherwise the batteries will not last for your trip.  The reception of all brands is somewhat sketchy at times so it is best to not rely on it 100 percent.  SPOT is an option for letting people know where you are and if you are ok.

Happy Paddling,