In years gone by, when the world was a less complicated place, I would think nothing of looking at the mountain weather forecast on a Friday evening and then heading to a remote part of the Highlands without telling anyone a) where I was going, or b) when I would be back. This arrangement was the status quo for many years. However, when I met my now-wife I soon realised that this set up was not going to be sustainable. Not because she objected to me doing what I love most, but — rather — what would happen if I came to grief? Who would come to my aid, assuming I was able to raise the alarm. And who would know where to find me?

These are both reasonable questions. Doubly so, in fact, because I have always steadfastly refused to fill out a route card on the grounds that they are inimical to the true spirit of mountaineering. How often have I set out on a walk with only the vaguest idea of where I wanted to go, ending up far from where I had initially intended? I suspect I am not alone in this regard.

But when one is married, or in a long-term relationship, and/or have children, it changes things. You have other people to consider. People that may depend on you. And so it was, then, that after a conversation with my wife one evening, we decided that some form of tracking beacon/GPS would be sensible.

After jotting down some of the features that I wanted, market research showed that one good option was the Garmin InReach Mini. As well as being small, as the name would suggest, it had the following features:

• Works on the Iridium global network (basically unrivalled satellite coverage)
• Tracks your location accurately to within a few metres
• Has an SOS button which you can activate and sends your location to the Garmin call-handling centre (who then notify local emergency services, as well as your emergency contacts that you have pre-populated on the device interface)
• Tethers to your phone so that you can send text messages even when out of reception range on normal phone signal
• When tethered to the phone you can see your location on the Garmin Earthmate app
• Anyone with the relevant link can track you in real-time
• Superb battery life, with multiple trips available on a single charge

For my wife, the ability to see where I am at all times was a big plus. When she logs on every now-and-again, she can see that I’m still on the move (i.e. not in trouble). In addition, I send her a text message every so often if I’m going to a particularly isolated place, which is often. The peace-of-mind a bit of kit like this gives cannot be overestimated.

And let’s be honest here. If the worst were to come to the worst, and I suffered a dreadful accident, the Garmin would allow rescue services to locate and recover me should I fail to return or contact my wife. At the time of writing this quite a few people remain missing in the Scottish hills, despite multiple mountain rescue teams combing the country for many days. Had the walkers been carrying one of these then these very sad episodes would have been resolved possibly within hours of the people going missing.

The only drawback of the device is the cost: £300 or thereabouts. Plus there is a subscription required, which is £13.99 per month. This will deter many folk, but for me it is money well spent. It’s simply not possible to put a price on the comfort it gives both me and my wife.