I have used this many times to communicate with friends and family in the backcountry. It can also track and report elevation. Thankfully, I have never had to use the SOS button to request a rescue, but it's there if I (hopefully never) need it. The one disadvantage is that it take a long time to acquire GPS signal, especially compared to my offline tablet gps or smart watch. That's a small price to pay, however. It has worked in every country I've been in, from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland to the Republic of Georgia.
Worked fantastic. 12 day backpacking trip with 0 cellular service. Great piece of mind for my family and fantastic opportunity for friends to interact and follow along.
I debated getting one of these for many months and I wish I would have purchased it sooner! I spend a lot of time away from cell signal and this little device is incredibly helpful for emergency or non emergency communications. And it is tiny so not a problem to carry!
I won't state what has already been stated over and over again in other reviews. This thing rocks. It gives me and my family great peace of mind while recreating in the outdoors, and makes me feel just a little less "lonely" in stressful times. It has a somewhat steep cost of entry, but it is 100% worth it. The subscription doesn't cost much more per month than HBO, and it won't let you down after you've spent so much time getting invested.