I spend a large amount of time in the woods every year scouting, hunting and hiking and it seems everywhere I go has zero cell service. My family purchased a Zoleo sat communicator for me to carry while out and about for "just in case" situations. I was kind of doubtful about it at first but must say, it works great!

For anyone looking for a means to communicate while way away from cell service, Id highly suggest the Zoleo. The plan is a bit pricey per month but worth having. I have my Zoleo paired with my Iphone 11 and run a Garmin GPS too. It does give me a bit different feeling of being in the middle of BFE but still have the ability to communicate if need be.

Zoleo

Glad that works as advertised.   I was going to jump in on zoleo when they first came out, but went with Garmin since they had a track record.  Inreach mini.  It works well too, pretty nice being in the boonies and having comms if needed, and there is the whole sos button thing.  
Seems like zoleo was 100 bucks less than my Garmin was at 250.

I use an InReach Explorer+.  

The tracking can be a double-edged sword.  Stay in place for too long, and it can be interpreted by others as a problem.  Move onto very steep terrain, and your position can become wildly thrown off.  But, on the whole, it's a very good device.  Even if the positioning flakes out in some terrain, the messaging still works.  And being button operated, as primitive as that may seem in 2021 ... it is very useful in cold weather.

Still using a five year old Delorme Inreach SE (Garmin bought out Delorme).

Mine is still kicking. I pay like $15/month for my plan. I don't use tracking. Mainly just sporadically turn it on to check incoming or to check in.

I have the Spot X and love it. It works as it should - it is just a communication tool. It can send and receive texts and emails along with sending an SOS for help. It will send tracking bread crumbs for someone to track if you wish - and that is all that it does. It stands alone with its own keypad and does not require the use of a cell phone to communicate.

I only have to worry about keeping it charged and not it and my phone together - I do not carry my phone when I am out and about anyway. It does not have GPS capabilities, but I have a Garmin for that. I use a Goal Zero solar charger for it and my Garmin batteries. I do not text, email, or surf the web on my phone during a normal day - let alone when I am out and about, so that is not an issue for me. All I need is to check in every once in a while - have a device that I can receive a message from home in case something happens while I am gone and be able to send for help if I need it (I am not getting any younger).

For my use - the Spot X was the most cost effective option. It is not for everyone, if you need Wi-Fi capabilities then you will have to look else where but at a cost. The only thing that I do not like about the Spot X is the non-removable battery. It requires a USB charging system and I would rather use rechargeable AA's, they probably would not last as long as the onboard battery, but they are easier for me to charge and use. It does have a good battery life and I cannot complain about that.

I looked at the Zoleo before purchasing the Spot X and they are a great piece of kit. It just had features that I did not need and the price point was more than I was willing to pay, if I were not going to use it at its full potential. I may some day decide that I need something more and the Zoleo would definitely be my choice...