I have been toying with the idea of getting a GPS for a while – I like the idea of being able to record ride routes and data etc. Turns out that I have nearly enough Tesco Clubcard points to buy a Garmin Edge 605 from Tesco direct, but I am unsure about the mapping feature that it has. It would seem as though you need to purchase a seperate topography pack to get detailed (or any) “off-road” mapping, is this correct. I have tried searching on this subject and it seems as though it may be possible to download free maps from various sites, or have I missed the point somewhere? Even if I didn’t have the relevant topo map and downloaded a GPS file for say, the Forest of Dean, would the GPS still tell me where to turn/which direction to travel even if it didn’t have a detailed graphical map on screen? Sorry for the numpty questions, and cheers in advance! Matt

the 605 is pretty poor at offroad mapping

save a bit longer and get a garmin 800

whatever you get you’ll need extra mapping to make it useful for navigation. not everybody pays for these maps if you know what i mean…..

I abandoned the UK Topo maps in favour of City Navigator Europe and jsut carry an OS map offroad. it’s great on the road though.

if you use it as delivered with just the base map you will get a line to follow and basic direction indication from gps tracks you download.

whatever you get you’ll need extra mapping to make it useful for navigation. not everybody pays for these maps if you know what i mean…..

Indeed. They use Open Street Maps. That’s what you meant right?

Edit: I am an idiot. You are talking about off-road. I could edit the whole post to not look like a tool, but hey ho 8)

you’d be fighting the fire after it had burned itself out there Jamie

Thanks guys, that’s useful information. Think the 800 might be out of my price range to be honest, but are there any decent alternatives that people find effective off-road (Garmin or otherwise)?…

Are you limited to Tescos?

Well, the clubcard points would practically pay for it – there is the option of a 707 too, I think. Definitely open to suggestions for other bargain items though!

I should add that I really like the idea of being able to recall rides, as I have a habit of finding new trails when out and about, and then never being able to find them again!

705 is the same but with a built in (seemingly useless) barometric altimeter and the ability to add a HRM and cadence meter

The thing is the 605/705 are oldish technology having been out for a while, with the 800 being the new breed as it were.

I would agree with Michael, that the 800 would be the one to go for. How much on top of the points would it be?

here’s what i do

in my opinion, anything other than colour OS mapping at 1:50,000 or less is useless for a GPS offroad, the screen is to small to display any really relevant info. I use tracklogs software with 1:50,000 OS mapping for whole of UK then a garmin 605 with city navigator europe to give me a line to follow offroad. You’ll rarely need more than one paper map on an offroad ride unless you are a monster mile muncher.

on road i use tracklogs (uk) and mapsource (rest of world) to create/review routes in combination with google earth and the city navigator maps to get me out of trouble and show junctions when on the bike

I have the 605 ( which I bought off mr mw 😉 )

It works perfectly for me.

To try and answer your questions…

The official Garmin maps aren’t OS but they’re ok if you’re following a route – for me, it’s as much about being able to see the contours as the trails themselves.

Yes, you can load a route and follow it. In fact you can easily do that even without base maps as I did for some time before getting the 605.

You can also use open street maps which despite the name have lots of offroad trails and is often better than garmin’s topo. Plus you can actually modify the maps yourself to add trails in via the osm website donuts getting even better each day.

I’d have no problem recommending the 605.

Wow, lots to digest. Thanks for all the advice and opinions. I wonder if I might give the 605 a try, given that we are unlikely to use the Clubcard points for anything else. I don’t quite follow the Open Streetmaps bit – do you download map graphics and info to the Garmin from there? Sorry, I really am a bit of a techno dinosaur 🙂

There are instructions on the osm site and various other places including here as to how to upload their maps but it’s no harder than uploading the Garmin ones.

I have a 705 and use the open street maps off the raven family website, not let me down so far, even walking in spain, most of the features i think are training orientated, but as a guide to places i have never been to before its brilliant.

I promise that I’ll go away in a minute…. but, can anyone tell me whether the 605 has a “marker” facility – say if I spot an interesting looking trail but don’t have time to explore it but wish to mark the location for future excursions?

OT: is anyone else getting the ad with the picture of the bloke with the shaven arse?!!! That’s really put me off my dinner.

I recently bought a 605 and it’s good although the base map is hopeless. Tried to use the Open Street Maps but without success – so if anyone can do an idiots guide to downloading the right one I would be most grateful! I did down;oad one but it came out as gibberish when I tried to look at it?

can anyone tell me whether the 605 has a “marker” facility

Yes, very easily. You just click the joystick and it comes up as an option.

To the ot question, no, that’s just for you based on your browsing history…

@Bullet

Have a look here for the downloads you need:

http://www.mapomatic.net/garmin-maps-download/

@clubber, cheers, that is useful to know.

Re. my ot post: browsing history?! – you gotta be kidding me lol! It does claim that the bloke earns $73/hr though, and I have been looking at jobsites recently…. yes, that must be it!…..The relevance of the image is lost on me though. Assuming you can’t see it, but he is slumped on the floor of a bathroom, and it appears that someone has shaven a smiley face into his butt hair.

I get an ad for FSA chainsets. Like I said… 😉

If you have a spare 5 mins have a read of this Moki:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2008/12/garmin-edge-705-review.html

It’s reviewing the 705, but the only difference between that and the 605 is the HRM, cadence sensor, power meter ability and barometric altimeter.

Lovely, thanks Jamie.

@ Jamie – cheers for the link, will give it a try when I have a spare 1/2 hour.

It’s taken the best part of 3 years to get the Edge 605/705 firmware sorted (so far), if you look here https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=245 it looks like the 800 is going the same way 🙄

So once I install the Mapomatic mapping via the SD card, when I open a downloaded route and zoom in I guess it will show the proper OS style contour lines etc? Hope so anyway, that’s what I’m after…
Thinking of routes downloaded from http://www.gpsies.com as recommended in MBR last month.

OK – so have downloaded Mapomatic file onto SD card, stuffed said card into the 605 – now what happens? Should I start to see glorious contour line details etc next time I use it on the bike?