I’m looking at getting a GPS, for both road and mountain bike use. I’m not all that interested in the bike computer features of the Edge series, I’m more interested in navigation but need time/speed/elevation as well, which all three of the above seem to supply. They’re also a lot cheaper than the Edge!

I’m a bit stuck choosing between the three. Etrex and Dakota are about the same price, the Oregon is a little bit more. They seem very similar apart from the screens, the Dakota and Oregon both have touchscreens, the Oregon is a slightly higher resolution. The touchscreens aren’t meant to be as good in bright sunlight as the Etrex, but the Etrex buttons apparently aren’t great for text input, which would be useful for road navigation. I’m also not sure if Garmin touchscreens work with full finger gloves?

Has anybody got any of the above three and want to comment on it?

Garmin touchscreens are resistive so work with gloves. (certainly on the edge, I’d be surprised if their other units were different)

I use a Dakota for Mountain biking and hillwalking and it works fine with gloves. The on-screen keyboard is pretty tiny though so it’s hard to type accurately without taking them off.

This is the data the Dakota 20 will give you

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/153627578

Never found the screen an issue in sunlight. Really nice little unit.

So the touchscreen does work with gloves, but if its a bit fiddly anyway then the buttons on the Etrex might be better?

Never found it fiddly.

I recently bought a Garmin GPSmap 62s for use on the bike & for Geocaching. The 62 series have a better antenna AFAIK than the others & from my own experience works much better under tree canopy if that’s important. It’s also got a slot for a micro SD card & the 1:50,000 maps are available for ‘cough’ download 😉

D.

All of the modern ‘outdoor’ Garmins are pretty similar in what they can do – eg Etrex 20/30, Dakota, Oregon, Montanta, GPSMAP62, GPSMAP78. It is mostly just a question of whether you want a touchscreen or buttons, plus the size and shape.

Of the ones you mention, the Oregon is a bit bigger, with a bigger screen. So you can see a larger area of the map, especially useful if using OS maps. Plus the on-screen buttons are bigger, so easier to use if fat-fingered or wearing gloves. Though I think its a bit big for on your handlebars.

Personally, I would go for the Etrex, I think buttons are easiest to use while riding. Yes, entering text can be a bit fiddly, but you usually don’t need to do that very often – I find its quicker just to do “find nearest”, and pick the place from the list.
If you’re not interested in heart rate / cadence, I would suggest the Etrex 20, it is a bit cheaper. Plus the Etrex has better battery life than the Dakota and Oregon.

Interestingly the Oregon is only 4mm wider and 11mm longer than the Etrex, the Dakota and Etrex are pretty much the same size, except the Dakota’s screen is 11mm longer than the Etrex. All sounds like pretty tiny differences. The Dakota doesn’t seem to have anything over the Oregon except for price, so it seems like Etrex vs. Oregon, which really comes down to touchscreen vs. buttons.

I did look at the Etrex 20, because I’m not hugely interested in heart rate/cadence at the moment, but spending some time with a friends Edge 800 that had no idea where it was pointing unless it was moving has convinced me of the benefit of the electronic compass in the Etrex 30.

Does the e-trex have a trip system so you can see didstance covered on one ride? Not particularly bothered about speed and total distance, I would just like to know where I am and how far I have covered.

They will all record that, whether they can display it at the same time as the map I don’t know. You may have to switch between the map screen and another screen to see distance covered info.

Personally I don’t think the electronic compass is that useful for cycling. Without it, the GPS will still point in the right direction while you are riding. And it will continue pointing in the correct direction when you stop. You only need to move about a metre or so for it to point the right way.
Plus the compass needs calibrating to be accurate, and uses the battery faster. Its probably more useful for walking/geocaching etc, when you are able to turn around on the spot, or might have the GPS in your pocket etc.

And yes, they do all have a trip computer screen, which will tell you distance, time, speed, elevation etc. You can set it to display the map plus several data fields, so you could see a map plus distance.

I have both the EDGE 800 and the Dakota 20, I use it mainly for navigation and following route.

All i can say i have not used my Dakota for a long time, the 800 has a better mount and easier to use.