Looking for a bit of clarity – I am comparing chalk and cheese with the various map inclusions of different GPS manufacturers.
This is a schools project. I have need of 45 units initially, with associated mapping at 1:25000 of certain areas local to each school. Ideally it is a buy it once, not a yearly payment. Ideally OS maps at 1:25,000.

It seems (but I may be wrong!)
.
Memory Map do educational stuff, funnily enough the thing we need is the yearly payment really…at £350 for 25 yearly licences at 1:25,000.
.
Garmin don’t do an educational deal, instead you buy a unit with 1:50k on and pay £20 per unit for a small local tile of map at 1:25000.
.
Satmap – noooo idea, and they haven’t got a phone number or respond to emails.
.
So a Garmin Dakota 10 would be the cheapest way to do this, by a long way…?
.
Suggestions or thoughts please!

compass and OS map so they learn a proper life skill!

We already do that – this is life skilz II

No map or GPS, dropped off in the middle of nowhere to navigate home – much betterer

Have you looked at Viewranger? I have no idea what, if any, educational packages they offer, but worth a look.

I’d have thought that learning to use modern technology is a much more useful life skill than being lost and then walking home via the chippy.

OP – Viewranger could be cheap. Smartphone rather than dedicated GPS but OS maps 1:25000 can be purchased oughtright by the tile so you only need the area you are after.

Open source mapping? Got an Etrex 30, with OSM running on it but not sure if it meets your needs. I assume educational is fine under an open source licence?

Do you really need OS maps?
I’d go with OSM on the most basic etrex which will take them.

Can you put MM mapping on Garmins? Not sure you can.

Edit: What Tom said

OS is what ‘paper’ maps they are seeing and using. It seems to make sense to keep that going, and then lead into DofE etc later.
I am not sure smartphone stuff would work – I can see prank calls and such happening…
We also need this to be as geek-less as possible. This is because staff are not experts, and frankly my phone now v navigates me simply and easily, so should a gps…

I’d also question 25k mapping over 50k tbh.
The OS do the MM 2800 with 50k mapping for £180 which seems reasonable.
BUT IME the MM hardware and software ( based on windows CE) always feels a bit unfinished.

I am not sure smartphone stuff would work – I can see prank calls and such happening…

No SIM and lock down the phone into ‘kiosk’ mode with a suitable app, that only allows access to the permitted app(s). Shouldn’t be too geeky to use once set up and locked down. Although I can see smart phones more likely to ‘go missing’ than a dedicated GPS device.

I’d also question 25k mapping over 50k tbh.

They are not in the wilds, and only using relatively small areas (e.g. Holyrood park).

1:50k is good enough for the guys at Glenmore Lodge and I’ve never seem any reason to doubt them. Dakotas are “end-of-life” now so beware of a big commitment.

Satmap have a new model coming out soon, and recently they were doing good prices on A10s. They also have a facebook page you could try contacting them through – they do seem to be missing a phone number on their site.

But I would favor a simple GPS showing coordinates that they have to use in conjunction with a real map so they learn a bit more about map reading – this is a school after all, and having a full blown mapping GPS is not really teaching them much, apart from maybe spatial awareness. Phone apps would be good enough to give a display of coordinates.

So – any decisions?

I had the Dakota 10 model you’ve been looking at a few years ago. They’re a good little unit, and the ideal size to stick on your handlebars, but for walking/orienteering, etc the screen is too small. You can’t see a large enough area of map on the screen.
I upgraded to one of the Oregon models, which has much the same features, but the screen is a much more useful size.

scotroutes – Member
1:50k is good enough for the guys at Glenmore Lodge

Depends where you are. In Scotland I use 1:50k, but in the South of the UK 1:25K makes life a lot easier.