cheers. About as high tech as me…

[/quote]Intersting stuff. I hope this can be asked with out being seen as provactive. Worth saying I have used my phone to help out navigating

Do you carry a map as well?

How do you tackle battery life?

Do you use a water proof case

Yes i carry a map and compass, but my phone is my primary navigation. I also carry an old iphone with viewranger too for backup.
Even with a dedicated gps i think a map and compass are essential, and skills to use them obviously.

I put phone onto airplane mode so that it’s not constantly using data, saving battery. Also i just switch the gps on every now and then to see where i am rather than have it running all the time and recording my route.
It lasted 13 1/2 hours for me whilst walking from Ft William to Spean Bridge over 8 munro’s recently. That was a 42k walk. It ran out 5 mins before i got back to my van.

Sandwich bag for waterproofing! 🙂

edit; beaten to it.
edit again: my phone is a sony experia arc s.

Viewranger. Brilliant app. Ignore comments from the chap who has never used it and thinks it requires a phone signal. As pointed out, you can download maps to phone.
Its got me and 7 mates out of deep trouble when lost on scree slopes of Scarfell, at dusk on 3 peaks in god awful conditions (once I’d given up on the navigators attempts to get us back on track I used my phone).

Oh and I take a spare battery+waterproof case. Although phone will last 6hrs anyway.

+1 smartphone
+1 mm tracker

I currently use a Samsung Galaxy Note with mm tracker. Got a pair of double size batteries and external charger for 15 quid from China (runs 12 hours per battery in GPS mode). Bought a Pelicase that will carry the Note so I can view through the case. In the back of the case there’s room for spare hi-cap battery. Its a bit bulky but the large screen gives a good map view. For mild offroad and road trips, I strap the whole assembly to a modified pair of aero bars so I can check the route as I ride.
The Galaxy Note can use a stylus so gloves not a problem, just have to open the clamshell case to operate, might put an inner waterproof screen cover for extra protection in winter.

Brant, any bike GPS is going to be useful when walking. Having mapping is very useful but with a little planning you can (and should on a bigger expedition) and some GPS waypoints on to the device. I have an older Garmin GPSMap (I didn’t buy any maps) which I use for sailing and take biking/walking occasionally. It’s very easy to set a waypoint at the start of the walk (known place obviously) then if you get lost the GPS can display a distance and bearing to your start point. Combine this with your paper map (always carry) and bingo you know where you are.

The Satmap shows an ordanance survey map on its screen and allows you to zoom in and out of it, showing your current position to about 9-16ft accuracy.

It has a joystick and four buttons.

You can plan routes on it using the joystick, which is handy for plotting routes from the local cycle guide/map you have just found in the local cycle shop when visiting a region.

Alternatively you can load GPX (or KML which are google earth files) onto it, building up a list of routes.

You then pick which route you wish to follow, and it shows it as a 2D display on the map, which can orientate itself to your direction of travel.

Using a 1:25000 OS map and zooming to 1:3K resolution and orienting it to the direction of travel is perfect for cycling and following a route.

ViewRanger is a phone app that also uses OS maps.

Satmap were ahead of garmin in using OS maps, but the newer Garmins also use OS maps.

Older Garmins use topo maps I think, which aren’t as nice. Don’t know about the free maps people use on them, but more of a techy exercise to put them on there I think.

Some of the garmins are smaller than the satmap, and have touchscreens.

Smaller screens than the satmap aren’t so great for exploring where you are, zooming in and out of the map to work out where you are and where you are going. This is one area where the satmap scores over the garmins.

I use a Garmin Oregon on and off the bike. If I had the spare cash I’d have a satmap for off the bike and a Edge800 for on the bike but the Oregon is a decent compromise between the two. I like the satmap a lot but for me it felt just a little too large for the bike, although ideal for walking.

One of the major selling points for me was that it had to run off of AA batteries which inevitably makes it a little bit chunkier than rechargeable models. It is reassuringly solid feeling in the hand, feels like it’s built for the outdoors and that you don’t really need to put any effort into looking after it.

On the negative side, the screen is not great in strong sunlight (and worse if you wear sunnies with polarized lenses) but then I’ve not really seen a backlit screen that is any good in the same conditions. The touch screen is adequate and can be operated wearing gloves but feels a little clunky if your used to modern smartphone/tablet screens. Other than that It’s great.

Just to follow up on @nmuppetWrangler above, I am also a huge fan of GPS which runs on AA batteries for any serious application as it’s so easy to take spare batteries.

ViewRanger mapping app on a smartphone – you can download the app for free then buy mapping on a ‘need to use’ basis over a wireless connection. Gives you Ordnance Survey mapping on the screen, tracks, routes etc. You don’t need a phone signal as the mapping is stored on the phone and the location is via the built-in GPS.

Spare battery(ies) a good idea. If you have an iPhone, some sort of back-up power source. And a waterproof case. For iPhone check out the Lifeproof case which also has a decent bike mount option, though it’s not cheap.

For my money the Satmap’s the best OS mapping GPS unit, but it’s relatively bulky compared to a phone and you need to buy mapping on card whereas with ViewRanger you get the instant gratification of downloading it – always handy when you ride off the edge of your existing mapping. Which reminds me…

Garmin Dakota on a bar mount here, though I do use a HTC phone and Maverick Maps occassionally (but not on bars).

Dakota:

Long battery life and replacable AA batteries
Bomb proof, have only mananged to scratch the case and screen a little despite numberous crashes and Garmin-slips-out-of-mount incidents
Poor screen, very small and not very touch responsive
Maps expensive, but there are ways of making your own OS 25k versions, including the foreign equivalents
Digital compass

HTC + Maverick

Free maps and off line cache, which download automatically
Nice big, clear screen, easy to navigate
Not as good as an all round bike pooter as the Garmin
Dodgy battery life
Wouldnt want to stack with it on my bars
Doesnt need network coverage for GPS to work

thorpy – Member
I just got a Garmin eTrex 30, pretty pleased with it. Works with heart rate and cadence sensors and you can load mapping for walking etc.
Came to around £150 on Go Outdoors price match.
HTH

Been looking at getting one of these recently. Where did you find it that cheap to price match?

pleaderwilliams – They will beat any price by 10% (including online). Cheapest i found was around £162 at handtec.co.uk. First I tried to do a price match via the Go Outdoors website, but they refused because it wasn’t the exact same spec (theirs includes a mapping voucher). I printed the details from handtec and took it into my local GO store and the girl behind the counter was happy to take my money. Think it cost me £149 in the end, they add on the postage if its an online shop. Bargain!

Does the Garmin eTrex 30 allow you to load GPX routes on, so you can follow directions?

Another Satmap user here – as all have said above about it, highly reccomended. The things is bulletproof and has survived a lot of crashes on my bike as well as being dropped whilst walking/climbing. Battery life is excellent even in the cold and once locked on the signal is exceptionally stable. I mainly use it with 50k maps on the unit combined with a 25k paper map if more accurate navigation is required – I find the 50k map with pinpoint accurate location great if you are following a pre-planned route and if you need to negotiate some terrain more accurately then the position can easily be plotted on a ‘real’ map.

Had a situation a few years ago walking in Snowdonia where due to the terrain (i.e. about 2-3ft snow everywhere) and some of the members of the group being a bit slower than we thought, we ended up doing the last couple of miles in total darkness. Accurate location and a map on the Satmap was (possibly literally) a lifesaver.

Worth every penny in my opinion.

Yep, can load GPX routes and tracks and follow them. Will also find a route to a destination (like in-car sat nav) if you have the right (route-able) map.

Does the Garmin eTrex 30 allow you to load GPX routes on, so you can follow directions?

Yes.

Marko

Apologies to all you guys using smartphones I have just tried ViewRanger on my iphone and and yes it does seem to work for GPS positioning even with no phone coverage.

Apologies for talking nonsense.