Looking to get a GPS device to plan routes and record points out and about. As I am looking to get out more into the ‘wilderness’ in the future. Which is best value for money, currently I am looking at the Memory Map 2800 but i run Mac and am a little unsure as to how effective this might be. Will a Garmin be a better option? I understand that i would need to buy all the maps that i would like with the Garmin unlike with the MM which is already included.

I’ve used the Memory Map 2800, Memory Map 3500 and Garmin Edge 800. My preference is for the Edge 800 but it really depends what you want.

The screen on the 2800 is quite small and the interface fiddly to use, the 3500 has by far the best screen and is good for planning routes on the fly but it’s pretty big and the downside of a big bright screen if poorer battery life.

The Edge 800 screen isn’t the greatest, especially if you’re used to the likes of the iphone but it’s useable and fine for following routes you’ve pre programmed into it. It’ll also give you 10+ hours of usage on a single charge which is great for longer rides. It also does all the usual cycle computer stuff (speeds, averages, maxiumums, heart rate, cadence, etc) if that’s important to you to have everything in a single device.

You can buy the Garmin in a bunndle with the OS maps rather than buying them seperately which works out much cheaper in the long run.

I had an adventurer 3500.
In fact, I’ve had 5 of them. Every single one developed a fault, so I managed to get a full refund and bought a second hand android phone, installed mmtracker and bought a waterproof bar-mount case.

When it worked it was ace, but the problems I had included:

Not being waterprooof.
Not being able to connect to a PC
And most frequently, the unit freezing on me. The only way out is to turn it off, but you can’t do that without taking the battery out if its stopped (power off is a software operation). And to take the battery out you have to undo 4 fiddly little screws to remove the bike-mount plate. Which isn’t fun on top of the NY moors when you’re already freezing your tits off. 🙁

If you go down the Garmin route, I believe you can create your own maps using screen images of OS maps (from streetmap.co.uk etc) and triangulating points on them, so maps are essentially free.

I;ve had both. The memory map unit was awfull compared to the Garmin 800.
The only upside was better quality maps/bigger display. But I’d go Garmin anytime.

You don’t necessarily need to buy maps for the edge 800. There are free open source maps which are routable and high quality.
I’ve posted some articles showing screenshot comparisons between Osm maps and the commercial products like OS Discoverer and the city navigator maps.
Find them here:
http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/category/cycling/mapping-cycling/

Satmap

Memory Map and Mac’s don’t mix terribly well. I have MM on my mac but only by running on Window through a virtual PC- MM do not have a MacOS version and have no plans to produce one- so I was told by one of their customer reps.

This leads to problems as the MM2800 I have isn’t recognised as an external drive by the Virtual PC software I have, so to get routes and maps on it you have to down load to the mac hard drive then transfer via Micro SD card etc. etc.- a right pain.

The MM 2800 has frozen on me as well. So glad I bought it second hand at a fraction of the new cost. When working it is OK as a device for walks but would be a nightmare on a bike as the info on screen is too small to read

edit:

Just checked again on their site and this is what they say about Macs

Memory-Map is currently only compatible with PCs running the Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 operating systems, and will not work on the OSX operating system used on Apple Macs.

If you have an Apple Mac with an Intel processor then you can simulate a Windows environment using software such as Parallels, but we cannot offer support or guidance on how to achieve this.

Another option is to use Bootcamp, a piece of software made by Apple and included with new Macs, which allows you to install Windows onto a Mac and then boot into either operating system at your convenience. We have not tested this ourselves so cannot offer support or guidance on how to configure this, but we have received feedback from users that it will work.

I’ve had a satmap 10, Bryton50 , MM3500 and garmin 800…the screen on the 3500 is great but the functionality is not.
I’d recommend the 800 mate

Paul

Highland28

I am in the same boat as you looking to get a GPS just upload routes to and follow them routes and also track routes not bothered about heart rate or cadence at the moment

I also need it to work with a Mac

I am looking at the Memory-Map 2800 for value really but then again lots of reviews point to the 800 but thats a huge price jump

be interesting to know what you went for and if it is working out for you?

or the iphone/smartphone route with a battery backup?

thanks G

Sat Map for me .. use it for walking too..Brilliant

I got a memory map 2800,had it for 8 months and it packed up but they replaced it with a new one no problem.Cheap basic and easy to use if you just want a map on ur bike it,s gr8 😉

I like Garmin stuff, if it’s just mapping you want, rather than HRM and cadence etc then go for a Etrex 30. Bigger screen, can use ordinary batteries. A lot cheaper than a 800.

if it’s just mapping you want, rather than HRM and cadence etc then go for a Etrex 30

It’s worth noting the Etrex 30 has ANT+ so can record heart rate and cadence. It won’t show you the output on the go like the cycle specific Edge units though.

If you’re not too fussed about that, the Etrex 20 will suffice and they’re great little units for navigating on. Very accurate too.

Been using a 2800 for about 2 years and it’s fine once you get used to the quirks of it. Bike mount is a bit crap though. Having said that, when it dies I’ll be buying an Edge 800.

Hi, I am still undecided/waiting to gather the last of the cash for what I want in the end. I am tempted to go for an 800 now but they do seem a good bit more expensive than the other. am not to fussed about output, HRM or cadence if i am honest. Mapping is really what I want, I am from the Highlands so there are plenty of paths that I want to go and explore and it would be quite nice not to have to carry maps with me all the time. I do however want to be able to see the basic stuff such as speed, distance etc. I will look into the etrex range.
Cheers