It has become starkly apparent that my lack of GPS will need to be rectified if my forthcoming bikepacking plans are to turn into reality.

So, I’m a scot (therefore a tightarse) but if I buy something it needs to be fit for purpose. I’m also totally clueless. I don’t usually even take my phone with me….

What do people recommend (and as importantly, where I can pick one up at a decent price). Links would be even better if you can be arsed.

I’ve spent a shitload of money recent (new bike, Ortlieb bikepacking gear, etc.) and I really don’t want to have to spend more than I have to (<£200 preferably) as I’ve a sleeping bag on order and I still need to sort out a lightweight tent at some point…

Do you want touch screen? (Not best with gloves imo)
Will you be carrying maps for overview and using GPS for just turn by turn directions? (Osm is good for this imo and compliments a proper map)

Easy answer is etrex 20, which are around £150 from Cotswold. European mapping, with off road treacks, road names, routing etc so you don’t have to buy extra mapping to start using it. Runs on 2 AA batteries and I’ve found the battery life excellent ((3 very long days on one set and still going strong for example). My previous gps was a touch screen and I’m glad to have the toggle on the etrex as it is quicker and more accurate.

David

Oh, and WildCountry and Snugpack both do simple, small tents for around £100. They are not very tall inside but appear to be sensibly small and light.

I’ll be using for multi day trips (hopefully including ‘touring’ the Cairngorm Loop and HT550 routes at some point next year) so impractical to carry all maps.

My first thought would be towards the likes of the Garmin Etrex/Oregon style, but as I said, I’m pretty clueless.

I used an etrex 30x for the ht550 this year. Dave Barters Itt map are free as are OSM maps from that Dutch site.

Although the toggle is a bit fiddly it works with gloves and in the rain!

Thanks MrTricky, I was planning on nipping in past Cotwolds later on today anyway, I’ll take a look.

Terra Nova Coshee 1 micro is the smaller and cheaper tent (forgot that Wild Country sell the tents as Terra Nova)

I’ve always taken my phone/tablet with offline maps (I use maps.me) and a backup battery. You can load in GPX routes if you want to plan a route beforehand, or the open source maps have a lot of footpaths and trails marked. Only used it to navigate and not record, but I guess you could open up Strava if you’re sure battery life is OK – I get 2-3 days battery from my Nexus 6P with dimmed screen and airplane mode on.

No offence but I’m not asking about tents!

@ian: What’s the benefit of the 30 over the 20?

Just looked at an Oregon, looks a bit over budget…

I use a garmin 810. Easy to use. Battery lasts a day. I use a pebble battery to recharge it (5 times)

Aldi are currently selling it for £180. But as the 820 is out now (twice as much) the 810 is available at lots of places around that price.

My friend uses his iPhone and OS maps with the phone on aeroplane mode. To be honest it works just as well. Has a topeak waterproof phone holder that’s bomb proof.

Also, I would want the ability to record.

Don’t want to use anything phone based either really…

… What’s the benefit of the 30 over the 20?

The 30x has a magnetic compass and barometric altimeter. I didn’t think I needed these, so went for the 20x, as the battery life is marginally better.

-BUT-

Garmin removed the ability of the 20x to display total climb, so you will need the 30x if you want to see that. I now think that the magnetic compass might be useful – e.g. to avoid having to ride a short distance so that the 20x can figure out which way up it is.

Both will record and give you the elevation data afterwards.

They will do routing and directions (car sat-nav style), which I’ve used a couple of times, but the results can be unpredictable. I usually just transfer a gpx file to the Etrex and use the line on the screen as a route reminder.

ETA: Cheap (<£5) bar mounts for the Etrex are available on ebay. They work for me, but others have different experiences. It’s worth fitting a lanyard and looping it around the bars in any case to avoid the unit disappearing if it does come loose.

Thanks TD.

google maps download offline area and spare battery for my phone.

In my experience there is no substitute for a half decent smartphone and good mapping software, such as MemoryMap.

I find most GPS devices too small and fiddly to use for route guidance.

I’ve got an Oregon. Takes AA batteries, you you can take spares and pop then in when you need to. Not had any issues with the touch screen, but there are 3 buttons on the side that you can allocate tasks to if you want to. Hugely customiseable in terms of information displayed, map zoom levels etc,and you can set up different profiles for walking, skiing, biking, so you can set it up in different ways and just swap over per activity.

I like it.

It’ll survive being dropped better than a phone, too. Mine’s been down the road at 30mph and it’s fine. (make sure it’s fully clicked home in the mount and/or use a lanyard!)

I have GPSMAP 64s, after deciding between eTrex and this one.

I like it, everything I need and the screen is good enough in most conditions. I didn’t want bike-only or touchscreen device so that I could use it in winter with gloves while mountaineering.

I know these threads are all about “I’ve got X and it’s the best”, sadly I cannot compare any other models as this is the only one I got.

I was in a similar predicament earlier this year. After signing up for the South Lakes 100 mile Jenn ride looking at the route on the map I thought thats going to be a ball ache to follow on a map / maps.

So I stumbled into the world of bike GPS units.

Ended up buying a Garmin edge 800 from aguy in Hongkong on ebay. Hes still selling them for about £130 it was pretty much as new condition. A mate bought on also like new.

I put a post on here and was pointed in the direction of the DC rainmaker web site.

Lots of pretty straight forward advice on how to set the unit up and down load maps/ routes etc.
I used free mapping software from OSM (open source mapping) its really good and lots of detail in UK at least.

The battery life is worth thinking about the edge 800 is 14 hours ish, Works well in the dark too good back lighting and touchscreen works with gloves on.

It wont charge while its being used so when its flat you have to knock it off and plug in a portable power charger. (another thing to buy)
Some of the smaller units use AA batteries so folk carry rechargeable batteries and swap them.

tech info

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/

maps

http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

edge 800 on ebay you may find them cheaper elsewhere now

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172077270177?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Just been in past Cotswolds, they only had the etrex 10 in store do didn’t even get a play about on it.

Guess I’ll be internet research mode tonight….

In my experience there is no substitute for a half decent smartphone and good mapping software, such as MemoryMap.

my experience is the polar opposite for following a pre plotted route.

For actual navigation without a route a full blown map still reigns king.

phone for emergencies.

I have a lumia 640 mobile so can we stop the smartphone shit now, its just not going to happen (and I’ve already said I dont want to go down this route). I have a couple year plan forming and it will necessitate a proper dedicated GPS unit.

Trail rat gets it. This is what I’ll be doing. The likes of the Cairngorm Loop & HT550 routes downloaded to follow…

Thanks.

Etrex 20 here. Does everything you need for bikepacking. No more, no less. Mine was a refurb for just over £100 and has been faultless. OS 1:50 mapping cheap from ioffer

Garmin 800 which has been fine aside from a couple of glitches. Nothing major and related to plugging a dynamo in when static, doesn’t like the low charge start-up. Otherwise, Garmin + dynamo hub is a great set up.

Good info about the 20 vs 30 above. I got a 30 as it was cheaper at the time!

Before that used a iPhone life proof case and bike mount. Using memory map. I much prefer the garmin find it easier to follow routes on, better data about hr, distance ascent and average speed. Also two tiny aa batteries will last for 28 hours. Which is quite a long ride by anyone’s standards.

I could nurse the battery life on the phone by exit from the app but there was always a small lag restating it. Plus either need to disable or enter pin code. The man issue though is that touch screens don’t work in the rain or with most gloves.

… What’s the benefit of the 30 over the 20?

Also the Etrex 30 can connect to ANT+ sensors, ie heart rate, cadence, temperature. So worth it if you want to view and record those. Though extra cost to buy a suitable heart rate monitor etc.

sorry mh, hadn’t seen this

Just looked at an Oregon, looks a bit over budget..

219 from decathlon… It is a bit over.

Phones are for phoning and best keeping in reserve for emergencies (or when you are in the middle of nowhere and just want to chat to your other half – which may be the same thing) and would you really want your phone stuck out on your handlebars during a ride?

I’ve two GPS units: a Garmin 510 for road use or for local off-road rides where I really don’t need my hand holding. No maps but connects to all the willy-waving data collection devices you could want. I’ve used it for two day ITTs and recharged it overnight using a small powerbank battery.

An Oregon 600 with the above mentioned ITT map as well as various OSM maps (was a birthday present). Better for multi-day activities as it runs on AA batteries so I can just carry spares (I’ve a few sets of rechargeables) but I’ll get 14+hrs if I don’t have the screen going all the time. Worth noting that if you power down to change batteries it carries on recording to the same file. Very configurable and I’ve only just scratched the surface of what it can do.

Another Oregon 600 user – very robust, reliable unit. I’ll be taking mine to the arctic for a 5-day event. Works with Ant sensors so records HR too. Have an 800 for road use – screen is too small for navigation, only OK for plotted routes.

I told him to get an Oregon but he just wouldn’t listen. …

Says he’s poor but buys millionaire shortbread.

Etrex 20 here – very happy with it.

Says he’s poor but buys millionaire shortbread.

All fur coat and nae knickers. Besides you’ve seen my skoda jalopy wagon…

If I can find an Oregon for my budget I’d probably go for it. It’s all right for you tea drinking retired old fellers….

Etrex 20x here. Also get the genuine Garmin bar mount … much more secure than the copies.

Had an Etrex 20 for a couple of years. The having to move a bit to get it to know where it is can be a slight pain if you are at an odd intersection on some trails that are not exactly as the map shows and it does lack direction stuff. I had wondered about the total climb thing and hadn’t realised it had been removed, just thought it was never a feature and it should have been.

I have the genuine £7 garmin bike mounts. They are fine and as long as you make sure it definitwly clicks in

Bought an 810 from Aldi the other day, trying to convince myself it’s worth the extra but I doubt it and was intending to sell the etrex but it is very useful as a general use gps as yesterday I went for a 3hr walk across the hills with the dog and had it clipped to my camelbak via the garmin carabiner clip. Forgot to the check the battery before I left as not used it for months and a quick check up the road showed it was on the last bar. 2 hrs into the walk it beeped to tell me the battery was low and i was fully expecting it to not last the rest of the trip but sure enough it was still going when I got to the pub 😀

Garmin Oregon 450 has served us well on many bikepacking trips though you need a good supply of batteries if you’re heading away for days on end.

This is what is bothering me, eTrex has less functionality but better battery usage. Oh, and better rain operability… But I like the idea of the touch screen.

But I think I’m leaning towards the eTrex 30 (or even a 20)…

No immediate rush though, think I’ll keep an eye out for any deals on either type…

Thanks all for your input, it’s appreciated.

What functionality do you think the etrex is missing ?

I’ve got an etrex 30 if you want to play. So long as it shows a map the blue dot and a line to follow that’s all the functionality I need. I also run mine off an easy acc battery pack almost all the time instead of batteries

I need to do a stress test on the cargo bike later in the week so could pop by.

TR: yes please. I’ll text you my post code but I think you know where I’m at (think there is now a plastic caution cyclist sign at my junction).

Silver Skoda parked outside… 🙂

Do you do any other outdoor activities?

I use my Oregon 550t for walking and on the motorbike as well as bikepacking/cycling. It’ll obviously work in the car too (although I use the built in one as it’s easier)

Makes a more expensive one easier to justify

So to save me trawling the Garmin site, what’s the main difference between an 820 and an Oregon 600/500?