Chalkstorm, there’s some confusion in these posts about what you can do with the Edges. The waypoints in an Edge aren’t intended for route planning, that’s why there are only 100. They are handy for marking stuff whilst out on the trail but that’s it.
The Edge 305 has courses as it’s primary navigation method. A course is just like a track but with timings added for the virtual partner (which paces you around the loop). A course can take many thousands of points so at about 10 points per mile average you can plan very long fully detailed routes. To use courses you need software that can transfer courses to the device, TrackLogs v3.x does this and autogenerates the virtual partner timings for you based on Naismith and the elevation of your track. The only problem with the Edge305 is it was the last of the Garmins to use serial communication and the first to support courses so it’s out on a limb and may not be that future proof but it is small and does the job. Go for a swim and get it!
The Edge 705 works on the same principle as the 305 in that you navigate with courses only this time they are saved direct to the unit in the Garmin TCX (or .crs) format. To use this you need software which can save these files (e.g. TrackLogs v3.13.x). The Edge705 does also support routes but it’s currently flawed as the firmware does some point filtering which renders the uploaded routes unreliable. There’s also nothing in route navigation which can’t be done with a course. The Edge 705 is my preferred GPS at the moment on and off road, it’s a little larger than the 305.
