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A portion of the family have decided that what I really need for Christmas is a GPS, which I suppose I agree with, now that I think about it. Trouble is, I have no idea which ones I should be looking at.
The main reason I would like a GPS is for use with my mountain bike, displaying OS style maps, following trails I've set, and helping me not get lost. Likewise, I suppose I'd probably also use it on the road bike, on the rare occasions.....and now that I think about it, it would probably get used for a bit of hiking too, so not completely replacing a map, but certainly being used along side (so map can stay in bag)
So what sort of thing should I be looking at? The Garmin bike range seem like a good place to start, but would it also be worth looking at their hiking range? I'd quite like to plan routes on some sort of software before heading out, is this something that's included/can be easily aquired? Also, if using on the road, a turn by turn feature might be useful?
Essentially I don't actually know what's out there, beyond Garmin, or really know what features I'd use...so advice please? Thanks in advance!
I'm considering something for mtb / walking / geocaching. Looking at the Garmin etrex 20x - the 30x doesn't seem to add much for the extra cost. Not sure if it meets your road turn by turn criteria.
Garmin Edge Touring? I dont have one but been considering one.
http://www.asadventure.co.uk/garmin-gps-edge-touring-2522D32003?id_colour=5806&channel_code=544&s2m_product_id=177443_5806&utm_source=catalogue_shop&utm_medium=google_uk&gclid=Cj0KEQiAwNmzBRCaw9uR3dGt950BEiQAnbK966yAqbRwtkXeruDi100VJNAI1pd06MeIOpwDhyd04l4aAlwn8P8HAQ
Have a look at the Garmin eTrex 20 and 30, or the Garmin Dakota 20.
I prefer to use maps. A Garmin type tool that can give me a grid ref at the press of a button when/if on the odd occasion I am "lost" would be good without the usual map/compass faff 😆
etrex 20 or 30. End of story!
For what you want, ignore the bike range. Etrex if you like buttons, Dakota if you like touch screen and Oregon if you want a bigger display.
Brill, that's genuinely exactly the sort of info I was after Scotroutes, makes perfect sense. I'm just trying to wade through the guff now.
What's the deal with the maps, is it worth getting a bundle with their topo maps included?
The Topo maps are ok-ish for the road, pants for mtb/walking. You can get Ordnance Survey mapping at significant cost or use OSM mapping for free. The latter might look a little unfamiliar and is only as good as the contributors. It may well be good enough for you. In fact many prefer it.
Either way, you can install Garmin Basecamp on a PC for route planning, using whatever mapping you have on your GPS and upload it to your GPS when you need it. You can also download tracks from the GPS to Basecamp for archive or modification.
The Dakota has now been replaced by the Etrex Touch 25 / 35.
Most of them come preloaded with the Topoactive maps, which is based on OSM. I think that should be good enough for most things (along with a paper map if necessary).
The Etrex Touch 35 looks good, I've been thinking of getting the 520 for the bike but the mapping is a bit limited. It looks like the 35 is compatible with the speed and cadence sensor as well which is good, I've just bought those only to find they won't work with my Forerunner 610 watch which is irritating. My fault for buying them in a hurry when they were cheap.
So I'm guessing as long as I only want basic bike functions such as speed distance and cadence and route following without any need for the more sophisticated training options then this would be a better buy than the 520. If I'm wrong please let me know!
I have an Edge 800 which has lots of functionality for the bike, but the display is quite small to navigate by. I've just bought an Oregon 600 - screen is 50% bigger but still able to record HR, cadence speed if needed. Also has swappable batteries if I'm riding for more than 10 hrs.
We have been using a Garmin 62s this works well for walking, sea kayaking and cycling. The main drawback is the bike mount but it's workable if you attach a safety line.
garmin 520 with talkytoaster maps? works well for me.
Etrex (mine's an older one) with OpenCycleMaps works for me. Constantly updated as well.
Don't get a cycling specific GPS, they're generally too cycling specific
The handheld styles ones (etrex,dakota,oregon) can be used for other things as well as handheld, and you can get bikemounts easily. I have an oregon and use it on my bike. You can use it in the car if you want to, I've thought about sticking it on my motorbike but CBA
They usually take AA batteries which makes life a bit easier if you're exploring for a while (like overnight)
I've just seen an Amazon review on the Etrex 35 touch which would seem perfect for me but it suggests there is a limit of 50 waypoints per route which could be an issue for longer bike rides. I have contacted Garmin but in the meantime can anyone clarify that?
I'm liking the look of the Oregon 600 at the moment, it seems to be pretty much exactly what I want, plus the AA size batteries are a nice bonus ove the Edge ones. I'm not too fussed about the additional size, as it looks a little more robust than the cycle specific ones. It's also only about the same price as one of the eTrex 30s.
I bought an Oregon 600 from Handtec recently for £199. No maps included, but mainly use OSM in various guises. OS can be downloaded via Birds Eye if needed.(3000 sq kilometres for £20)
For Trekster if using only to find co ordinates Viewranger on Phone takes a bit of beating.
I've just seen an Amazon review on the Etrex 35 touch which would seem perfect for me but it suggests there is a limit of 50 waypoints per route which could be an issue for longer bike rides. I have contacted Garmin but in the meantime can anyone clarify that?
That's the same for most Garmins - they are limited to 50 points per route, if using autorouting. This is actually quite a lot - with autorouting, you don't need many points, ie one per junction is usually enough. So it can be enough for pretty long rides, ie a few hundred km for road cycling.
If you switch off autorouting, then you can have 250 points per route. For really long rides, you can split it into several sections, and load them as required.
Or you can load a track to follow instead, which lets you have several thousand points per track.
As above. 50 waypoints is fine for road stuff. Off road, load it as a track.
Thanks CraigW and scotroutes, it sounds like the 35 touch may be a better bet than the 520.
Just had a mooch over to Go Outdoors to have a play with the Oregon. I can see what people mean, in their reviews, when they say that they feel a little clunky compared to modern smart phones. It felt ok, but similar to my 6 year old cheapo Samsung in terms of speed. Is this universal across the range? Are any other brands faster? It was OK, but I kind of felt like I would be buying a betamax.....if you catch my drift?
Slow? As in moving through the menus is slow?
I've found this with more recent updates on my 510.
It had got the 1:50,000 OS maps loaded and I found that there was a lot of lag as it loaded the maps whend dragging about. The menus didn't seem to be much of an issue tbh. Having said that, I can't imagine there will be many instances of browsing a map on the thing, as it'll be following the location itself. Still, it does feel like it's a few years behind.
Satmap Active 12 - UK - based in Leatherhead.
Proper OS mapping and the way you can get it to orientate the maps to the direction you are riding means that, if you zoom down to about 1:3k, you can follow a route around singletrack quite feasibly.
The bike mount they sell puts it a bit high on your bars but I have an out-front mount so I can put it further in front and lower.
a user comment from their site :
Having used a top of the range Garmin touchscreen i have no hesitation in saying that the Satmap Active12 is superior in screen clarity and general useability. Im a devotee of long distance walking and for me the Satmap 12 is an essential piece of kit
Garmin's are definitely clunky compared to modern smartphones. I have an Etrex 20
Well that sounds interesting, I've never heard of them before. Anyone else used them?
[quote=TurnerGuy ]Proper OS mapping and the way you can get it to orientate the maps to the direction you are riding means that, if you zoom down to about 1:3k, you can follow a route around singletrack quite feasibly.Like a Garmin then?
I got a Garmin Edge Touring recently (for the mapping - not interested in any of that Live Segments/Power rubbish that you get on the 810 or the 1000) and I have to say, initial impressions are that Garmin are simply trading on the fact that they're the first name anyone thinks of in the world of GPS cycle computers (to the extent that it's almost a generic brand name, like Hoover).
Maybe I'm still discovering it's capabilities but it's really not that intuitive and it keeps trying to be too clever, second guessing routes. Garmin Connect is bloody awful too, really not user-friendly.
I have the Oregon 450 with OS 1:50k base mapping. I chose it over the bike specific Garmins at the time (2012ish) for two key reasons: swappable AA batteries (means multi-day riding, by carrying spare batteries that aren't device specific and reassurance of picking up spare batteries from most garages), and bigger display than the bike range. It doesn't seem clunky compared to the Edge series and the larger touch screen means I can drag the map around without accidentally catching one of the buttons. It doesn't have the bike-specific training software found on the Edge series (I can see the appeal of the virtual partner), but then it is foremost a hiking device. It does have software functionality for cadence and HRM so if you take your training seriously you could pair those devices with a power metre and the Oregon and get all the data you need. I use it for hiking and running as well but is has loads of other applications too which make it quite versatile for most types of outdoor activities.
The key downside to the 450 (which may have been fixed on the 600), is the amount of waypoints that can be stored in a journey. Iirc it's around 35 miles which means having to do a bit of text edit gpx stitching after a ride before uploading to Strava (I don't use base camp). However I can prepare a gpx route of 100's of miles and it'll display as a complete route on the device when I select it to follow.
[quote=andeh ]It had got the 1:50,000 OS maps loaded and I found that there was a lot of lag as it loaded the maps whend dragging about. This seems to be worse at certain scaling levels. FWIW, the OSM maps scroll very quickly indeed.
In terms of mapping, has anyone used the Talkytoaster maps opposed to having the OS set? Are there any other options?
I use talkytoaster OS GB and they're fine. Go for the paid for £10 ones and give the guy some credit. Colours and legends are very similar to OS GB.
alternatively try
garmin.openstreetmap.nl
+1 for Satmap. Garmin's user interface is awful. Or try ViewRanger on a smartphone in a waterproof case.
Like a Garmin then?
except a British company, a decent user interface, a bigger screen, not touchscreen so my muddy fingers aren't going to make a mess of the screen, and trusted by quite a lot of mountain rescue teams :
But the "feature" you highlighted - that of having the track aligned in direction of travel - is also available on Garmin. So why highlight it?
But the "feature" you highlighted - that of having the track aligned in direction of travel - is also available on Garmin. So why highlight it?
for the same reason people highlight that the garmin takes AA batteries and so can be used all day - so does the Satmap.
Spent a fair bit of time comparing a Satmap with a Garmin GpsMao64s for walking/running duties (as I wanted proper buttons for use with winter gloves). Went with the garmin in the end, but both pretty amazing bits of kit. Garmin screen seemed a little easier to read in bright sunlight, but main attraction was familiarity as we already have garmin bike (edge) and running (forerunner) devices and know our way around garmin connect.
Anyone know of a good mount for the Etrex 20?
Ram.Stands a bit higher than the Garmin but GPS is held very securely in a cradle.
Anyone know of a good mount for the Etrex 20?
The standard Garmin mount (as used by the Etrex 10/20/30, Dakota, Oregon etc) works fine. And not too bulky on the handlebars. I think it is worth getting a genuine Garmin one, some of the cheap copies are not as good.
Plus attach a lanyard around the bars just in case.
Spent a fair bit of time comparing a Satmap with a Garmin GpsMao64s for walking/running duties (as I wanted proper buttons for use with winter gloves). Went with the garmin in the end, but both pretty amazing bits of kit. Garmin screen seemed a little easier to read in bright sunlight, but main attraction was familiarity as we already have garmin bike (edge) and running (forerunner) devices and know our way around garmin connect.
I've used both Garmins - mainly outdoors ones - and the Satmap, both the 10 and the 12 and while the Garmins tend to be good on the hardware side of things, I still find the interface really non-intuitive, though you get used to it. The screen on the Active 12 is great, really clear, and the interface is good too, just very logical and easy to use.
It's not 100% waterproof in the sense of being submersible for minutes - not ideal for kayaking say - but it is pretty much splash proof and I've never had issue with it on the bike. You can buy a fully waterproof cover if you choose. The screen protector scuffs up really easily - it's a clip-on polycarbonate thing, and water gets under it and dries out leaving scummy deposits, but you can discard it and fit a stick-on protector to the actual LED screen or on top of the polycarbonate clip-on shield.
You also need to use Satmap's own software to upload and download GPX files, but it's not a big deal to be honest. Ultimately I suppose I just find the Satmap a nicer experience all round, but plenty of people use Garmins quite happily.
Does anyone know of a decent bike mount for the Etrex 20? Its a great GPS for the bike but the only mount I've tried -
Its terrible, however tight I make it, it either spins round the bar or the Etrex ejects itself.
I use that mount for an Oregon and it's quite a bit chunkier than an Etrex.
1/ cut a bit of inner tube as a wee shim and use that between the bar and mount/zipties. That will give them a bit extra grip.
2/ if your bars taper at all then you'll find (any) mount will slip down. Wrap some insulating tape round the bar a few times at the thinner end of the taper before fixing the mount. That should stop it migrating.
3/ If your stem is long enough or you don't have any spacers above it you may find the mount attaches there pretty well. That works on my tourer.
There's nothing specific about the Garmin mount doing this. I've experienced the same issues with lights, bell and other bike computers.