as title, spotted some cheap with no OS mapping but as i understand it i can download free from some websites is this true and is this unit suitable for bike navigation and a bit of hill walking?

seems my local store is out of stock as usual. Is the Etrex 20 or 30 a worthy unit also.

The Dakota 20 is good for bike navigation, it was great on the bearbones 200last October. At least one rider used one in The Tour Divide last year. (I paid £270 for mine including OS mapping.

I have heard good things about the new Etrex range but not used or seen one. I would go for the 20 probably. Scott Morris from Topofusion knows his onions on GPS units and thought it was good – can’t find his review but put Scott Morris / Etrex in google and there is a few mentions – just could not find the review.

Blackhound, if I try to download a route to my Dakota, I can’t find it when I turn it on, how do I access it?

The Dakota is a nice bit of kit. For the money, it’s astounding.
The only weakness is the bike mount – it’s held on with zip-ties and not that adjustable. I’ve also heard of people breaking theirs, but both of mine are still fine.

Blackhound, if I try to download a route to my Dakota, I can’t find it when I turn it on, how do I access it?

You should see them under the “Where To?” button.

Thanks, I’ll try that.

What 16sp says but also in ‘track manager’

Yes – and I like the Dakota as it uses AA batteries, so no recharging issues on longer trips.

The only weakness is the bike mount

+1. My 20 fell out of it’s mount a couple of times, so i took to using a lanyard of bright yellow Dyneema looped round the stem to stop it falling too far. (Bright yellow Dyneema, as one time when it fell off it took me about 5 mins rummaging around in the undergrowth to find it).

The only other annoyance is the constant bleeping when it’s sat in a pocket/pack with the screen locked & something touches the screen. It’d be nice to disable the sound alert just for that, as having the low battery warning bleep is good.

I’ve been using a Dakota 20 for over 5000 mainly off-road miles now & it’s brilliant. Mine’s been through the mill a fair bit & never let me down, other than the original bike mount that for some reason didn’t hold the unit well enough, causing the gps to bounce down a flinty descent on more than one occasion. A 2nd mount has been working fine now for ages. The unit is tough as old boots, batteries last well (less with HR monitor but still good enough for around 7 hrs or so), though some OS mapping I downloaded did sap the battery a fair bit. AAs are great for multi-day & looong rides though, which is the main reason I went for that one.

I’ve been using the free Open Streetmaps instead of OS mapping, which has been fine in England & Wales at least.

I’ve also now got a Garmin 800 for use on the road bike as the Dakota can’t talk to a Powertap, but other than that it’s great.

Love mine (although i think it’s the more basic Dakota 10)

Use it for road and mtb