I’m thinking of asking Santa to bring me one of these for Christmas. I’ve been comparing the Oregon with the more cycle specific models such as the Edge 810, but I’m a bit put off by the number of negative reviews for the 810, plus I don’t really feel the need for the added training options on the 810. Basically I would like a device that records my ride, allows me to upload gpx files to follow on an on-screen map etc for multi-day rides.

So, any opinions on the Oregon 600 (or other models).

Also, anyone using these with the OSM maps rather than OS maps?

I use an Oregon 600 with both OSM and OS maps (selectable).

It will actually support both HRM and Cadence devices if you want that too.

Great for multi-day stuff as it uses AA batteries.

There’s an option to buy it with a Garmin rechargeable battery pack. This is just two (low capacity) NIMHs in a wee case that also depresses an internal button so it can be charge in situ. Use your own higher-capacity NIMHs and a wee bit of card over the button to achieve the same thing.

The screen can sometimes react to water (or sweat) falling on it. I always run in power save mode and just remember to wipe it with a glove (or something) before using it.

The bar mount is OK but I’d advise using a lanyard too, just in case you haven’t pushed it home properly and it falls off when riding.

Thanks for information – do the OSM maps give enough information for navigation without also using the OS maps. Is there a reliable download site for the OSM stuff?

I’ve got one for my off road rides. It uses less power than a phone so is quicker to keep charged off the dynamo at slower speeds. It has two modes for screen sensitivity. I’ve turned it to the least sensitive mode and don’t get any problems with rain or sweat changing the screen without a finger press. One problem I’ve found with another device I used was that the screen wouldn’t dim enough when riding at night. This however dims pretty well and doesn’t cause too much glare. Night mode helps too.

It’s pretty good and if you’re not charging on the go then these batteries..

as well as being very light last for ages, even with the screen on all the time.

It very much depends on the quality of the OSM map you’re using. Some areas have better detail than the OS, some less. The OSM maps do, however, seem to load/scroll a lot faster than the OS ones.

Garmin Dakota with OS mapping from IOffer

I have a Dakota 20, which is similar to the Oregon, but lower spec’d.
I find it works very well for on and off road riding. The screen is big enough to make navigation practical, and being resistive, it works with gloves. You’ll easily get a long days riding out of a set of NiMH rechargeables (or 24 hours out of lithiums) and it’s easy to swap in a spare set of batteries for multi-day riding. I use open source mapping; there are lots of options out there, and they sometimes show trails which don’t feature on OS.

I like to use prompted navigation for road riding (beeps at turns) and you need to use routes to do this with open source mapping on the Dakota. One limitation of the Dakota is that routes can only have 250 points, which is not enough to accurately map any reasonably long path. The workaround I use is to display a detailed path as a track (which can have 10,000 points) and overlay a route at the same time, which enables beeps at the turns. I think the newer Garmin models may not have this limitation on route points.

The Dakota has now been discontinued, and replaced by the Etrex Touch 35. Its mostly a question of how big a device and screen you want. I think the Oregon is a bit too big to go on the handlebars. But a bigger screen is better for viewing maps etc.
Or look at the Etrex 30x, if you want something with buttons instead of touchscreen, plus better battery life.