garmin touring

[Dirtyhanz]

Hi I am looking for some advice I am thinking of getting a GPS I like the look of the Garmin touring
Do we think it is worth the money
Is it just like a car GPS
I am only interested on the mapping side don't need other data is there any other models worth looking at thanks

 

[numbnuts]

The jury is still out on this one, if you do a search you will find that it is between Garmin tour and Garmin etrex 20 or the 30. the only difference is the Tour works straight out of the box the etrex you need to load maps like “free” open street maps.

 

[Deleted member 23692]

Etrex 20, and with Open Street Maps for your chosen part of the planet is easily the best value GPS out there. Granted you'll need source some for it so you can pay Garmin for OS ones or download freebie Open Street Maps such as http://talkytoaster.co.uk/maps/ or http://www.openmapchest.org/ Both are excellent are are frequently updated as OSM develops.

After you've downloaded the maps it's simply a case of copying it over to a micro SD Card and away you go

 

[JohnClimber]

The Dakota is my touring gps of choice.
Found the full uk os maps on the internet for just 25 quid as well.

 

[robgul]

My 2p is positive towards the Edge Touring - got mine from Go Outdoors in a deal bundled with the 1-50,000 Ordnance Survey of the whole of the UK - excellent ... and have just returned from a trip to France, Germany, Benelux where I used routes added to the free Velomaps that I loaded on SD cards.

Rob

 

[steveindenmark]

The Garmin Touring is not like a car GPS. You can plot into the garmin to take you from A to B and it will get you there, but not necessarily by the most direct route. Plotting a route on a pc and downloading into the touring is the best option and works very well, with turn by turn indication.

The touring was made for bikes and foot users. I have found if using it on a car or motorbike it is not as good as a Tomtom.

 

[andym]

"Auto-routing" is what everyone associates with GPSes, but for me the most valuable feature is that I always have detailed maps handy - I have the whole of Europe on one Micro-SD card. The maps are very good quality and free (no quotation marks). OK so in some ways a small screen isn't a substitute for a map you can spread out on table but great if you need to focus in on a tricky junction.

Another really valuable feature is to be able to download tracks for cycle routes (but beware - there are a lot of rubbish tracks out there).

I also have the locations and contact details for loads of campsites, hostels, etc etc.

I do use auto-routing fr time to time - if I get to a town and I just want the quickest easiest route to the place I'm staying. It works pretty well for that sort of thing, but if I care about the route I'm going to take I plan it myself.

My eTrex has three options for auto-routing: pedestrian, bicycle and car/motor-bike. Probably the Touring has the same options.

When it's in bike mode the eTrex seems to prefer cyleways over roads and cycle routes over other roads, but given the choice of two cycle routes or two ordinary roads it will chose the shortest distance (which may or may not be what you want).

My favourite maps are from openfietsmap.nl (URL from memory), but these things come down to personal preference about the way the map is rendered on the screen - the underlying data is the same.

 

[ianrauk]

Check out this link for an in-depth review of the Garmin Touring

 

[w00hoo_kent]

I've a Touring + and I'm happy with it, but not ecstatic. Specifically it's very difficult to program on the fly routes in to it so if you were out and about and then wanted to go to X doing that is a pain. The maps and following routes that you have put on through a PC work very well although mostly I use it to record what I've done and to find out where I am if I'm just riding and have got lost.

I wouldn't use it in a car and it's definitely not the same as a car SatNav, although superficially it shares some of the properties.

 

[jonny jeez]

I tour just fine on my 800 edge.

 

[cisamcgu]

I've a Touring + and I'm happy with it, but not ecstatic. Specifically it's very difficult to program on the fly routes in to it so if you were out and about and then wanted to go to X doing that is a pain. The maps and following routes that you have put on through a PC work very well although mostly I use it to record what I've done and to find out where I am if I'm just riding and have got lost.

I wouldn't use it in a car and it's definitely not the same as a car SatNav, although superficially it shares some of the properties.

I agree pretty much 100% with Woohoo. Perfect as a tiny, electronic map, but very fussy to do anything with it "on the road"

 

[G3CWI]

very fussy to do anything with it "on the road"

I also have the Touring and agree with the comments made. For me I have found it works far better with TCX file formats than GPX. I plan routes using bikeroutetoaster and use the verbose TCX format with the warnings and have found it less prone to crash. Using it to plan routes on-the-fly whilst out is almost always a disaster. On longer routes it often picks footpaths even when set to avoid off-road cycling. I have spent many a frustrating hour carrying my roadbike across stiles; so always have a fall-back route planned and on it. The context-sensitive menus are a real pain and the whole UI is rather poorly implemented but I think that's Garmin's USP.

Would I buy one again? Yes, as I have yet to be convinced that there is a better option. I looked at alternatives a month or so ago and was unconvinced.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

With route choice, I've taken to drawing the route (I use MapMyRide which may be a mistake) and then going over the final thing in google maps to check there is streetview of everywhere. I've been directed off of tarmac too but have ignored it, stayed on tarmac and hoped there was an easy way to get back on course. Generally that's worked. Expect to do more planning when using one than you may have initially hoped.

 

[albal]

I used my 1000 edge and its crap. Maybe its me but I,ve tried all sorts of methods and it still waants to go all over the place for a straightforward journey. The 800 was better. But paper maps cant go wrong!

 

[gottogetfit]

I'm very happy with mine which I've had for about a month. I found creating routes in Cycle Travel & downloading them is the best for me. The only problem I have found is the number of updates & the fact it takes a couple of hours to do then fails at the last minute. It usualy takes a couple of attempts which is an afternoon wasted.