Which GPS ?

[BADGER.BRAD]

Hello All,

I am buying a MTB for my lad this Christmas with a view to us checking out some trails across mid/north Wales,Shropshire and the Midlands I would like to get a GPS so that I can download routes for us to have a go at. Anyone have any ideas ? It will need to be something at the cheaper end of the market and usable for hiking routes, are there any specific features I will need and why.

Many Thanks all

Brad

 

[lukesdad]

Garmin Oregon is what ive got with O/S sd cards Love it use in conjunction with garmin basecamp is the complete package. Not cheap new,but got mine on ebay for £100 and £50 for the sd cards ive got the 400t with the european road base map. You wont need anything else.

 

[numbnuts]

Do NOT get a memory map they are full of problems

 

[User269]

Not cheap, but in case you're interested you can use a Garmin Edge 800 with Garmin Base Camp software and download affordable chunks of OS mapping from it. You can then use Base Camp, BikeHike or any number of applications to create routes, then send them to the Edge to navigate from, just like a car GPS.

+1 on numbnuts comment (and anyone who quotes Horace must know what he's talking about).

 

[marinyork]

Old Etrex range with HCx or Cx tagged on the end (C=colour, H = high sensitivity receiver, x = microSD card slot). On the other hand the newer range of Etrex 20/30 (also a 10 that is harder to get hold of) and Dakota 10/20.

 

[tiswas-steve]

Anyone got or had any contact with a Bryton 50 Rider ? They look good value for the money. Any thoughts ?
Cheers !!

 

[Milemuncher]

After years of dithering I opted for the Garmin Edge 800 bundle with OS maps included - Wiggle had deals on at the time. While I have found everything about Garmin to be complicated and very poorly explained and so hostile at the beginning, the actual unit itself is great in use and transferring routes from the Map My Ride site (I prefer it to the Garmin site) to the Edge 800 is easy. We used the Edge 800 on a combination of roads and rough tracks off-road in Portugal recently and it did a fantastic job of keeping us right. I cannot pretend to be an expert, however.

 

[ColinJ]

Old Etrex range with HCx or Cx tagged on the end (C=colour, H = high sensitivity receiver, x = microSD card slot). On the other hand the newer range of Etrex 20/30 (also a 10 that is harder to get hold of) and Dakota 10/20.

And if you really want a bargain-basement GPS - try the bottom of the range Garmin Etrex H. I have the older version with the less sensitive chipset, but it works well for me. It doesn't have any mapping capability but if you only want to use a GPS to follow pre-plotted routes, then it is about the cheapest way to do it.

(I've posted on CycleChat on the subject many times, so if you want more information search for posts by author ColinJ, keyword Etrex.)

 

[jayonabike]

I have a Satmap. It comes with 1:50000 OS mapping & has a large screen. You can plot routes on the unit or on a pc and upload as a gpx file. I had a Garmin but sold it for this, I'm glad I did.

 

[JohnTCC]

I have been looking around andI think I am going to get a garmin edge 800 with O/S

mapping

JohnTCC

 

[User269]

I have been looking around andI think I am going to get a garmin edge 800 with O/S

mapping

JohnTCC

You'll never look back...................'cos you'll always know where you're going! Remember that you can download Basecamp and connect your Edge to your PC/laptop and download chunks of OS mapping as required! (It's called Birds Eye imagery in Basecamp) Keywords; Learning Curve, Frustration, Comprehension, Moving On!

 

[marinyork]

I have been looking around andI think I am going to get a garmin edge 800 with O/S

mapping

JohnTCC

The 800 seems overkill to me unless you want the training features. The Dakota 10/20 is fine for navigating.

 

[al-fresco]

And if you really want a bargain-basement GPS - try the bottom of the range Garmin Etrex H. I have the older version with the less sensitive chipset, but it works well for me. It doesn't have any mapping capability but if you only want to use a GPS to follow pre-plotted routes, then it is about the cheapest way to do it.

(I've posted on CycleChat on the subject many times, so if you want more information search for posts by author ColinJ, keyword Etrex.)

You've made some very persuasive posts Colin! The eTrex H is now down to £51 on Amazon but the cable and a serial/usb converter push the price up to £68. Thanks for the warning about the £12 bike mounts. £80 (+£12 for each additional bike) doesn't sound as good as the £51 cost for the unit but it's still a lot cheaper than, say an Edge 800.

One problem I foresee is that I use Mac (Leopard) and Linux computers but not Windows - does anybody use an eTrex with either Mac or Linux?

 

[marinyork]

You've made some very persuasive posts Colin! The eTrex H is now down to £51 on Amazon but the cable and a serial/usb converter push the price up to £68. Thanks for the warning about the £12 bike mounts. £80 (+£12 for each additional bike) doesn't sound as good as the £51 cost for the unit but it's still a lot cheaper than, say an Edge 800.

One problem I foresee is that I use Mac (Leopard) and Linux computers but not Windows - does anybody use an eTrex with either Mac or Linux?

Why are you comparing it to an edge 800? It's as if none of the many other models exist. The dakota 20s were knocking around for £170 last week (yes, really). The prices of all of the units are up and down and need to be kept a close eye on. Sadly some retailers have put the price of the eTrex Vista HCx (old model) back up.

Er, basecamp?

 

[al-fresco]

Why are you comparing it to an edge 800? It's as if none of the many other models exist. The dakota 20s were knocking around for £170 last week (yes, really). The prices of all of the units are up and down and need to be kept a close eye on. Sadly some retailers have put the price of the eTrex Vista HCx (old model) back up.

Er, basecamp?

OK so I should have said - at £80 (+£12 for each additional bike) it's less than half the price of a Dakota 20!

To be honest - I'm not not prepared to pay a lot for GPS - it'll break or get nicked or fall off into the canal - trust me - I know what I'm like. But if I could get a workable system for less than £100 I'd be interested.

Now - what's this Basecamp you speak of? Does it come bundled or is it an extra?