godivatrailrider wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 10:19 am So actually what I need is the best method of following an unfamiliar trail on the bike, THAT’S what I’m in need of first and foremost.

My main beef with (all) the Garmin units is that the graphics used for the track will clash with something on the map, OS or OSM, and you can't set your own. You can change the colour but no matter which you choose it will be near indistinguishable from one used on the underlying map for a road, river, etc. I've not found a way to hack the code so you can have something like:

--+--+--+--+

They've been like this since whenever I first got a Garmin.

I can't comment about Wahoo units as I've never used them.

Ultimately you can't turn your brain off and just let the GPS do everything for you.

I don’t want to turn my brain off, I’m a map lover, I fall out with my satnav all the time because I think I know better…
I used to know someone who blindly followed his satnav to the point he couldn’t even tell you which way he’d just driven … “ did you come down the M69? “ … “er, I don’t know!”
He eventually got properly stuck on a stupidly steep hill towing a caravan by blithely & blindly following his satnav…
I take a lot of time planning my bikepacking routes… I would like to be able to follow it reliably.

I’ll think on it…

Sounds like an Etrex22 or a Dakota are what you're looking for

An Oregon 700 will let you have the connectability (IQ) of the newer Edge Series units, so if you selected or planned a route 'on-the-fly', you could transfer it from Garmin Connect without the need for a lead.
The Oregon is a great unit, imo the only downside is that the screen needs to be locked when very wet.
You're familiar with it, you'll be able to use your existing sd card+maps & mounts..

They aren't made anymore & i don't think they're doing a direct replacement, but decent used ones should be available.

Garmin had 2 stalls at the Kendal Mountain Fest recently, i asked at both if they were looking to bring out an updated Oregon, maybe with built-in In-Reach, etc. The were both 'young-ish' lads who i asked & both looked at me blankly, they both had no idea what an Oregon was & had to use Google to see what i was on about!.. It made me feel really old

The new units have lots of good features, some have built-in In Reach, etc, but they're really quite expensive & most don't take AA's anymore

The Oregon is a fine bit of kit, a bit along the lines of 'if it ain't broken, blah blah'....... but tech moves on, but not always in the interests of the end user or for the best! Use a phone with OS Locate for GRs is a great resource too.

I found a map reading course useful too. Supplement the tech with a bit of ever dwindling grey matter usage!

I use an Edge 1030 along with a etrek vista. They both have pros and cons but if you're not in a hurry, they'll get you there quite accuratel

Ooo, have an Edge 530 going spare if anyone's interested.

Ta E

The Garmin Edge Explore 2 look pretty perfect for what I’m after .. £250 or less, mapping biased rather than superfluous training shizz ….
Further research required

Wotsits wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 1:34 pm
Garmin had 2 stalls at the Kendal Mountain Fest recently, i asked at both if they were looking to bring out an updated Oregon, maybe with built-in In-Reach, etc. The were both 'young-ish' lads who i asked & both looked at me blankly, they both had no idea what an Oregon was & had to use Google to see what i was on about!.. It made me feel really old

The new units have lots of good features, some have built-in In Reach, etc, but they're really quite expensive & most don't take AA's anymore

Haha. I asked exactly the same of one of the lads there re any chance of an updated Etrex 32x, and as with you just seemed to confuse them. I had been kinda tempted by a 67i (not at RRP, mind) as a replacement as battery life would seemingly negate carrying AAs for most of my even multi-day rides, but seeing it in the flesh, err plastic, had me realise how huge it was compared to the eTrex.

I think I really just want an eTrex 32x with bluetooth connectivity. They've added it to the low-end eTrex so perhaps there's hope but I won't hold my breath.

AND RELAX !

Garmin Edge Explore 2 purchased for £199.
Thank you all for your advice.
I got there in the end.

Has anyone had any experience with the Garmin GPS65 Topo, all this talk of retail therapy has whetted the appetite for a new unit.

Fancy the 65 but would like to how easy/difficult it is to use, as there are online suggestions that the Basecamp route tool is a bit ponderous so can files from komoot or other apps be uploaded like with the Edge?

Ta E

errol wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 5:07 pm Has anyone had any experience with the Garmin GPS65 Topo, all this talk of retail therapy has whetted the appetite for a new unit.

Fancy the 65 but would like to how easy/difficult it is to use, as there are online suggestions that the Basecamp route tool is a bit ponderous so can files from komoot or other apps be uploaded like with the Edge?

Ta E

Other than a glass rather than all to easy to scratch acrylic screen why that over a Etrex 32x? It doesn't seem great specs, but maybe I'm missing something. And both feel somewhat dated. Here's the comparison: https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/compare/?c ... uct=715085

I find all Garmin kit awful to use, but get by with it. Often it feels by trial and error, mind. I manually add .gpx to mine, having used OS or whatever to create routes. I looked at Basecamp but never took to it.

Garmin connect is good for planning road routes as its maps to the road , automatically beyween two points and incredibly accurately for turn by turn/ not getting an off course warning *

* more of an issue off road as someone may have used a straight line for an obvious 2 mile track for their gpx route and garmin tells me i am off route ( it also takes it a while to twig i am back on the route and ocassionaly routes me back to the point (it thinks )I " got lost.

Hyppy wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 5:53 pm

errol wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 5:07 pm Has anyone had any experience with the Garmin GPS65 Topo, all this talk of retail therapy has whetted the appetite for a new unit.

Fancy the 65 but would like to how easy/difficult it is to use, as there are online suggestions that the Basecamp route tool is a bit ponderous so can files from komoot or other apps be uploaded like with the Edge?

Ta E

Other than a glass rather than all to easy to scratch acrylic screen why that over a Etrex 32x? It doesn't seem great specs, but maybe I'm missing something. And both feel somewhat dated. Here's the comparison: https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/compare/?c ... uct=715085

I find all Garmin kit awful to use, but get by with it. Often it feels by trial and error, mind. I manually add .gpx to mine, having used OS or whatever to create routes. I looked at Basecamp but never took to it.

Strangely I quite the look of the 65, as it's a bit different and would also use it for the walking jaunts currently in the planning stages assuming I don't fall apart further in the meantime.

Noted about the Garmin kit being a PITA to use but having various different Garmin devices they do integrate seamlessly with each other!

Have the 66sr, rechargeable battery i like it. 36 hours and 450 in expedition mode,not tried the 450 hour option.
TopoActive east and west European maps. All the Satnav bands and don't know how but I have TopoActive South America installed, thought Garmin mapping only gave your region . Bought a tough screen saver from Germany and only downside is it's heavy . Had a GPSMAP 60 and it was robust only issue was it eats AA batteries.
You get an Explore App and it transfers mapping to phone so a bigger view.

godivatrailrider wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 4:19 pm AND RELAX !

Garmin Edge Explore 2 purchased for £199.
Thank you all for your advice.
I got there in the end.

This is the unit that is my most likely next GPS purchase. I nearly bought one a while back before realising I wouldn't use it anymore than my current ones. But if one dies it's where I'll be heading

Would be great if you can do a little review vs your Oregon as mine is very similar to yours (550t)

benp1 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2025 10:30 am

godivatrailrider wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 4:19 pm AND RELAX !

Garmin Edge Explore 2 purchased for £199.
Thank you all for your advice.
I got there in the end.

This is the unit that is my most likely next GPS purchase. I nearly bought one a while back before realising I wouldn't use it anymore than my current ones. But if one dies it's where I'll be heading

Would be great if you can do a little review vs your Oregon as mine is very similar to yours (550t)

I'm not sure what to expect. The Oregon is more a typical Handheld GPS, you're just following a line. Good for Geocaching.
I thing the Explore 2 is more like a satnav ... from what I've seen I could just enter my home address and it'd work a route out.... not that that's a feature I'd use much. Or it'll take you to the start of your route. Much more road aware. I think I can ask for a 20 mile circular route and it'll create one.... Might be useful /fun occasionally.
I'll let you know.

Well after my first ride I have to say the Explore 2 is excellent!! still does more than I need it to.
The Climbs screen was a surprise ( and oddly exjoyable ) when it just appeared before the first ascent.
I think the maps are .... but it would be flipping brilliant to get OS mapping on it (if that's possible which I think it is.)
Cough... is there anyway of obtaining said OS maps without forking out the eyewatering amount Garmin seem to want. I do pay a full subscription to OS for use with my phone.
I have the maps already on the Oregon .... hmmmm .... see if I can copy the image onto the Explore .... it might work ....probably won't ...

If you can transfer the OS maps of your Oregon SD card onto your computer, you should then be able to transfer them onto your Explore... But, be careful with device updates as these may render the OS maps unuasable...

Yes I just copied my OS mapping from a hooky OS garmin card from ebay. No issues cropped up with updates (this was on my now sold Edge 530)

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Sat Jan 18, 2025 9:26 pm Yes I just copied my OS mapping from a hooky OS garmin card from ebay. No issues cropped up with updates (this was on my now sold Edge 530)

Sounds hopeful !

So .... OS or OSM ?
My OS map doesn't get updated and I've had the Oregon for about 15 years. Ok the hills don't change too much but roads, housing estates etc do.
OSM is more likely to be updated.
I have used OSM in Belgium and Holland and it's been very good.
Looking at Talkytoaster I can get the full UK mapping in OSM for a whopping £13 (vs £350 for OS )

How does OSM compare to OS out in the real world?

How good are your eyes? I've found OSM to be a bit 'muted" in comparison to OS mapping.

Remember that OSM isn't a replacement for OS, it's used internationally so some symbols are different and that can take a bit of getting used to.

The OS maps I've seen used are bitmaps rather than vector based like OSM. What this means in non-tech speak is that they aren't truly zoomable. They are just pictures at a given size whereas OSM mapping uses equations to draw the lines and buildings so when you zoom in or out then the software redraws the map at that resolution and so remains sharp.

Cheers.
I’ve spent the whopping £13 for the UK OSM from TT … it’s installed easily … and looks ok though I’ve not tested it yet. Tomorrow I’ll have go at putting the OS on…