I've convinced myself I need one. I think.

Budget would be around the £200 mark. I don't give a monkey's wotnot's about functional threshold power, but I would like to plan and follow a route easily.

The Garmin edge explore sounds really good for this, but I understand from reading other threads, people have had problems with the micro USB port.

Another option could be the etrex 32x or 35 touch, reading the HT550 thread, they seem popular as well and sound like tough units. I like the fact that they use double A batteries, I imagine that the edge explore has an integral one?

This may be a stupid question, but will they both work with 1:25000 explorer mapping, so you can make out the finer details? I would consider other manufacturers as well if folk on here have other recommendations?

I just got a Garmin Edge Explore as my first gps and i love it. Not had any issues with micro usb port, and yes the battery is integral. I plan routes on my laptop then put them on the garmin. The features i really like are 1) you can put an address in and it will find a route there, 2) you can specify in settings the type of route you'd like when you use the navigation, eg gravel and avoiding major roads, 3) it will create a circular route, length specified by you, from where you are, there are usually 3 options.
Not sure about the 1:25000 maps as i'm still using the maps that come with it, and they are fine so far, but i haven't been properly offroad with it, more just gravel tracks.

I bought my nephew a etrex 35 touch. He'd never used a gps before he borrowed my Dakota for a day and tells me the touch is easy to use and very intuitive. Also runs on AA and will accept sd mapping cards ... I bought him a full UK card from ebay for £40.

all of them will give you a route you can follow therefore the things to decide on are

1.Price
2.Battery internal - needs recharging or batteres you can replace [ need to carry spares but widely available]. Ts need to recharge seems to by why the USB port goes as ts used much more frequenty but no personal experience of them.
3. Connectivity - some do Bluetooth for routes others need to beplugged into a computer
4.Route planning - some will plan a route for you somenwont - do you want this feature?
5. Screen - Size they are all fairly small IMHO and touchscreen or not
6. Mapping /SD cards can you dd them how much do they cost
7. Mounting - quarter turn or whatever we call the Etrex mount [ insecure IME so i usea RAM mount]

If it was me I would decide which of these features you want and then find model with them/ most of them

I have a few

Etrex.
This is a great unit. Really easy to use to follow a purple line and is my usual choice for long trips. Personally, I don't don't os maps particularly useful due to screen size, and my old etrex is a bit slow when attempting to scroll maps.
Lithium's last ages and ages and you can pick up AAs to get yourself going again of you run out.
Minor faff to put routes on as you need to plug it into a pc / laptop

Edge explore.
This has been average. Screen is better, when it's not raining. Light rain is ok, heavy rain is not. Battery life is ok for a day, rarely 2 though. Mine would always lock up if tried to use battery save mode.
Same issue with OS maps ( which can be cut and pasted from an SD card)
Auto uploads your rides if you like that.
Bit easier to add rides from komoot or a gpx, but not 100% reliable and can be frustrating.

Good customer service as Garmin have just agreed to replace mine due to the battery save faults.

Wahoo.
It's not arrived yet. But saw it cheap and thought I'd try it out

Hi,

Welcome.

As mentioned, see what works for you.
However, here is my experience.

I use either a Garmin Edge 1030 (primary) *or* a Garmin Oregon 700 (backup)

Both have the relative merits, and the same pain-in-the-arse problem.
First, the problem.
I like touch screens, 99% of the time the convience is worthwhile
However, in the rain both are a pain in the arse.
Both have screen lock; however, screen lock doesn't fully lock the screen
Both rubbish

That aside, other comments, in no particular order
Internal battery VS AA's
Sure the Edge has an internal battery; however, said battery will last 20hrs without recharge
And, I always carry multiple USB battery packs on a tour, so it is no great issue to recharge in the evening.
Neutral

Out front mounting
A small thing
However, the out front mounting of the Edge does make it easier to view on the go
Edge

Map scroll
With OS maps installed the Edge seems slow to scroll the map from one's location
Oregon is far easier
ViewRanger on my iPhone even more so
Oregon

Cycling VS hiking
Since you're here we'll assume you're interesting in bikepacking
You will soon realise bikepacking is a cross over between cycling and hiking
So, this GPS, if it had a secondary use, would it be for cycling, or hiking?
Personal preference

Price
Oregon 700 can be found quite cheap on eBay
I got one in perfect condition for ~£150
Oregon

User interface
Oregon 700 has a very simple user interface, looks like it's been designed for a child.
It just works.
No bells or whistles here
Oregon

Build
Oregon feels like it is built to take abuse
That said, had no issues with either
Neutral

Interestingly, the Oregon 700 is now showing as previous models on the Garmin website, wonder if a new model is coming.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/550460

Thanks for the response. I've seen and read a few reviews and it's going to be an etrex. The edge seems to be more bike specific, whereas I can use the etrex for climbing trips as well.

The etrex has a geocache mode which I could see my lad having some fun with, at least it would get him off of minecraft for a few hours... I'm beginning to sound like my parents now.