Garmin deals.....

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Are you planning to use it for route planning? Navigating on the fly?

I fancy a 530 for following a route when I'm out. Plotting the route or downloading a gpx to my phone and sending the route to the garmin is the loose plan.

Phone with OS maps for a back up if I need to find my way.

I'm not a fan of the garmin maps. Everything looks the same whereas on OS, it's obvious which are footpaths and bridleways and which are unclassified tracks that may or may not be rights of way.

Touchscreens don't tend to work too well covered in mud and/ or rain so the buttons in the 530 make sense.

Most of the garmins seems to be geared up as bike computers and training aides rather that simple navigation devices.

I'm honestly struggling to find a better alternative to using a phone with OutdoorActive.

The app let's you plan routes and gives voice guidance. Big screen is easy to read.

For the same money as a 530, you can get a cheap rugged android phone.
 
Plan on tablet & use phone atm.
Fancy something with better battery life and easier to use / less cluttered than Outdooractive just follow a line.
 
Ha, I'd freak out just trying to follow a line.

Beeline Velo 2 is about as simple as it gets I think and a whole lot cheaper than a garmin. Doesn't do much in comparison though.

global.beeline.co

Beeline Velo 2 | Beeline

Beeline Velo 2: Intuitive compact cycle computer for better rides. Navigate effortlessly along fantastic routes in all weather conditions, with essential tracking functionality....
global.beeline.co global.beeline.co

Not so much a line to follow, basically just an arrow.
 
Do you subscribe to OUTDOORACTIVE?
I've got full OS maps as I invested a lot in ViewRanger but it keeps promoting me to plus.
 
Yeah, I paid the £26.99 for the pro subscription. Purely for the OS maps and ability to plan routes using them.

The Pro+ doesn't have anything extra that is of benefit to me really. You get Harvey maps which are great but only cover national parks and the rest of the extras are Alpine maps and snow based stuff so I'm sticking where I am.

If you've still got access to OS maps from Viewranger and can use the snap to track feature then I'm not sure it's worth paying them for a Pro sub.

Keep using it until they find a loophole to stop you.

I also use Backcountry Navigator for OS maps. It allows you to download the maps for offline use and was only about £7 for the full version with no yearly sub. While it allows you to create way points and routes, it doesn't have the snap to track feature so you're basically just pointing yourself at waypoints rather than having a defined route to follow. It does allow you to import gpx to follow, it's just actual route planning on the app is a bit messy.
 
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Old Android phone and outdoor active here as well. Battery life is great when there is no sim card in it. First time trying it in the lakes the other week and it worked flawlessly.
 
I have the 1030 and it's brilliant, battery life is all day plus some. very clear to follow.

I have a Garmin Edge Explore if you're intered.
 
VWsurfbum said:
I have the 1030 and it's brilliant, battery life is all day plus some. very clear to follow.

I have a Garmin Edge Explore if you're intered.
Click to expand...
Funds spent bud, just ordered a generator in case leccy goes off
 
thebarber said:
Funds spent bud, just ordered a generator in case leccy goes off
Click to expand...
Before you buy the Garmin, maybe you can borrow one for a little while. Test it out, and see if it does what you want.

I've been curious about Garmin's, but never threw down the cash. A couple friends use them, but I stick with the iPhone, Strava, and Gaia. We talk about what each offers, and it always seemed hard to figure out which was best.

Fast forward to last weekend. I found a nice Garmin on the trail. Street price on this baby is $500. It's a motorcycle version, so maybe it doesn't compare to the bicycle models. Regardless, I've been using for the past few days as I drive around town, and it leaves me less than impressed. For cruising around town, Google Maps and Apple Maps is better. For off road, Gaia is better. The Garmin MUST have some advantages, but I haven't discovered them yet.

Luckily, I've tracked down the rightful owner. He gets his fancy toy back, and I don't have to fret about what to do with a contraption that I don't like and which doesn't belong to me. The experience dampened any curiosity I had about Garmin's for bikes.
 
There's the thing, I'll probably end up with another mototrail bike next year so was looking at the Montana but as stated I've spent up for a while now.
 
I used to use a Garmin watch to do mapping and navigation, but recently moved to an apple watch. With the WorkOutdoors app on the watch, you can get offline maps, download gpx routes and see everything on the watch. with the apple watch's digital crown its easy to zoom in/out with gloves on and better than fiddling with the buttons on my garmin. I use that app on my ultra, but it works on any apple watch. so if you have an apple watch already, the app is only $6 and does everything my garmin did for me: mapping/routing (offline), fitness tracking (heart rate), speed, elevation, distance, etc.
 
I've just downloaded gaia again and spent t a bit of time with it so battery permitting that should work.
It's less cluttered than Outdooractive so easy to read.
 
Thats a bargain for the 1030. I've had the 1040 for a while as well as the watches. Cracking piece of kit once you refrained from stamping on them when trying to navigate around do a you turn ;) You will get the hang of it.
If you have a bike that connects to Garmin there even more useful.
 
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