Best garmin to buy as a sat nav

[Mark trek29er]

hi I am wanting to plan routes then upload them to a sat nav. Strava recommends the garmin edge 800 it looks the business to me but does anyone have any other recommendations?
Thanks
Mark

 

[martint235]

Oh go on then, just to kick things off. Go for a Garmin Etrex (mine is a 20 but I think they've upgraded the range since then), batteries are standard AA (you can use rechargeable ones) so you can just stop and replace when necessary thereby not limiting your range. When I had an Edge 605 it limited my range to around 150 miles

 

[vickster]

Garmin touring popular if not fussed on heart rate and cadence

I have an 800, works ok but wouldn't want to rely on it in a hurry or emergency. You have to pay extra for the maps too if wanting the official garmin ones

 

[Nibor]

Touring comes with the Europe maps included

 

[vickster]

Touring comes with the Europe maps included

Yes, I meant the 800 doesn't unless you buy separately or in a bundle

 

[dr snuggles]

Touring

 

[cosmicbike]

None of them, the screens are too small. I have an 800 and it's woeful to try and follow as it doesn't give a big enough overall view. Invariably I end up using Google Maps on the phone, or if no signal then Navmii.

 

[ianrauk]

Touring or Etrex

 

[Nibor]

if you aren't bothered about cadence etc the touring is a great unit the touring plus will do heart rate if required and has the addition of a barometric altimeter

 

[Deleted member 26715]

None of them, the screens are too small. I have an 800 and it's woeful to try and follow as it doesn't give a big enough overall view. Invariably I end up using Google Maps on the phone, or if no signal then Navmii.

This is so true, how anyone manages to see the piddly screen, follow the route, watch where you are going whilst keeping an eye out for traffic, it's even worse offroad with the handlebars bouncing all over the place. It is however far more accurate than a phone on the GPS front, I assume it checks your location more often & the battery lasts a lot longer.

 

[siadwell]

I have an Edge 25 which I picked up from Aldi for £80. I can plan routes using Garmin Connect then send them to the device using Garmin Express on my phone and Bluetooth.
The Edge 25 is tiny so only gives you a course outline showing a direction arrow and bleeping as you approach junctions. I've done a couple of routes using this and found it reasonably reliable and accurate. However, if you miss a turn or it tries to direct you down a road that's actually someone's driveway, you need a backup of a map on paper or phone, as once you're off course it can't get you back on.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Edge 1000

 

[broady]

Edge 1000

Or the edge 1000 explorer

 

[russ.will]

If it weren't for the patchy performance when uploading rides to Strava, I love my 810. I find the screen plenty clear enough to navigate by and because it's touch screen, it's easy to hit the zoomin/out arrows when riding and you want a bit more local detail.

I've tried one decent MTB ride, with a map a friend sent, following footpaths/byways and I had no trouble working out where I should be going.

I'm not sure what the 1000/1000 Explorer offer extra, but when I was purchasing they weren't on my radar - I was making a 520/810 choice and the touch screen won.

Russell

 

[rideswithmoobs]

What's difference between a touring and a touring plus ?