Originally Posted by
johnny99
GPS units designed for hikers tend to be much cheaper and have better battery life than GPS units designed for bicyclists. However, the hiking GPS units are also bulkier and heavier and the handlebar mounts are not great.
Hiker GPS units are certainly going to be bigger than cycling-specific GPS units, simply because a hiker isn't so concerned with aerodynamics. Handlebar mounts for a GPS can be rock solid, as long as you get a decent one.
Originally Posted by
QueueCT
I'm trying to get my arms around GPS options without having to spend a ton of money and have a very specific use case (though certainly not very unusual). I would like a unit that allows me to upload a route/cue sheet and spit back instructions on where to turn while showing me my location on a map, preferably with an audible cue (could be a ping, not necessarily "turn right in 100 ft").
Other requirements:
Handlebar mountable (either out of the box or with a 3rd party mount)
Reasonably water resistant so I don't need to baby it.
Under $300 (or so)
Rechargeable batteries with a 15 hr+ run time (if possible)
What I don't need (though it's okay if it's there):
Track generation and storage
Speed, cadence, heart rate, etc.
Automatic navigation
Used/discontinued is okay but I'm cognizant of map update costs. Primary use will be lightweight, long distance touring and rando type activities. Thanks for your opinions!
A unit that allows you to tell it the precise route is going to be an anomaly - the whole point of the GPS is that it tells you the route. That said what I did a few times was to program a succession of waypoints, chosen such that the route between them was as close as possible to the route I wanted. It's not totally goof proof but it gets close. For longer routes I typically created a track log and uploaded it to the GPS, so although it didn't tell me when to turn I could see the track log of where I'd been and the track log of where I wanted to be. It did mean if I got too into my stride of cycling I could go off the route and then have to figure out for myself how to get back on it, although at times like that I could simply see where the track was, pick a point on it, and let the GPS navigate me back to my chosen course.
If you buy a cycling specific unit (Garmin Edge series, for example) I'd expect it to have a handlebar mount in the box. A hiking unit won't. I mounted a Garmin GPSMap 60CSx to my handlebars and it worked just fine. The only time it liberated itself from the handlebar mount was when I hit a patch of ice and went down sideways.
The 60 series is discontinued now (although you can buy them used, and the 60CSx is consistently rated very highly). If you go for the new 62 series it supports cadence and heart rate sensors. Any GPS worth its salt will allow you to create a track log of where you've been.
I believe any modern hiking unit will be waterproof to IPX7 which, IIRC, means it will withstand submersion at a depth of 1m for 30 minutes. On the geocaching forums there was a story a while back from a guy who lost his Garmin Oregon over the side of a boat, went back with a diving friend to recover it a week later and it still worked fine. When my 60CSx got muddy from trail riding I'd wash it under the tap to get the mud off.
The 60CSx uses two AA batteries and should run for 15 hours on one set. It's not a big deal to put a spare set in your pocket.
Something like the new Garmin Montana has a lovely big touch screen, and is really nice to use, but a bit chunky on the handlebars. I mount mine to the handlebars although if you're worried about small aerodynamic issues you're really not going to like how it looks. It has its own battery but also runs on three AA batteries. From my experience you could expect to get 12-15 hours use on its own battery, and according to Garmin a set of AA batteries will last closer to 18 hours. Again, it's not a big deal to stick a few batteries in your pocket.