There simply isn't one "best" GPS navigator made that does it all for everybody in my opinion. I've been using a GPS since they were first available to us regular citizens. My first was a Magellan Meridian. At the time it worked pretty well but technology advanced and Magellan didn't keep up and Garmin had just appeared on the scene with some pretty amazing GPS units that functioned really well. I've been a Garmin fan ever since but the Meridian is still in a box somewhere......

I do a lot of backpacking in remote wilderness areas and this is where my 64s shines; however, I bought an InReach Mini three years ago and now I leave the 64S at home because I have a Garmin Fenix on my wrist. Between the two I'm about as wired as I can or want to be in the wilderness. The InReach gives me peace of mind for sure.

I'm planning to ride a couple of tours this year and looking at cycling specific models - the 1040 Solar and the 1050. Reviews are all over the place but the cost of both is significant. Unless I can justify why I need a cycling-specific model, I'm going to stick to my Fenix, the InReach, and the Explorer and Messenger apps on my iPhone. I really don't see where the 1040 or 1050 will do anything remarkably better for me than my current setup - maybe I'm wrong though.

The most important aspect I have found in my 30+ years of using a GPS boils down to one thing: Learn how to navigate with one and how to use everything on the unit. I started out backpacking 55 years ago with a compass and topo maps so transitioning to a GPS for me was easy because all I had to do was learn how to use the unit itself.

For the record, I still carry my compass and a topo into the backcountry. Batteries drain and electronics can fail.



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