TimothyH

I'm thinking about getting a dedicated GPS for my gravel bike to be used for overnight bikepacking trips and am looking for someone who has direct experience using an eTrex Touch 35t or one of the newer Montana or Oregon GPS units on a bike.

My concern is overall suitability of the eTrex Touch 35t, Montana 680t or Oregon 750t as a cycling GPS. How do the features of these compare to cycling specific GPS?

Would appreciate feedback from anyone who has used these devices.


-Tim-

Metaluna

I only have one of the older Oregon 600's, but since nobody else has responded yet, I might as well give you what information I can. While it's a solid GPS unit, the cycling-specific features I've found to be quite mediocre. For example it never worked very well with the Garmin speed/cadence sensor sold at the time I bought it (i.e. the GSC 10). I believe Garmin has some new sensors now, but knowing Garmin, things will not have improved much on the newer Oregons, if they even support the newer sensors. My guess is that they just don't invest much time in testing those features. These tend to be marketed as geocaching units, so those are the software features that get the most QA attention. Also, you probably aren't going to get the fanciest features of the newer cycling units, like power metering, or interfacing with Garmin's rear radar sensor. Then again, given my previous comment about limited QA, that's probably for the best.

The handlebar mount isn't nearly as good as those twist-lock style mounts, and I've had my Oregon pop off my bars a couple of times after hitting potholes at ~15mph. Didn't seem to bother it though. These things seem pretty rugged, but I do use a screen protector.

It does give me a reasonable range of statistics, like moving time, total ascent, % grade, temperature (with the right sensor) etc. And having replaceable batteries is killer, though I usually get at least 5-6 hours out of a freshly charged set of Eneloops so changes are rarely needed on my typical rides.

On-road mapping with turn-by-turn directions with City Navigator maps is also pretty mediocre. On my old Edge 705, I used to be able to plan routes and get TBT prompts (though it would occasionally get confused, hang, or shut itself off). I've never been able to get this to work properly on the 600. So I usually just upload a GPX breadcrumb trail and use that. If I want audio prompts, I plan the route in RideWithGPS, turn the volume up on my smartphone, and use that in combination with the GPS on my handlebars while the phone sits safely in my backpack in a drybag.

All that being said, these are very nice handheld units for use in the backcountry. I think I would say that it does a better job as a cycling GPS than a cycling GPS would do as a handheld, but then again I don't care about power meters or social networking on my GPS so I'm fairly easy to please. I do wish the 600 did a better job with cadence sensors though, and I've never had good luck with the Garmin heart rate straps, so I don't use that feature much either.

TimothyH

Thank you for this.