Basecamp beginner.

[Wapping]

He was very interested in the early comments on UKGSer particularly from Wappers who at the time was promoting MRA quite passionately.

I took out a lifetime membership when MyRoute was very first launched, they having dispensed with Tyre.

To be honest, I never used it, being perfectly happy with BaseCamp. It was the failure of Garmin to service BaseCamp on a Mac (where it has been very stable for years) mixed with the challenges of a Mac seeing the XT device, which all but forced me to move. Since then I have become a big fan, thanks no least to the very good support forum, hosted by MyRoute.

I guess it’s true that Garmin has lost interest in the automotive market, beaten to it by Google and the like, for basic A to B routing. It’s not helped when the company started to pander to bikermates’ calls to turn simple, well designed and reliable GPS devices into portable Home Entertainment systems, without which riders seemingly cannot survive. That phones, now linked to mirroring devices (such as the ‘Must have’ Chigee or whatever) now do this far better than Garmin, all but hammered the last nail into the Garmin automotive coffin. My XT will be the last Garmin device I buy…. Unless they bring out a modern version of say the 660, with all the ‘entertainment’ stuff stripped out.

 

[Mzokk]

I'd have to echo Wapping's view. I think the XT will be my last Garmin. I use the MRA app on Android Auto on my Africa twin for planned routes. Something I would always have used Garmin devices for previously. Google maps for A-B routing with traffic info you can trust. The XT is now primarily a backup and I have it set up with proximity warnings for public loos (I had a bladder Cancer removed a few years ago and find this function handy ) and proximity warnings for Ancient sites WW2 defence heritage and CWWG sites in Northern Ireland so I can go and have a look if the mood takes me. These POI's can be switched on and off so the thing isn't boinging its head off. Every Garmin device since 2011 has the ability to load custom POI's and set proximity warnings via POI loader. This functionality is not yet available in MRA and It wouldn't bother me if it never did, as I expect its a bit niche.

 

[er-minio]

I echo both of you.

I use proximity warnings when walking or offroading, I use a 64s for that and it "rings" when I'm near, so I can take a decision.
I know you can do the same with POI loader on the XT but it's so much of a faff I never bothered.

I'd like to have that stuff on my XT/Road nav. I considered switching to Montana, but you'd loose quite a few things (traffic, etc.) + with the state of the software as is, I too won't invest any more money in the Garmin ecosystem (GPS) until they sort their poor excuse for a product offering.

As for A/B routing. In the city the XT is shite. Within London the routing algorithm goes haywire quite often.
I don't use the bike that much anymore inside/around London, but for those use cases (A/B) I'm very happily using the Beeline (on free tier). Also smaller: you can put it in your pocket when done.
XT is for longer jaunts and travel usually.

 

[Akulaking]

Well, lots of answers, thoughts, opinions since I posted my original questions. I’ve downloaded the free two week trial with MRA to give it a go. Thanks for the replies, it seems to have promoted some interesting debates between the members with lots of experience in both Basecamp and MRA.
Either way it’s going to be a steep learning curve.

 

[er-minio]

It's always a moan fest when we discuss Garmin
It's fine!

 

[Wapping]

It's always a moan fest when we discuss Garmin
It's fine!

Except for your 660

 

[er-minio]

Sorely missed. NOT.




I still have the sale post saved on my computer as a PDF. Despite it, got sold in less than a day

 

[Berin]

Well, I’ll be using Basecamp again for my
Pyrenees trip which is a mix of road and trails, since MRA still doesn’t do a good job of tracks or POI’s.

I also used mostly Basecamp last year for my Castles and Templar’s trip, again because of POI handling, and then used MRA as a back up in case the XT died.

The good thing about MRA is it’s portable and one the one day the route didn’t go according to plan I was easily able to create an alternative.

As Wapping said, if Garmin updated Basecamp and made it portable I’d use it as it’s still technically better for a number of tasks but I guess I’m a minority of a minority so I doubt they will.