Garmin's Monterra - A Detailed Review

[DRTBYK]

It's been suggested that I post this anew here. I've spent the past seven months testing the Garmin Monterra and have written a detailed review that I hope you will find of interest should you be so inclined. This review is located on the GlobeRiders LLC website but the link here will take you directly to the article.

If you have questions I'd be happy to try and answer them.

Cheers,
Dan Townsley
All Things GPS

 

[Garry H]

Will Garmin never learn
Most people want the route as planned in base camp or mapsource
NOT RECALULATED BY THE UNIT

My Old Garmin gpsmap496 is one of the best units i have
For most things buttons work best with gloves on
Transparent route overlay
4 corner overlay data fields
Easy to add a via point to a route
Does not recalculate routes
Nice clear screen in sunlight
Highly customizable
A modern version of this would be great
I have no plans to replace it

 

[DRTBYK]

Will they ever learn? Well, based on 20 years of Garmin history I don't think so. But, they have indicated that they intend to fix the Routing issues. I'm hoping for an update in January to fix the "recalculation" issue.

 

[Timpo]

Is there an update for the Montana available....?

 

[DRTBYK]

If you meant the Monterra, there was an update two days ago v2.20_1.16.00. It provided the following (although Garmin rarely notes all of the fixes):
* Improved address search
* Fixed direct route line so that it updates with change in position
* Fixed Sight 'N Go so that the pointer locks on the proper direction
* Fixed Geocache App crash when using in various languages
* Improved compass calibration process
* Fixed Chirp pairing process
* Fixed 24 hour format
* Fixed keyboard appearing on home screen after performing a to Home navigation
* Fixed OTA update so that it will show a time greater than one hour

Most of these fixes have to do with Geocaching and search using CNEU maps.

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

is it as good as my samsung and google maps...?

 

[DRTBYK]

Can't answer that since it's your opinion that counts. I can tell you that the display is much brighter and with better contrast in direct sunlight then any of the Samsung displays including the S4 Active. As for Google Maps, I use them but they are of little value where I ride since there is no cell towers around. Having said that, from the Monterra, I just created a route on the gpx.cgtk.co.uk site and downloaded the GPX file to my /Garmin/GPX folder. I opened the Track Manager and displayed the track on the map. Never touched a laptop/desktop computer.