Offroad GPS.

[riverking]

I know there is plenty of Gps info on 'search', but are there any conclusions as to which GPS is best for offroad use (90%) with only occasional on road stuff?

Easy transferability between bikes would also be usefull (power up & go).
Cheers.

 

[half_empty1]

see here

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47302&highlight=laning

 

[Fanum]

Gotta be a Quest Steve....particularly with your 'power and go' requirement.

There's more than enough power for a full day's riding on its internal batteries, and in a ram mount or TT mount ( with additional spring) you could easily clamp it to any bars with a u-bolt and thumbscrew arrangement.

Comes off and slips in your pocket when having a refresher in the pub at lunchtime too

 

[Greg Masters]

I know there is plenty of Gps info on 'search', but are there any conclusions as to which GPS is best for offroad use (90%) with only occasional on road stuff?

What do you want your GPS to do?

Greg

 

[riverking]

What do you want your GPS to do?

Greg

Guys I'm comfortable with what 'GPS' can do as a system - I was using a 3d military spec pro system as early as 1989 and I'm very comfortable with astro nav both electronic & manual (sextant). But I've never been into the automotive side and I don't really understand the adv/disadv's of the various mapping systems.

What do I want to do?

1) PLAN offroad routes without becoming a computor boffin.
2 ) DOWNLOAD routes simply if either pro and/or Clive's type systems become available.
3) RIDE OFFROAD WITHOUT HAVING TO STOP EVERY 5 MINS TO READ MAP.

Considering Garmin 276c simply because I can chuck it in the boat or motorhome as a backup.

Oh, and a big screen that I can read through rain soaked spec's!

Want to avoid the PDA route with inherant loading/memory issues.

Rugged simplicity far more important than either gimmicks or cost.

Cheers.

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

big screen, big body,rugged,simple = 276c

normal size colour screen, cheap,rugged,simple-ish w/p = SP3

slightly bigger screen, higher cost, quicker rerouting - quest.


off roading, you'll still need a computer and mapsource for all 3 to pre-plan your routes. All 3 are vehicle transerable.

 

[BurnieM]

GPSmap 276C or Quest

Cannot recommend the SPIII or SP2610 for offroad use as they only have one datum (WGS84) and grid (Lat/Long) and do not support Trackback

Note that while the Quest and SP are packaged with mapping the GPSmap 276C is not and you will need to add City Select mapping and a Garmin data card to the cost.

 

[Mouse]

I've been using my SP3 for green laning recently. It's not the perfect tool for the job, but for the price it's very good. As Burnie points out, if you went for the more suitable 276C it would cost a lot more, as you have to buy the maps seperately.

I was thinking of upgrading mine to a Quest, but I was put off by the smaller screen (motomartin's wrong about the screen, the Quest's is much smaller than the SP3's) and the seemingly flimsy mounting solutions, although Mr IFan tells me he's had no problems with the Quest mount he's using for off roading.

As for the lack up support for OS grid coordinates and the correct datum, I haven't found it to be a problem really. If you want to know where you are on an OS map, you can quite easily check the GPS for nearby towns and cross reference to the paper map. Trackback is probably a useful feature but I haven't ever thought "I wish I had that on my GPS" but possibly you don't know you need it until you've got it, if you see what I mean

In summary - If you want cheap and cheerful, and don't mind slow routing calculations and map drawing, go for the SP3. The Quest is faster, smaller and about twice the price. The 276C is even more expensive, but fom what people say appears to be the ideal green laning choice.

 

[riverking]

Thanks for help so far folks.
Nearly there with 276c + touratec mount but one more question..

Says it comes with mapping software on 256 megawhatsits (extra charge) but topographical only seems to be available for US / Canada. Is it available for UK from Garmin? Can I load other maps (not Garmin) onto the unit? Who makes / supplies Mapsource, is it Garmin or independant. Sorry for the stupid Q's.
Ta.

 

[Mouse]

Garmin make MapSource, but don't confuse MapSource with the maps themselves. MapSource is a Windows application for viewing the maps, planning routes, and transferring data to and from the GPS unit itself.

I doubt you can load non Garmin maps onto the unit, although I'm not certain.