Which gps ??

[flyby]

Hey guys.. I am in the market to buy my first GPS and here are my requirements:

I will be using it on my motorcycle offcourse, I will also be using it for hiking and geocaching. I am not looking into spending too much.. and so I am confused between the Montana line and the Oregon line offered by Garmin..

any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

 

[pnelson]

There is some good information in this thread:
http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=9233.35

 

[Bushyar15]

Owned both. Started with the Oregon 550 and wound up with the Montana 600.

In a nutshell the Montana is way better. Bigger, brighter screen and can store more "tracks". I found with the Oregon mounted on my Super Ten, it had to be at just the right angle to see it. Even with the back-light on which sucks up battery it was hard to see. The Montana is a bit better without the backlight on, BUT I can see it in just about any light with the backlight on. The larger size of the Montana also makes it easier to use with gloves on. I've added the hardwire power source to my motorcycle so the light is always on.

I primarily use it off-road and its amazing. Good reception and I like the "back" track function (don't remember the actual name) But I worry less about getting loss with it….

As far as off-bike, hiking, geocaching. They both are about the same functionally.

For me the on-bike part of the GPS is the biggest and most important part of the equation as opposed to hiking or anything else. So, I think the Montana is the way to go...

 

[markjenn]

There are lots of good choices. My only input is that I bought one of the first 60x handhelds more than a decade ago and have been using it or its descendents ever since. It's just one of those consumer electronic devices that virtually everyone agrees was great out of the box. I currently have a 60csx which has been superseded by the 62. It's not the easiest to use GPS, but it is also not "dumbed down" like many of the later models. I travel with friends who have the latest Zumos and th elike, and they let me lead because they often can't get theirs to work correctly. And I'm not a big fan of touch screens on motorcycles, especially on the small-displays of handheld GPSs.

Again, lots of good choices....just depends on what you want. If I had to replace mine today, I'd get a 62s along with the latest City Navigator on DVD.

- Mark

 

[flyby]

There are lots of good choices. My only input is that I bought one of the first 60x handhelds more than a decade ago and have been using it or its descendents ever since. It's just one of those consumer electronic devices that virtually everyone agrees was great out of the box. I currently have a 60csx which has been superseded by the 62. It's not the easiest to use GPS, but it is also not "dumbed down" like many of the later models. I travel with friends who have the latest Zumos and th elike, and they let me lead because they often can't get theirs to work correctly. And I'm not a big fan of touch screens on motorcycles, especially on the small-displays of handheld GPSs.

Again, lots of good choices....just depends on what you want. If I had to replace mine today, I'd get a 62s along with the latest City Navigator on DVD.

- Mark

I am also looking into the 62s series and I really like them. I don't mind the small screen and don't care about the touch screen. I kinda don't understand the whole map thing on those. It says preloaded 100k topo maps but what about map updates ?

also we need to pay extra for the city navigator DVD .. no?

 

[Checkswrecks]

I own a Montana and work gave us Oregons. The Oregon is better for hiking, due to the size. However, the same size is too small to easily see or use for nav in sunlight on a moving motorcycle, and doubly so with gloves on.


We used to have Garmin Rinos for work and on the bike I found them a bit better than the Oregon, but not by much. The screens were still a bit small and the interface tough to do with gloves on a moving bike.

The Montana is a bit of a chameleon, in that you can load maps and change navigation style to move between cars, motorcycles, boats, and then go hiking. The downside is it still uses Garmin's antiquated user interface (Garmin needs to learn from Google Maps or Bing!) and will occasionally do odd things, like delete a map or "forget" your preference settings. For hiking, it is a bit thicker than ideal.


If you can afford them, the new Zumos are the way to go. If not, you may also consider an automotive unit with weather protection.

 

[markjenn]

I kinda don't understand the whole map thing on those. It says preloaded 100k topo maps but what about map updates ?

also we need to pay extra for the city navigator DVD .. no?

Most think it is more flexible to not purchase any built-in maps and instead buy the maps you need on DVD. That way you can load them on your PC and pick/choose what you want to send to the GPS. You can also update them from the PC. I don't think you can update any bulit-in maps, but you could buy new maps and use them instead. My recommendation would be to get the cheaper 62s and buy whatever maps you want.

Garmin does charge for their maps or you can try third-party, public domain, or pirated maps. You load them to the GPS, typically with the free Basecamp application that runs on your PC/Mac. (Mapsource was the old program and still works, but has been superseded by Basecamp.) You can also load routes, waypoints, tracks, etc. between the PC and the GPS. It takes a while to figure it all out but it does work very well once you get the hang of it.

In terms of good road network coverage of North America, City Navigator NT is about as good as it gets and is worth the $80. It has surprisingly good coverage of forest service roads too, much better than topo. My experiences with Garmin's topo maps has not been very positive - they just seem wildly out of date with respect to the road network, so you're really going to a lot of trouble to get elevation contours on your map. I have topo and never use it. That being said, I've only used the GPS a handful of times when hiking and when I do hike, I stay on established trails, so needing to know elevation changes is not very important.

Garmin's map unlocking scheme is a pain though.

- Mark

 

[Bushyar15]

I'll start by saying "to each his own" and YMMV... but I would strongly suggest you borrow a 62 model or something with that same size screen. I moved up from a 62sc to the Oregon cause the screen was difficult for me to "see" on that 62sc while in motion. I couldn't just glance down to get a feel for where I was. I had to more or less "stare" at it a few seconds to take in what it was showing me.

My 62sc was great for hiking and geocaching... just not for the motorcycling.. Better you check it out before spending the money on one and decide it may not be for you... YMMV

 

[offcamber]

I have a Montana 650T been perfect for on and off-road. My biggest grip is sending routes to it and it either tells me it can load it because it exceed the waypoint limit or it changes the route. In those cases I load it as a track and follow that....doesn't give you turn by turn when following a track but that's not a big deal for me.

 

[markjenn]

I'll start by saying "to each his own" and YMMV... but I would strongly suggest you borrow a 62 model or something with that same size screen. I moved up from a 62sc to the Oregon cause the screen was difficult for me to "see" on that 62sc while in motion. I couldn't just glance down to get a feel for where I was. I had to more or less "stare" at it a few seconds to take in what it was showing me.

This is a good point..... you do have to comfortable with the smaller screen. I have mine mounted on a RAM cradle off a ball on the left mirror mount and it puts the GPS not very far from me and I have no issues reading it and there are no problems with vibration. But if it were mounted up deeper in the dash somewhere, I might feel differently. (I did have to sort bifocal sunglasses for my 61-yo eyes and presbyopia problems - love my Coyotes.) I use a GPS to navigate complicated off-the-beaten-track road networks, not as a big display in my lap with a 3D view of me going down the road. As the previous poster said, YMMV.

Another thing to consider is battery life.... smaller screens use a lot less. My 60csx will go about 15-hrs on two AA's so the battery life is good enough that there is no need to bother with power dongles. (I use my GPS on several different bikes and detest running power dongles on each one.) Not having to bother with plugging the unit in/out - just snapping it in/out of the RAM cradle - makes it much easier to throw it into a tank bag or a pocket when you stop and get a meal or head for the hotel room. And I can fiddle with it while I'm getting a meal.

It is a relatively tough thing to ask a GPS to be both a great vehicle GPS and a great handheld. If a big screen is important and cost is no object, I'd get a hard-wired Zumo for the bike and a cheap handheld for hiking.

Speaking of Zumos, I have a friend who recently got a new 2014 BMW R12GS with the built-in GPS which I think is Zumo-based. The level of integration with the bike is amazing - he can bring up all kinds of displays and logs showing engine parameters, tire pressures, etc. and the UI that allows you to use the GPS without removing hands from the bars is brilliant. It even will show what the speed limit is on each road segment you're driving and put up a warning on the dash if the bike is X mph over it. Electronics is an area where Yamaha needs to get with the program - it's what most folks looking at big adventure tourers these days want, especially stuff like GPS integration and TPMS.

- Mark

 

[flyby]

Some how I feel that those detailed GPSes for motorcycles like the Zumo are overkill. Both in terms of features and price. As long as it shows me which turn to take and reach the destination, I am ok

If 62s works great for you on a motorcycle then an oregon 450 would definitely work for me.. yes I am also looking at some used oregon 450. The price is good and I will be able to save good amount of money.

 

[Bushyar15]

The early Oregons had screens that were hard to see even in bright sunlight with the backlight on. Again, before you commit to one, take it outside and move it around to simulate different lighting conditions and make sure you are happy with the "brightness" of the display. I was not and wound up with the Montana...

Some how I feel that those detailed GPSes for motorcycles like the Zumo are overkill. Both in terms of features and price. As long as it shows me which turn to take and reach the destination, I am ok

If 62s works great for you on a motorcycle then an oregon 450 would definitely work for me.. yes I am also looking at some used oregon 450. The price is good and I will be able to save good amount of money.

 

[sail2xxs]

If you get the chance, take a look at the Nuvi 550. I've being using one since 2010, and really like it. It is simple, weather proof, and easy to read.

Best,

Chris

 

[flyby]

If you get the chance, take a look at the Nuvi 550. I've being using one since 2010, and really like it. It is simple, weather proof, and easy to read.

Best,

Chris

Its good, amazon says its discontinued by Garmin. Also I will not be able to hike and geocache with it

 

[sail2xxs]

Its good, amazon says its discontinued by Garmin. Also I will not be able to hike and geocache with it

I just bought one on Amazon from a seller named "Eastern Goods". The maps are April 2014. Sorry, I am not very technical, so the geocaching functionality is way out of my league.

Best,

Chris

 

[advnewbie]

If you have a smart phone check out the latest version of the TomTom GPS app. I recently installed it on my iPhone 5c for only 24 bucks and it has worked great. It has all the same features as the TomTom Rider GPS at a fraction of the price. Only $24 for the app and I also picked up a Griffen Survivor rain resistant case for the iPhone for $34. MY iPhone will play all my music, direct me to where I am going using TomTom's new Winding Roads feature and I can GEOcache with it.

 

[flyby]

I finally bought the Oregon 450 refurbished. And I am loving it so far !

 

[T9tenere]

Hi i got a TomTom rider and im very happy ,works great and i got it on Ebay brand new in the never open box and works great , under 300$ and great mount and all the things you need !!!!