Adrian F

I own a Garmin etrex Legend which is dying and i am looking to replace it. I have short listed 2 units and any advice on either especially the Satmap Active 10 from users would be really helpfull

A Garmin GPS60 which is old style but cheap and robust. it also works with the Memory Map software i have already bought.

Satmap Active 10 which is nearly 3 times the price and i would have to buy extra maps which are expensive e.g. lake district £99 which i already own in MM and is this unit up to the job or will it not survive the rain and abuse of constant use on the hill and also it is large and bulky how do you clip this on your belt! good points is it has the map on the screen so you get your position real time.

any advice from exisiting users wanted

Markus

Personally I'd stick with the Garmin, maybe even look at the GPS MAP 76CSx (not sure if you need/want the S version, S = sensors, which will give things such as barometric pressure, at least I'm fairly sure it does)

The pro's of the Garmin are that you have the maps already, so won't need to re-purchase, plus the operation of the unit is going to be similar, if not the same, as what you are used to.

My 76CSx is pretty robust. It's main function is as a sail racing guide, to help us find the marks on the race course, and it's stood up to a fair few knocks, and it pretty easy to use and read when you're bouncing around on the waves or avoiding the boom.

Matteeboy

I have always found a 1:25000 map OS map and a good compass does the job fine. No running out of batteries either.

davyboy

Agree with Matt.

Maps are the future!

Coffin Dodger

Personally would always have that as a back up to the GPS anyway!

I know that dedicated units do give you extra functions, may be more rugged, waterproof, etc. However I run a PocketPC (HP iPAQ 2210) with a GPS plugged into the compact flash slot. Did have a Bluetooth one but the connectivity never seemed that reliable. Maps are on an SD card in the SD slot. Have a spare battery for the iPAQ but with the backlight set to turn off after a few seconds it usually lasts a good 5-6 hours on a charge.

Run MemoryMap on the iPAQ so moving OS map, ability to plot routes / upload them from a PC, real time track logging. The maps can be obtained very cheaply (i.e. free!) if you know where to look

Shove in one of these for waterproofing Aquapac - 100% Waterproof Cases - Sterling Site If you are clumsy / drop things a lot then look at OtterBoxes instead - Memory-Map: GPS Mapping Software for PC and Windows Mobile

This combination has always worked pretty much flawlessly for me. Having the OS maps on the screen is great

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

I have a SatMap Active 10 which I find to be very good. It comes with a neck strap and a belt pouch. It has so far been waterproof and I don't see any reason for that to change. I use it for biking mainly but just as good for walking. I bought 50,000 scale maps of the uk which are ample in most cases. You can buy maps on eBay and there are some other dealers that do offers, as do SatMap sometimes. It's a nice piece of kit and easy to use.

Matteeboy

Hey, why not set up a "virtual walking" facility on your plasma screen TV? Then you don't even have the inconvenience of having to go outside.

Gadgets are okay up to a point but too many rely on them.

When I race (running) I always find the GPS/HRM watch wearing kit freaks are always near the back of the finishers and the same goes with MTB racers.

Not a serious rambler but done a lot of military training (and walk 3 hilly miles a day) and we managed fine with a map, compass and some basic skills.

Devildog

I'd stick with the Garmin.

And for all of the "maps are fine" detractors (ideally each should supplement the other) regardless of how hard I try, I can never get my map to give me all the instant info the Garmin does. Although if I was military trained, perhaps I'd have "special" maps

Maps are generally **** all use when walking in forests, especially when there are either very few or very unreliable and unmarked tracks, and you can't get a line of sight to anything other than directly up. Half decent view of the sky and the Garmin tells us exactly where we are. Trackback in that situation is very useful.

Likewise on the bikes, the Garmin is very useful.

Oh, and ask the mountain rescue teams up our way - they are all in favour of being given exact coordinates, rather than map based approximations. 100 feet can be the difference between finding someone alive or dead in the mountains, especially in winter.

Depends on where you are, and what you are doing. Both have their (important) uses.

Suggesting that using a GPS navigation aid is akin to virtual walking is just, well, fecking stupid

Matteeboy

But fun though!

Mountain rescue teams are allowed to use them. As are proper explorers. But for pootling around Leith Hill, it's a bit OTT.

Oh and you should plan all your routes beforehand and keep referencing where you are with a compass. It's second nature if you know how to do it properly.

I find map reading is a fun part of any "adventure"

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

I've used MM and a PDA with bluetooth GPS gizmo, which was OK but a bit fiddly and the Windows OS on the PDA kept crashing. I've also used an Etrek thingy which I thought was rubbish because I couldn't be bothered to read the manual and it didn't have coloured OS maps

I'm now using my Nokia N95 8GB with Viewranger OS maps and it's awesome, Viewranger is like Memory Map but for a phone ViewRanger : Off-road Topographic Map Navigation, Sports GPS, Buddy Beacon Tracking and Location-Based Content

It means I now have everything I need in one handy gadget

You can't beat a good laminated map and compass though

DCI Gene Hunt

Am I the only one that read the title and thought "GPS, for wanking??"

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Probably

ScoobyWon't

I've got GPS on my Airwaves, which sadly means that my employers know where I am I wonder if I could disable it?

Adrian F

Puff thanks for the feed back i am still looking around but will have to decide

Leslie

Don't walkers use maps and compasses any more then?

Les

Adrian F

Most of take maps but the latest units show the map on a screen and mark your position on that screen as well saves having to fight with a folded map on a windy and wet hillside

ScoobyDriverWannabe

That gadget show on Ch5 did a test & review of a few different ones a couple of weeks ago.
Might eb worth having a look to see if you can find it online