Navigation help

[BigdummySteve]

First post so hello! I need to sort out my navigation! Currently I have a garmin 810 with talkytoasters paid maps (good but small) and an iPhone 7+. On the phone I have the os maps, ridewithgps, motionx and have just downloaded Gaia gps

My problem is no one application does everything, ridewithgps works great for road stuff but the mapping is no good off road, MotionX-GPS is looking useful but I'm having trouble finding current map map tile servers (looking for terrain and sat) Gaia could be good as you can set layers and slide between them.

My current system involves switching between os maps and and other apps, I resent the fact that I've paid so much money for the OS maps and they are locked on a poor application, any tips for a streamlined system?

[redefined_cycles]

Off road: an app called viewranger works nice for me and you can get the OS tiles pretty cheap. The big downside is that it really does drain the battery life.

On road: the only app you'll ever need is Strava (good batt life for phone as you can keep data off and just use the gps. . Can make routes in the app and save n ride them) but it doesn't cope well when venturing into the unknown bearbones type bridleways/singletracks/no tracks...

[ZeroDarkBivi]

There is a reason why most people use Garmin (particularly Etrex) for bikepacking; not perfect but better than anything else. I keep my phone for phone/internet stuff (which drains the battery fast enough on a multi-day trip) and emergencies (including back-up nav). Mounting it on the bars would expose it to more risk of damage than I would be happy with. I have also had poor results relying on a dynamo for charging stuff; batteries are light and reliable.

[bearlymoving]

There is a reason why most people use Garmin (particularly Etrex) for bikepacking.

Interesting.

Has anybody got any direct experience of the Etrex 30 vs the new Etrex Touch 25 or 35?

I'm wondering if either is significantly easier to use for bikepacking than the other. It seems like the Touch versions don't support as many waypoints, and had buggy software when first released.

Are either of these really (or still) a problem? I'm planning on picking one up on the next few weeks...

[ianfitz]

I like the 30 as it has clicky buttons. Touch screens and rain ain't good in my experience. Although I've not used that one

[redefined_cycles]

I normally use a Garmin 520 which allows me to connect to power meter on the road bike too. Other than the obvious benefit of having replaceable batteries (I usually take an Anker 21000mah powerbank for backup on multidays(not technically bikepacked yet )) what other advantages are the etrex garmins giving??

Ian, defo agree on the touch screen being a pain... it used to be a terrible prob when having my Galaxy s5 mounted to the bars!)...

[BigdummySteve]

Well I'm not impressed with the garmin 810, screen is too small. It might end up being a very expensive bike computer. I'm playing with Gaia gps using open cycle maps with satellite images, varying the transparency to get the best of both. I wonder if I can still send the garmin back, already binned the box before mrs dummy finds it