Difference between Extrex20 and the 30 worth the difference

[postierich]

Someone locally is selling a Extrex 30 without mounts used a couple of times whats the difference between the 20 which i have used before(borrowed)

[middleagedmadness]

Altimeter /barometer and compass links to Garmin connect as well as base camp

[postierich]

So same battery running time and such like thanks!

[Jimengan]

From memory i would just check that the 20 has a 3 axis compass. If it doesn't the bearing/direction arrow has a tendency to twist around or not move until you are mobile again which can send you off into a false direction ( a swift few steps or if you have long arms a few back and forth motions can fix this). The arrow will bring you back round but it will be in a steady loop which is quite frustrating in some circumstances. Also from memory i think the altimeter is only tagged to the mapping and so the readings are not as accurate overall. I ended up going with a device with 3 axis antenna and barometric altimeter because of this.

[chris n]

Etrex 30 is not orange. . Worth the extra for that alone, IMO.

[padonbike]

Hi Rich, I didn't linger long when deciding on Etrex20x and 30x and went for 20x. From experience of Suunto barometer watch in UK atmospheric conditions on multiple Munro ascents, I already knew that atmospheric barometers are inaccurate, so not worth the extra cost. Similarly I've never had too many problems with accuracy of gps altimeters when referencing against know OS map spot heights.
The batteries, case and everything else is the same. Waterproof and good visibility in most light conditions. I only load stuff up from bikehike so never use Garmin mapping software.

[lune ranger]

Hi Rich, I didn't linger long when deciding on Etrex20x and 30x and went for 20x. From experience of Suunto barometer watch in UK atmospheric conditions on multiple Munro ascents, I already knew that atmospheric barometers are inaccurate, so not worth the extra cost. .

I know what you mean with the Suunto watches but atmospheric barometers - barometric altimeters - are the gold standard instrument for measuring altitude. This is what pretty much all civilian and military aircraft use. They do require cross checking and occasional recalibration (i.e. Tell it the correct height) for accuracy however.

[Trail-rat]

we are not flying an aircraft we are riding a bicycle.

Map related height data is close enough ime which echos that of PAD when it comes to the barometric data.

Me and the wife both have edge 500s with barometric altitudes. while riding through the rockies we could have varying spot numbers of circa 1000m either way with a variance over the days ride of a few thousand feet. it wasnt just one device either , they both took their turn at reading higher or lower.

[lune ranger]

Quite. And no doubt you had quite wildly variable surface positions from your GPS as well.
As stated the altimeter needs to be calibrated to be accurate. All it does is read atmospheric pressure.
When I had a Suunto watch it needed to be calibrated multiple times per day to retain any sort of accuracy.
My Etrex 30 is accurate enough for bikepacking over the course of a trip.

[Trail-rat]

Not really according to the plot certainly close enough to plot ontop of which track we were riding on. Thankfully Strava et all ignore barometric and apply the map data to it so our climb data matched up and we didn't ride the same route -one thousands of metres above the other.

Equally where in a Garmin edge is the calibration setting ?

[lune ranger]

Off the top of my head calibration isi in GPS settings . Something like 'set GPS elevation' or some such, you should spot it easily enough.
I tend to calibrate at the start of a ride with the known height. At home that's super simple on the road you require a good topo map.
I guess altitude data difference catches ones eye more than that of position. A couple of hundred meters difference of height stands out much more than a similar horizontal variance.
Dial in the scale and there is guaranteed to be difference in your tracks.
To see this you only have to look at the crumb trail a GPS leaves on the map if left recording in a fixed position.

[ScotRoutes]

My experience of the (older) Suunto watches is that you'd have been better guessing your altitude at random. That was compared to an Avocet Vertech and a Garmin Geko 301. It got to be a bit of a joke in my wee hillwalking/climbing posse.

[Mike]

Wait till the garmin 66s comes out pal. It looks mint and is military grade now it's on my Xmas list

[postierich]

To late £90 for it looks new used twice need one for adventures in two weeks