GPS Recomendations

[Dave42w]

Watching the SPOT trackers for thre BB200 had remidned me that I am going to need a new gps before April. I currently use a Garmin Edge 800. However, when I'm on a 3 month tour for my sabbatical I won't have a laptop computer and therefore won't be able to transfer routes onto my Edge 800 nor daily rides off it.

I like the Garmin's (had an Edge 705 before the 800. My wife now uses that). So I am wondering Garmin 810, Garmin 1000 (gulp at the cost), new mobile phone (Android with latest Bluetooth), or something else.

I want 4 main things from a device:

1: Follow a preplanned route with on screen map. Currently I like the Strava route planner and fortunately it is just about possible (although fiddly) to edit routes on my Nexus 7 tablet which I will have with me. I need to be able to download routes to the device without a PC which I think the Edge 810 and 1000 support (via bluetooth to my mobile or wifi) but I'm not sure where they can get the routes from - is it just from Garmin Connect? I can follow Strava routes on a phone but my Samsung S3 Mini is not very visible in sunlight and the case I have is clunky and fiddly.

2: Upload activities to Strava without a laptop. The Edge 810, 1000 and a mobile phone all do this (the edges via Garmin Connect). Does anything else?

3. I want a live tracker. I don't think I need a separate SPOT tracker as I'm probably not going to be out of mobile signal range a huge amount and am not doing lots of off road (except during the WRT). I have been using an app on my phone RTT2 but with gps on the phone battery gets eaten quickly. I think the newer garmins can do this via bluetooth to the phone. I don't know about other options.

4. I want USB recharging. I'll have a big USB battery being charged by my Plug II+ which can then charge all the devices I take.

Normally the routes are planned in advance and are on road or cycle routes known to Strava. For the WRT I guess that won't be the case so whatever I get will need to cope with that too.

So what do people recommend?

[WillieKimble]

use backcountry navigator on smartphone.
Backcountry navigator works on / off road unlike strava which reroutes you the second you plot something off road.

like it also allows you to share location though it is not automatic like

I've got a galaxy S5 with an Otterbox case. have cable tied the belt clip to the stem which has given me a very versatile bike mount.

the app is fantastic. phone is waterproof and rechargeable from USB or in my case (a gomadic battery pack), so lasted 34 hours of following track, saving progress, taking pics an calling home on the BB200. mainly kept it in flight mode though to conserve battery.

to upload to strava is a little more difficult. you have to opy the gpx to a different folder and then log into the web interface to upload it to strava. am sure strava'll sort it out pretty quickly though. i often email them directly to myself for upload later on a laptop / pc..

of course you could record your ride on strava the same time as following a route on backcountry navigator but not sure if that'll use more battery...

[Dave42w]

Thanks for the suggestion. Is that the "preserver" case? Seems to be the only waterproof one. I'd need to upgrade from my s3 mini as they don't do a case for that.

Will look at the app.

[thesloth]

You can upload routes and download activities from a Garmin Edge 800 without a computer.
You need to purchase a "usb on the go" cable & you need a phone that supports this format (I think Android 3.1 and later).
Using that cable you can connect the Garmin to the phone and it will mount it like an external hard drive.
You can then use a file browser on the phone to access the files.
The easiest way to get them on to Strava is to use the email upload function. I'm not too sure how you would get them onto Garmin Connect and other platforms.

[Dave42w]

You can upload routes and download activities from a Garmin Edge 800 without a computer.
You need to purchase a "usb on the go" cable & you need a phone that supports this format (I think Android 3.1 and later).
Using that cable you can connect the Garmin to the phone and it will mount it like an external hard drive.
You can then use a file browser on the phone to access the files.
The easiest way to get them on to Strava is to use the email upload function. I'm not too sure how you would get them onto Garmin Connect and other platforms.

Yeah I have an otg cable. I have tried before but tonight for the first time it worked. Using my Nexus 7 I need to use an OTG cable plus a Y cable (connected to the otg cable and to a power supply) and then to the garmin. I am using the Nexus Media Importer app (which didn't support writing to external devices in the past but seems to have been upgraded).

I can copy activities off the garmin and then upload directly into either the strava or garmin website

I can also download a course and copy it onto the garmin.

Whoo hoo. This should mean I don't need to to upgrade my GPS. Wow big saving! Thanks