best ALL around gps??

[yukondood]

I am looking for feedback on best gps to mount on my s10, as well use a until for river travel and hiking.

Lets hear your thoughts and opinions

 

[HoebSTer]

Many people rave about the Garmin 60csx, or the new 62 series for being portable and smaller, and great reception under heavy cover. I never liked it too much because it is more technical than I am. I still have it, and plan on using it on the Tenere with the RAM ball system, or may splurge for the TouraTech lockable mount.
Other than that, I use the Nuvi 500 pre-loaded with North America and Topo. Easy-Easy to use. Same RAM mounts for it as well.

 

[HoebSTer]

Oh, lots of people have good luck with the Garmin Zumo 500 series, and 600 series. Garmin has usually always had great customer service for updates and such.

 

[~TABASCO~]

Zumo 550 is what I have read about for quite sometime...... my $.02

 

[Thunderpig]

I have the Garmin 60 with RAM mount and love it. Very robust/durable unit. I also bought the kydex case from Stovepipe @ ADV.com; it's been great. I plan on moving the whole thing from my Dakar to the S10.

 

[ptfjjj]

I have the Garmin 60 with RAM mount and love it. Very robust/durable unit. I also bought the kydex case from Stovepipe @ ADV.com; it's been great. I plan on moving the whole thing from my Dakar to the S10.

I have always been intrigued by the Garmin 60 series. Can they be used for street navigation? What are the maps availability? and cost to update?

 

[HoebSTer]

yes they can be used for streets after you purchase and install the apporpriate mapping software you want. I think i have over $100 extra in mine to get the streets on there.

 

[hANNAbONE]

garmin 276C

 

[justbob]

The Garmin 2610 was one of the best but had no internal battery. The 27** series was dumbed down and so is the Zumo series somewhat. Garmin no longer supports the 2820 and will upgrade it with a Zumo 550 for $179, at least thats what it cost me. Garmin claims it will run for 4 hrs on the internal battery. I'm still learning my 550 so the jury is still out . I think for the average GPS user such as myself its probably gonna be OK. The hardcore rally guys are not so pleased with it.

 

[colorider]

The Garmin 2610 was one of the best but had no internal battery. The 27** series was dumbed down and so is the Zumo series somewhat. Garmin no longer supports the 2820 and will upgrade it with a Zumo 550 for $179, at least thats what it cost me. Garmin claims it will run for 4 hrs on the internal battery. I'm still learning my 550 so the jury is still out . I think for the average GPS user such as myself its probably gonna be OK. The hardcore rally guys are not so pleased with it.

I had a 2610 for years and years and was saddened when the screen de-lamented during my trip to Alaska in '07. Still probably my favorite GPS EVER.
Replaced it with a Zumo 550 in late '07 and still using it. Problem is, I would not consider it suitable for hiking or river use due to it's size and weight. For strictly MC use, it would still be my choice if I was in the market today.

 

[switchback]

For both on and off bike use a 6Xcsx. I have a 60csx and an expensive over engineered mount from Touratech. Works good on and off the bike and can be loded with City Navigator maps or topo maps. All GPS units are lacking, and harder to work with than they need to be. Many have been dumb-ed down with new releases and that is the wrong way to make things easier. My dumbed-down 2720 works on road trips we'll see how it works with the new maps loaded.

 

[jajpko]

I was not going to mention this, as it is, I think, a hwy gps. The Lorance Iway 500 or 600c. I have the 600c and it is a pleasure to use. I can build routes on the unit or upload from my computer. It is a multi point route gps, has mp3, poi, ect. It is so easy to build a route if you change your mind.
I also Street and Trips as a route planner.

I won't be able to use these on the S10 because the unit uses a hard drive and does not like any vibrations.

Anyway that my .02..

p.s, I purchased a Garmin 1490t and will give that a try. I like the big screens

 

[motocephalic]

The Garmin 2610 was one of the best but had no internal battery. The 27** series was dumbed down and so is the Zumo series somewhat. Garmin no longer supports the 2820 and will upgrade it with a Zumo 550 for $179, at least thats what it cost me. Garmin claims it will run for 4 hrs on the internal battery. I'm still learning my 550 so the jury is still out . I think for the average GPS user such as myself its probably gonna be OK. The hardcore rally guys are not so pleased with it.

I have a 2820, do tell how you acquired a Zumo for 179.00.

 

[markjenn]

If you like a large screen and are Okay with touch screens, I'd spring for the Zumo which has a number of design features tailored to motorcycle use. 2nd choice a waterproof Nuvi. I'm not familar with the rest of the Garmin line, but it seems like the Zumos and Nuvis are getting the lion's share of development resources these days. (The number of models is mind-boggling.... and confusing.)

If a small screen doesn't bother you, you're comfortable with buttons and don't mind a "techie" GPS, the 60 and 62 are hard to beat. I travel with groups that have four or five GPS's among us and I consistently can do a better job of navigation and have more information available to me with my lowly 60CSx. And I have seven bikes and don't want to spend a fortune on dongles and mounts, so long runtimes (using common AA batteries), weather resistance, portability (I can throw it in the tank bag at stops), and PC connectivity trump features like touchscreens.

I'm climbing my soapbox now, but I also find the Zumos and Nuvis so "dumbed down" I feel like I'm being treated like an infant. If feels to me like when Garmin designed these units, they designed around the person who drives major highways and above all else, wants to be able to point to Abilene, say "take me there", and be done with their interaction with the GPS. Those of us who like to plan routes, don't trust GPS routing algorithms, and like to experiment a little get short shrift in my opinion.

- Mark

 

[troll]

I use the Map 60csx with Canadian topo maps loaded up. I use it on my sled, skiing and snowboarding in the winter, on the motor bikes, hiking and kayaking in the summer. very nice small unit that does pretty well even when using the onboard double A batteries.

 

[rocca]

Gamin's Montana is due for release shortly and on paper appears to supply what many users say they want from a multipurpose outdoor GPS (routable street mapping, topo, big screen, 3 axis compass, 16-hour battery, etc).

I'll be looking closely at it as a possible replacement for my Zumo 550: http://sites.garmin.com/montana/

 

[tubebender]

I've been looking at the Montana as well. Kind of like the Tenere -- on paper it looks real good. But I think I'll wait till I see some real world reviews.

My Quest is still going but it's just a matter of time before I rattle it to death.

 

[AVGeek]

That Montana looks interesting, I'll have tom keep an eye on it. It appeared to have a smartphone form factor.

I'm also seriously considering the Delorme Earthmate with SPOT: http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10741

 

[colorider]

That Montana looks interesting, I'll have tom keep an eye on it. It appeared to have a smartphone form factor.

Yes, but does it appear that the maps (beyond the base map) are an option? After watching a couple of the videos that GPS City put up, it appears there are a lot of customization options - which I really like.

 

[rem]

Until you guys send me money, I can only afford maps. The good news is, I only need two. North of Whitehorse, and south of Whitehorse. If I need to decide where to go, I just flip a coin. R