garmin edge
andy610
Posts: 602
can the garmin edge be used for hikeing and cycling
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Comments
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when you say hiking, do you mean navigating?
You can do it, but its not really meant for that, need to strap it to your upper arm so it keeps signal if your intending to track your route, or only turn it on when your lost?
I have the forerunner, which is the running version which is a watch, have used that for walking, plotted a route, loaded it as a course, and you can use it, but not ideal. not like an etrex etc that some friends i know use, its fitness first really....0 -
In my view, it makes more sense to use an eTrex on a bike than a forerunner on a walk. If you see what I mean.
But the Edge models really _ought_ to be usable for hiking. They've got decent-sized screens, and the battery life isn't bad. And the eTrex doesn't have the bike-specific functions that the Edge has, like a cadence display. I've already got an eTrex because I do more walking than cycling; but if I had an Edge I doubt I'd buy a different GPS for walking -- I'd just make the best of it.0 -
The Edge is NOT a GPS navigation device - it as a training aid with limited GPS facilities.
The biggest problem for hiking is that it does not deal with OS grid references so you cannot correlate your position with a map!
Additionally the Edge does not link with many of the mapping software programs as it uses specific files that are not compatible. YOu will need to use a third party conversion programme if you wissh to link with say Memory-Map.
I personally use the Edge 305HR for commuting and traing, and a bike mounted Etrex for touring or navigation. This also doubles for hill walking.<b><i>He that buys land buys many stones.
He that buys flesh buys many bones.
He that buys eggs buys many shells,
But he that buys good beer buys nothing else.</b></i>
(Unattributed Trad.)0 -
Well, the original post just says `Edge'. The Edge 305 is just a Forerunner on steroids; the 705 is closer to a proper navigator. I believe the 605 and 705 models will output a grid reference. As you say, the 305 won't.
I haven't used a 705, but I'd be mildly surprised if it didn't read the same kind of map files that the eTrex uses. But, hey, I've been wrong before.0 -
I'm not sure but I believe the battery life isn't as good on the Edge's as it would be on something like the eTrex, the Edge 305 is quoted at 12hrs but users reckon its nearer half that, also with the eTrex you can just replace the batteries if they get low, the Edge's have to be recharged.
Me and the missus have a Garmin 60 which is similar to an eTrex but a bit bigger and has more features, we use it for walking, geocaching (a form of hi-tech treasure hunt) and on the bikes using a bike mount. It tells us speed (max and avg), distance and can be used for navigation, when cycling locally we know where we are going though so just use it as a glorified cycle computer.
If we were using it away from home though we could plot routes and mark campsite locations and use the GPS as it was intended for.
However we use it though we can hook it up to the pc and download our route info so we can see where we've been.Tarpaullynn0 -
I think that if I could buy one GPS only, and had to use it for both walking and cycling, I'd have any of the eTrex range over even the top-of-the-range Edge, for the various reasons mentioned above. BW my eTrex Vista gets nearly 50 hours battery life if I'm careful and (as tarpaullynn says) you can carry spares.
I think it's very rare that navigation on a bike will be a life-or-death issue, particularly on a road bike. But on foot in the hills it might be. So, personally, I'd rather have a GPS that was as good as it could be for hiking, and put up with its limitations for cycling.
The things that the Edge can do that the eTrex can't could easily be supplied by another, self-contained bike computer, that probably wouldn't be all that expensive.
Of course, if I had loads of money I'd buy an Edge 705 for my bike and a Vista Cx for walking. But I haven't.0
