GPS For Touring

sheffwed

Hi.
Doing E2E next May and was wondering if anyone could advise a decent GPS. One that is easy to use for us none techno guys, and if it is possible to hire one?

Ta

andymiller

I'd go for a Garmin HCx Legend.

Pros:

- waterproof;
- works with AA batteries;
- good battery life ( a pair of decent rechargeables will last a couple of days).

Screen size isn't great but it's OK - the main disadvantage is if you need to scroll about to find a place on the map.

Depending on what sort of roads you are planning to use, you might find that the built-in mapping is enough. Otherwise you can get the Garmin City Navigator Western Europe - buy it on DVD (rather than memory card) direct from Garmin.

The Garmin with the City Navigator will do routing - but it's best used with caution - and only use it to follow routes you've plotted yourself; don't expect it to produce the best routes. My advice would be to use waypoints at important junctions (and use more in towns and other places where you will need to zoom in more).

amaferanga

Garmin Etrex Legend HCx is what I use. Has the benefit over the Garmin Edge series in that it takes AA batteries so you don't have to worry about charging the thing up every night. Its also a bit cheaper cheaper, but will still come in at around £200 once you've bought the GPS + maps (Garmin CIty Navigator - get the DVD version, not the SD card) + bike mount.

amaferanga

Ha! Andy beat me to it