Garmin 810 advice, or a cheap copy?

jez_clarke

Hi..

I'd love a garmin 810 for my mtb which has good maps that i can plan or follow although the price seems excessive..

are they really worth it?

or...? does anyone else have a similar device or maybe a cheap Chinese knock off that they could recommend as an alternative..
ideally i want it attached to the bike and i consider the hand held units for navigating to be too bulky even with a bike mount..
size of 810 is pretty slick.

camerauk

What about the Garmin 800 should be able to get that alot cheaper than a 810 and in my opinion just as good unless you need the new features of the 810

dmorton

If it's just navigation you want there are other Garmin GPSs that will do the job e.g. Dakota 20. But as you said these are a bit bigger, but not really that much.

You could buy an old Nokia phone such as the N8 and run Viewranger app on it (thinking Nokia for reliability). You'd need to source a mount though. Viewranger runs on Android and iOS too and is pretty much a full featured GPS

ga-rat

dmorton wrote:

If it's just navigation you want there are other Garmin GPSs that will do the job e.g. Dakota 20. But as you said these are a bit bigger, but not really that much.

You could buy an old Nokia phone such as the N8 and run Viewranger app on it (thinking Nokia for reliability). You'd need to source a mount though. Viewranger runs on Android and iOS too and is pretty much a full featured GPS

I've tried various phones/apps and although the features and ease of use are great, it's usually the battery life that let them down. A dedicated GPS device is far superior in the battery life and the accuracy/signal strength they are usually quicker at getting a signal and being ready to go.

I have a Garmin 200, this device doesn't display full maps, but it does allow you to upload routes to follow via the LCD screen displaying arrows and pointing you in the right direction. The map's feature isn't something I wanted, hence the choice of the 200. I bought mine just to track my rides and race against the virtual partner, it works great for recording those Strava KOM moments too.

dmorton

ga-rat wrote:

I've tried various phones/apps and although the features and ease of use are great, it's usually the battery life that let them down. A dedicated GPS device is far superior in the battery life and the accuracy/signal strength they are usually quicker at getting a signal and being ready to go.

I agree, battery life can be an issue. You really need a second device if you do this, hence the suggestion to buy an old Nokia. Keep your main for emergencies etc. You can then turn off all non essential functions, maybe not even put a SIM in to prolong the battery life.

giantAstax

I moved from the 800 to the 810 and am really pleased with it. Much more intuitive and simpler to use and the bluetooth connectivity and 'live tracking' are really useful.

tytherington

Well I bought the 810 for just over 500 pounds its been replaced 6 or seven times lost count mostly faults are elevation ie road 150 yards and elevation showed total assecent 15000 feet aftr 60 miles total assecent 17500 no type error this is three weeks old Garmin don't know how to cure now awaiting refund they replace it no probl but in my experience with new unit with same problem so I am also looking for an alternative

camerauk

Had my Garmin 800 for over 18 months now and not had one single problem with it, Maybe try one of them same maps and most of the features and should be able to pick one up for around £200

tytherington

thanks for eply just reluctant to go with same manufacturer as they both have same altimeter . according to garmin

Ulysses

I thought about a Garmin ... is it the 500, I cant remember now, then looked at getting an old phone etc, with the aim to have live maps when riding or using my old iPhone. Realised two things, very little chance of me looking at a fairly small screen on the bike when riding and also my contract about up on my mobile so I got a Galaxy S4.
I dont use live maps, I dont know why I thought I would, instead I've tried out several apps, Strava, EveryTrail, MyTrails, Maprika and OruxMaps.
So far I like Strava (you all know why) and use MyTrails. I use MyTrails because at home over WiFi I can use it to create a Offline OpenCycleMap map of where I'm heading, then if I'm out and about with no network I alway have a map that tracks my location via GPS in real time. I havent experimented with the other available map on MyTrails yet, the OCM maps have been perfect so far. I might think about investing in OS Maps as they are more detailed for riding in new places, that said ... they are also too cluttered when you just want a quick position check.
Even with several apps running and using GPS and plenty of stops checking the maps I don't use a quarter of a fully charged battery on a 2-3 hour ride.