Views on GARMIN e Trex 32x

[pwa]

get a Garmin Edge 830 or 520 and a powerbank

way way better than an E Trex

You don't say in what way they are better.

So not terribly educational for folk.

Or is this just one of those posts where folk shine a spotlight on - drumroll on - what they have?

the E Trex uses breadcrumb navigation, i.e. follow a line, There is no helpful routing, e.g. to the starting point of a track, nor is there any warning when deviating from the track default, you cannot be re routed if there is a road that is closed,
you cannot enter a postcode and get turn by turn directions .... loads more things that the e Trex cannot do and which are important

I own an old Garmin Edge 500 and hate it when I compare it to my Edge 1000

here's DC Rainmaker's review of the Edge 830 :

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/04/garmin-edge-830-cycling-gps-in-depth-review.html

so my advice is that if you only want something for when you go hiking/walking/camping, the e trex is ok, but if you want to navigate on roads when you are cycling, save up and get a 'proper' satnav

It has to survive for a couple of weeks with doubtful access to charges. So the AA batteries matter. For backup and planning I will be taking a paper map too. One of us will have a smartphone tucked away that could be dragged out if necessary. And I am very good at remembering road layouts when I've been studying them, so all in all I'll be okay. I could probably put the device in my pocket and still find my way round okay. If anything it is an assistance. I won't rely on it.

I resent any tech stuff on bikes. I have it there grudgingly. Cycling for me is a way of getting away from that clutter.

[pwa]

(By the way, if anyone wants to talk about other GPS devices feel free. The OP is very much in favour of thread drift.)

[Sweep]

The card slot could be used if you want more versions than will fit, but is most likely to be required if you get OS mapping on an SD card, which may not fit into internal memory. It also used to be the case that the maps were locked to the physical SD card, socopying OS mapping into internal memory may not work anyway.)

There is a view that the maps should be put on the card in case of some sort of corruption or other problem when the device boots up.

If there should be a problem you can then remove the card.

This is what I do.

The internal memory on mine (I have two 20s and a 20x - two bought secondhand - am stockpiling in case it's discontinued in favour of a touch-screen built-in-battery twitter-nattering thing) is used exclusively for waypoints and routes - and there is plenty of room for those.

[Sweep]

I know the op has already gone for the eTrex but as discussion has moved to Edges...

A better alternative may be the Edge Explore if you want something more dedicated to cycling & are OK with a rechargeable unit*. The Explore is a similar price to the eTrex 32X. DC Rainmaker review here.

The only real negative, apart from rechargeable battery if that bothers you*, is the lack of a barometric altimeter. It also lacks an SD card slot but offsets that with 16GB of built in storage.

On the plus side you get the very good OSM based mapping & navigation. You also get a slightly bigger screen.

(*I've been using Edges for 12 years & never had a problem with battery life. I've only encountered the "low battery warning" rarely & you've probably got an hour, maybe more, before it will actually conk out. I've only felt the need to connect it to a battery pack 2 or 3 times during some down time (cake stop or travelling part of a journey by train) & mostly they were more for peace of mind that the battery would last rather than having to.)

Looks kinda interesting (and I would be the first to admit that the Etrexs are slightly on the small size) but am afraid the built in battery rules it out for me.
The other advantage of replaceable batteries is that if a device freezes (anything is possible with a computer) you can unfreeze it by momentarily taking a battery out).

[mattheus]

(By the way, if anyone wants to talk about other GPS devices feel free. The OP is very much in favour of thread drift.)

There is very little competition in the AA-powered arena. The strava-nauts want small+light, and the ultra-racers are mainly using their phones to sync routes across etc, so are handcuffed, sorry, integrated to mains USB recharging and/or power-banks anyway.

[pwa]

I have just done a test ride around the village green following a magenta track and it seems good. I can glance down and get the info I need without taking my eyes off the road ahead for too long, helped perhaps by the fact that the magenta is the same colour as on my car satnav. I am used to glancing at that without letting my eyes stay there for more than a second, so I pick up what the magenta line is doing very quickly. What I don't want to do, of course, is crash into a parked car because I'm looking at the GPS too much.

[willem jongman]

I am a very happy user of an older Etrex30, and Garmin have fortunately changed only little. The big advantages of the Etrex series have always been the small size and low weight, the low price, the use of rechargeable AA batteries rather than an inbuilt battery, and the low power consumption. Riding from tracks, and using very good Ansmann rechargeable Eneloop style batteries, I have usually managed some 4-6 days of cycling (less on Panasonic Eneloops). This means that for most three week tours I can manage with a handfull of rechargeable batteries in my handlebar bag, and can avoid the weight of a charger and the hassle of charging. In an emergency I can always buy disposables.
I only use tracks, as good ones are far better than what the routing functionality of most maps can offer. Tracks also do not drain batteries quite as much.

[pwa]

I have been using Ansmann 2850s for about ten years, possibly more, for battery lights, and I trust them. I have never used Eneloops so I don't know how they compare.

I think for me, following a track on the screen is ideal because my head works well with maps. I think maps. I don't work well with arrows and stuff like that. Seeing the shape of the line I have to follow, even just for a second, goes in quickly with me. It is the right amount of information for me.

[Sweep]

I have just done a test ride around the village green following a magenta track and it seems good. I can glance down and get the info I need without taking my eyes off the road ahead for too long, helped perhaps by the fact that the magenta is the same colour as on my car satnav. I am used to glancing at that without letting my eyes stay there for more than a second, so I pick up what the magenta line is doing very quickly. What I don't want to do, of course, is crash into a parked car because I'm looking at the GPS too much.

You can of course change the colour of the line if you ever wanted to - but you probably know this.

[pwa]

I have just done a test ride around the village green following a magenta track and it seems good. I can glance down and get the info I need without taking my eyes off the road ahead for too long, helped perhaps by the fact that the magenta is the same colour as on my car satnav. I am used to glancing at that without letting my eyes stay there for more than a second, so I pick up what the magenta line is doing very quickly. What I don't want to do, of course, is crash into a parked car because I'm looking at the GPS too much.

You can of course change the colour of the line if you ever wanted to - but you probably know this.

Yes. But as I have acquired a Pavlovian response to magenta it makes sense to stick with that. My brain takes in the shape of the track very quickly with that colour.

[Sweep]

I have been using Ansmann 2850s for about ten years, possibly more, for battery lights, and I trust them. I have never used Eneloops so I don't know how they compare.

Interesting - I used to pedal with someone who used their batteries - I looked up those batteries of yours - far from cheap - you been using the same cells for ten years?
For high power lights I have been using 7day shop batteries which have a similar NOMINAL capacity but they aren't low self discharge - I tend to charge them up just before a long nocturnal trip.
For more modest capacities, and prices, I think IKEA's cells (very probably eneloops) are pretty good.

[ratherbeintobago]

I have just done a test ride around the village green following a magenta track and it seems good. I can glance down and get the info I need without taking my eyes off the road ahead for too long, helped perhaps by the fact that the magenta is the same colour as on my car satnav. I am used to glancing at that without letting my eyes stay there for more than a second, so I pick up what the magenta line is doing very quickly. What I don't want to do, of course, is crash into a parked car because I'm looking at the GPS too much.

You can of course change the colour of the line if you ever wanted to - but you probably know this.

Yes. But as I have acquired a Pavlovian response to magenta it makes sense to stick with that. My brain takes in the shape of the track very quickly with that colour.

Aviation-acquired or otherwise?

[Sweep]

the E Trex uses breadcrumb navigation, i.e. follow a line, There is no helpful routing, e.g. to the starting point of a track, nor is there any warning when deviating from the track default, you cannot be re routed if there is a road that is closed,
you cannot enter a postcode and get turn by turn directions .... loads more things that the e Trex cannot do and which are important

*******


so my advice is that if you only want something for when you go hiking/walking/camping, the e trex is ok, but if you want to navigate on roads when you are cycling, save up and get a 'proper' satnav

The garmin doesn't have to use a breadcrumb trail.

In fact since I have a certain suspicion of such trails (I may be converted for certain applications) I use a point to point system where I don't even have to see the line on the screen. I find this more restful/zen. I can just relax and pedal.

The Etrex DOES do routing internally.

It will re-route on the fly.

If I divert from my straight line route (either enforced by a closure) or because I have gone wandering to look at something interesting, I can easily get back on route by getting myself back on the displayed line, or, because I number all my points, getting the Garmin to autoroute to a point I know to be up ahead by a few kilometres.

I very often autoroute to the start of a saved route, because once you have created a few routes, you can often work them into other rides.

I DO use my Etrex for cycling, often in pitch darkness off-road. It's fine.

These "loads more things" you mention. What are they? Performance related? Fine if you need them - but many people don't so no point paying for them in a device which may be compromised in other ways.

Each to their own.

[pwa]

I've just stuck a 19km track in the e trex to give it a test tomorrow, using a twisting journey along local lanes. A bit artificial as I know where I am going but I will pretend I don't. As much as anything it will be a test of my ability to take in the information without riding into a wall. I will do it without reading glasses but I suspect I may end up buying some of those cycling glasses with a reading glasses lens in the bottom portion. The screen will be a little inside my minimum distance for easy focusing.

[willem jongman]

The success witll be largely dependent on the quality of the track, of course, and not on the Etrex. As for reading glasses, I use my regular multifiocals, and that works a treat, but would be a bit overkill if you do not need corrections for looking into the distance.