Paper versus GPS

[Mick F]

Struggling to understand what could be easier than this?

I'm sure someone will tell me though.

Garmin Montana.
Easy peasy, big screen, and does absolutely everything for navigation.

https://www.tramsoft.ch/gps/garmin_montana600_en.html
http://www.gpsrchive.com/Montana/index.htm
https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/523677

I wouldn't be without mine.

[freeflow]

6.9 inches is big. 4 inches is meh

[Psamathe]

Struggling to understand what could be easier than this?

I'm sure someone will tell me though.

Or when it becomes

or

or

etc.

Or when you can't load any routes onto the device for several days in a row because Wahoos infrastructure is not working.

etc.

Ian

[Enigmadick]

Not really talking about brands - just the concept of device vs paper.

[Tiggertoo]

I've just checked Mick F's Montana spec and saw this:

Display size 5.06 x 8.93 cm; 4" diag (10.2 cm)

Then measured my Element and it is just over 2 1/2" diagonal. So, clearly for my eyes, the Montana might very well be the answer.

For all of us who are the right side of - say **&%#@ of age - I do recognise the importance of 'staying up' with technology and not getting left behind like some old farts grumbling away in the corner of a pub about all the new fangled stuff coming out. Researching paper versus GPS for me has always been all about 'seeing', so if there is a better device that allows me to do that, I am very willing to give it a try.

I have to add, that for all my routes - wherever I ride - I know them intimately and so have no use for any kind of device or paper trail to show the way, it is really only doing a ride like LeJog that requires me to 'dig deeper' into the unfathomably esoteric world of electronic way-marking devices.

I have learnt a lot on this thread, thank you for that.

[Jdsk]

Then measured my Element and it is just over 2 1/2" diagonal. So, clearly for my eyes, the Montana might very well be the answer.

If you've decided that you want a dedicated device (not paper, not a smart 'phone) and tell us the minimum screen size then I'm sure that you'll get helpful suggestions about which might suit you.

Jonathan

[Psamathe]

Not really talking about brands - just the concept of device vs paper.

My misunderstanding. In which case I agree with you (with a notable exception!)

Ian

[Psamathe]

Then measured my Element and it is just over 2 1/2" diagonal. So, clearly for my eyes, the Montana might very well be the answer.

If you've decided that you want a dedicated device (not paper, not a smart 'phone) and tell us the minimum screen size then I'm sure that you'll get helpful suggestions about which might suit you.

Jonathan

My own opinion is that there is more to it than just screen size. Smaller but higher resolution in colour can be clearer than larger but lower resolution in monochrome.

Ian

[rareposter]

GPS isn't really designed to be used in the same way as a road map or OS map; it's designed to have a route plotted into it and it'll just guide you so actually it doesn't need much detail and the breadcrumb trail combined with "turn left in 100m", "fork right in 50m" etc should be sufficient. However for that to work, you do need to have done your homework in advance on a proper computer with some proper route mapping where you can see the relevant landmarks.

On a road map / Ordnance Survey etc, you do get to see the big picture of where you are in the grand scheme of things but the faff of carrying, unpacking, viewing, repacking the map (or ensuring that the bit you need is visible in the bar mount) sort of loses a lot of the benefits.

Don't get me wrong, I love OS maps but I try to avoid carrying them on a ride unless I really am going somewhere completely unknown to me and remote.

[freeflow]

My 6.9 inch screen allows detailed route following, plus, if I change the zoom level if the map, as good an overview as I'll get with a map.

[toontra]

Struggling to understand what could be easier than this?

I'm sure someone will tell me though.

I tend to agree. If you can see the data fields (MPH, distance, etc) on the Elemnt then I'm not sure why directions should be an issue. If you are using a pre-planned route then you get a warning bleep to notify you of a manoeuvre in advance, plus the visual instruction and very clear chevron route line. The top LEDs even show you the direction - left/right/straight. You can zoom into the map if seeing the route is a problem. You even get a very loud bleep and flashing LEDs if you go off route. Impossible to miss IMO.

My eyesight isn't great but I've navigated many thousands of miles using the Bolt with pre-planned routes and found it fantastically useful. You don't need a map as such, or even details of your chosen route. All you need to know is when to turn, and the Wahoos do that very well. The idea of going back to paper maps fills me with dread!

[Jdsk]

Then measured my Element and it is just over 2 1/2" diagonal. So, clearly for my eyes, the Montana might very well be the answer.

If you've decided that you want a dedicated device (not paper, not a smart 'phone) and tell us the minimum screen size then I'm sure that you'll get helpful suggestions about which might suit you.

My own opinion is that there is more to it than just screen size. Smaller but higher resolution in colour can be clearer than larger but lower resolution in monochrome.

Agreed.

Which is why I recommended mocking this up with printed screens to check size of elements etc. (If it's impossible to check with the actual device before buying.)

Jonathan

[Mick F]

Montana screenshot of the OS mapping.
Screen measures 5.2cm x 9cm so you should be able to scale up or down from this image to see the actual size.

[PH]

Montana screenshot of the OS mapping.
Screen measures 5.2cm x 9cm so you should be able to scale up or down from this image to see the actual size.120.jpg

For following a pre planned road route, I don't need most of that detail, just the junction on screen and a clear indication of the road I need to take.
I get on fine with a Garmin Touring, a now obsolete model, I download tracks, so just get a pink line on the map, just like when I'd use highlighter pen on a torn off sheet of road atlas (Which is how I navigated E2E) The main difference is, you can see where you are on the line, or when you've left it. I'll sometimes miss a turn by not paying attention, same as when I used a map, but with the Garmin can usually spot that quite soon, and either turn back or see where I can re-join.

[Tiggertoo]

I'm sure all of you know how to design routes using the Ride with GPS software system, and the cue sheet that you can get if you are a premium subscriber - it used to come with the free service - my preference would be to have just the cue sheet displayed on a device.

I do not need the topography pictures or the warning of turns coming up - I think the beeping would end up driving me crazy - and viewing the turns without looking at pictures would help my concentration for reading the LeJog directions such as: 'turn left opposite the plant shop down the unmarked over-grown lane' (there really are such arcane directions on my route). This would simulate the paper cue sheets we create for the Audax rides and which we usually mount on our handlebars in a cover.

To answer an earlier question; if I could get a device screen the size of a DVD case, that would be wonderful. Any hope?