​​​​​​​

MESSAGE BOARD

THE CHALLENGE COMMUNITY, ON-LINE!

FRIENDLY ASSISTANCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT AVAILABLE FOR CHALLENGERS OLD AND NEW,

FROM FRIENDLY AND ENCOURAGING CHALLENGERS, NEW AND OLD

PLEASE USE YOUR OWN NAME WHEN POSTING. THANK YOU!

Download route sheets, admin forms, event documents here

Any queries? Email the coordinators  Sue, Ali & Mick at tgochallenge@gmail.com 

The TGO Challenge Message Board
Start a New Topic 
Author
Comment
View Entire Thread
Re: Simple, lightweight GPS?

Option A:

Smart phone and Viewranger. (best IMO)

Option B:

Garmin Foretrex 401 GPS Watch with easy to replace batteries.

Done.

Re: Simple, lightweight GPS?

Marian
I don't think you can go wrong with a Garmin eTrex. My first GPS was an original "yellow eTrex" and then, after a few years, I bought a Garmin Geko 201 as it was slightly smaller and lighter.

I've just had a quick look at the Garmin webpage and the eTrex 10 seems to be the modern equivalent: https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/outdoor/handheld/etrex-10/prod87768.html RRP is £100 - so they may be available cheaper. Approx 150g.

There are 2nd hand Garmin Geko 201s on ebay for half that price. The Geko is no longer made.

The basic eTrex and the Geko tell you where you are; you can enter waypoints in advance if there's a part of your journey where you think you may need a little navigational support; you can mark a waypoint en-route to remind you of the location of somewhere you went.... and that's about it. I like the simplicity.

Judith

Re: Simple, lightweight GPS?

Another vote for the Etrex. The Etrex 10 gives you all the basic functions, go for the Etrex 20 if you want mapping. They are small, bombproof and they take AA batteries.
I hope Mike is on the mend.

Re: Simple, lightweight GPS?

Etrex is the simplest, easiest system. You can get free apps for a phone but you really don't want to be running down the phone battery in some remote spot. I don't know why this aspect of mobile comms has been so neglected; designed by urban smarties for urban smarties, probably. Hope Mike is recovering well.VpCPAG

Re: Simple, lightweight GPS?

+1 for eTrex

I carried an eTrex 20 on my last crossing. It can function as a simple location device as you describe, or you can load a useful map on it as backup. I used a free OpenStreetmap with contours, very handy. The eTrex 10 is about the same but without mapping capabilities.

The eTrex range take AA batteries so no charging or faffing required. The eTrex 20 gets over 20 hours of use from a pair of AA's. It is shockproof and waterproof, something your mobile phone probably isn't currently capable of.

Mike

Re: Simple, lightweight GPS?

As well as the iPhone I usually carry a Garmin Geko 201 on longer trips, ~70g inc lithiums, simple to use & picks up satellites faster & more reliably than the iPhone. Cost £20 on Ebay.

Re: Simple, lightweight GPS?

Helloooo Merrylegs!

Another vote for the Etrex20. I found a company doing full UK 1:50k OS mapping for around £25.

As has already been said, it's dead easy to use, has a good battery life, is waterproof to IPX7 (that's pretty waterproof!) and is generally a tough bit of kit.

I particularly like the idea of being able to look at the screen in daylight without having to fire up the screen illumination, thus saving battery power.

The only cons are that the manual is pretty useless and the website poor. The better news is that there's loads of information available on t'interweb.

Give me a shout if you want to chat about them.

Best wishes,

John

PS: Please pass my best wishes to Mike also.....the daft bugger

Re: Simple, lightweight GPS?

Great responses and lots of good sense from you all, many thanks for the ideas. I don't have a smartphone (nor do I see the need for one, given my quiet lifestyle) so I have now fixed to borrow a Geko and perhaps later in the year I might indulge in a little Foretrex (I'm struggling not to make a ghastly pun here..). I've tried heavier and fancier GPS like Etrex - we do actually have an Etrex 20 lurking in a drawer, an unused Xmas present from me to Mike - but it's too heavy for someone who will be cutting the handle off her toothbrush to try and spare the old knees: however, I'm sure that one day I'll get to grips with it for shorter trips, for the fun of having the onboard mapping. Ho hum.

Re: Simple, lightweight GPS?

If you have a phone that can add Apps then all you will need for spot fixing your position is an app from the Ordnance survey called OS Locate. Its fast and accurate and you won’t need a separate gadget, batteries or charger. You can download it today and give it a trial run. If you don’t like it then the etrex is the option.

Re: Simple, lightweight GPS?

"I don't have a smartphone (nor do I see the need for one, given my quiet lifestyle)". Well M if you did have one you wouldn’t need a GPS. And its still basically just a phone with a few extra bits. Technology is the way forward and some phone satellite sensors are better than some stand alone GPS which is pretty sickening when you consider how much mapping GPS’s cost. It’s worth considering. Go on you know you want to. The other M could set it all up for you while he’s having a wee break. (No pun intended).