GPS Units, Lets See What You Use! The Good, Bad or Ugly!

bluebugbuster · GPS Units, Lets See What You Use! The Good, Bad or Ugly!

Hey guys, I want to see your GPS units! What You use For distance skating, spot location, hunting, backpacking, offroading, etc...

If it tells you where you are in position to the GPS satellite system, I wanna see it!

stocago

I wanna get one that tells me I'm pumping over 20 mph on the flats! Very Happy

model.citizen

head in

mine's a Garmin Geko 201. tiny green thing, you hardly know it's in your pocket. cheap too. WAAS enabled too which (i think) is a biggie.

i was using a Garmin Quest but that was a bit cumbersome with it's flip-out antenna.

on some mellow DH runs, both units indicated the same speed, and the Quest always showed true when using it in the car or on the scooter, so i'm thinking accuracy between the two is pretty similar.

Ian the Groove Worshipper

I have the Garmin Forerunner 101. I got if for 60 with free shipping on Ebay. I think it's the cheapest one you can get. It does what I need it to do. Sometimes I question its accuracy, yet the one time I did a measured distance it was spot on. The speed reading sometimes lags a few seconds behind, but in the end I believe the times are accurate. One thing to be aware of with this model is that there is a definite geek factor/cumbersome factor to rolling around with this huge computer thing strapped to your wrist. If that is important to you, you may opt for one of the wristwatch sized models, which I believe are the 205 and 305.

pavedwave

I like the Garmin Forerunner 101 the best if only because it takes 2 AAA batteries, which means you can refresh it with only a couple minutes downtime. The battery life is usually no longer than 13-14 hours max. The newer models all require AC-power and several hours to recharge, which is something we can't afford out on a 24-hour straight excursion. The 101/201/305 units are all really easy and intuitive for "track and field" GPS tracking, where you want to capture and analyze discrete sessions later. The only real downside to the 101 is that it does not upload data to a PC, so you just have to rely on the unit's GUI, and write down the data manually if you want to keep a record.

Finally I got another device, a Garmin GPS60, that can keep a 26++ hour charge off 2 AA batteries, but it's a bulkier unit, and it's more of a orienteering device, so it's a little harder to establish discrete chunks of data from -- but its the main device I rely on for full-day ultras now.

I had a wristwatch 305 but returned it. I liked how sleek it was, and the software was just like the 101/201 series, but because it had an even smaller battery, it held a charge for only 10 hours at a time.

Here's another GPS thread with a couple shots of these units at the bottom... http://pavedwave.myfastforum.org/about40.html

scooterdad

That Geko unit looks pretty cool. Any sense of battery life on it? It says 12 hours on 2 AAAs but I am always skeptical.

Currently I have a 201 Forerunner that is about 8 years old now. It still works ok except in the forest/trees but the battery life is constantly shortening. I have considered getting a 101 or trying the Geko 201 or eTrex H to use swappable batteries for Ultraskate. Anyone have experience with the eTrex H?

model.citizen

my Geko seems to get at least 8 hours out of a pair of AAA batteries, so not bad considering i only really turn it on when LDP'ing.

sensitivity is much like all the other GPS units out there - lotsa clouds and trees can confuse it.

don't get the Geko 101, it lacks the all-important trip meter functions (top speed, distance, avg speed, etc)

930chas

I have a Garmin 405. It has been great. I have yet to lose a signal on a run or skating. The touch dial can be a little sensitive to use, but other then that it is packed with features. Plus, it looks like a 1/2 way decent watch so I wear it daily.

LDPanda

All right, fine, ill stop being such a hippy and care about my distance ...

I picked up a garmin forerunner 101 today (yes, they still exist at retail stores)

I just wanted to make sure the only buttons i really need are the start/stop button and the reset, right? I dont need any fancy lap counters or whatever, just want to keep track of my total distance for the day. Im a bit new to all this so i wanted to make sure i can just hit the start button and start skating, are there any other features i should watch out for?

Thanks much.

blake

i am jealous i am gunna use the pad and pen for greenlake. unless i can barrow one from people.

model.citizen

zatoichi37

fuzzydeer

My garmin 405 is freaking awesome. More accurate than other forerunnera too! The only thing it doesn't do is display your top speed for an entire session. it only displays the speed you are doing at the time you are doing it, and it also displays averages for total distance and laps. It does show you top speed if you are near your computer and you upload the information to it.

It aquires gps data super fast too and its not clunky. Its just as accurate and fast as the edge but its obviously simplified. It doesn't display maps or anything like that.

I bring it everywhere too. It doesn't look like a big clunky GPS its a fairly low profile watch (low profile as far as gps watches go that is)

pavedwave

It's pretty beefy, but the one reason I got this GPS60 to strap on the back of my backpack was that it takes 2 AA batteries, and lasts about 28 hours on that. This works perfectly for the ultraskate-- except for the fact it's a bit beastly in size and weight. The accuracy seems to be better than the 101/201, with more frequent checkpoints.

Before this I'd used Garmin 101, 201, and 305, all which last about 14 hours before needing power replacement. At least the Garmin 101 takes AAA batteries, so you can change it on the road. The good thing about a pre-mapped ultraskate course is that you don't actually need a GPS unit, as long as you've done plenty of pre-event day rides and know the landmarks. But for endless laps, it's nice to have a backup plan like GPS to make sure your lap counting doesn't have any "off by one" errors. The 405 must be really nice, as its an upgrade from the 305.

fuzzydeer

Yeah its nice but I may need a back up due to battery power.
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