Garmin 78 - still a good candidate for an off road GPS?

hi guys,
Been 6 months since I got to the bottom of this and just checking that not much has changed? At the time I came to the conclusion I shoud get the 78 because it does what my old GPS does (older Trex HXC) but can be plugged in and display several tracks at once.

I'm currently on an old eTrex and it does almost everything I want for most off-road riding. My only complaints are wear to the jack when plugged in when riding, so I use batteries, and that you can only load one track at a time instead of several. I'm not interested in the Montana mostly because the price.

this still hold true?

thanks

I'd say YES. Some people don't like the buttons above the screen other than that ...
I still prefer buttons to touch screen. For $200 it's a great value. It has a nice niche between the old and the latest/"greatest" Garmin has to offer.

The 78 series is really good value for the money. The 78 and the Montana are the only ones I recommend for bike use since they both have good power options. Anything that uses Mini USB only for power is not worth getting for bike use. Batteries are ok for handheld use but they die quickly if the backlight needs to be on.

Awesome - thank you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, hence the typos...

+1, and don't let the fact the 78 is a "marine" GPS or that the buttons are on top worry you, the 78 is almost identical to the 62 function wise and some actually prefer the buttons on top.

Bruce

It's all a compromise.

The GPSMAP 78 uses a patch antenna, which has very good reception as long as the unit is held flat. The 62 uses a quad helix antenna. The quad helix antenna improves reception and is better suited to holding the GPS in a more upright vertical position.

daryl

This is true but I've never heard of this causing any real issue in normal use, on a bike, though. My wife had a 76 for years and it was always as accurate as my 60CSx.

The point is that the 78 series is different than the 62 in another way other than just button location and the power cable. I've never had any problems with my 62 when held flat.

daryl

That's as may be, but the thread is called "Garmin 78 - still a good candidate for an off road GPS?" so it's worth mentioning that the antenna type is a moot point in real use.

I've been very happy with mine and with the long battery life I don't bother with the power cable. I usually only do day rides so multi day rides the power cable option might be better.
Like some others, I prefer buttons.

I'm still loving mine. I've ridden over 1000 miles with it the past two weeks. It doesn't have to be held "flat", I've got mine mounted on the bars at an angle >45 degrees and I've never had a problem.

I missed the crazy deals over the winter, seems like they are about $230 is the best I can find unless someone has a link...

A little cheaper here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-GARMIN-...0705541806?pt=GPS_Devices&hash=item51a7ade2ae

You'd want to make sure Garmin will honour the warranty before buying one of those. I'm not saying they won't, but they do have this policy in effect for eBay purchases.

West Marine has been having the base 78 on sale for $200 off and on every few weeks over the past few months.

If they are not on sale now, they probably will be soon.

I've been keeping my eye on that (west marine) and the way that works is its seasonal. Will likely not not be on sale till the fall any more. I'm going to do GPS store and also get the cord through them... http://www.thegpsstore.com/Garmin-GPSMAP-78-Color-Handheld-GPS-P2380.aspx

the only place I've found that has Ram moutns for them is.. Ram! Therefore I guess I'll order direct through them...

looks like use of the 78 is getting a little more wide spread...

RMATV is now carrying the mount:
http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p...-Mounts-Ram-U-Bolt-Mount-For-Garmin-GPSMAP-78

cheapest place to get it on Amazon direct from Garmin (warranty definitely in tact):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003I86PIM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3S4H3E5TUN1NP

and the cradle if you want (free shipping)

cord is a wash, they are about $17 to $20 most places.

I just got it off Amazon as well, with Prime shipping and an 8GB micro SD card the total was like $217 shipped.

Keep in mind that unless you have.... other means of acquiring maps, tack another $80 on for 24K topos in whatever region you're in. The included basemap isn't even really a map. It showed Nevada's capital city in completely the wrong spot, miles off the main highway that runs through it. It was also just a dot that said "Carson City" No streets or anything.

Very few people use Topo maps when riding. City Nav or better yet old Roads & Rec are much mor popular.

The base Garmin 78 is on sale again at West Marine for $200, just got an email today. No idea for how long....

So it's on again!