Hey folks, I'm only starting to look into this issue so I'm hoping you could help narrow down the search. I have a very inexpensive (and now old) GPS receiver that I use for hunting/camping and I've also used while riding, but it has no mapping feature other than the standard electronic display. On the other end of the spectrum, my fiance has a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a navigation system featuring maps, voice prompts, etc. What I'd like to find is a reasonably priced receiver (I'm a KLR/DR guy... can I pull it off for 2 or 3 bills??) somwehere in between that would work well primarily in my truck, but could also pull duty on my DR. I don't need XM or MP3 capability, voice prompts would be nice but not necessary. Really looking for something with practical capability, few frills, easy to use/read, and will stand up to the occasional use on the bike. Any advice would be appreciated.
I bought a Garmin Quest for exactly the situations you list. I move it between my truck, my F650, my XR280, and my wife's car. Dave
garmin quest for more of the on-road features or 60 cx for hunting/offroad. hard to get what you want for 3 bills.
In my opinon I'd keep the old GPS for Hunting ect... then get a Quest which is good to go out of the box for US roads... And you can buy my TT locking mount with hardwire cable for the quest, if you want I really liked my Quest, however wanted more features for land nav. and more memory. Too bad I aready gave my dad the Quest. Had the package at a deal in the flea market. Oh well. Also a good solif unit that will do everything you are looking for. Without the voice prompting, bright color display and a little slower is the GPS V. You can probably find one in your pricepoint. Good luck
Thanks all. I will look hard at the Quest since it went 3 for 3. As for price point, I am a cheap SOB, but I'd rather pay a little extra to get what I want than to go cheap and be disappointed. Moto, thanks for the offer on the mount, but I have to save some pennies first. Are RAM or TT mounts generally preferred over the Garmin motorcycle mount? One last one - having owned the Quest, would you pay up for the Quest 2 or stick with the original? Thanks again!
I have a ram mount for the new GPS unit it seems plenty strong. Not quite as trick looking or secure (no lock) as the TT model but fit and function are good. Looks like my old TT quest mount is off to a new home soon as payment arrives, so I guess it's a good thing you didn't want it. As far as the Quest or Quest 2. It depends on what you do and where you go. I was able to fit most of California's detailed maps in the 115MB quest. which is good if you don't travel out of your home state too much. On the other hand having all of Norht America loaded plus the extra memory for other maps and such could have been a plus. I guess it just amounts to weather the extra $'s are worth it to you.
The eXplorist 600 is about $300 if you shop it on the 'net, has everything but the voice, and a color screen, and a weather station. Takes an ordinary SD card, stores a lot of data, and uses USB. Software will bite the wallet, but no more than Garmin. You can save a hunnert bucks and get a Sportrak Color, and do all that but no USB, no SD card storage.
Hammer, I just saw the 600 yesterday on Magellan's website. I didn't see many good reviews on it elsewhere though. Have any experience with it? I really liked the features on it, though sometimes I wish they'd just stick with replaceable AA batteries.
I've been shopping for a GPS that I can move between my KLR and truck and have pretty much settled on the Garmin Quest because of the reviews and it's cabablities. I was comparing the Quest to the Megellan Roadmates. The Quest has autorouting, not just mapping. The difference is mapping tells you where you are right now, autorouting tells you how to get to your destination. The eXplorist 600 doesn't mention this feature. The Quest will let you use a combination of the internal maps and downloaded street maps so you can download detail maps for the areas you plan to spend more time in, but just use the internal maps (base map) for areas you just plan to pass through. The Megellan Roadmates won't do this, you can only use the basemap or the downloaded maps. The Garmin Quest comes with the map software for $300+, the Roadmates don't. It's an additional cost. The Roadmates have touchscreens, although I have read that some touch screens don't work with gloves on. The Roadmate has the speaker built into the GPS, on the Quest, it is built into the car adapter power plug. If autorouting is a feature you want and it was my most important feature, in the comparisons I have read, the Quest does a much better and faster job of updating the route should you veer off track because of a detour or otherwise. The speed of the autoroute updates seemed to be an issue for those doing the camprisons. Like I said, I haven't bought an autorouting GPS yet, so I have no real first hand experience in using any of them. Just my 2 cents.
if you're looking for inexpensive, look for a Magellan Meridian Color it takes an SD card, so you can upload as much detailed maps as you need, or switch cards it's WATERPROOF & floats (IEC-529 IPX7) you can either load Topo maps or if you really want (need) autorouting, you can get DirectRoute software (street level maps with autorouting) no voice prompts it's a handheld you can get a refurb for <$200 let all the Garmin zombies flame away (I'm wearing a nomex thong )
Thanks amigo. I saw that model on their webpage and read a pretty good review of it online. Definitely one to take a look at. My motorcycle riding (well, what I would want a GPS for) is almost exclusively in Baja. There's not much for map data available anyway, but I like the idea of SD cards because I could start to compile my own routes, etc.
I have a Garmin Quest and it does a great job of calculating routes and recalculating them if you miss a turn. The street software is excellent. If you need to find the closest gas station or hotel it also has that feature. You can manually enter an address and it will calculate your route instantly. I have not used it for mapping trails or with the topo software so I have no experience with that. However, I hope to start using that feature soon. It is a nice little GPS that you can easily carry with you. I would reccomend it.