Every now and then there is a question which navigation system is the best for Adventure riding?
I don’t have the correct answer but here are some features to check. Especially if you want to ride TransEuroTrail (Finland).
I’ve been using Garmin GPSmap 62, Garmin Montana 600, Last summer Samsung Active Tab 2 & Osmand App and now I have Garmin Montana 700.
I did a testride with both of these navigation systems attached to my motorcycle.
I also had my camera (DJI Osmo Action) attached to my helmet -this I didn’t have in a very long time.
And Rode Wireless Go II microphone was connected to my camera and the microphone itself was inside my helmet.
Here is the video:
I’m not saying which one is better. They both have some cons and pros.
Samsung Tab can be a little bit tricky to keep the batter fully loaded. It is very delicate part of the tablet this USB gate where you should connect the charging wire. I was using the magnetic type of wire where there is an extra connection just after the plug that you should push to the USB gate. The power that comes from my motorcycles alternator is not quite enough to keep the battery 100% loaded all day. But in novemeber when we were riding 9 hours it took only about 30% of battery power… So I could easily ride 2-3 days without recharging the tablet.
It has also a small problem about the maps. You can get along with them but they are not as accurate than the maps in Garmin Montana. Every now and then I was little bit confused with Osmand maps. Why this track or that road is not on the map?
Garmin Montana 700 biggest drawback (so far) is that you can’t change the thickness of the saved track’s line on the map! This makes it little bit tricky to see the line on the map that you should try to follow. The strangest thing is that it was possible in Garmin Montana 600!! (And also in Osmand App!)
There are a lot of other devices and other apps to use. Especially this whole Apple -thing! I know nothing about them.
But for android this Osmand is very good choice because it’s free or it’s not expensive to buy (full licence) where you can have unlimited amount of downloads (maps).
I hope this helps you to choose a good system that serves you the best!