John Satterlee
Team Member
A friend just gave me his old Garmin Edge 605 and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with using bike computers while hiking? It is all new to me. Thanks.
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Garmin Edge bike GPS for hiking
- Thread starter John Satterlee
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bcborder
Member
edge 800 w/topo maps
I have an Edge 800, awesome bike GPS! I occasionally bring it on hikes, mostly to record my route and workout (heart rate, calorie burn, elevation gain, etc). I also have the Garmin Topo US 100K maps. The GPS base map will not be useful for hiking. It's a huge advantage to have topo maps on the GPS. There are also 24K maps (higher resolution). I've never tried them.
That said, I wouldn't call a GPS necessary for most Northeast hiking, other than bushwhacking. For bushwhacking, it's very nice to load waypoint/s for your destinations into the GPS and then ask the GPS to navigate to the waypoint. The Edge/s should do this although I haven't tried it with my Edge. For bushwhacking I use a Garmin 60CSx.
One minus with the Edge 800 is that you can't carry spare batteries since it is internal rechargeable. I've had the Edge 800 navigating for 7+ hours and never been below 50% power level.
I have an Edge 800, awesome bike GPS! I occasionally bring it on hikes, mostly to record my route and workout (heart rate, calorie burn, elevation gain, etc). I also have the Garmin Topo US 100K maps. The GPS base map will not be useful for hiking. It's a huge advantage to have topo maps on the GPS. There are also 24K maps (higher resolution). I've never tried them.
That said, I wouldn't call a GPS necessary for most Northeast hiking, other than bushwhacking. For bushwhacking, it's very nice to load waypoint/s for your destinations into the GPS and then ask the GPS to navigate to the waypoint. The Edge/s should do this although I haven't tried it with my Edge. For bushwhacking I use a Garmin 60CSx.
One minus with the Edge 800 is that you can't carry spare batteries since it is internal rechargeable. I've had the Edge 800 navigating for 7+ hours and never been below 50% power level.
It depends on what you are looking for in a GPS.
Exactly the same for me as bcborder. I use an Edge 705 mostly to record my route and workout. In fact I use it for just about any outing: running, canoeing, skiing, etc. I also have Topo maps on it just in case.
The Edge 605 & 705 do not have hiking features like compass, barometric pressure, & temperature. The screen is smaller than some of the others (like Garmin "Western states" series). Reading maps on it is not easy.
Yet, the Edge is small, light, and has a great battery life. When needed, I charge it on the go with one of these options (depending on the trip):
Exactly the same for me as bcborder. I use an Edge 705 mostly to record my route and workout. In fact I use it for just about any outing: running, canoeing, skiing, etc. I also have Topo maps on it just in case.
The Edge 605 & 705 do not have hiking features like compass, barometric pressure, & temperature. The screen is smaller than some of the others (like Garmin "Western states" series). Reading maps on it is not easy.
Yet, the Edge is small, light, and has a great battery life. When needed, I charge it on the go with one of these options (depending on the trip):
DougPaul
Well-known member
The 605 is discontinued but Garmin still has a description and spec sheet online: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=10884
According to http://g.factoryoutletstore.com/details/1665-12337/garmin-edge-605.html the unit does have an SiRFstarIII GPS chipset (the same as the 60CSx) so it should have good reception under typical hiking conditions.
The rated battery life is 15 hrs (same as the 800). However, the battery is not user changeable and the capacity of LIon decreases over time so the run time of an old unit may be considerably less. Make sure you carry charging hardware such as that used by mcdxcvii.
If the battery life is too short, perhaps Garmin can replace it or you can find instructions on how to do it yourself out on the web such as http://www.batteryship.com/htmlos/h...catalog.html?item=361-00019-12&model=Edge+605. (I have no info about the reliability of this website and its products--it simply came up in a search.)
BTW, LIon batteries prefer partial to full discharges, so try not to run it all the way down and recharge frequently. The battery will also last longer if stored in the refrigerator. (It degrades with time even when not in use.)
Doug
According to http://g.factoryoutletstore.com/details/1665-12337/garmin-edge-605.html the unit does have an SiRFstarIII GPS chipset (the same as the 60CSx) so it should have good reception under typical hiking conditions.
The rated battery life is 15 hrs (same as the 800). However, the battery is not user changeable and the capacity of LIon decreases over time so the run time of an old unit may be considerably less. Make sure you carry charging hardware such as that used by mcdxcvii.
If the battery life is too short, perhaps Garmin can replace it or you can find instructions on how to do it yourself out on the web such as http://www.batteryship.com/htmlos/h...catalog.html?item=361-00019-12&model=Edge+605. (I have no info about the reliability of this website and its products--it simply came up in a search.)
BTW, LIon batteries prefer partial to full discharges, so try not to run it all the way down and recharge frequently. The battery will also last longer if stored in the refrigerator. (It degrades with time even when not in use.)
Doug
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John Satterlee
Team Member
Thanks for the info. I am a low tech guy and this GPS device gave me the info I was always curious about, like exactly how far some of these walks are and where exactly I went. I still love paper maps but this thing is pretty neat.
