How nice that it even rhymes 😉.
I would like a simple but reliable means of being able to follow routes so I never get lost, especially in unfamiliar areas. I was too late on acting on the recent PSA for the Garmin Edge Explore at £130, but what that did do was make me investigate the options...and I still can’t work out what is best for me! I’d never even heard of the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt until 2 days ago. There seems to be pros and cons to both. If this was what you wanted said device for, as well as the usual speed, distance, height gain etc, and you were in the market for one, what would you choose and why? (pros and cons for both) - come on, help a technophobe bellend make a decision...
Edge Explore. I don't know of anything better. I don't think you can pan and zoom the map whilst navigating on the bolt, can you? This is very useful on the Edge Explore.
Can't do a pro's and con's, but the Elemnt is good. Build routes using basic Komoot or Strava, seems easy to follow and reliable.
I think route planning on the fly is not do-able on my device, so potentially with longer trips that you might want to vary whilst out might be tricky.
I use OSMaps app on my phone to mark out the route I want to follow, then export the gpx to my Garmin watch which gives you a breadcrumb trail but also alerts at turnings and buzzes if you go off route, most of the time this is fine but occasionally I’ll stop to look at the detailed map on the phone if I’m unsure.
I looked into this earlier in the year. There's some nice devices out there but they are pretty pricey. In the end I bought a second hand rugged phone from eBay. For £50 it'll run strava, kamoot, os maps, viewranger, etc. Easy to connect to, full zooming. Its even a back up phone and camera. Way cheaper than the bottom of the range dedicated devices but more functionality than the high end ones.
I love my Elemnt Bolt for navigation. Use it all the time to follow gpx routes. As above though, the ability to pan would be really useful.
Often if you want an idea of what's coming up, because you can't pan you zoom out. The definition very quickly becomes useless.
I use it in combination with os maps on my phone. I still love the device though. Small and minimal on the bars. Very simple to use, great battery life.
But yeah, panning would lift the device for sure.
I do exactly as mudmuncher
Garmin Edge Explore works well
I use the panning and zooming a lot on my Edge Explore. I often ride places I mostly know, but I might want to take a shortcut or do something different, so I pan and zoom the map to get my bearings, or sometimes I navigate a waypoint a short distance away to get me back onto a route I know. Very handy especially for cutting a route short (or long).
Question for the explore owners - does it have the charging ring thing on the back, same as the 1030, that allows you to connect the extra battery directly*?
(not via the use port)
If you want it particular for offroad navigation I wouldn't choose the wahoo elemnt having owned one before and getting rid of it because the off road navigation was so poor. The fact it's black and white and the route is such a thick line it made it really awkward YMMV.
Following
It’s probably more expensive than you’re thinking, but the edge 530 is good for some stuff, but I wish I’d paid more and got the touchscreen version. It can pan and zoom round maps whilst you’re out riding, but with buttons it’s clunky to do and a bit frustrating. The inbuilt Trailforks feature would work far better with touchscreen.
If you’re sticking in a planned route it’s great though. Particularly on road it’s very easy to follow a route with pre warning of sharp turns / steep hills / turns coming up etc.
I've got a 620 with a touchscreen, and I hate that touchscreen, especially in the rain where it responds to raindrops, changing to random views, but not my fingers, so I can't swipe it back to the map, etc.
It's good in other ways though. As long as it's not raining.
OS maps in ViewRanger on ipad pro with pencil for route planning; export GPX to Dropbox, and thence to Garmin. I like that workflow, especially sitting up in bed with a cup of tea and OS maps on the 'pad, planning routes.
I don't find my Elemnt bad for offroad navigation, the basic mapping is easy to see on the fly/bumpy trails. If you're able zoom in and out and concentrate you may well have stopped so having a look on the 6" plus HD screen on my phone is much better for "the bigger picture".
Only real issue I've had is passing through forestry land where there might be trails that aren't R.O.W. so they aren't marked.
I did the Atlas mountain race using the Elemnt with an occasional reference to my phone.
+1 for edge explore. My edge 530 died recently and Garmin gave me an edge explore under warranty as a replacement (at my request). So happy with it, very clear and the touchscreen is amazing. Pan and zoom works great. Superb for navigating.
Picked up a Edge Explore during the recent PSA. Used it today for the first time having planned a route on Komoot and it's ace.
All I wanted was something to act as a nav for my bike and it fits the bill perfectly. Does loads more I'll probably never realise too.
Garmin Oregon.
I like the big screen, multiple map options, AA batteries.
Garmin 530 with mapping Strava and Trailforks.
Works really well for me.