Garmin GPS .gpx Compatibility and Advice

[looserlama]

Hi!

I'm planning a fairly long bike trip across Europe this coming year. It'll be somewhere between 5000km-6000km, and as such I would like to invest in a good reliable GPS. (I already have plenty of paper maps to sort through for physical backups or general overview of our route, but when it comes to the day by day navigation while biking I would really like a GPS)

From touring forums and other reviews I've settled on the Garmin 64s as being a very good option. So I was looking for peoples help/advice on the following:

1. Is this a good and reliable option?
- If you advise another one, why do you think it is better?
- Do you have any major issues with this model?
Note: the price of ~$300.- USD is fine with me, I probably wouldn't want to go much higher though
- I know that we'll be changing our route sometimes while on the go, and I've heard that this GPS works relatively well for uploading files from your smart phone, have you found this to be true?

2. I'm very new to this, so this might be a stupid question: We've obviously not planned out our route to the last detail, but we do know the main cycle routes we would like to follow. For almost all of these I've found .gpx files which I believe store the routes?
I was wondering if the 64s is compatible with .gpx files?
- On the website in it's specifications it says it's compatible with Garmin Custom Maps, but it doesn't seem to mention .gpx files anywhere.
- They also mention some way of creating KMZ files from other files, which seemed somewhat confusing to me. I was hoping to be able to literally just download the .gpx files directly onto the GPS or an SD stick and have the GPS be able to read them as is. So is that possible?

Thanks for any and all help you can provide me with! Just getting responses for either of those questions would already be amazing!

[FarOeuf]

Hi,

1. I have a 62s, which I used on a ride Edinburgh/Istanbul. It's heavy, resulting in it launching off the bars/mount on particularly bumpy tarmac. On the plus side, it bounces well and the GPS was fine. I've since switched to an Etrex 30, which is much smaller and lighter but essentially does the same thing apart from the smartphone data transfer. An alternative for this function may be a smartphone SD card reader ($10), which may double-up for photo transfer from a camera.

Consider the power implications of the device. Running the device in 'map' mode consumes most power, so normally I run it on 'trip' mode and switch to the map if I need to check something. I was getting two to two and a half days (18 hours of use) from a set of batteries on the 62s, but recharging four AA's (2100mAh) was taking 12 hours. This meant I was constantly looking to recharge batteries (Etrex has longer battery life). If you plan to use the 'map' mode mostly often, then you'll need a good stock of power. A paper map as the primary navigation tool, and a GPS as the backup works best (for me, for long distance).

2. Yes, just copy the gpx file onto a particular /gpx/ directory on the SD card.

EDIT: I used this mount for the 62s, ugly but it worked well overall : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Locking-Motorcycle-Handlebar-Garmin-GPSMap/dp/B009SL0TJE

cheers,

[looserlama]

Hi FarOeuf,

Thanks for the info. I'm not so concerned with the weight difference between the two, which seems to be about 100g, although launching off the mount doesn't sound very good. I do like the extra battery life though. I'm pretty torn now. I think I'll go check them out in person at a shop and look at the differences.

I've read a couple reviews online for both, and people seem to say that navigating the menus are difficult with the etrax 30, do you find that to be true?

Again, thanks so much for your advice!

[FarOeuf]

I mention the weight not so much in terms of carrying it, but in terms of it unintentionally leaving the GPS mount. I chose a beefier mount than normal, and still it launched. Most garmin 'bicycle' mounts are quite weak.

The menu control on the etrex is just different, no better no worse. The menus are customisable, so you can have the menu items and order however you want it (most accessed items at the top; map, trip, track mgr, etc). I suspect the reviewers don't like the joystick (etrex) and prefer the thumb-pad of the larger unit. Personally I don't think it's such a big deal, you just use what you've got.

Garmin auto-routing (in Europe, outside UK/France/Germany type countries) is quite poor, for various reasons. It depends where your 4000km ride will take you, as to whether you'll have success with Garmin routing. Having said that, if you can read a map (in fairly basic terms) then you're unlikely to get lost riding in Europe; other than in large cities. In large cities the best is to stop at a big hotel/tourist info and get a single sheet city map, draw on the destination and stick it in your map case.

The 64s will be fine, as would the etrex. Both have minor draw backs, but neither would really cause you a problem. It's not worth the anxiety though, so your 64s is worth it in that case. Load up your .gpx routes, (find the track in the menu, set to display on the map) and you're off.

You can also load up POIs, such as campsites, which might be useful for you. There's a list of campsites from a website called Archies Camping.

cheers,

[DaveP]

Don't know about a 64, but I do have a 62s. My long trip with it was (only) an end to end. Failed to launch it from this holder:
http://www.ram-mount.co.uk/garmin-gpsma ... html#Build
I reckon I'd lose my fillings first!
I've had enough fun using Garmins in the car. On the bike, I only follow preloaded tracks or to locate myself on a map
The 62s has a limit on the number if data points used to define a pre prepared track. I was able to reduce the number but I couldn't get it below the limit for an end to end. This is where the ability to use plug in memory cards came into its own - 2 cards meant I never outfaced the device.
It might be worth checking this sort of thing out for the unit you are considering buying, especially if you are going to use 3rd party gpx files.
Garmin do a free download called Basecamp. There are no meaningful maps in it but it will display whatever map (Doesn't have to be Garmin) is installed in your gps), allow you to prepare a route on it and send it to your device or any plug in card. Or if you have a gpx file from elsewhere, you can view it against your map.
HTH