Garmin touring edge GPS or Dakota 20?

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burnleyretredz
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Joined: 12 Aug 2014, 3:56pm

Garmin touring edge GPS or Dakota 20?

Post by burnleyretredz »

I am planning to cycle from Lancashire to Corfu via Dover and Brindisi in 2015. I am looking at investigating in a decent cycle GPS and after months of research and discussion have come down to these 2. I intend to use the device as a planning tool as well as recording each stage. Can anyone advise me in layman terms which way to go pardon the pun?
Scunnered
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Joined: 11 Apr 2014, 11:23am

Re: Garmin touring edge GPS or Dakota 20?

Post by Scunnered »

I have a Dakota 10 which I use for hiking. The screen is so-so, but the Touring Edge screen is apparently the same.
Pros for the Dakota - uses AA batteries, so easy to replace when flat. The Edge uses a built-in rechargeable, so you will need to recharge it every 2 days.
However, the Garmin bike mount for the Dakota is naff - it does not hold the GPS tightly, so it rattles slightly when going over bumps (but it has never fallen off).
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andrew_s
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Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 9:29pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Garmin touring edge GPS or Dakota 20?

Post by andrew_s »

If you are on a long ride, AAs are much more convenient than something that needs to spend some hours plugged in to mains electricity every day.
If the Edge Touring runs out then you've no navigation until you've found your destination.
If the Dakota runs out you just stop for a minute and put a new pair of AA in.
geocycle
Posts: 2177
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 9:46am

Re: Garmin touring edge GPS or Dakota 20?

Post by geocycle »

andrew_s wrote:If you are on a long ride, AAs are much more convenient than something that needs to spend some hours plugged in to mains electricity every day.
If the Edge Touring runs out then you've no navigation until you've found your destination.
If the Dakota runs out you just stop for a minute and put a new pair of AA in.


I have a garmin edge touring. It's OK. The main weakness is that the battery is limited to about 10h, perhaps less depending on how you use it. For most uses this might be OK but it can run out at the end of a long day. Autorouting is a bit hit and miss. It can be useful but it can take you on some 'interesting' routes. I'm struggling to really recommend it.
OnYourRight
Posts: 283
Joined: 30 Jun 2013, 8:53pm

Re: Garmin touring edge GPS or Dakota 20?

Post by OnYourRight »

I have an Edge 800, which is very similar to the Edge Touring. I would also struggle to recommend it, though the near-miracle of GPS navigation makes me keep it around. However, it is the most user-hostile device I’ve ever encountered. Don’t go into this thinking it’ll ‘just work’ like a smartphone or a car sat-nav! You have to fight it, solve problems with the help of technical blogs, program your routes using a jumble of third-party websites and services, etc. It takes real effort to use it properly.

The battery lasts longer (farther than I’ve ever cycled) if you switch off the display backlight during the daytime. You can still read the screen in this state.

I had an eTrex 20 briefly before, which was even worse in terms of usability. Not sure what the Dakota is like.
tatanab
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Joined: 8 Feb 2007, 12:37pm

Re: Garmin touring edge GPS or Dakota 20?

Post by tatanab »

I too had an Etrex 20 for a short time. I took it on tour this year to supplement maps and to see how I might use it. The small and cluttered screen makes it hard to see much, and I used it for a bit of help on forest tracks and in showing the details of getting to city campsites once I was inside a mile or so. I do not pre-programme routes but have tinkered with that for which purpose it would be fine I am sure. I also found that I could not search for POI near my next day's destination. When I got home I bought an Edge 800 which has a larger and less cluttered screen and it also fulfils my need to find remote POIs. I cannot imagine touring without decent paper maps, so the Edge will stay as a back up to show me detail such as POI - - until one day I want to follow a predetermined route (unlikely).

I suppose the point is - does either or both do exactly what you want? If they do then I'd go in favour of AA batteries. I'd say that any Garmin device we are likely to use has poor supplied documentation and much of how to do even basic things has to be learned through the internet.
burnleyretredz
Posts: 4
Joined: 12 Aug 2014, 3:56pm

Re: Garmin touring edge GPS or Dakota 20?

Post by burnleyretredz »

Thanks for that. A cycling buddy swears by his touring edge, but as you have both mentioned, requires to be recharged after 48 hours of use. I intend to be fully self sufficient (sleeping in a lightweight bag inside a gortex bivi bag) so will not have access to any facilities to recharge this device. So any device I end up with will require batteries. I agree you can't and shouldn't replace paper maps and have ordered the required coverage. Thank you. John
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