Garmin Edge 605

[chris_the_wrench]

I'm finally looking to get my first gps unit. I've been casually looking for over 10 years, but this is the time!

What I want to do:
Use it on my road and mtb bike.
Use it for backcountry skiing and snowshoeing.
Be able to plan a trip in the comfort of my house on my mac using one of those topo programs, input here also please, then follow it out in the real world.
Be able to ride trails and have the gps track me so when I get home I can save those to my computer and print them to share with others.

I'm looking at the Garmin Edge 605 and also buying the Garmin dvd topo Western US maps 24k.

Any input on wether this unit and map combo will work for what I'm looking for?

Thanks
-Chris

 

[dms1]

I just looked at the specs for that GPS and it only allows 100 Waypoints/favorites/locations, this seems kind of limited to me. Just to give you an idea, I am planning a 5 day trip to Utah and already have 998 way points saved and I dont have any favorites because my 276C doesent support them. Also, you might look for a GPS that offers tracking of where you went (called Tracks or Track Log), I don't see on Garmins Web Site where that feature is offered on the Edge 605 GPS.

This is the Garmin Page I am looking at:

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=10884&ra=true#specsTab

The Garmin Topo maps are ok and will upload to theGarmin Edge 605 according to their website. I think you would be better off with a Garmin Oregon, Dakota or Etrex, however these GPS's wont have cycling specific functions.

 

[Christophe Noel]

I use an Edge 705 and it's pretty awesome - for a bike computer. The biggest bummer with the whole Edge series is the fact they are rechargeable and don't accept field replaceable AA batts. That's fine for even the most epic rides, but start poking around and drawing on that battery power too much and your trip better last less than 12 hours.

You might look into the Oregon units or the Dakota units. I wrote the brief review of the Oregon 400t (now the 450t) in the last Overland Journal Gear Guide. No unit will "do it all" but if your adventures take on a more backcountry flavor, the Edge just isn't ideal. If it were me, I'd get an Edge 500 for my rides and a Dakota 20 or something like it for all other off-piste trips.

 

[voyageur]

Limited on MAC

Chris,

I own and use the Garmin 276C and a Garmin 305 Edge (bicycle, kayak and running). Both are fine units, but Garmin does not fully support MAC OSX. Several of the programs (maps and management) will not load on my IMAC. Garmin has been "Working on MAC products for a long time but so far, incomplete...

 

[mmccurdy]

Chris,

I own and use the Garmin 276C and a Garmin 305 Edge (bicycle, kayak and running). Both are fine units, but Garmin does not fully support MAC OSX. Several of the programs (maps and management) will not load on my IMAC. Garmin has been "Working on MAC products for a long time but so far, incomplete...

I have a Garmin 378 (same as the 276 basically) and I've had very good experience with the Mac software. In a lot of ways it seems much better than the Windows stuff.

I downloaded Base Camp and MapInstall for OSX a while ago and I haven't looked back. They actually just released a major update to Base Camp so you may have better luck if you try again.

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=4450