Are those wrist mount Garmins anygood ?

[Shewie]

I fancy a little GPS unit to throw in my pack for emergencies, are the little wrist mount Garmins up to much ?

 

[Deleted member 4605]

are the little wrist mount Garmins up to much ?

I'm guessing you mean the Forerunners? If so, they're good if you're into running/biking etc, but are no match for a decent handheld unit for general navigation (or price).

No way I'd have one as a "possible" though - battery life and cost would go in favour of a simple eTrex.

 

[Shewie]

Thanks Schwuk, that`s the kind of answer I was looking for

 

[oldsoldier]

I used one in the Army for a year. It did an adequate jo; I could plug in coords, and, with the use of a map, was decent for its size. The downside was that I would lose signal alot. And, it takes AAA batts IIRC. This forces you to take two separate types of batts with you, or me anyway, as most other gear I carry takes AA.
I would second spending a little extra on an etre. With the availabilty of them these days, $100 will get you a great GPS, if you're lucky, you could even pick up a used one with a mapping feature.

 

[Shewie]

Thanks guys

I`ve seen the basic etrex available for less than £50 brand new so I`ll probably plump for one of those.

 

[bikething]

I'm guessing you mean the Forerunners? .

There are 2 versions - the 'Forerunners' are aimed at sporting activity so more distance / speed type data (I have a forerunner 301 which comes with a heart monitoring chest strap) and the 'Foretrex' which are more navigation orientated with grid refs / bearings etc.

Both have internal batteries which are recharged via the USB lead, which also allows upload/download of data to suitable PC software - I sometimes use the forerunner to log where I've been by sticking it on the top of my pack, and then when i get home import it into Memory map to see where i've been / how fast i've travelled / how far up and down i've climbed, but it doesn't give you a grid reference in use, unlike the foretrex.

If you only want it as a backup, you're probably better going for something like a basic etrex (2xAA batts, so you can carry spares). I carry one switched off in my pack if i'm out in bad weather, so if i get lost i can turn it on and get a grid ref, then turn it off again and navigate by map and compass from there (that's the plan, but i've never had to resort to it yet )

 

[Shewie]

I carry one switched off in my pack if i'm out in bad weather, so if i get lost i can turn it on and get a grid ref, then turn it off again and navigate by map and compass from there (that's the plan, but i've never had to resort to it yet )

The just what I had in mind bikething

I had a play around with one on a course during a night nav exercise and I`m pretty sure it was the foretrex. Looked like quite a good bit of kit from what I saw. The etrex should be okay for what I want though thinking about it.