OS TOPO Great Britain PRO 1:25K

HughJarse

Has anyone used a TOPO Great Britain PRO 1:25K microSD card in a Garmin Edge Explore 1000?
I would like to know how clear the detail is on the 1:25K scale for hiking.
Or would it be better to buy a dedicated GPS (I was thinking of GPSMAPS 66ST) with the TOPO Great Britain PRO 1:25K microSD card in the bundle.
Thanks

HughJarse

Thanks everyone for all the help & support

sussamb

You may need to be a little more patient when asking for help like this as it's unlikely many here will have experience of your particularly unusual situation. You may be better off asking in the Garmin forums or Edge specific forums.

Chris_Sav

HughJarse said:

Thanks everyone for all the help & support

Personally I would not reply now if I knew the answer (which I don't) after that unnecessary sarcastic post

The UID says it all!

HughJarse

Hi sussamb, Got the info I needed from GPS Forums in about 12 hours. Copied below for everyone's edification.
Chris_Sad sounds like the sort who wouldn't help anyone unless they paid him.

"As both of your choices are using exactly the same map, the only possible difference in how clear the map will be are the two unit's screens, both have 240 x 400 pixels and a 3 inch screen (the Edge is 1-2 millimeters bigger), so I would say the differences will be very small"

HughJarse

If I went for a dedicated device which is the better unit, a GPSMAPS 66ST with a TOPO Great Britain PRO 1:25K microSD card or a Satmap Active 20 Platinum Edition/

Boyd

Of course, I have no experience with SatNav products since they are not sold in the US. But £680? Wow.... that;s $830 USD. Makes Garmin's prices look like the bargain basement, LOL. :-O

Street price for the GPSMap 66st (pre-loaded with US and Canada maps) is $450 - almost half the SatNav! Are Garmin devices a lot more expensive in the UK? If you're considering such an expensive device, perhaps the cost of maps isn't a consideration, but there are a huge number of high quality free Garmin format maps available. I only spent a few minutes looking on the SatNav website, but it appears you are locked into their own products.

I wish there were more companies making dedicated GPS devices. Here in the US, Garmin is the only choice now.

BTW, I saw your earlier post and would have responded, but I don't know anything about Topo Great Britain maps. And since this site is based in the US, I'm sure a number of other members also failed to respond because they had nothing to contribute - not because we didn't want to help. You should also realize that dedicated GPS units are a dying product category, and while this site was very active ten years ago, today it's a very sleepy place.

sussamb

I've used a Garmin in the UK for years, along with free maps that as Boyd stated are available. They have a significant advantage over the Garmin maps as the OSM ones are vector maps so stay sharp as you zoom in. The Garmin ones are raster maps so start to blur at high zoom levels.

Boyd

What does a GPSMap 66st cost in the UK?

HughJarse

https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/shop/garmin-gpsmap-66st-gps.html (400 GBP)
www.rosebikes.co.uk/garmin-gpsmap-66st-navigation-device-incl-topoactive-map-of-europe (365 GBP)
Rose bikes (German company) seem about the best pricewise. I got my Edge Explore 1000 from them & get most of my cycling stuff from them.
The Satmap Active 20 Platinum Edition comes with full UK Ordnance Survey maps at 1:10,000, 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 scale, supplied on a single Micro SD card.
The base unit is around 450 GBP

Boyd

Personally, the GPSMap66 doesn't interest me (I have a GPSMap 60csx which is the original model that inspired the 62, 64 and 66). Garmin's pushbutton interface is very frustrating if you need to enter any text or coordinates.

The SatNav actually looks pretty cool. However, I'd think twice before making a big investment in this brand (especially since it uses proprietary maps). Handheld GPS is a dying product category. Will the company still be here 5 years from now? If you don't think that could happen, ask somebody who bought a DeLorme or Magellan device a few years ago. ;)

HughJarse

Do you have "insider" information? I was intrigued by your comment " Handheld GPS is a dying product category" Based on this I have delved deeper into the GPS world & realised that a modern cell phone with a Viewranger type App is quickly overtaking dedicated GPS even allowing for the fragility & shorter battery life. Also very helpful was the difference between raster & vector maps. Time for a rethink.

sussamb

I have ViewRanger on my phone, but it's a backup to my GPS. For many reasons I prefer to use my GPS when out hiking, and can't see me ever switching to my phone as my primary nav aid.

Boyd

No 'insider information" is needed, the phenomenon is obvious, as you have seen. Magellan used to be a major player in the handheld GPS category. Their sales dropped and dropped and finally they were gone. DeLorme was another very popular brand but they were bought by Garmin several years ago, who discontinued their regular handheld devices (they re-branded the satellite communicator devices though). Here in the US, Garmin is the only brand that remains (they are bigger and more diversified than the others were). Something similar has happened with automotive devices, although TomTom is till hanging on by a thread.

I"ve been a moderator here at GPSReview for many years now. When I started, I got a share of the site's advertising income. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to buy a new premium GPS each year. Well, those days are long gone. Haven't received a penny from this site in years and I'm just a volunteer now. And this corresponds with activity on the site. It used to be very busy here, with posts coming in throughout the day, Now we only get a few posts a week. Same with other sites - gpspassion.com was another very popular and busy site. It has really become a ghost town, sometimes a month or more will pass with no activity.

The "phone vs gps" argument is and old one and I'm not interested in participating in it again. There are good reasons why you might want to go either way though. The power button broke on my Montana 600 after about 6 years and I have been without a handheld since then. Have not replaced it yet. If Garmin had something that impressed me, I'd probably buy it. But I'm just not impressed....