Car GPS with topo maps for occasional hiking/biking

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martin85

11 posts

Geek

#109465 20-Sep-2012 10:49

Hi,

i would need GPS into car, but as mountain biker / hiker i would need sometimes (rarely) look where i am. Is there any car GPS on the market which can contain also more detailes topographic maps of New Zealand (for walking/biking) ?
I dont want to buy two GPS devices (car + bike).

200nzd is max limit. Replaceable battery would be great feature.

Thank you

graemewi

22 posts

Geek

#691268 25-Sep-2012 18:03

You can use a Garmin Nuvi series, though they are not really suited to be used for tramping. Topo maps available from the NZ Open GPS project. http://gwprojects.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=17 - look for the NZ Open Source Topographic Map Series for Garmin (Download) thread and find the most recent posts.

You'd probably be better off using the Nuvi in your car and a proper handheld GPS for your biking and tramping. The Nuvi have only a few hours battery life once unplugged, and the dedicated handheld at least have AA batteries and up to 20h battery life. Yoou may be able to pick up a second hand handheld and Nuvi, but expect to spend more than $200

Cheers,

G

blackjack17

1705 posts

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#691288 25-Sep-2012 18:46

the Lg P500, great little phone for it's price, ruggard and small

can pick one up for $150 dollars

http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=725901

to spend a little more the G300 is a nice phone/gps unit

can pick one up for $230 at warehouse stationary

http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=1209188 (price is wrong)

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jeffnz

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#691293 25-Sep-2012 18:57

I use my S3 with map my ride when cycling, both road and MTB. Works well i just start app and put phone in back pocket and it records the ride. In the forest at Woodhill it still works but because of the trees it loses signal but seems to calculate the distance and map it for you but I think its out a bit.Only downfall would be battery life as its using gps and data.I did 2 1/2 at woodhill sunday and it went through about 60% of battery so any longer and it would be a bit dicey but I have a second battery.

The phone works well as GPS in car so my thoughts are , why get a GPS when you can do the lot with your phone, if you want better mapping there are plenty of cheap paid apps that will do that as well.

all about choice

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graemewi

22 posts

Geek

#691327 25-Sep-2012 19:53

I'd generally steer away from phone based navigation for tramping or mountain biking - both from an online maps and A-GPS perspective. If you go somewhere remote without cell cover, bye-bye GPS pretty much.

Battery life is quite important - say a 6 hour walk into a hut, overnight and a 6 hour walk back out.

Another factor is the environment - waterproof and shock resistant a phone is not generally.

I wouldn't dick around and risk my life on a phone based GPS for tramping or mountain biking navigation.

Cheers,

G

KennyM

221 posts

Master Geek

#691814 26-Sep-2012 17:20

I have just installed New Zealand Topo Maps Pro on my Samsung S2 (android) cost me $6 or something (theres a free version).

This has topo maps, can set waypoints, make routes. Record the whole trip.
Has ability to download maps for offline use (when out of cell coverage) - but will still show your gps location on it

I did a 4 1/2 hour walk and it used about 40% battery but as above I was in the bush and it did jump around a little bit.
When I go over night I wont be recording, so wont be using battery. Just checking from time to time.

A Personal Locator Beacon is still a good idea.

+1 for buying a phone.

I dont use normal car navigation on my phone but there are plenty of them for android. someone else could help their.

Nety

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#692013 27-Sep-2012 08:46

graemewi: I'd generally steer away from phone based navigation for tramping or mountain biking - both from an online maps and A-GPS perspective. If you go somewhere remote without cell cover, bye-bye GPS pretty much.

IMHO this is just not right. There are plenty of options out there for offline maps and as for A-GPS the A is for Assisted and it is just to help it get a quicker lock. It still has a normal GPS chip and I have never had a problem with my iPhone picking up a GPS signal other then when dedicated GPS units also cannot get lock, normally due to being in a steep sided valley. I have used it many times when out tramping.
As others have said it does not have the battery life of a dedicated unit but it is still an option for day hikes if you do not have it running all the time or use an external battery pack.
There are also plenty of options from the likes of Tomtom for turn by turn car GPS software.

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oxnsox

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#692025 27-Sep-2012 09:08

Nety:
graemewi: I'd generally steer away from phone based navigation for tramping or mountain biking - both from an online maps and A-GPS perspective. If you go somewhere remote without cell cover, bye-bye GPS pretty much.

IMHO this is just not right. There are plenty of options out there for offline maps and as for A-GPS the A is for Assisted and it is just to help it get a quicker lock. It still has a normal GPS chip and I have never had a problem with my iPhone picking up a GPS signal other then when dedicated GPS units also cannot get lock, normally due to being in a steep sided valley. I have used it many times when out tramping.
As others have said it does not have the battery life of a dedicated unit but it is still an option for day hikes if you do not have it running all the time or use an external battery pack.
There are also plenty of options from the likes of Tomtom for turn by turn car GPS software.

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graemewi

22 posts

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#692033 27-Sep-2012 09:24

If you guys are confident in your hardware go for it. You can take a Prius on a 4wd track too, and it may get you there and back.

I just think it's dangerous to recommend an item for tramping that is not rugged, waterproof, or has a good battery life. Bad situations in tramping are never planned, a change in the weather can leave you and your gear soaked, or a trip can be longer than intended if any number of issues come up.. eg a member of your party is injured and your speed is reduced substantially.

Graeme

Nety

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#692069 27-Sep-2012 10:09

graemewi: If you guys are confident in your hardware go for it. You can take a Prius on a 4wd track too, and it may get you there and back.

I just think it's dangerous to recommend an item for tramping that is not rugged, waterproof, or has a good battery life. Bad situations in tramping are never planned, a change in the weather can leave you and your gear soaked, or a trip can be longer than intended if any number of issues come up.. eg a member of your party is injured and your speed is reduced substantially.

Graeme

The OP asked for something that can be used in a car and occasionally used for hiking/biking. I agree if you do a lot of tramping a dedicated GPS is the way to go but if you are only going to use it on the odd occasion most people do not have money to buy a dedicated unit.
In my case I always have the phone in a watertight case/bag when in the outdoors. As for rugged they are not bad as long as you do not throw it around. IMHO a GPS should never be your only form of navigating when in the bush. I always consider it a luxury. If it were to stop working then I have maps/compass and know how to use them. If going for more then a day tramp then we will have more then one GPS and at least one will be a dedicated unit.

wellygary

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#692076 27-Sep-2012 10:16

@Nety
+1
You took the words right out of my mouth (or post)

jeffnz

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#693870 1-Oct-2012 08:11

slightly off topic but I picked up Endomondo app last night as it is one of the apps on sales for $0.25 on playstore. Haven't used it yet but for price too good to pass it up.

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