Garmin, Tomtom or other?

[Burgiesburnin]

We will be spending a lot of time in the UK next year both on and off a boat.

I asked the question a couple of years ago about which navigation unit to buy.

In the end, I just used the app on my phone but it really ate the battery.

I would like to buy a unit now.

Tomtom seems to be the most popular here in South Africa but the unit I buy will only be for UK use.

Any advise or assistance in deciding which unit to buy would be appreciated.

 

As I said, it needs to be good for both on and off the canal but I do have a fair amount of paper canal maps already so this unit would be predominantly for land and road use. Oh!! and it needs to talk.

 

Thanks

Edited November 7, 2015 by Burgiesburnin

[Guest]

My preference is for Garmin.

 

I have just renewed mine as I wanted one that could be used while towing a large caravan. (The version I have allows for avoiding routes with height and width restrictions).

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-760LMT-D-Satellite-Navigation-Motorhomes/dp/B00EY3ZSII/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1446878071&sr=8-2&keywords=garmin+camper

 

I got mine for a lot less when it was on 'specials' at Aldi. I really like the larger screen size

 

More basic ones (but with the same larger screen) can be had when you don't need the camper/caravanning feature. Smaller screen Garmins can be had and ones that do traffic updates (like mine does) with lifetime upgrades of the maps can be had for not too much money.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Western-Lifetime-Updates-Traffic/dp/B00K6E3BKQ/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1446878885&sr=8-8&keywords=garmin

 

If you don't want the traffic updates it can be had even cheaper

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Western-Lifetime-Updates-Traffic/dp/B00K6E3BKQ/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1446878885&sr=8-8&keywords=garmin

 

The newer Garmins seem much better than the ones from a few years back which tended to be quite slow at keeping up with you in busy traffic. They also seem less inclined to call out turns too early which leads to confusion as to exactly when to turn. (The Garmin is definitely much easier and more intuitive to use than the Sat Nav that came with my car. )

 

As for 'on the canal' well it wont provide any directions at all as it won't have the correct maps it will just show you were you are and I suspect the appearance of waterways on the maps will possibly be a bit 'hit and miss'. That will be much the same for all in car Sat Navs I would think. Proper canal maps are what you need for on the waterways or dedicated electronic canal mapping software using a GPS receiver can be had, but you need a laptop or tablet PC for that.

 

Garmin used to do a dedicated waterways Sat Nav (Promoted in Nicholson's guides) but I Have never seen one or even know if they still do them.

 

Tom Tom will have their supporters too for on road use but I don't think they will be any better for on the water than Garmin TBH, it really is two differing applications/mapping requirements.

 

HTH

[Top cat]

I prefer to use Google maps that is built into my phone, I have a cradle that has a charging lead and plug that into the boat to keep the battery topped up. Failing that I have a second battery I can plug in to recharge the phone. I expect you could buy both for less than a dedicated sat nav.

 

Top Cat

[Burgiesburnin]

Thanks for taking the time for such comprehensive info Martin.

Much appreciated.

[RLWP]

Google maps on an Android smartphone like Top Cat. It's free with the phone. automatically updates (for free) and does real time traffic (for free). You can also search for places like in Google and get directions, for instance the name of a boatyard

 

Richard

[bizzard]

I only trust my Pratts of 1929.

[bottle]

Not much help but another one using Google Maps on Android phone with cradle and charging lead.

[DustyDave]

I use an app on the phone called Waze. It redirects you based on traffic. Quite clever with all the routes. It has saved me hours of being sat in traffic jams. Eats battery so you must be plugged in.

 

I find my older TomTom better than swmbo's. Older is about 8 years old, newer is about 2. The new one takes you on daft routes and has a habit of saying directions a little too late.

 

Dave

[nb Innisfree]

We gave up on our Garmin as it was taking longer and longer to find satellites, 20 mins eventually! Now use CoPilot on my Android phone.

 

ETA: Only prob is car chargers can't keep up with my Galaxy Note.

Edited November 7, 2015 by nb Innisfree

[Guest]

We gave up on our Garmin as it was taking longer and longer to find satellites, 20 mins eventually! Now use CoPilot on my Android phone.

 

Out of interest does/did the car you used it in have an athermic or heated windscreen?

[Barge Maria]

Try www.maps.me, a useful (and arguably more detailed) alternative to Google Maps.

[nb Innisfree]

 

Out of interest does/did the car you used it in have an athermic or heated windscreen?

Good point, but no it was and is a standard screen. I'm quite impressed with CoPilot though, cost £15 but cheap compared to a dedicated satnav.

[Dartagnan]

I am unable to assist with regard to sat nav for the canals as I have absolutely no idea about that.

Having had Garmin and Tom Tom (still have a Tom Tom) my preference is Tom Tom but that is personal choice and being honest there isn't really a lot of difference between the two systems.

Whilst I now have an inbuilt sat nav I keep the Tom Tom for use in the USA. We are off to Florida shortly and I purchased a map for there some time ago. Tom Tom often have deals on the additional maps.

We also use Google maps on the mobile phone for both here in the UK and the USA and I find it to be very good indeed. Of course you need to have a good data plan on your mobile and in addition as you say it does consume quite a bit of power so you need a cable and cradle.

I recently made a journey from Cairnryan on the west coast of Scotland to North London and returned using Google Maps. It did not put a foot wrong and I was very impressed.

A few days prior to returning I kept putting the route into Google and depending on the time of day it kept giving different routes clearly dependent on the traffic conditions which I expected. There are only about four good routes for the journey but using Google I was able to choose the most appropriate one for the time of day I was departing.

There are also free downloadable apps for sat nav like Co Pilot etc which do not use any data though I personally have not used them but you often read good reports about them

Both Garmin and Tom Tom can be purchased at what I consider to be very good prices these days as they are often on offer so if you don't wish to use data on the phone I would plump for the stand alone. Further more you get a decent sized screen and you normally get a free year of traffic updates.

[ditchcrawler]

We gave up on our Garmin as it was taking longer and longer to find satellites, 20 mins eventually!

My old Tomtom did that so I binned it, the new one was OK, I dont think any of them are a lot of good on the canal

[Guest]

.Further more you get a decent sized screen.

 

This is the clincher for me, stand alone every time for me.

[cuthound]

A quick Google has found the following sat nav software for canals:

 

http://www.waterexplorer.co.uk/Brochure/Navvygator.aspx

 

 

http://www.canalmap.info/apps.html

 

Presumably better than a road based sat nav for canal use.

Edited November 7, 2015 by cuthound

[Tam & Di]

 

Garmin used to do a dedicated waterways Sat Nav (Promoted in Nicholson's guides) but I Have never seen one or even know if they still do them.

 

It has just become a regulation for cruising on the continent that craft have a gps for displaying how fast you are travelling. I use an old Garmin and have the settings turned to "pedestrian". It does not give much detail but does give a blue line for the waterway and assumes I am on the towpath.

 

Tam

Edited November 7, 2015 by Tam & Di

[Guest]

 

It has just become a regulation for cruising on the continent that craft have a gps for displaying how fast you are travelling. I use an old Garmin and have the settings turned to "pedestrian". It does not give much detail but does give a blue line for the waterway and assumes I am on the towpath.

 

Tam

 

You can now get the European waterway maps (for any one so inclined) for Garmin Sat Navs but I have no idea of the extent or detail/accuracy of the coverage offered.

 

http://garmin.blogs.com/ukpr/2013/01/garmin-announces-new-inland-waterway-coverage-for-germany-france-and-the-netherlands.html#.Vj3vk_nhC70

 

They appear to be for their dedicated marine versions though.

Edited November 7, 2015 by MJG

[Sea Dog]

Are you aware that a fully featured TomTom for Android can be tried for free on your phone? I know you've tried phone nav, but this will let you discover whether you like TomTom (stand alone or otherwise). You get 50 miles for free and you can dip in and out of it so it gives you chance to try it in a host of situations. If you like it you can either buy a stand alone or subscribe on your phone for 15 quid (iirc).

[Grebe]

We're on our third TomTom, we wouldn't buy any other as ithey have aways met our needs. Our original one from 2006 is still doing sterling service with our friends. They have purchased USA and South African sd cards and used it on holidays too. We find Tomtom to be intuitive to use and to be responsive to your location in real time.

 

Our current one was getting slow at establishing onto satelittes but there has just been a software update and it now locates very quickly. Look for the deals with free lifetime maps to get updated mapping every three months.

[Boredrider]

If you look at certain Garmin models, usually those that are primarily for walking/hiking, you will see that you can get Ordnance Survey mapping to display on them, which can be useful on the canal especially when using Nicholson's guides. However AFAIK this mapping is not "routable", so for use in the car, you will also need to able to load one of the "City Navigator" products. This is the mapping that will talk to you, and route you between postcodes etc, it also contains Point Of Interest information, i.e. where the supermarkets and fuel stations are.

 

Another point when buying a new Garmin - is to make sure the model number ends in LM. This will ensure that the unit is entitled to download up to date mapping during its lifetime (without further payment), making the unit more useful for your period ownership, and worth a bit more if you want to sell it on.

[nb Innisfree]

We gave up on our Garmin as it was taking longer and longer to find satellites, 20 mins eventually! Now use CoPilot on my Android phone.

 

ETA: Only prob is car chargers can't keep up with my Galaxy Note.

This thread has prompted me to dig our Garmin out from the back of the cupboard and charge it up and guess what? Yes it found satellites straight away! I checked for updates and it said it was up to date, not been used for about 12 months.

 

Mystery,will give it a road test tomorrow

[valrene9600]

I have loaded Waterway routes maps on the android phone. Excellent results with the GPS.

[alias]

If you look at certain Garmin models, usually those that are primarily for walking/hiking, you will see that you can get Ordnance Survey mapping to display on them, which can be useful on the canal especially when using Nicholson's guides. However AFAIK this mapping is not "routable", so for use in the car, you will also need to able to load one of the "City Navigator" products. This is the mapping that will talk to you, and route you between postcodes etc, it also contains Point Of Interest information, i.e. where the supermarkets and fuel stations are.

 

Another point when buying a new Garmin - is to make sure the model number ends in LM. This will ensure that the unit is entitled to download up to date mapping during its lifetime (without further payment), making the unit more useful for your period ownership, and worth a bit more if you want to sell it on.

Alternatively you can get routable openstreetmap data formatted for Garmin free from here: http://talkytoaster.co.uk/maps/

 

Or on android phone you can get similar data from the app osmand. Saving the maps locally helps with battery life.

 

The devices intended for hiking could be used for driving, but you would be better off with a dedicated device with a larger screen in my opinion.

[series3]

If you use google maps...get a samsung..they make battery packs for them. I have one on my S3. Heavy use and still get 3days to a charge.