Weather proof gps

[bgenest]

I also use Furkot for trip planning. It seems to play nice with my Tom Tom.

Check it out: https://trips.furkot.com/

I believe I saw Furkot posted on SS.

[El queso]

Garmin maps and programming are just terrible, which is why all my friends have moved to cell phones and other handheld devices. I just picked up a Samsung Galaxy Tab A and am using google maps (offline) for navigation - it is easier to route, has proven to be every bit as accurate as Garmin GPS, and maps can be downloaded for free. I use a Unicorn Beetle Pro case which is not waterproof (I'm in the southwest) but there are waterproof options out there.

[4Paws]

Been using a Garmin Zumo 550 for over 10 years now, switching it between whichever bike I’m riding today. Totally weatherproof so far, like a Ural it takes a likin and keeps on tickin. Zumo is their motorcycle specific unit, pricey.
Garmin isn’t the least expensive, by far. Have a $100 Garmin on a bike and keep a baggie Rubber banded to it for bad weather. Works fine and no major loss if destroyed. Where that bike lives cell phone coverage is mostly nonexistent, I use it mainly as “a rolling map” to see what roads are coming up and if they are worth exploring.
Handlebar mounted.
Of the two methods I’d go the cheap/disposable route again, the Zumo was a Christmas gift from my company one year. I also have a collection of excellent road maps in this sidecar, good excuse to stop for a drink of water and plan a route. Map pocket in a tank bag never goes to waste.

[wrong_turn_rider]

I've used Garmin for years ... love em' ... Not as complicated as it sounds. We have 2 for the KLR`s and a mount on the Ural. Of course you can get along fine with paper maps but once you learn how to program routes it does make getting places a bit easier. Sometimes we will purposely get lost and just hit
"home " or bookmark where we are staying.

[windmill]

There's a good selection of "waterproof" smartphones available these days, and some people speak highly of using them bar mounted on bicycles and motorcycles. No personal experience using mounted on a motorcycle, but use one daily for work in a semi truck. A smart phone would be my choice as it allows one the options of using Google street, earth, and various off road apps.

[Lofty]

This is my 10th year of using my Garmin 450. It's gotten me in and out of trouble more times than I can remember. I stocked up on spare mounts, etc. knowing that they would eventually become unavailable...which they have.

IIRC, the original 450/550 units were the first GPS devices designed for and marketed to motorcyclists.

Garmin knows how to charge for their products, to be sure, but they are the benchmark.

[tbird649]

Cellphone doesnt need a cell signal for GPS to work if you have the maps downloaded. I use an old one, with an app called Viewranger for off road stuff, dont even have a SIM card in it.

[Snakeoil]

Cellphone doesnt need a cell signal for GPS to work if you have the maps downloaded. I use an old one, with an app called Viewranger for off road stuff, dont even have a SIM card in it.

Really?? I always thought that you had to have a data connection for the GPS function to work on a cell phone. I'm not doubting you, but wondering how it knows where you are if it has no signal to use as a relative position reference. Guess I need to do some research.

[rivers]

Cellphone doesnt need a cell signal for GPS to work if you have the maps downloaded. I use an old one, with an app called Viewranger for off road stuff, dont even have a SIM card in it.

Really?? I always thought that you had to have a data connection for the GPS function to work on a cell phone. I'm not doubting you, but wondering how it knows where you are if it has no signal to use as a relative position reference. Guess I need to do some research.

Gonna depend on what phone you have and how old. The older ones don't have a real GPS function and give your approximate location by triangulating cell towers which can be horribly inaccurate.

[windmill]

Cellphone doesnt need a cell signal for GPS to work if you have the maps downloaded. I use an old one, with an app called Viewranger for off road stuff, dont even have a SIM card in it.

Really?? I always thought that you had to have a data connection for the GPS function to work on a cell phone. I'm not doubting you, but wondering how it knows where you are if it has no signal to use as a relative position reference. Guess I need to do some research.

The possibilities are practically endless these days. Full function with data, stand alone like dedicated GPS, free, pay.....
Heck, I have a John Deere app that can plot and record my "route" through our yard as I mow the lawn with my garden tractor with time, distance and average speed.

[Michal]

I have positive experience with Garmin Montana. I use that for years mounted on RAM mount, powered by motorbike. The power tap is from key switched circuit so the mount integrated converter does not drain battery when not in use. Display has no best resolution but it's clearly readable on direct sun light, unlike smartphone with gloss perfect display. The other advantage is that it has a type of touch screen that works with gloves. My smartphone touch screen is a type that works with naked finger skin only. I have GPS and downloaded maps in my smartphone too, but it does not work that good by far. Smartphone has small GPS antenna that fails to receive GPS signal in woods and even in narrow deep valleys. Garmin Montana unit is large and heavy (for pocket carry) and works great even under dense tree canopy or under gas stop roof.
I use it in heavy rain, fog and snow for long time as well as hot sun and no water issues yet. I had Chinese noname waterproof GPS before and it got filled with rain water just after one year.

[tbird649]

Cellphone doesnt need a cell signal for GPS to work if you have the maps downloaded. I use an old one, with an app called Viewranger for off road stuff, dont even have a SIM card in it.

Really?? I always thought that you had to have a data connection for the GPS function to work on a cell phone. I'm not doubting you, but wondering how it knows where you are if it has no signal to use as a relative position reference. Guess I need to do some research.

I assume it works the same way as a TomTom/Garmin etc sat nav, they dont normally have a sim card or capability to connect to cellphone network. My Android tablet also works, that doesnt even have the facility to take a sim card. On my off road Triumph, I use a Garmin Edge 200, which is basically a posh GPS cycle speedo, saves using magnets/wires etc. That gives my speed/mileage/height etc etc, and if I plug it into my laptop, it gives a map of where I have been with more statistics than I knew existed, again, no sim or cell connection. Must be magic!

[Bunker]

Went with these instead.

[Snakeoil]

I must admit, I like maps. I worked internationally most of my career and have all my maps in a drawer next to me as I type. GPS did not exist when I was working in places like Saudi where road maps were more of a guess than a guide. I like maps because they give you a mental picture of where you are going. Then, if you get lost or make a wrong turn, your senses have a better shot of getting you back on course.

My buddy Jake, who is an old ISDT rider (US team in 1978) has a GPS that is an old Garmin Marine unit that he found a way to load maps into. His philosophy is the GPS is not to tell him where to go, it is to tell him where he is. He loves dirt roads and old trails and will follow them anywhere they take him (he's 78 by the way). If he finds he's a bit lost, the GPS is there to help him find his way back home. That same philosophy is what drove me to get a GPS for my bikes.

[coyote]

I have in car nav and a nice but few years old Garmin for cars with lifetime maps but I almost exclusively use my phone for directions. The functionality, speed, and usefulness eliminates a need for a standalone gps that costs just as much an a new iPhone and will need to be replaced in the same 3-5 year range if you want continued support.

Even better, now the iPhone 8 and older 7 are waterproof so no more ziplock. I just ditched the ram x-grip in favor of the ram quick grip. It’s more secure, the phone can be put into it or removed one handed in one quick motion, and best of all it doesn’t flop about when their is a phone in it. Highly recommend it.