OMG!!!! What GPS should I Get!!!!!

[rockinrog]

Not to confuse the subject, but what about the 660LM VS the new 350 LM?

[BruceWA]

Think I've narrowed down my choices to either the Montana 650t or the zumo 660. Have toyed with Base Camp, not impressed after 7 or so years using Mapsource, but I can learn.

Most of my riding is on the road these days, but I still have a dirt bike and like to explore, but just getting to appreciate comfort in my senior years.

Sure wish the Montana came with the lifetime maps!!

Whay say you????

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by BruceWA

Sure wish the Montana came with the lifetime maps!!

Whay say you????

Once you have bought City Navigator NA for $75, it's only another $75 to get lifetime map updates. And you don't need to buy it right away since you do get one free update when you initially buy CNNA.

[BruceWA]

Now thats what I was expecting from this forum, great stuff.
Do I really need the camera??? Maybe the 650 or 600 would work as well for me. Have 2 digital cameras now.

Originally Posted by Emmbeedee

Once you have bought City Navigator NA for $75, it's only another $75 to get lifetime map updates. And you don't need to buy it right away since you do get one free update when you initially buy CNNA.

[SE Steve]

Originally Posted by Mike955i

If you truly get into remote backcountry, past Forest Service roads and graded County roads, the choice is the Montana for it's feature set and ruggedness. If you never get dirtier than Forest Service roads (or never get dirty) the Zumo is the better choice due to it's more street focus and ease of use. Simple...

Oh I get dirty

[SE Steve]

Thanks for all your input I'm going to go with the Montana 650T with NA maps.
Now were can I find the best price

[BruceWA]

Originally Posted by SE Steve

Thanks for all your input I'm going to go with the Montana 650T with NA maps.
Now were can I find the best price

[funrider]

Just bit the bullet today, and bought the Montana 650. Will be selling my old and trusted 276C and accessories. Can't wait till Monday when it arrives

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by BruceWA

Now thats what I was expecting from this forum, great stuff.
Do I really need the camera??? Maybe the 650 or 600 would work as well for me. Have 2 digital cameras now.

The camera's only $40 more. I think it's worth paying that to have a waterproof, rugged, geotagging camera at all times.

And the 650 is the camera model, minus the Topo maps on the 650T.

[BruceWA]

Order myself a Montana 650t minutes ago. Was not an easy decision, might be spending more than the normal amount of time on this site to learn how to use it.

[SE Steve]

Ordered myself a Montana 650T today with 24k Topo's for the west and vehicle bundle from the GPS store.
It was easy just closed my eyes and and pressed buy.

[JohnPainter]

Check out Goodwill or similar second hand shop and find a good broken GPS like this. It only cost me $2.99 because it was "broken" it just needed a new internal battery which I couldn't find but I was able to solder in a spare iPod Nano battery (same voltage) I had laying around.


After whipping up a custom bracket to hold it onto my XR (why shuck out $24 for a bracket on a $3 GPS?) I have a great water proof GPS that's been a real champ on my rides so far, so why not make getting your GPS an adventure too?

[SE Steve]

Originally Posted by JohnPainter

Check out Goodwill or similar second hand shop and find a good broken GPS like this. It only cost me $2.99 because it was "broken" it just needed a new internal battery which I couldn't find but I was able to solder in a spare iPod Nano battery (same voltage) I had laying around.


After whipping up a custom bracket to hold it onto my XR (why shuck out $24 for a bracket on a $3 GPS?) I have a great water proof GPS that's been a real champ on my rides so far, so why not make getting your GPS an adventure too?

That's to much adventure for me.

[Ceri JC]

So, based on the fact this is primarily a 660 vs Montana thread, this seems the ideal place to ask for your collective wisdom.

I just went to my car and found it had been broken in to and my 660 stolen from the glove compartment. On the one hand I've had over 3 years and 90K+ miles of very satisfied use out of it and I've already had the I've had the hassle/cost of fitting a nice looking, reliable 660 mount* to my F800GS. So sticking with the 660 seems like a good choice. On the other hand, I'm open to trying new things if the tech has moved on.

I want topographic maps for playing at the weekend and holiday, but I need reliable city navigation more. A sat nav that combined both would be great, but if I could have only one, it'd have to be the on slab navigation. I understand the Montana road maps are based on the Zumo ones. How does it compare for navigation in a city? Are there any features missing/is the interface harder to use, etc.?

*On a related note, I should remark that mounts are important to me: I swore off Tom Tom's sat navs (the satnav itself of which was fine) after having 3 of their mounts break. That in mind, how does the Montana's motorcycle mounting options (include powering it from the bike - bear in mind I am rubbish with electronics) stack up against the 660's? I know that the Montana itself is supposed to be extremely rugged, but is the motorcycle mount the sort of thing you could do 40K offroad miles on and it'd be fine?

TIA GPSheads.

[DRTBYK]

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

So, based on the fact this is primarily a 660 vs Montana thread, this seems the ideal place to ask for your collective wisdom.

I just went to my car and found it had been broken in to and my 660 stolen from the glove compartment. On the one hand I've had over 3 years and 90K+ miles of very satisfied use out of it and I've already had the I've had the hassle/cost of fitting a nice looking, reliable 660 mount* to my F800GS. So sticking with the 660 seems like a good choice. On the other hand, I'm open to trying new things if the tech has moved on.

I want topographic maps for playing at the weekend and holiday, but I need reliable city navigation more. A sat nav that combined both would be great, but if I could have only one, it'd have to be the on slab navigation. I understand the Montana road maps are based on the Zumo ones. How does it compare for navigation in a city? Are there any features missing/is the interface harder to use, etc.?

*On a related note, I should remark that mounts are important to me: I swore off Tom Tom's sat navs (the satnav itself of which was fine) after having 3 of their mounts break. That in mind, how does the Montana's motorcycle mounting options (include powering it from the bike - bear in mind I am rubbish with electronics) stack up against the 660's? I know that the Montana itself is supposed to be extremely rugged, but is the motorcycle mount the sort of thing you could do 40K offroad miles on and it'd be fine?

TIA GPSheads.

You already know how to use the zumo 660 so why would you want to change?

Keep in mind that these units have vastly different hardware and therefore some different features as outlined in Garmin Spec Sheets for the units.

With City Navigator maps installed, both units navigate "in-city" the same. With the one exception that the zumo 660 has a "Detour" feature and the Montana does not. There are some other subtleties in Routing functions but most folks won't ever notice. As for Topo maps, both units support additional maps - including Topo.

Is one easier to use than the other? I don't think so but then I took the time to learn how each of them operate.

The Montana supports a lot more interface customization because it is designed to be used for many other activities beside navigating a route in town. But, just because it can be customized doesn't mean you have to. It comes with pre-configured settings/features for the various activities the software currently supports. These pre-configurations are called Profiles. For example, select the Automotive profile and you have a zumo-like [nuvi] map interface and Main Menu.

Both units are rugged. Their mounts are equally robust and similarly designed. If you have needs that the zumo 660 couldn't support then you might consider something else - like the Montana.

Cheers,