Garmin GPS units; Review: New line of dual-use touch-screen GPS. A guest post by Kevin Jordan
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“Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.” ~Henry David Thoreau
First, there was Colorado. Then came Oregon, and after that Dakota, and now...Montana? If the my chronology seems a little out of whack, it's because I'm not talking about states here--I'm talking about Garmin GPS units. This week, Garmin announced the release of a new line of dual-use touch-screen GPS units. The "Montana" series, as it's called, is designed to bridge the gap between outdoor-use GPS units like those in the Oregon series, and automotive units like those in the Nuvi series. Both the Oregon and Nuvi series have been very successful and popular, and those GPS units are very good at their respective tasks. However, there has never really been a GPS unit that was a good fit for both the outdoor and automotive markets...but it looks like the Garmin Montana might just be the GPS that does that successfully.
For one thing, unlike previous outdoor-use GPS units that will just give textual turn-by-turn driving directions, the Montana GPS units will also give you voice commands. However, the speakers for the voice commands are located in the actual automotive mount, not the GPS. This way, Garmin could keep the size and weight of the GPS low enough not to be awkward for hikers and backpackers. Another first for the Montana is that, similar to many smartphones, you can hold it vertically or horizontally. I would imagine that holding it horizontally would make it a little easier to use in the automotive mode. There are two power options for the Montana: a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack (included with the GPS), or 3 AA batteries. Useful battery life with the AA batteries is advertised as 22 hours, which is more than most handheld GPS units currently on the market. Battery life with the lithium-ion pack is advertised as 16 hours.
All 3 units in the Montana series (the 600, 650, and 650t) include a barometric altimeter and electronic compass, have slots for microSD cards, and are compatible with all Garmin maps, BirdsEye satellite imagery, and custom maps. The Montana 650 also includes a 5 megapixel camera, and the 650t includes the camera and is also pre-loaded with detailed U.S. topographic maps. All in all, the Montana GPS units look pretty impressive. They're slated to hit the market in late June, so we've got a month to drool in anticipation. Until then, we can only wonder--is the Montana the elusive all-in-one GPS we've all been waiting for?
About Kevin Jordan I’m an avid hiker, backpacker, climber, and lover of the outdoors. I’ve been backpacking and climbing all around the world including trips to New Zealand and Chile. I currently run a business selling new and pre-owned handheld GPS units, as well as providing GPS units for rent. I love teaching people how to use GPS technology to take their outdoor adventures to the next level.
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“He who would travel happily must travel light." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
So it was raining this weekend and looks like rain all this week. I just took the dog out for a walk in the drizzle and it reminded me I wanted to write a short blog post about my hike yesterday in the rain.
When I don’t have time for a full day hike I often hike at a very nice county park near me. It’s a wonderful park with many nice trails up to views of New York City and flatter trails along a reservoir. The only down side being it sometimes gets a bit “crowded” (meaning you can spot some other people there from time to time).
So yesterday I figured it was a good place to go, cause “Sunday” hikers don’t normally hike in the rain. Thinking I would have the place to myself, I drive into the lot and find a troop of cub scouts. They seem to be standing around debating if they should hike in rain or not and appear to be inclined against it. They ignore me as I walk past them.
Fortunately they were the only other people in the park and I walk for a mile or two before seeing anyone else. When I get to the top I think about turning around – the fog and clouds are making it feel kind of spooky and I’m getting a little creeped out – but I decide to go ahead and do a long loop. Just as I walk into a normally dark part of the woods (now really spooky) I meet a young lady and her dog walking the other way. I recognize her as someone else who often haunts these woods and we exchange a smile as we pass; this makes me forget how creepy the woods is this day.
The rain has stopped now and the woods are so quiet. There is just the stillness of the hanging fog in the air and the dripping of water from the leaves. A peacefulness that is hard to describe. It’s like a vacuum that sucks the tension and stress out of my body. My daydreams, worries and thoughts evaporate into the mist and all that remains is that peaceful feeling. The quietness. The solitude.
A short while passes as I near the end of my loop and I hear the ear-piercing noises of cub scouts coming toward me. That’s OK too. It’s nice to see the kids out in the rain. They ignore me as they walk past.
Camping or hiking with a group? This gravity water filter does 4 liters in 2.5 minutes with out any pumping…
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“I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
If you are backpacking, camping or hiking with a group, share this Platypus Gravtyworks water filter. As a group you save weight and there is no need to do any pumping. Just hang this from a tree and Isaac Newton does the work. It will filter 4 liters of water in 2.5 minutes with out any pumping. It has a flow rate of 1.75 liters per minute.
The system weighs 10.6 ounces and filters to 0.2 microns.
You no longer have to drag your hand luggage and yourself through the airport!
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“I don't know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
Bored with dragging your hand luggage and yourself through the airport? Micro luggage is designed for the frequent flyer who needs to move quickly and effortlessly. Instead of pulling your luggage, how about riding on it to the gate? Micro luggage is a specially designed Samsonite case with a built-in Micro scooter allowing you to move quickly and easily. When folded, it fits in standard size overhead bins. When you are done scooting, the scooter folds up turning it into conventional wheeled luggage. The handlebar also retracts for carrying or placing in the overhead bin.
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“All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost.”~J.R.R. Tolkien
So winter is finally over, although here (in New Jersey USA) yesterday April 1st we had a bit of a snow storm. Still, I’m putting away my winter stuff. So I’ll make a few comments about things I liked the most. I came across a few new interesting things:
Somehow out of the blue Columbia Sportswear ask my wife and I to test a couple of jackets from their new Omni Heat line. I’m sure by now you all have seen this stuff, jackets with a silvery metallic lining on the inside, said to increase warmth by about 20%. It does actually do this. The technology reminds me very much of the New Balance FUGU jacket I reviewed on this blog long ago (here is that post).
The Columbia Omni Heat line is nice, although so far I don’t see any jackets in that line particularly designed to be light-weight and so not so good for backpacking.
My wife tested the women’s Heat Elite Jacket Omni Heat Jacket. She liked it very much but did find the sizing to be a little tight considering it’s main use other than day-to-day wear would be as a ski jacket. The jacket is a soft shell; wind resistant, breathable. Nicely soft to the touch.
They sent me a Grade Max Full-Zip Sweater. The thing is extremely warm comfortable and I find myself wearing it quite often. I don’t think I would take it backpacking simply because of it’s weight and it wouldn’t pack down well. I have used it on several day hikes and it breaths well.
Gloves is an area where I’ve seen some improvement but you have to search carefully. Ideally I would like a glove that is warm, water-proof, but not to bulky so that you loss finger dexterity. I found two sets that fit this: The Serious Xtreme all weather – these are top quality and really are warm (done to very low temps) and water-proof. The other set of gloves I like for not so cold weather (not below 20 degrees F) is the UA Extreme Coldgear running glove. They say it is “water-proof” by I would say it is more like “water- resistant” so long as you don’t' get them to wet. The fit – “like a glove”; extremely comfortable and give you great dexterity.
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""I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion." ~Henry David Thoreau
I came across a few new interesting things:
JetBoil CrunchIt
Finally an easy way to recycle those metal gas canisters. The device screws on to gas stove canisters then punctures a whole in the empty canister like a can opener. So far I’ve only seen it for sale as part of a Jetboil set at REI.com but hopefully they will be around in stores soon separately.
BearGrylls Survival Series Ultimate Knife
This new Gerber Knife, tagged with the logo of BearGrylls “Man vs Wild” fame; will start shipping November 15, 2010, you can get is on Amazon.com for $59.99 (retails at $79.99).
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"Well done is better than well said.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
So this past week I was on a family vacation, part of which included a few days in Ocean City, MD at the beach. The first full day there we wake up to pouring rain. I think my wife may have been secretly happy about this as it created an excuse to go to the factory outlet stores. Having left anything that resembled rain gear at home, I agreed and off we went.
After looking around in various outlets and not finding anything reasonable I decided to opt for an umbrella and spotted the “Totes” outlet. I knew I could find a good quality small micro umbrella in there. But what surprised me was top quality light weight rain jackets for the entire family.
Normally when I backpack I bring my Marmot PreCip Jacket which is a great piece of rain gear. It weighs about 12 ounces (336g), has a “breathable” coating, big zipper pockets and pit zips. It sells for about $99 (REI link on photo).
I know lighter rain jackets are available, some as light as 7 or 8 ounces made of Gore Tex Paclite or Event. But so far I have not been able to bring myself to spend the additional hundreds of dollars to save 4 or 5 ounces.
I was pleasantly surprised to find such high quality rain jackets at the totes outlet. I purchased one that felt ‘light’ – turned out to be 11.5 ounces (medium). It has a nylon shell and polyester lining, netting on the inside top half, vented back. Velcro wrist and rain pocket closures, a nice hood and a waist tightening cinch pull. Unfortunately no pit zips. But guess the price? $14.
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