Most functional GPS for touring

[robon]

Time to get one and I'm looking for suggestions on the most useful apps, Trace, and GPS handhelds. Trace looks interesting but the battery life is only 7 hours and some of my trips are 8 hours+ and over night as well, so battery life is a concern for longer outings. I have a waka waka solar charger but I'm not sure if it would charge the Trace device for overnighters. I should also include that I have fallen way behind on technology these days. My primary concern is being able to see my trip courses on a map, total distance. plotting cliff paintings/interesting spots, etc.

So, I guess the question is am I better off with a handheld GPS, Trace, or just an app for my phone? I don't even have a paddling app for my iPhone, and have heard most apps suck down battery life quickly.

Thanks.

[burchas]

The VivoActive HR is a pretty solid and not too expensive tool for that purpose and so much more.
It will last for way more than 8 hours at a time. Very intuitive and easy to use I'm my experience.

You view the routes on your phone or in your browser and get all the stats you'll ever need including
Heart Rate, total strokes, distance per stroke.

You could name your routes as well and share them, record the gear you used to track milage and so on.
If you really want to get scientific with it, you can connect an external heart rate belt and cadence sensor like the Vaaka.

You could also set vibration alerts so it will vibrate every 1 mile (or whatever you choose) for instance.
also includes a digital compass.

My experience with phone apps wasn't good for long runs. I prefer to have my phone ready and charged for emergency or any other kind of communication. The GPS apps I've used did suck the life of the battery.

[Eagle]

Get a separate device for GPS trip courses on a map.  Otherwise you may find your phone battery is empty or low when you really need it.  GPS drains down any phone battery a lot - and surprisingly fast.  A handheld map GPS should work quite well.

You can also use an ipod touch or ipad mini or ipad air or another old phone and use a bluetooth external GPS receiver.  Some of the Apple products also come with GPS in device.  You just have to pay more.  Add an external USB battery pack or 2 plus a solar pack - and you should be good for extended trips on or off the water.   

[PonoBill]

+1 on vivoactive. It's a decent smartwatch with good integration to your phine, and an excellent speed/track/stroke device. Heartrate is adequate and you can add an ant+ band for greater accuracy. For all the functionality they're pretty cheap. Very light, good battery life, charges quickly with any USB source.

[Off-Shore]

I'm a big fan of the Garmin XT920. This wrist worn device has long battery life and syncs directly with your phone. I use the chest heart monitor with it. I like this as I travel a lot and don't like paying roaming charges using any of the phone based apps. The downside is there is no active map so I generally do a lot of online planning of new routes before I go. I do take my phone with me and in my country I will use Google maps when needed and when overseas always have the ability to open roaming and use it as necessary.

I really like the reports and info the Garmin Connect app has including mapping all the routes.

[SaMoSUP]

Both Garmin Fenix 3 and 920XT are great.

Works for other activities
Syncs with smartphone
Garmin Connect
Load other apps such as Surf Tracker
Live Tracker feature

[Dkyachtphoto]

I have the fenix 3 and my wife has the vivoactive, both great watches.  That being said if your looking for a true gps I'd stick with any of the garmin GPS handheld units.  Any of the Oregon or Montana models will do more than you need . I have the Oregon 650 and Montana 610 and love them both. Great sun light readable screens,  great battery life,  no issues with accuracy like I've had on the water with both our watches. Also the nice thing about them is battery options. I use rechargeable aa batteries and get atleast what is advertised if not slightly higher.

Dave

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

Is it better to do a GPS watch/phone setup or to get a handheld GPS? Are the handheld units waterproof, or do you have to bag them like a phone?

[Dkyachtphoto]

Definitely handheld vs watch. No competition at all…..  Yes waterproof,  lots of great features. Go to Germans website and look at all the features of their handhelds. The Montana and Oregon are definitely the way to go. I got a Ram Mount for them and they clip right onto my board so I can just look down at my course.

Dave

[burchas]

Definitely handheld vs watch. No competition at all…..  Yes waterproof,  lots of great features. Go to Germans website and look at all the features of their handhelds. The Montana and Oregon are definitely the way to go. I got a Ram Mount for them and they clip right onto my board so I can just look down at my course.

Dave

Do they give you the paddling stats like the watch: Stroke rate, distance per stroke, total strokes, heart rate, average pace and speed? On the other hand, if he really needs a super accurate navigation aid with way points and realtime map and couldn't care less about the paddling stats, it sounds like these units are they way to go. otherwise, I will stick with the watch and save $300 in the process.

[Dkyachtphoto]

Definitely handheld vs watch. No competition at all…..  Yes waterproof,  lots of great features. Go to Germans website and look at all the features of their handhelds. The Montana and Oregon are definitely the way to go. I got a Ram Mount for them and they clip right onto my board so I can just look down at my course.

Dave

Do they give you the paddling stats like the watch: Stroke rate, distance per stroke, total strokes, heart rate, average pace and speed? On the other hand, if he really needs a super accurate navigation aid with way points and realtime map and couldn't care less about the paddling stats, it sounds like these units are they way to go. otherwise, I will stick with the watch and save $300 in the process.

To be honest I don't know,  I doubt it. I just use my watch for that. They give you everything a GPS gives you,  speeds,  averages,  distances,  waypoints, tides,  etc… also some useful features like depth shadings, reefs,  wrecks, navigational aids…..

Dave

[burchas]

 tides, shadings, reefs,  wrecks, navigational aids…..

Dave

These are great features! If I was doing exploration and day trips in areas I'm not too familiar, I'd definitely look into
one of those. Thx for the insights.

[Dkyachtphoto]

 tides, shadings, reefs,  wrecks, navigational aids…..

Dave

These are great features! If I was doing exploration and day trips in areas I'm not too familiar, I'd definitely look into
one of those. Thx for the insights.

Btw pay attention to the various models. Some of them have a $100+ higher price tag just because it has a camera. Don't wast the money. Use the compare feature to narrow down your choices.

Dave

[robon]

I ended up getting the Gaia GSPs app for now, and I will probably end up getting a handheld or a gps watch when I have more time. Anyone using Gaia? It gets good reviews and I like the ability to use multiple maps and the layering option with quick load time. Pretty neat and fast. Seems useful. Motion X looks really good as well, and so did others like the backcountry app. I used Gaia for the first time today tracking a session and it was easy to set up. The hard part will be getting it to load to my pc and getting everything displaying properly I guess.

The ability to run these apps like Gaia in airplane mode helps battery life. I just don't know how much but most cell phones these days allow the use of GPS with the cell function shut off. I've been perusing paddling and backcountry forums and many people are using tablets and phones in place of handheld GPS units, with battery packs and solar panels providing power for multi day trips.

[yugi]

The VivoActive HR is a pretty solid and not too expensive tool for that purpose and so much more.
It will last for way more than 8 hours at a time. Very intuitive and easy to use I'm my experience.

You view the routes on your phone or in your browser and get all the stats you'll ever need including
Heart Rate, total strokes, distance per stroke.

You could name your routes as well and share them, record the gear you used to track milage and so on.
If you really want to get scientific with it, you can connect an external heart rate belt and cadence sensor like the Vaaka.

You could also set vibration alerts so it will vibrate every 1 mile (or whatever you choose) for instance.
also includes a digital compass.

My experience with phone apps wasn't good for long runs. I prefer to have my phone ready and charged for emergency or any other kind of communication. The GPS apps I've used did suck the life of the battery.

Gone were the days of "4 hour" GPS watch battery life, eh?

I hear you on not wasting phone battery. SUP and bike I'll happily use battery to track. Skiing I won't. I'll save juice for map reading and JustInCase stuff. My SUP playground has lots and lots of places served by train. I can always get home.