Travel Technology - Wrist GPS Units

Will be traveling to Europe in a few weeks and have taken up running.

I am concerned about getting lost jogging and thought a wrist gps unit to mark a waypoint at the hotel and go on my way.

So, here is my stupid, stupid question. The "G" in GPS means global. Can I assume this garmin unit will work in Italy and other parts of Europe?

Please reply after you stop laughing.

Thank you.

Will be traveling to Europe in a few weeks and have taken up running.

I am concerned about getting lost jogging and thought a wrist gps unit to mark a waypoint at the hotel and go on my way.

So, here is my stupid, stupid question. The "G" in GPS means global. Can I assume this garmin unit will work in Italy and other parts of Europe?

Please reply after you stop laughing.

Thank you.

Yes it will (but if you are going to be using maps on this wrist GPS make sure you have the Italian etc. ones ^)

I'm not laughing I have been asked far more simple questions than that. ;)

Yes it will (but if you are going to be using maps on this wrist GPS make sure you have the Italian etc. ones^)

Thanks! I will see if it comes in the shape of a boot so that the maps fit perfectly.

If I may....

In may I bought the Garmin Forrunner 405 wrist gps-watch, and it is so cool! It feels like a normal watch to walk around with, and I use it for logging when walking around in a city, etc!

I do not run but use mine when I'm on the bike instead, but it's for the same purposes! When I go for a bike run, I start the GPS, and then if I get lost, I use the track back function, and it leads me back to the point of start, allthough there is no map on it!

If I may....

In may I bought the Garmin Forrunner 405 wrist gps-watch, and it is so cool! It feels like a normal watch to walk around with, and I use it for logging when walking around in a city, etc!

I do not run but use mine when I'm on the bike instead, but it's for the same purposes! When I go for a bike run, I start the GPS, and then if I get lost, I use the track back function, and it leads me back to the point of start, allthough there is no map on it!

Thats the one I bought!

I am glad you like it. Charging it now and going to try it tomorrow. I can't find my car when I park it. I am looking forward to running in Rome and will get lost and don't speak Italian.

I am looking forward to running in Rome and will get lost and don't speak Italian.

Hopefully the GPS meets your needs. As a backup I suggest taking a card from the hotel with you. Locals should be able to help you find your way, even with language issues.

Hopefully the GPS meets your needs. As a backup I suggest taking a card from the hotel with you. Locals should be able to help you find your way, even with language issues.

Excellent idea. I carried one from the Pennisula Bangkok. Convenient just to show it and have someone point.

Please let us know your opinion after your trip. I'm curious how it performs for urban navigation with tall buildings, awnings, trees, etc making it difficult to receive signals.

I am pretty much an expert on wrist GPSs

None come with maps but you can have enough waypoints to manage without a map.

I suggest the foretrex 101, and the newer 301 and 401 (that latter 2 have not tried, the 401 I ordered and is on its way)

The 202 and 405 (etc) are rechargeable and I see that as a downside, I prefer the be able to swap batteries (imagine a 3 day sail or trek). GPSs are battery hogs since the satellite signal is weak they need to amplify the signals

my units are on during flights,the track is fully recordable, and most of my flights are then downloaded to google earth (GPS is a passive receive only technology the 401 has some kind of sharing wireless technology so we shall see)

I used to have a forerunner (101) but found that lacking in functionality (I am a navigation junkie) it did have some minor features for runners (like lap timing) but almost everything else exists in the foretrex.

The foretrex has a nice sailing countdown starter which I use, though with all my travel not enough sailing....

These units have saved my but more then a few times in China

The 405 advantage is it looks closer to a 'watch'. The Suunto GPS watch is too much of a battery hog and is slow.

The 202 and 405 (etc) are rechargeable and I see that as a downside, I prefer the be able to swap batteries (imagine a 3 day sail or trek).

On the other hand if you primarily stay in hotels, a rechargeable model means you can just charge it every night and not worry about carrying batteries, turning it off to save juice, and watching for when the current batteries will need to be replaced.

By the by, I have the rechargeable foretrex 201. Seldom wear it as a watch. Without the strap, it's about the same size as a pager and I'd carry it in a shirt or jacket pocket. I was disappointed in urban signal reception and moved to the better [but not perfect] reception of the pocket sized Etrex H [battery powered].

Read an article, somewhere, about a fellow who velcro'd a foretrex to his hat, for better reception while hiking in woods, but that didn't seem business casual to me.

On the other hand if you primarily stay in hotels, a rechargeable model means you can just charge it every night and not worry about carrying batteries, turning it off to save juice, and watching for when the current batteries will need to be replaced.

By the by, I have the rechargeable foretrex 201. Seldom wear it as a watch. Without the strap, it's about the same size as a pager and I'd carry it in a shirt or jacket pocket. I was disappointed in urban signal reception and moved to the better [but not perfect] reception of the pocket sized Etrex H [battery powered].

Read an article, somewhere, about a fellow who velcro'd a foretrex to his hat, for better reception while hiking in woods, but that didn't seem business casual to me.

I seem to get great reception on my 101, but it does need its line of sight. Since I use it in aircraft I see that in the window great reception (for half the sky....) and move a few cm away lose reception. The etrex has proably bigger antenna and more amplification. I love the wrist strap usage but will be happier (probably) with the smaller 401. Happy to have one less charger to lug around.

My experience with the FR 405 is that it get good reception in forests and in urban city. I was really surprised by the good reception it gets when walking in narrow streets, and judging by the trail on my pc, it is very accurate.
I have a "usb-battery" and it can charge it three times ca., so I don't see it as a downside!

I had an Etrex Vista C but sometimes it had servere trouble getting a good fix in the city and hold it! It was a good gps, but it lacked in several ways. No expansion slot (came later) and the screen was a little too small (in my opinion) to handle maps!

The Etrex i died last year so I bought the Oregon 300, and that gps keeps surprising me! The way it handles maps and the time to fix is also very good! In the beginnig it was a bit vauge, but now several SW updates later it is a superb gps for all kind of needs! Only thing I'm really missing is voice commands! Have tried it on sailing, biking, geocaching, driving, and so far it works great. It feels a bit bulky in a pocket but then it can handle a drop on concrete!

I'm (also) some sort of gps junkie, and has been all my life. :D

I got the 405 a few weeks ago when my old (non GPS) Polar died.

I travel internationally, so the ability to find the hotel is a big plus. I can happily report that it works fine. Here's a run I recorded in Indonesia this week:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16859005

Thoughts:

1.) Do bring a card from the hotel as a backup. The wrist unit froze on me one time; thankfully, it was on a run at home. After the freeze, I upgraded the firmware from the Garmin website and haven't had a repeat. Make sure you do the upgrade as well.

2.) The unit comes with a wall charger and a separate cable that clips to the watch. The cable joins to the charger using standard USB. Therefore, the watch clip/cable can be plugged directly into your laptop USB for charging, so there's no need to bring the wall charger and extra plug converters on international trips.

3.) I run about an hour a day, which seems to drain about 10% of the battery. I'm guessing you could do a full week without having to recharge.

4.) There is a feature titled "return to start." I selected this once, but that was when the unit froze, and I haven't tried it again. Instead, I manually stored a waypoint at the front door of the hotel. "Go to Location" shows the stored points--couldn't be more simple.

5.) In urban environments with tall glass buildings and trees, the fixes are intermitent, and imperfect. If you look at the details of my run above, it shows phantom elevation changes (Jakarta is dead flat), and speed changes. I was running a consistent 8:30 pace except where crossing traffic.

Make sure you come back and post your findings from Italy!

I have used the Garmin 405 about three years now, I love it. BUUT,

The battery only lasts about 10 hours, maybe 12, and you have to turn the watch off completly the save it at all. So, be ready to be VIGILANT about charging.

One can get it now online for about 150$, I think that is a great price

The newer models do more, but don't display as much info at the same time, which I actually like. But, they are much more money at the moment.

I think a few more are set to come online in a next couple months actually.