Apologies in advance for what I'm sure is a numbskull question, but as a non-driver I have little experience with GPS systems. However, on getting a lift this weekend :wink:, I finally discovered how useful these things are. Assuming the satellites are not going to become space crap, then which ones are the best for MTBers? A search across the forum suggests the eTrex: is this right? I do most of my riding in Wales and would very much like a device that means I do not have to rely on The Force all of the time.

Review/info in current STW issue

I use the eTrex and it's great. Nice and simple, reliable and not expensive. If you get yourself Memory Map and a usb cable, you can plot your routes and upload them straight to it. Then when you're out, just follow the waypoints. A life saver, especially when on top of a mountain when the fog's come in and the path's disappeared!
Don't rely on it completely though. You never know when technology, no matter how good it is, decides to stick it's middle finger at you 😉

This sounds good. To continue line of thicko questioning: can I pull said gadget out of the bag if, err, I'm a little disoriented and not sure on the map where I am and it will tell me where I am and which direction to go?

Yeah. You can plot a route and follow it on the gps, so it will give you an arrow pointing in the direction you need to go to the next waypoint, and tell you how far it is etc. There is also a display that shows you the route line, and shows you with an arrow, where you are along it (of off it) and draws a bread crumb trail of where you've been.

And, yes, if you've got an OS map with you as well, it will tell you your grid ref, so you can see exactly where you are.

Only thing about the direction arrows, is that they're based on movement (it doesn't have a compass).

I ride with it in my pocket and take it out every now and then to check I'm on course, but I've just seen you can get a handle bar mount for £12. Think I'll get one!

Twice I have been out with people with GPS and both times they led the group in the wrong direction by following the GPS blindly.

Both occasions I argued for the correct direction but of course the GPS had to be right so we went in the wrong direction as the GPS indicated.

I've just got a Satmap Active 10 which has actual OS mapping on screen. The accuracy is ace compared to older GPSs I've used (sometimes struggles under wet trees but in general it's very good) and it was very easy to get used to for a GPS numpty. The down side is that the unit plus bike mount plus OS mapping for the UK at 1:50k came to over £500 – if you want something similar the Garmin Oregon 200, plus cheeky downloads of software might be a bit kinder on the pocket.

Do the Garmin ones actually give you the British Grid position ?

Ive seen the Topo maps – they are shite.

TandemJeremy – that sounds exceedingly annoying.

robinbetts – which model do you use?

brant – picking up this month's issue might be a good idea!

Mr Agreeable – oooph! I'll have a look the 200.

One nice thing about the Satmap is that if you're somewhere with several diverging paths, if you're not sure which one to take, you can set off down one and check. Even 20 metres or so down the track it will be obvious where you are relative to the map. It is that accurate.

TandemJeremy, agreed!

GPS is great and can save you a lot of time if you just want to get out and ride, but always have a map (and compass) and know where you're meant to be going, as they can be misleading at times. Especially with the direction arrow when you're stationary.

I've never had the fortune (or budget) to try one with OS mapping on it. I expect they are great and would cut down on some mistakes, but I would fear people would then not bother with a real map. Then if it goes dead you could be in the sh*t.

My £60 eTrex though is a real asset!

The Satmap gives you a grid position. I don't know about the Garmin ones. The Satmap website also has a lot of catty comments about the durability of touch screen units.

Both occasions I argued for the correct direction but of course the GPS had to be right so we went in the wrong direction as the GPS indicated.

The GPS wasn't wrong – the plank that put the route in was

You have anecdotes for every occasion 😉
Must be handy

they led the group in the wrong direction

I can just imagine it… "No, you go that way, we'll go this way…" 😉

Both times it was user error as far as I can see – not in that the route was incorrect but in that they did not wait for it to update itself before deciding which way to go and in believing the machine rather than the map.

Both times the machine corrected after a hundred or two m down the wrong trail

GPS

If by "global" you mean "Dartmoor".

[ Garmin Oregon 200, plus cheeky downloads of software might be a bit kinder on the pocket.]

The 200 looks good
What software would i need?

GPSes can be read wrong; maps can be held upside down. Neither mistakes is anything to do with the object but entirely down to the user! Using a GPS doesn't suddenly turn you into a twonk.

I love GPSes (I own five! Madness); I love maps too (I own too many). I can generally avoid arguing with myself too much because both are useful and/or interesting in their own special ways; dismissing them as "not as good as maps" is just silly.

I used to use a basic etrex and it was just about good enough to use in conjuction with a map but most of the time it just sat in my pack logging the route to be uploaded to memory map afterwards.

I recently got a secondhand dell axim (£20) and compact flash gps card (£15) and loaded the pda version of memory map on to it. Being able to see proper os maps on the unit and exactly where you are makes it so much more useful. It's also got good battery life, about 9 hours and a decent sized touch screen. The only thing against it is I wouln't be that confident of it surviving a crash if bar mounted and it's not really weatherproof so it just sits in my pack until I feel I need to check a direction. It works far better than a friends garmin edge as the mapping is far more detailed and is cheap enough that breaking it isn't that big a deal.