A couple years ago I was gifted a Magellan eXplorist 710 handheld GPS:
http://www.magellangps.com/Store/eXploristSeries/eXplorist-710I haven't used it a ton but works well enough for my purposes. Can run for 16hrs. on 2 AA batteries, which I like. Supposedly waterproof. Magellan sells a handlebar mount for it so I'm wondering if I should snag one before they change the design and can't find one:
http://www.magellangps.com/eXplorist-Handlebar-MountThe GPS and the mount don't get the best reviews but I question the competence and accuracy of the users/reviews. It is pretty chunky compared to a Garmin Edge but I'm not in the market to go out and buy a new, sleek, lightweight, dedicated cycling GPS.
Then I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone with ViewRanger GPS app installed and there are many smartphone handlebar mounts available. ViewRanger doesn't require a cell signal to function (unlike Google Maps and some others) so you can venture away from civilization. The good thing is that if you do have cell/data service, you have the full capability of a smartphone available to you. The bad thing is keeping the Li-Ion battery charged. I've never tested how long I can run it with only the GPS app running but I highly doubt it would come close to 16hrs. I would have to carry a spare battery pack or rig some other charging solution.
If you had to choose between the 2, which would it be? That will dictate what mount I buy. As I mentioned above, I know there are newer GPS units out there but that is out-of-budget at this time. I want to try to make what I have work. Or do I buy a mount for each and run the smartphone when I know I'll have a signal and fair weather and run the Magellan when the weather is questionable and the route is away from cell service?
Thanks!
