GPST review of Garmin's 2012 Ranges

Four great bundles from GPST

Having completed our annual general review of all existing & new GPS products & mapping offerings (which we always try and do in an impartial way) it gradually dawned on us how much the Garmin offering had improved and how little improvement there had been in opposition products. Garmin seem to be the company making the running with new & innovative products in both, GPS, Digital Maps & Geocaching.

It seems that Garmin are now the only manufacturer with deep enough pockets to fund research & development and to provide all aspects of product support. Talk to any customer why they choose to invest in a product or purchase from the likes of GPST and technical innovation, product support & after sales support usually comes before price.

We as a company get great product support from both Garmin & the Outdoors Distributor Dalesman; which is why we can confidently say "if you purchase a Garmin GPS & maps from us and have any issues or how to questions re your purchase; contact us on 01768 885855 and if we can't help we know who to speak to at Garmin who can".

By now you'll have realised that having evaluated all the products on the market we are convinced that the current range of Garmin outdoor products offer the best range of GPS with the fullest range of GPS navigation features, the most flexible access to OS & International maps for your GPS & PC/Mac and the widest choice of uses on the hill, on the trail, on the water, on/off road, paperless geocaching and custom maps across the full range. In fact there is now only one GPS in the Garmin range that doesn't offer access to the majority of all these features

For 2012 we are predicting huge growth in the use of International Maps using either BirdsEye Select map downloads or by the purchase of mapping on MicroSd card. In reponse to this interest we have decided to add value to our GPS Bundles by including one BirdsEye Select map voucher to all mapping GPS bundles and offer any additional or repeat orders less 10%

To reinforce this GPST now four great bundles across all Garmin Outdoors GPS all with free unlimited access to our online GPS Resource and free postage & delivery to Mainland UK, NI & Eire.

OS Discoverer 1:50k Full Country, BirdsEye Select & Online Training

Eire Discoverer 1:50k Full Country, BirdsEye Select & Online Training

Garmin GPS plus BirdsEye Select & Online Training

Garmin GPS for Geocaching (1st March)

Use the links to check out these great offers

Download our latest price list (PDF)

Garmin GPS BirdsEye Select, BaseCamp and OS & Eire Maps

There was a point recently when we were a bit frustrated with Garmin's progress on the OS maps offering; it seemed like others were getting there ahead of them. We now realise that R & D, Product development and cartography were working away to produce BaseCamp; the flexible user friendly mapping software that we have for both GPS & PC now.

Although it is possible to purchase a GPS without some sort of map bundle we can't remember the last time it happened as the Whole GB & Eire 50k bundles are so good; why would you!

What has changed for 2012? We think Garmin have now realised the value to the GPS user of additional mapping for their travels. After all the average user will probably only purchase one GPS but may add a portfolio of maps; allof which highlights the importance of BaseCamp to the Garmin user.

All new generation Garmin GPS are BaseCamp compatible; this essentially means that even with the most basic GPS & the worldwide map that comes with all Garmin devices & BaseCamp, you will be able to view, plan, manage and send user data to/from your GPS & PC.

What's really clever though is that when you combine a Garmin mapping GPS and OS & Eire Discoverer mapping, Maps purchased on MicroSD card or BirdsEye Select mapping you will be able to view the mapping in BaseCamp on your PC for route planning etc. Removing the need for additional PC based mapping for route planning & paying for OS maps twice.

How times change; Most students on our hands-on courses now elect to spend the session around maps for PC & route planning using BaseCamp, rather than as in the past other PC based software. Very popular with our clients is access to our OnLine resource "Getting started with your Garmin GPS, OS Discoverer maps & BaseCamp" so much that we bundle it with all Garmin GPS & OS map bundles.

Pick of the Ranges

The Montana range and updated eTrex ranges launched in autumn last year; so there is mow a new generation Garmin GPS at a price to suit everyone; however we suspect that for walkers, cyclists & outdoor enthusiasts in general the most popular units will still be the eTrex 30 , Oregon 450, GPSMap 62s & Montana 600 map bundles purely because they offer such great value for money.

The main GPS features are shared by all units; clear easy to read colour screens, high sensitive GPS reception, 3 axis electronic compass, wireless sharing, paperless geocaching, custom maps and much more. The only real choice is touchscreen, v button operation and screen size. It can't be argued that the larger the screen the better maps appear.

The Montana 600 OS GB bundle is very popular with our customers; many of whom will appreciate the dual-orientation screen and voice prompts and for many the extra £80 won't break the bank.

Garmin cater for cyclists in two ways; with a dedicated range of cycling computers (they offer the likes of heart rate monitors and speed & cadence monitors) and devices like the Dakota 20 or Edge 800 Trail both offer whole GB OS bundles and are more suitable for cyclists who want a device offering OS maps for more general use on the hill, on the trail and on the road with auto routing as an option.

We're delighted that the eTrex range has been updated; there's been a need for a more reasonably priced range of new generation devices in the Garmin range; we're sure the eTrex range will be very popular. Full details on the range will be available here very soon.

To give you the maximum information & support on the full range of Garmin products we now have a page dedicated to each of the Garmin ranges - simply click on the link of your choice below

New eTrex range
Dakota 20 & Oregon range

GPSMap62 range

Montana range

Edge 800 Trail

Product comparison chart below