GPS tech (Garmin, Hammerhead, Wahoo, RWGPS, etc)

Any reason why you don't want to use your phone? Press record in Strava and then put it in a pocket that isn't too deeply buried.

Great and highly reasonable question! Couple reasons - first, my phone is old and slowly dying so having Strava etc running in the background can be flaky. No plans to upgrade until it actually dies and/or Apple brings out a new iPhone SE

Secondly, there’s times when I like to head out without a phone so not keen to tie myself to that. I often walk with my phone on me but buried on silent just as a backup so I can enjoy it without the lure of the screen, too.

Maybe one of the Garmin 's' suffix watches? 265s is the current version. I think some of the older ones were slightly smaller. My other half is small (5'/153cm) with matching small wrists and wears a 255s all the time.

I think some of the Venu/'fashion' ones might seem smaller because of the styling. Places like Currys often display models which can be useful for trying out on your wrist.

Or you could get something without a display. Many years ago I had a GPS logger that I'd turn on and then it would log a point a second which I could later process however I wanted. Something like https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006718848923.html

Etrex 20, Etrex 30 x, or any in the Etrex range

I use Eneloop rechargables, two sets give a weeks or so usage

etc

@jellybaby those GPS loggers look interesting - will do some digging

@freezing77 I’ve had a play around with older Etrex ones before but never figured out how to record an activity like on a bike computer - any ideas?

With Garmins you literally turn them on and it's recording a track. Plug it into a computer and dump the tracks off it.

ve had a play around with older Etrex ones before but never figured out how to record an activity like on a bike computer - any ideas?

they automatically record when on

check the track manager

those GPS loggers look interesting

I used to use one when taking pictures so I could assign locations based on the GPS track.

Paid about £30 ten years ago so would guess they should be pretty cheap.

Generally works fine but without a screen you're not quite sure what's happening whilst it's try to acquire a signal.

You don't need the phone screen on to record a walk. I use RWGPS and it can sit silently in a pocket. It'll sync automatically to Strava or Garmin or whatever too. When you take pictures with the phone you can geotag them too

Seems a bit pointless buying another bit of electronics if what you have will work. On the other hand, having some redundancy if you're roughing it and/or need more battery life, waterproof kit, etc, then an etrex will do what you want.

selling an instinct crossover solar in a week or so, will be cheaper than ebay etc let me know if that fits the bill

Just use what you've got, wahoo element in your pocket or backpack top, or phone. Etrex would be the answer but seems undeed when you've wahoo.

Dunno if this fits your needs but I've been using a coros apex (pro 2?) watch for longer trail running events. Reasonably priced. Comes with maps. You can follow a route easily enough. Battery will last a little over two full days while recording.

But yeah, smartphone also seems like a logical option for longer hikes. Cheap android phone with osmand. Import your gpx routes and you're good to go.

Thanks y'all for the very useful info/thoughts - got me some experimenting to do.

• I managed to find an old file dump from when I used an Etrex, and you're all right in that the track was recorded. Managed to tidy it up in Textedit and upload an activity to Strava but it was a faff even without the editing bit, and I don't have consistent access to a laptop, so probs not the best route long term.

• I don't currently have a Wahoo but thought it was the best example of what I'm going for. My one bike GPS is an ancient Edge 20 whose battery fucks out after 2-3 hours so that's not really a goer.

• Will try to find somewhere to get hands on with the smaller Garmin watches cos that seems like a sensible approach

• Also gonna do some more digging into the newer Etrex SE and how that interacts wth Garmin Connect

• Will also mess about with phone settings and different apps to see how the reliability and battery life goes.

Thanks again for all the wisdom - much obliged as always.

A small powerbank is also a cheap solution to extend the phone battery life.

Ah, fab, looks like another Garmin update has bricked my 1040 again.

Nope, the cunt's woken up after a hard restart. Garmin software engineers are shite.

Don't rule out the non s garmins either - I am very much a small watch person and was adamant I wanted the S but found the larger one comfortably more useful/legible and not really that much bigger.

Usually deeper discounts on the bigger ones as more common too.

I always use my phone for hiking. Just use an app that let you navigate without data and turn data off. Battery will last days

Thanks all again for your help with this one. Managed to pull together some funds for something new and went for the Etrex SE - can confirm it’s exactly what I was after.

Mad battery life off a couple of double screams (rechargeable from IKEA seems decent) and does a decent version of the Beeline arrow thing. Oh and unlike all the other Etrex units it hooks up to Garmin Connect and Strava etc.

Highly recommended and happy to answer any questions cos this unit isn’t that well documented

Also look how yellow it is 10/10 for that alone

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