New Garmin Overlander....What are your thoughts

[Gustavo Amaral]

Maybe for USA users it is not the best choice between price/utility. But for me, who lives and travel in South America, the fact you can send messages, access IOverlander etc. are so useful and important! Specialy when we are traveling on remotes areas or crossing borders. Sometime are still hard looking for a mobile chip that works well on 3rd world. So, probably this device will be on my wish bucklist…

 

[MazeVX]

Just an FYI, since I see that you're in Germany, I think that the Overlander is only designed for use in (i.e. only has maps for) North and South America. At least that's what their marketing seems to be indicating.

Thanks so far, you are right because you get the US specific, we in Europe get the European spec with different maps and different database support.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

Thanks so far, you are right because you get the US specific, we in Europe get the European spec with different maps and different database support.

Ah, right on.

 

[Gustavo Amaral]

Read the manual it will do NONE of those things for you without yet another Garmin piece of hardware the Garmin inReach along with subscription. So you are looking at over $1000 in hardware plus subscription and you are at mercy of Garmin.

Tks Miami C70! I agree. USD 1k + subscription Is too much…

 

[4wheelspulling]

I know that the OB staff works hard to bring out what they have found to be the best. I look forward to the OB navigation system. Vance.

 

[DanW]

Read the manual it will do NONE of those things for you without yet another Garmin piece of hardware the Garmin inReach along with subscription. So you are looking at over $1000 in hardware plus subscription and you are at mercy of Garmin.

I've got the older Delorme version of the Inreach and it works great, so I'm already part way there. If Garmin does this thing well, the texting feature that connects to the Inreach would be a welcome interface that facilitates easier messaging.

The Magellan was a great concept, but has been very poorly executed. I'd bet Garmin will do significantly better. We'll see, though. I'm not going to be the guinea pig on this after being burned by the Magellan. (Anyone want to buy a gently used Magellan TRX7? )

 

[Raul B]

I prefer a dedicated GPS where I don't have to load the maps before a trip. Several years ago, I had a Garmin Nuvi. Bought the off-road package and loved it. The unit was stolen and I started using tablets. Roll forward several years and 4 tablets later. I would load my area, and sometimes decide to check out something new. Now I find I went into an area I didn't load. No map.

I started looking for a dedicated GPS and find the Magellin off road. Dedicated off road only with all the maps loaded. At the time it was over $600. So I bought it. It was exactly what I needed. You would think that a major GPS manufacture would know how to build one. I was wrong. To top it off, it was still being beta tested. I researched it extensively before buying. What I didn't realize was the only people who did write ups were journalists. I found no bad reviews. Over all the single most horrid GPS I have owned.

Now Garmin has one. Same price point, same tablet size. If you didn't notice, take no less than 1/2 inch off the screen size all the way around for the inside border.
Will I drop a ton of money again on a product that appears to be exactly what I need? I don't know. So far the only reviews are "We used it going here and loved it". Same as I saw before. I didnt see any "we have used it for over a year and loved it" on the magellin, before I bought it. I wont make the same mistake twice.

Before anyone asks if I contacted Magellin. Yes, the guys working on the design and flaws are local.
If your thinking of the Garmin, wait a while. Oh...the magellin came down in price a few years later.

I tested out the trx for couple of years and it never lived up to my expectations. I too hate loading maps. The trx was a good concept but very poorly executed. The Garmin unit looks like it could be good but it's pricey. It should be half the cost. I'm going to wait until all the bugs are worked out before purchasing. I too have a Delorme in reach rifht now.

 

[Del Albright]

I've been waiting for a few years for Garmin to replace what many of us had "back when." -- the Garmin Nuvi 500, turn by turn with topo and trails. Small unit. Very detailed, 24k topo maps (chips) and 100k if you wanted. No downloading before trips; no mixing other things with your GPS trying to find a place (this thing was all in one); and durable. Sounds to me like this new Overlander is this and MORE. Built-in In Reach; built-in pitch and roll; built-in public land trails, camps, etc. And no cell signal needed like most laptop/ipad programs. There's a lot more and I was hoping someone here had really used one with a detailed opinion/analysis...

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

I've been waiting for a few years for Garmin to replace what many of us had "back when." -- the Garmin Nuvi 500, turn by turn with topo and trails. Small unit. Very detailed, 24k topo maps (chips) and 100k if you wanted. No downloading before trips; no mixing other things with your GPS trying to find a place (this thing was all in one); and durable. Sounds to me like this new Overlander is this and MORE. Built-in In Reach; built-in pitch and roll; built-in public land trails, camps, etc. And no cell signal needed like most laptop/ipad programs. There's a lot more and I was hoping someone here had really used one with a detailed opinion/analysis...

FYI, inReach is actually not built-in on the Overlander – it's just capable of pairing with an existing inReach device. So if you want inReach capabilities, you're still going to have to dish out $300+ for a separate inReach device. If it did actually have inReach built-in, I think this device really would be compelling.

 

[1Louder]

I've been waiting for a few years for Garmin to replace what many of us had "back when." -- the Garmin Nuvi 500, turn by turn with topo and trails. Small unit. Very detailed, 24k topo maps (chips) and 100k if you wanted. No downloading before trips; no mixing other things with your GPS trying to find a place (this thing was all in one); and durable. Sounds to me like this new Overlander is this and MORE. Built-in In Reach; built-in pitch and roll; built-in public land trails, camps, etc. And no cell signal needed like most laptop/ipad programs. There's a lot more and I was hoping someone here had really used one with a detailed opinion/analysis...

It does NOT have built in InReach. It only pairs with one and allows you to read and send messages through it. Big cost difference.

 

[smritte]

I loved my Nuvi. It was stolen out of my Jeep (forgot to take it out) and Ive been looking for something similar ever since. As I posted earlier I was very disappointed in the Magellan. Like the Magellan, I haven't seen any real time testing on the Gamin. Like the Magellan, I only see where journalist's have tried out the ones they were given. All the magazines and bloggers loved the Magellan.

I really like what Garmin has done but I'm real gun shy. I gave my Magellan to a buddy who has no GPS experience, for his side by side. One year later he asked if I wanted it back and went to something else.
I hope a few people with actual GPS knowledge will get these and really use them. I'm afraid those guys did what I did.

 

[Del Albright]

FYI, inReach is actually not built-in on the Overlander – it's just capable of pairing with an existing inReach device. So if you want inReach capabilities, you're still going to have to dish out $300+ for a separate inReach device. If it did actually have inReach built-in, I think this device really would be compelling.

OH, ok. Thanks.

 

[Del Albright]

It does NOT have built in InReach. It only pairs with one and allows you to read and send messages through it. Big cost difference.

thanks..ok.

 

[Del Albright]

I loved my Nuvi. It was stolen out of my Jeep (forgot to take it out) and Ive been looking for something similar ever since. As I posted earlier I was very disappointed in the Magellan. Like the Magellan, I haven't seen any real time testing on the Gamin. Like the Magellan, I only see where journalist's have tried out the ones they were given. All the magazines and bloggers loved the Magellan.

I really like what Garmin has done but I'm real gun shy. I gave my Magellan to a buddy who has no GPS experience, for his side by side. One year later he asked if I wanted it back and went to something else.
I hope a few people with actual GPS knowledge will get these and really use them. I'm afraid those guys did what I did.

Yea, ok, I'm with ya. You can still find Nuvi's on ebay and such...I've been thru 4 of them. The one I have now is still mostly kinda sorta working. That is why Garmin discontinued them. They locked up.

 

[smritte]

I just ran a quick Google search again on the Overlander. All but one are "First Look" and "cant wait to try it". Mostly from back in may. There is a thread on Expedition Portal (5 pages) of people discussing them and on the end someone actually bought it. His post was late last month and only cited an issue with the compass so far. That was the only account I could find other than the "first look" posts.
Sigh....still waiting.

 

[1Louder]

thanks..ok.

It looks like Jeffrey Dill and I were replying at the same time.

There is a trade-off get a device like this and hope the built in maps meet your needs. If they don't well it's a brick. Or use something on your phone or tablet with lots of different map layers. Yes, there is effort required to make sure you have maps downloaded but I find that a small price to pay for a lot of flexibility. Everyone has different needs. In my research this looks mostly like a much cheaper Garmin device with a few items added and a huge price increase. Not worth it.

 

[Del Albright]

The ONLY people that are giving these things glowing reviews are those that got them for FREE!
Not worth $700.

I picked up an iPad mini 5 256GB under $400 and it is 10x the device this Garmin will ever hope to be.

Cool. What do you base the 10x comment on? If you've tried one, please let me know more details...

 

[MazeVX]

It looks like Jeffrey Dill and I were replying at the same time.

There is a trade-off get a device like this and hope the built in maps meet your needs. If they don't well it's a brick. Or use something on your phone or tablet with lots of different map layers. Yes, there is effort required to make sure you have maps downloaded but I find that a small price to pay for a lot of flexibility. Everyone has different needs. In my research this looks mostly like a much cheaper Garmin device with a few items added and a huge price increase. Not worth it.

You are right, but in terms of price and stuff it's actually not bad. I need to buy a rugged tablet, all the ram mount stuff for it, external GPS receiver in many cases, get a premium account for Navi software to use offline maps... We already reached the price of the overlander...
But now I don't have the Garmin advantage of creating routes and planning stuff on my PC at home and I need to make sure I loaded the maps I need etc...
The overlander can still be pushed with more maps and usually the street navigation works better than any app available.
To me there's nothing comparable to the overlander at this time.

 

[1Louder]

You are right, but in terms of price and stuff it's actually not bad. I need to buy a rugged tablet, all the ram mount stuff for it, external GPS receiver in many cases, get a premium account for Navi software to use offline maps... We already reached the price of the overlander...
But now I don't have the Garmin advantage of creating routes and planning stuff on my PC at home and I need to make sure I loaded the maps I need etc...
The overlander can still be pushed with more maps and usually the street navigation works better than any app available.
To me there's nothing comparable to the overlander at this time.

For comparison purposes to put numbers behind your comments. There isn't a right or wrong answer. I just choose the later.

iPad Mini with 256GB of storage - $549 let's assume you will pair it with a InReach for same functionality as Garmin
Rugged Case - $75-$100
Premium Software which gives you way more map options than Garmin - $32/yr or $128 for 5 years (Gaia GPS) Standard Membership is $16-$48.
Many of these apps allow you to create routes on the device and via the cloud. (Gaia does and yes I am most familiar with Gaia

If you already own a tablet well that cost is eliminated. Most people have a tablet these days. If you don't and buy one then it can also be used for other purposes and a broad range of apps for overlanding. iOverlander, Ultimate Campground, My Radar Pro, back up offline map app like Maps.me or Pocket Earth. When online Google and Apple work great.

 

[1Louder]

What are you smoking.

I don't smoke. Haven't for years! Thanks for checking. Call it a worst case scenario if you like.