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I'm excited about sharing my perspective on the Black Canyon after reading about it in the current issue of TROUT - that's the next post I will make on Monday.
Today, I wanted to commend on the road navigation feature of the GPS. It seems like the big push over the recent holiday period was on portable GPS based navigation devices for your car. For many who already own a ruggedized GPS, that feature is built in - the problem is actually using it without having a wreck.
I found that the Garmin mount for mine solves most of the challenges. It will suction onto any smooth surface and hangs on like a bear. I've used this thing many times enroute to streams or just on road trips and it has yet to shake off. The mounting system is very adjustable with tilt controls that will allow you to get it into a decent viewing position. It's a little sporty to hook up the power cable (if you want to conserve your batteries) and use the external antenna at the same timel; but it can be done.
The big drawback is that it is really tough to find a place where the reflection allows you to really see the screen well enough to know what is going on. All you get is a tone when you need to take action - there is no sweet voice telling you to turn in 200 feet.
As a result of this, you probably will end up putting it someplace where it may block some of your vision - so avoid that. I find that I can pop it into the lower corner of the windshield and still see out pretty well - but make your own call on that.
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Using this to navigate the dirt roads in the national forests is very handy. It's even better if you program your route into the GPS using waypoints and then turn on the navigate feature (being sure to tell it so stay on the road).
The mount solves the problem of a confused passenger who may not be familiar with your GPS and unsure how to read and use it. Just be careful that you pay the right amount of attention to the road.
Bottom Line: This is a nice piece of gear to have. |
