Recreational GPS

Johnathan Bray | Sep 3, 2008 8:00 AM
GPS is about far more than in-car navigation. Join us as we get running and cycling with seven of the latest recreational satnav marvels
Products in this Group
It wasn’t too long ago that GPS devices were restricted to luxury cars, yachts and mountaineering expeditions. But in the last few years they’ve leapt from being ludicrously-expensive luxuries to more-affordable commodities for everyone who drives or likes bush walking or cycling.

Prices have fallen the most in the driving sector which, for the past few years, has been dominated by TomTom. The company easily won our Reliability and Service award back in January and the TomTom One has sat on our A-List, in its various iterations, for years now. But there’s also a burgeoning recreational sector.

This month we’ve gathered seven such devices split into two sections: fitness and training watches, and hiking devices, although there is some overlap between the two.

Some things are clear: firstly this fantastic technology has now well and truly matured, as have its devices. But, secondly, prices in Australia for some products are, scandalously, up to four times more than they are elsewhere in the world. To find out which should be your guide, read on.

How we test - plus the ratings explained
We tested a wide variety of GPS-based devices in this Labs, with an incredibly broad range of features and capabilities, so coming up with meaningful tests proved to be a challenge.

Performance
You don’t want to be standing around on the street waiting minutes on end just to record your GPS position, so we timed how quickly each one locked on to enough satellites to provide a position. We gave extra points for devices that give some indication of progress towards this goal.

We used each device on at least one 50km round-trip cycling commute. This route takes in mostly open terrain, but finishes among tall buildings where many such devices struggle to maintain accurate position. We also took the hiking GPS devices on a bush walk. It wasn’t overly rugged terrain, but with plenty of trees hindering the devices’ line of sight it’s a challenge to hold and maintain an accurate position.

Throughout, we took note of positional accuracy (where applicable), the clarity, readability and flexibility of the screen, how comfortable the system was to wear and use, and build quality – essential for a device that’s likely to take a beating in the outdoors.

Features
We assess each in the context of its respective sub-group to avoid skewing the results. So we rewarded fitness watches for their flexibility and their ability to set multiple heart-rate zones, for example. And, more importantly, we assessed the power and ease of use of their PC-based training analysis and planning tools.

The hiking devices get more points for better quality screens and route-planning abilities, and the quality and availability of on-board mapping.

Value for Money
The Value for Money score is based on a weighted average of the Performance and Features scores; we then factor in the cost of each device (including delivery) for a bang-per-buck result.

Overall
The Overall rating is a straight average of the Performance, Features and Value for Money scores. Occasionally, it may appear higher or lower than expected due to rounding.
This article appeared in the August, 2008 issue of PC Authority.