AA battery powered GPS with maps for long distance

Question for those with Etrex
Question for those with Etrex 30s: Can you plot a route on something like bikehike, and then follow it with SatNav-style arrows at the junctions? If so what are the limitations with this?

I’ve got an Etrex Vista which I use on the bike, but as far as I can make out the only ways to follow a route are to just have the line on the map and try to stay on it, or to save the route as a track and use the trackback feature (which gives a ‘turn approaching’ ping but that’s basically it) . These sort of work for me, but sometimes downloading a route (for an event or something) doesn’t work. I also get issues with limits on the number of points my route can have.

Like the OP I like AA batteries which rules out the Edge ones for me.

I have a Dakota 20 as well.
I have a Dakota 20 as well. Pretty good. Am using OpenStreetMap based maps.

I like the compass – without the compass the GPS only knows which way you are moving so can’t orientate itself whilst you are stationary.

Lately (our GPS is several years old) the compass seems to be playing up though – giving obviously false readings and needing constant recalibration. Not sure if it’s dying or needs a software update. It’s not a major problem as when the GPS is moving things seem to sort themselves out and it works mostly.

The mount isn’t great – I find that after a few years of wear the GPS no longer sits securely and can come flying out on, e.g. cobblestones. There is a hook for tying it to the handlebars though to prevent it hitting the ground.

The touchscreen…I do like it. If you ever find you have to type on a non touch screen device (e.g. to search for a place name) then doing it with a little joystick is annoying…however its accuracy is poor, especially if you have ben using a smartphone. It’s harder to see in bright light than our previous non-touch screen GPS. I also find that more water sits on the screen than with our former GPS making it harder to see in heavy rain.

Whilst I am complaining about our GPS I also find that whenever external power is removed it restarts. I have tried to run it on an external battery back (that I can charge with my dynamo) but it frequently restarts – I assume the connection isn’t great and bumps cause a brief disconnection and it restarts on the internal batteries, only to find external power again.

If I had to buy another device now I would be looking at an eTrex and live with the joystick. Despite my complaints I wouldn’t tour without a GPS now – it works fine 90% of the time and is much less hassle than paper maps.

Garmin Etrex 30 here. As the
Garmin Etrex 30 here. As the Dakota, but not touch screen. Personally, I deliberately chose not to have a touch screen device.

You can customise your data screens to show almost any stat you can think of. The big one for me was altitude, as I do a lot of hills and the 30 has a more accurate altimeter. The 30 is also compatible with HR and Cadence sensors.

Very Robust and great off the bike too as I use it to take the kids geocaching. Also excellent battery life – I get at least 24hrs from 2500mAh rechargeables (which is why I chose it over the touch screen Dakota)

Never paid for a map for it. I have full UK from http://www.talkytoaster.com and bits of mainland Europe (added as required) ripped from the cache of the Osmand routing app on my tablet.

I’ve got a Garmin Dakota 20,
I’ve got a Garmin Dakota 20, it has mapping and routing and takes 2 AAs. It’s a bit bulkier than the cycle specific ones but does have the normal speed, av speed, odometer etc, will link up with a heart rate monitor and cadence sensor and being able to change the batteries is great when you’re on a long ride you’d struggle to do any audaxes over 200/300k without needing a charge.

It’s cheaper too and the Dakota 10 is even cheaper but doesn’t come with an SD card slot.

The only thing with them seems to be the mount, you have to buy it separately, which is fine as it’s really cheap (~£3 from one place) but it does have a tendency to come loose. If you put some superglue on the rails though, it holds it in securely or a lot of people attach it to a clip or lanyard attached to the stem.