Zumo or Montana
 

A long time user of a Garmin 2720, this has now been purloined by my wife for use in the car.

I have fairly basic IT skills, using a Mac at home to plan routes on and wishing to purchase a GPS for the ‘bike I am stuck as to what is the better purchase between the Garmin Zumo (probably 660) and the Montana. I would like European mapping to include coverage of Turkey, a simple 2D display (I am no fan of gimmicky displays when it comes to maps), do not need a camera or music files stored on the unit and would want a hard wired power connection to the ‘bike.

I have read glowing praise for the Montana on this site, but it commands a premium above the Zumo plus a requirement to purchase European mapping at around £70.

Have users of either of these models got an opinion as to which is preferable. Is the Montana worth the additional £100 over and above the Zumo? Is the Zumo approaching an upgrade? Is the Zumo the more cost effective option?

Any opinions and/or advice that would assist me in making a final decision would be appreciated.

Many thanks

Montana 600
Tougher, faster and so so much more!
If you enjoy navigation then it is a worthwhile investment.
The Zumo is good too but tech has moved on.
Like you I have no need of the camera etc so have opted for the Montana 600.
:thumbup1:

I have a Montana 600, was very good until the screen cracked :(
Now Garmin want £130 exchange for it.
It did all the tough stuff on my trip and cracked on tarmac?
Just be careful with the screen if you get one.

Mark

HarryG - question please
was yours mounted in the bespoke Garmin mount when it broke?

The rugged mount fits in TT's bespoke mount and holds mine rock-steady. No probs so far despite a couple of 'offs'

Hi Bertand,
It was in a Garmin mount attached to a ram mount on the bars.
The screen started to become unresponsive, then a small crack appeared in the corner and grew.
Screen now totally unresponsive and have to send it off to Garmin.


Mark

You can get the OSM maps for free; I have spent an age reading the stuff on here about this, but I haven't done it yet - see the sticky threads in here.

In my thirst for knowlege/understanding, would you explain how you narrowed your choice down to these two models - for instance, what is the 2720 capability that makes the Zumo/Montana so much better?
(I too have just basic IT skills).

Walkabout, my PC died and was replaced with a Mac therefore I am unable to plan specific routes on the Mac and transfer them to the unit. Also I am unable to update the maps on the 2720 and it does not have the wide European coverage of modern Garmin units.

None of the above has any effect on the usage made of the 2720 by my wife, it is all within the UK as she invariably requires the quickest route between A and B.

Garmin's Montana's specifications

Garmin Streetpilot 2720 specifications

no battery, no data card capability, only 2000 waypoints, poorer screen, no junction view, no picture viewer, no alarm clock, no profile capability... and the list goes on!

read the specs then chose the Montana!!:blushing:

I like the Montana, BUT, I had one replaced due to its inability to guide me through busy interchanges and large cities.

The new one was a bit better but still after a long days ride, when I came into a city it was too slow and I missed many a turn because it could not direct me to where I needed to go. Once I entered the straight lines of Kazakstan it worked fine.

The only bits that failed were the 'routable' directions, picking a waypoint in 'direct' mode was never an issue.

THEN, the screen cracked, exactly like the chap above. I am now stuck in Thailand with the dead, as far as I am concerned, still under warranty GPS, in a bag ready for a talk when I can find a Garmin rep.

I bought a $60 cheap Chinese unit to get me around SEA, it uses the iGo system.

I am not sure the Montana is robust enough for the work it has been through, it was in the Rugged mount at all times, except when I was hand held Geocaching.

If I could find a new screen I would be happy to still use it, but I am not sure it is worth the money until they correct the mapping and Nav errors of which there are plenty.

The Montana is extensively covered over at ADV Rider forum, it is now at time of writing this over 5550 posts and has been going for longer than a year

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=688775

I would suggest you read most of this stuff and form your own opinion. Most of the issues that occurred in the past have been documented and fixed. BUT, a lot of good stuff that previous GPS models had were never brought to this model and this is still a bone of contention with most of the power users of this model on this site.

I bought mine after reading some 2000 posts as they seemed to have the issues sorted, now I wish I had not spent the money on the 650T. Some people have had their units replaced up to 3 times, some have been using them without any problems, so for me this is an indication the quality control is not there and they have tried to fill this model with too much stuff which is no doubt conflicting.

Cheers from Thailand
TravellingStrom

Download basecamp from the Garmin Website - runs on MAC. You will need to to connect your GPS to get some maps on it

Iain

Thanks for the detailed feedback; much appreciated.

Would that cheap Chinese unit be anything like this Peaklife? http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ycle-gps-66212
(I know that the Chinese market their bikes under different brands, so it doesn't have to be called a Peaklife to be sourced from the same factory).

[QUOTE=Walkabout;398181]Thanks for the detailed feedback; much appreciated.

Would that cheap Chinese unit be anything like this Peaklife? http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ycle-gps-66212
(I know that the Chinese market their bikes under different brands, so it doesn't have to be called a Peaklife to be sourced from the same factory).[/QUOTE


Nope, mine is a real cheap car one and not suitable for a bike really, any hint of rain and it goes in the tank bag.

I have now stopped using it because the screen is not bright enough and when a route is selected I cannot see the road I am supposed to take as the highlighted road blends in with the background.

I have a Nuvi, also a car one but the screen is better and I have all the maps, so I am good but still wary of wet weather.

No connection to either Garmin or Touratech aside from being a customer.:thumbup1:

Bertrand - I was using the latest maps as supplied at the time, these intersections are major ones and have not changed in years. As for using the combo thing, it is a SatNav, if it cannot tell me the correct turn in time for me to turn at highway speeds, it is not usefull. You cannot slow down and wait for it to catch up and going though large towns you are only doing city speeds anyway, 80kmh or less. My TomTomRiderII was extremely fast at recalculation, the Garmin is extremely slow.

As for the mount, mine is on a RAM mount, but on a dashboard, not on the handlebars. Yes it still vibrates, note, this unit was used and mounted with the reccomended parts, it was mounted in a way that is acceptable, there is NO way I should then have to fork out for an expensive aftermarket product to protect an expensive unit that claims to be tough and reliable. I have found the opposite to be true.

We could fight all day about the merits of the unit, good or bad. So far I have taken mine on only a 35,000km over some pretty basic terrain and roads, so far it has failed twice. I am attempting now to get it repaired under warranty, I may have to pay for the new screen, maybe not. I am still un-impressed overall with the quality of this very expensive product.

Regarding what Gates says, basically who cares. This product has been market tested by hundreds of people, read the thread I posted before. Garmin expect US to be the guinea pigs and then MAYBE they may fix a few things, if they feel like it. You have to read the whole thread to understand that this is what is happening.

Cheers from Nan, Thailand
TravellingStrom

We all are the guinea pigs for any product (alas) TS
Equipment as with everything is a question of choice.
Yes I agree that the TT mount is expensive but so are gps units and I do believe that any mount which reduces vibration is a good thing IMHO but that's just me!

I understand what you mean by 'mounted with parts acceptable' but my dakar also had parts 'acceptable' many of which I replaced for better quality kit (suspension, chain etc the list is long!!)- as some failed or were weak/not up to my needs to start with.

I made one, based on a US mount which was once available commercially (but no more as that one was some $400+ !) which was suspended on two coils- It worked perfectly - no vibration seen or felt but my mount was a bit wobbly/fiddly to mount the Montana on- The rugged mount was bolted to that 'sandwich with coils in between- it was a first attempt! I still have it but replaced with with a superior design by TT-

I've yet to see a map that's really accurate, whether paper or electronic as these are flawed by design- aka made by humans!

I've no regret about my Montana- here's a pic of mine with its :Beach:on!
Happy trails amigo

after thought TS
 

If you go through Chiang Mai you could go see Eagle gps who might be able to help.

added

if you are in Bangkok, try ESRI -2-636-8421

EMBEE,
Having followed this thread, and others in here, for the opinions about Garmin rather than specific models, in your position I would get my 2720 back from my wife and convert her to using a smartphone with a downloaded app for in-car navigation :innocent:

I know it is easier said than done; getting it back I mean.

It would appear you have met the wife!!!!

This aspect has been bothering me also, a lot.
And, I have tried to get used to the Garmin approach of "I know best where you are going AND how to get there" but it simply doesn't know best!
Below is a cut and paste from a different thread of a post I have made on this - I am only shoving it in here because it is a big "no" factor for me about Garmins and I do wonder if they all act in this way.
Currently, I have been experimenting with OSM mapping on the Nuvi and it seems that the Garmin still behaves in this manner.

"Yea! Thanks for that observation Alex - I thought it was just me and how I have my Nuvi 205w set up; I have fiddled with the settings but it continues to do exactly as you describe. On one recent ride in France it appeared to want me to go back to Calais, even though by then I was miles and miles further south. This was quite perplexing at the time - I am used to a Tom Tom that does what I want (and constantly recalculates routes as I deviate, including when the French roads have their own, local, deviations for road works etc). In contrast, the Garmin gave me the impression of "I know best where you want to go (and make a U turn now!!)".
Two other features of the Garmin that I did not like were (this is my first trip using one of these);
It seemed slow to do the calculations compared with my Tom Tom.
Over long route calculations it more or less "gave up" and came up with a message that more information would be provided later. In contrast, the ancient Tom Tom can come up with a route across most of Europe."

:nono: Wives seem to vary very little across this planet.

Walkabout, yep that was always a problem with me too.

I was on the opposite side of Oz and my TTR2 told me I had 7500km to get home, it had no issues with this at all. I tried to navigate from Frankfurt to Istanbul with the Montana, the route was truncated by the Garmin. What was worse, it decided to forget the bits it left out so I had to redo the route when it came to the end which was the middle of nowhere, very unprofessional imho, it should be able to do a direct route down the Autobahn.

The other thing I hate was the fact it did not use my current location to chosse which destination was the most apt. EG: I was on the west coast of Ireland and decided I wanted to go to Belfast, which was about 350km away. The FIRST choice on the list of towns was Dublin, Christchurch, NZ, 15,000km away, the SECOND was in South Africa, now what sort of frickin idiot designs software like that, brain dead morons that is who!!!

Anyway, rant over

Cheers
TS

Thanks for the tips Bertrand and the phone conversation certainly helped.

The end result is, I called ESRI who said they cannot repair the Montana under warranty and nor can Garmin Taiwan, it has to go back to the USA or Europe :(

That sucks, just waiting for the time zones to catch up and make a phone call to Southampton I guess, I wonder which is closer, the US or England, it will cost a bit for postage though :(

I will try that number I have and see what transpires, or I may just wait until I get back to Oz.

Cheers
TS

:eek3:really? Djeeez what a biz- it's a small planet indeed when there are only 2 places you can get a garmin fixed :(-

Yeah, too true, but I came up with a good result

I told them at Garmin Europe the screen was broke after many freezes and failures prior to that. They said the screen was not covered under warranty :( I told them the only reason the screen is buggered is because I had to keep pushing that part of the screen doing a master reset in that exact spot at least twice a day for months.

After that was passed on to the tech, Mark, I got a result, send it back, we will repair under warranty :)

Great, so now I need to send it away and they will turn it around within 5 days, so I MAY get it before xmas ;)

Cheers
TS

Nice Xmas treat from the lads at Garmin-
:thumbup1:

Better than that, I have it here right now :)

I had to go to Chiang Rai to pick up a spare part for my bike, while there I was called by the receiver of the Garmin in Chiang Mai and he sent it up overnight by bus, so a bloody good turn around by Garmin

The service is good, so now lets see if 3rd time lucky will get me back home. :) I still have another 3 months, so numerically, the odds are against it still being a useful item by late January

Cheers from Luang Namtha, Laos
TravellingStrom

I agree with what Richard has to say the speed of the Montana when it has a lot of streets to navigate (ie middle of London).

The highest model Zumo is a pretty good unit with the latest firmware, doesn't have all the features of the Montana.