Best GPS for surf skis?

I'm needing to replace my Garmin GPSMAP76, and am looking for comments on a GPS best suited for surf skis. I am open to wrist attached or deck attached. The most frequent use is a quick glance at speed, which my 'MAP76 seems to be quite uneven at reporting. What have people had good success with?

I have been using a Garmin Edge 305 for several years
Screen and read out is easy to see
Mounts easily -- I glued the mount clip directly to boat
Plenty of features and heart rate monitor is a good training tool.

I have been using teh GPS76 for a few years now for speed and navigation. I haven't found another GPS with a screen thats as easy to read. As far as recording your workout goes, the 310XT must be the best yet.

I would say keep your 76 and add the 310XT for secondary readout (heartrate and time)and recording. Thats what I would do if I had the spare cash anyway.

I, and most of the guys I paddle with, use the Garmin Forerunner 305. I love it, wouldn't paddle without it. Its navigation capability is fairly basic, but everything else is perfect for paddling & training. It shows speed (or pace), distance, time, heart rate, elevation, etc and lap versions / averages / zones for all of these. You can pre-set courses and workouts; in fact there's little you can't do. The display is big and clear enough to be very easily visible if attached to your foot-strap. The water-resistance is fine, my poor boat suffers many dunkings and I've never had a problem. I think all its readings are very accurate. There is lots of software available if you want to download and analyse your races etc on your PC.

For use of use, price (as it is now discontinued) and screen size (I'm blind!) - I can't go without my Garmin 301 - almost all the features as the big brother 305 but if you can find one at a store the price alone will get it over the line

The Garmins are good but don't expect a long life from them if you use them all the time. My advice is to buy it and use it solidly for the first year so if (when) it melts down you might be lucky enough to still have it within the 1 yr warranty period. My latest 305 has just died after 14 months with no chance of resurrection - bugger. And my 301 if just hanging in there. Another tip - rinse them in fresh water and dry them after each use.

I've heard that same advice about Garmins before - use them to death in the first year and hope it makes it (or breaks within warranty).

Dave, check how you purchased the Garmin 305 ... some credit cards offer double the manufactuers warranty.

I have an Garmin Oregon which does more stuff than the fitness Garmins (such as maps etc), but isn't as good at pure fitness stuff and is a bit bulky. Also, the screen is hard to read in bright daylight and worse if you wear polarized sunglasses.

I'd get the 310XT or 305 for all fitness stuff (ski paddling, personal training, cycling etc) if I was buying again.

The best and most easy to see GPS (largest readout)for paddlers is the Garmin Etrex Venture HC ($100). I put mine in a waterproof clear bag and attach it to my front deck. Works great.

This is great info, thanks. There is a huge difference in cost between the Etrex Venture (ps where do you buy this for $100) and the 310xt... given this stuff expires fast, it seems cheaper is better - unless there's a massive difference...

There is no way to compare the etrex with the 301, 310 etc. eTrex, 72, 76 etc will give you navigation info, speed, direction, course pointers etc on easy to read screens.

301, 305, 310 etc will give you recorded speed / heart rate / distance plus programable zone training and all sorts of other stuff.

Not the same beasts at all. That's why I recomend a 76 / 310 combination for the fully decked out electronic age paddler.

Just a word on the 76. It is best to take it apart when you get it and seal the join with sealer like 3M-5200. Also seal the external antenna socket and external power leads. I coat the battery terminals with vaseline too. This way I have had a few years service - no warentee cover but thats ok because my unit hasn't broken.

Hi,

I've been using a forerunner 305 for about 2 years and was very happy with it. Last week, it fell from my kayak and sunk right away :'(

So I'm looking to get a new GPS, but was thinking to buy the 310xt because of it's 30m water resistance.

My question is: does the new 310xt have any drawbacks compared to the 305? I heard that "routes" are no longer supported on the 310xt?

I’ve been using the 310 for about 5 months with no problems, love it! And it has survived plenty of ski rollovers (it’s attached to the ski).

As for “routes” yes it does.
check out the forum link for more info.
forums.garmin.com

Mart

I've been using the garmin 301 for about 3-4 years now with no problem. I like it because the screen in big and i can strap it to my foot straps. makes loking at your speed/distance easier than trying to look at your wrist while paddling...at least for me anyway.

I am in the water about 4-6 days a week basically all year round and it has gotten a lot of water time with no leaks or problems.

Aloha,
-Rich

I have a Garmin 705. Technically a bike computer but is waterproof. I was concerned as to how waterproof but after many a dunking it seems to be fine. I always wash it down after being in/on the sea.

It's great because you get heart rate and speed. You can, in theory navigate with it as it has mapping on a separate display but I have found this a bit difficult. However you can upload your course to Garmin connect, which is very cool. Take a look here connect.garmin.com/activity/31029052
Press player and you can watch race progress.

I had a Garmin 301. Its usb plug corroded. I contacted customer's service, and they exchanged the device, no questions asked.
Since I bought 2 garmin 305, one for me and one for the Miss. I updated gps software on one of them... it's not working anymore. I tried to contact customer's service by sending 3 email for the last 2 weeks... no answer yet.

Finaly got an answer.
They suggest me to do something that I said I've already done in the mail i sent them (reset the unit, reinstall software)... Can't they read before they answer ?

Regarding the 705, how do you attach to your boat? I need a multi use GPS that can do nav for hiking, training and nav for mountainbiking, and training for paddling. Seems like the 705 does the best job for all 3 where as the 310xt is lacking in the nav dept.

have you done anything special to improve its level of water proofness?