Basecamp & Fenix...

Sounds like you don't have any real maps. The base maps that comes with BaseCamp and with the Fenix are next to useless. Go to http://www.gmaptool.eu/en/content/maps-garmin-fenix to get maps that you can put directly on your Fenix and also can be used in BaseCamp, although they're not very attractive due to the modifications the author made to fit them into the tiny storage and the four "color" screen of the Fenix. You can get better maps for BaseCamp by going to http://www.openstreetmap.org, and they're free. Because of the limitations of the Fenix, though, you can't put a large map on it. I've got portions of southern Centre and northern Huntingdon counties in Pennsylvania on mine, and that's it.

You can buy maps from Garmin. If you have other Garmin devices with color screens and the ability to navigate using the map, then that's a good way to get maps. I bought Garmin's TOPO US 24 k map for my region of the US for my Garmin Edge 800, and City Navigator US for my Garmin Nuvi. If all you have is a Fenix, though, don't. Garmin maps aren't officially supported on the Fenix, and I really doubt they look very good on it, even if you manage to get a tiny portion of a Garmin map on one. The Garmin TOPO maps are missing many of the major trails in my area, but they're all on the OpenStreetMap maps.

In any event, the Fenix won't navigate roads the way an Edge 800 or a Nuvi will. I've never navigated with my Fenix, but as I understand it, it navigates in a straight line from waypoint to waypoint. So for a curvy trail, you need to lay down a lot of waypoints. That's where BaseCamp will come in very handy, especially if the OSM maps for your region have trails on them like they do for central Pennsylvania, because laying down a trail of waypoints is straightforward in BaseCamp.

Thank you for the quick reply.

How easy is it to install the openstreetmap into basecamp? Just had a look at the link you provided and that's exactly what I had in mind for planning! Brilliant, thank you!

Not that hard. If you do a Google search, you'll turn up instructions on how to do it. They're also at OSM.org, but they're a little hard to find there. It's been months since I last installed OSM maps on one of my devices, but I think I used Garmin MapInstall to do it, and got the maps from Garmin.OpenStreetMap.nl or from http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Download. Instructions for what to do to get maps on the Fenix are at the site I linked.

Brilliant. Sorted - thanks a lot! Elevation data looks to be a little inaccurate but does the trick nicely now for route planning.

So, with that in mind, I thought I would bite the bullet and try to download a more detailed map and pay £20 for a garmin Birdseye select area to use for such route panning... Turns out you can't use this on basecamp as it's apparently for the unit (a unit that displays maps that is) and not a software PC based map. Am I correct in thinking therefore that I need to spend the £100+ for the OS mapping to just be able to plot routes, drop usable waypoint etc on basecamp?

Just to be clear, Birdseye works fine in BaseCamp, but doesn't work on the fenix, so BaseCamp won't let you waste your money buying it unless you have a device that supports it. It turns out the fenix is probably the only outdoor device put out in the last 2-3 years that doesn't support it, but the screen size/resolution would make for a poor user experience.

Need help with routes on Fenix

Hello. I've just got a Fenix Watch and I’m trying to using it with BaseCamp. I found good OSM maps with trails of my area and I have a question. Can I create a route using waypoints on BaseCamp then import the route into Fenix to follow the route to my destination? Is it difficult? Does it even make sense to do so? I’m completely new to Garmin and OSM maps. Thanks.

Yes you can, but you have to remember that the Fenix can't "see" the maps the way BaseCamp does. If you want to put maps on the Fenix itself, the OSM maps that you want to use on your Fenix should be these, which are pared down so that they won't take up as much of the Fenix's limited storage as regular OSM maps and adjusted for the 4 "color" screen of the Fenix, and leave out the bits that the Fenix can't use. But you don't have to put maps on the Fenix itself to navigate. The Fenix will navigate from waypoint to waypoint in a direct line, so you want to lay down enough waypoints in BaseCamp to define the route you want to follow well enough. Fenix will point you in the direction it wants you to go and can give you distance and ETA to the next waypoint and to the end of the track.

Thank you for your quick answer. And let’s say that I don’t want to see a map but only a basic route as a dotted line, similar to this picture , can I use OSM maps on BaseCamp and import only this very basic view of the route into Fenix? I'm not sure if Fenix is good for me (it was a gift). Its main purpose will be for hiking and I'm trying to find a way to use it. I'd like to have a device that gives me a rough idea of the track. Is Fenix the best tool or should I exchange it for a handheld unit? Thanks.

No brainer really, if you want it for hiking exchange it :)

For the money you could buy an Etrex 20, have change left over and load free OSM topo maps ideal for hiking.

Yeah, I agree with SUSSAMB. The only problem with handhelds (I have an old 60CSx) is how to carry them. If your hands are free, or you don't mind stopping to pull the handheld out from wherever you've stashed it, then handhelds have much bigger, color screens, can navigate along trails (rather than from waypoint to waypoint) if you can find a map with navigable trails (OSM for example), have a lot more storage for maps and usually a microSD slot for even more storage, have contour shading, better antennas so you're less likely to lose GPS lock, and the modern ones have ANT+ receivers so you can even connect and record fitness sensors. I bought my Fenix for cross country skiing, where my hands are full of poles and it's much easier to consult something on my wrist than a handheld. I use it for hiking since these days I'm always hiking with the dog, so my hands are full again. It's much easier to consult a Fenix mounted on your wrist, and it does the job fine, but a handheld is better for hiking if that's all you're doing with it.