30 seconds, 1, 2, and 5 minutes. At 30 seconds, the GPS radio remains on at all times. This is really hard on battery life. In situations where the GPS radio is turned off between logged points, the unit tries to balance fix accuracy with conserving power. As a result, you may find that the logged points have a bit larger than error than you may be used to with a handheld GPS.
In my opinion, this is perfectly fine for field use for safety purposes. However, if you are interested in very detailed trail mapping, this is probably not the unit for you.
As advertised, the battery seems to last 30 hours with 1 s logging intervals. This still is enough for me to use the device as an everyday device for tracking my movements, especially during trips. By now I use a Badelf 2200 GPS device. I want to keep it simple and use as few devices as possible during my activities (hiking and biking). The mini is small enough to be carried around, I use an edge 1000 for biking and an oregon 750 for hiking. I think this would be a perfect match for all situations !
I haven't tested this systematically. Do note, however, that the "as advertised" wording is "up to 30 hours..." You will get some battery benefit from not sending track points at all. But I would not dismiss the "up to" wording lightly.
Would I be correct in saying that when I set my logging intervals for longer periods of time, my distance traveled (per the logged track) will be shorter than the actual distance traveled? And shorter log intervals result in more accurate distance measurements?
what is a setting for a good balance between battery life and track accuracy? I used five minute tracking intervals on my first trip with this device.
Also, I use Gaia GPS for my navigation. I’m wondering if I should maybe log my track on Gaia GPS as well, especially in situations where there is no trail or the trail is not well marked? seems as though it would make it easier to find my way back if needed, The only thing is that tracking on the phone sucks more battery from the phone. I usually carry a couple of spare external batteries for devices so maybe that’s OK.
Your assumption about track length is correct. The length shown is (to oversimplify a bit) the sum of distances between points. The shorter the interval, the better the length accuracy. And the better the connected points reflect your actual track.
One minute is probably a decent compromise on the mini. Unless you're sprinting, you don't travel that far in one minute. And one minute is the shortest interval that does not keep the GPS radio on full time.
