Pre-purchase questions - navigation, displayed data, Connect app

kabjac said:

If I start nav will the watch recalculate route

6619804 said:

Definitely you can start the navigation anytime and anywhere. But I personally use only map and do not check all distances, ascents, elevation, etc., so I am not sure what it looks like. But the watch has all necessary info to calculate all this numbers from any point you start the navigation.

That is the answer I have been looking for. Thank you very much Sir, much appreciated. 

BTW - if you off the track and start a map, will it guide you in direction to be back on track the shortest way? Or will it rather point you in direction of ending point?

kabjac said:

if you off the track and start a map, will it guide you in direction

In such case I choose my direction myself, checking the situation on the map. If I am off too much, and the course is not visible, I use Zoom off. There is also an arrow, but nobody knows exactly what it shows :-), see the discussion here:

forums.garmin.com/.../heading-settings-bearing-course

Answer to #2:  Yes, you can start an activity or even navigation of a pre-loaded course once the activity has begun and the watch will navigate you for the remainder of the course.  I do this all the time. 

Answer to Additional Question:  I use Garmin Basecamp (Windows or Mac) for route planning.  You can install OSM maps (you can Google how) into Basecamp and generate routes that will snap to streets/roads.  Once you are satisfied with your route, convert it to a track (in Basecamp).  Connect the Instinct up your computer that's running Basecamp and Basecamp will recognize your watch.  Drag the track to your watch (again in Basecamp).

6619804 said:

In such case I choose my direction myself, checking the situation on the map. If I am off too much, and the course is not visible, I use Zoom off. There is also an arrow, but nobody knows exactly what it shows :-), see the discussion here

Hahaha, good advice, thank you. 

Dan.Boilermaker said:

Yes, you can start an activity or even navigation of a pre-loaded course once the activity has begun and the watch will navigate you for the remainder of the course.  I do this all the time. 

Ah, finally, a straightforward answer! Thank you so much!

Dan.Boilermaker said:

I use Garmin Basecamp (Windows or Mac) for route planning.  You can install OSM maps (you can Google how) into Basecamp and generate routes that will snap to streets/roads.  Once you are satisfied with your route, convert it to a track (in Basecamp).  Connect the Instinct up your computer that's running Basecamp and Basecamp will recognize your watch.  Drag the track to your watch (again in Basecamp).

Thanks for that. To be honest that is too much work for me with all PC-watch connecting and all that. I haven't tried Basecamp on PC, because on my computer I use komoot website for route planning (I already know how to get around komoot doesn't want to plan route on "regular" street, you have to mark offgrid route) which syncs with Connect automatically. If mapping the route in komoot is extremely burdensome (the whole route goes off the trails) I use www.mapy.cz/en - absolutely great website with all tracks in outdoor mode, even the smallest paths (at least in Europe) and then I export gpx to Connect (and it is 100% free too).
I was more interested in the iPhone application since I want to plan a route for tomorrow in the field the day before. There is Garmin Explore, but this application is a joke, it only shows the route in a straight line (or I don't know how to use it). So I have
1. Garmin Connect app
2. Komoot app 
3. mapy.cz app
Connect is not that great since it uses Google Maps. So I mainly use komoot which works fine for trails, and for routes outside of the trails map.cz which unfortunately do not have the gpx export option in the app, so I create a route in the app and then in the browser I export the gpx which I upload to the Connect app and that's it.

I agree that is should be a lot easier within the Garmin app-sphere than it is.  Basecamp is my main workflow for my GPSMap 64, so I just kept using it for more involved routes (mostly biking) for my Instinct.  I forgot to mention that I also use Stava (I'm a member) to plan/create impromptu running/biking routes.  Sync's right to my watch through the Garmin Connect app.

Connect web site does allow you to switch to openmaps. It also will follow the path when creating the course (create course is under training). And from there you can sync it straight to the watch.

There is an elevation profile graph with your current position (you can turn on/off in nav. data screens). It doesn't have climbpro like Fenix so it's a single graph with remaining distance. See screenshot here somewhere on the middle of the page: https://www.pocketnavigation.de/2018/10/garmin-instinct-test/

I haven't tested off track a lot but by default you will get an alert. I didn't have issue going back to the main track when being off for less than half a mile.

Luc said:

Connect web site does allow you to switch to openmaps. It also will follow the path when creating the course (create course is under training). And from there you can sync it straight to the watch.

Thanks, I am aware of that, but I am mainly aiming in having this functionality in iPhone app, since I usually plan my route in the evening before, so when I am out in the mountains I obviously do not have a laptop with me. As I said before I managed to do that in Komoot in 90% and if Komoot does not want to cooperate I use mapy.cz

Luc said:

See screenshot here somewhere on the middle of the page: https://www.pocketnavigation.de/2018/10/garmin-instinct-test/

That is a very detailed review, thank you very much for that link, I have read nearly all English reviews but this one because of the language I missed. But with a little help from Translator I managed to understand it.

kabjac said:

I obviously do not have a laptop with me

The web interface works reasonably well on phones too

trux said:

The web interface works reasonably well on phones too

Thank you, good to know that as a backup, now I found for me work best: using mapy.cz app, it synchronizes automatically with web version, open web wersion, click "export gpx" the file is automatically opened in komoot app, komoot synchronizes in the background with Connect automatically. Done :)

Luc said:

See screenshot here somewhere on the middle of the page: https://www.pocketnavigation.de/2018/10/garmin-instinct-test/

As I said before, that is a great review. My German is a little bit rusty, so do I understand this correctly? 

Während einer Aktivität kann jederzeit zusätzlich eine Navigation gestartet werden. Die unter Navigation angelegten und konfigurierten Trainingsseiten werden dann zusätzlich zu den Aktivitäts-Trainingsseiten angezeigt.

Navi can be turned on at any time and displayed as additional face in watch. (confirmation on my original question, very important thing for me)

Steigt man nicht am Start eines Tracks in die Tour ein, braucht die Instinct sehr lange, um sich an der richtigen Stelle in den Track einzuklinken und führt einen lange Zeit in Richtung Start. Verwendet man eine vorher protokollierte Aktivität als Track, ist ein Einstieg wohl nicht möglich, da immer nur in Richtung Start navigiert wird.

So, you can start navi at any given time, but if you will do it in the middle of the activity it will take Instinct a lot of time to realize you are half way through and point you in the right direction. In addition this does not apply to using previous activity as a track since then Instinct will always point you in direction of starting point (luckily I was not planning to do that, I only intend to use courses created on Connect).