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Fenix 7 for 4x4 Off-roading ?

4717508
over 2 years ago

Hi all! I'm new to this community and I was exploring to get a Fenix 7 to join me on my 4x4 trails. I know there's a complete car-oriented Garmin family of products specifically intended for it, but I would like to avoid requiring a dedicated device on my Jeep, and instead of this, having a wearable device to be used as a GPS tracking device mostly (ie using the expedition feature for one or two weeks journeys, or following waypoints/4x4 tracks shared by some peers) but also taking advantage of the ABC/wheather features and portability, so when I left the car I would also benefit for some biking or trekking with the training/health features.

I would say my planned utilization would be 80% on-the-car and 20% on everything else.

So in order to accomplish this, my main concern is how well the GPS would perform inside the car, let's say, to have good reception from the satellites from there.

Have anyone tried this?

Any other ideas/suggestions/recommendations?

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Hello, I have a Jeep as well with a hard top and the unit works well under any circumstances I've tried. However, as you mentioned this is not meant for vehicles.  I use the Garmin Montana to good effect when offroad in the mountains of BC.  it uses the same apps and transfers data seamlessly through my Garmin account.  It also has the inReach function which is invaluable when you are out of cell range.  Yes more money but I love the combo as I am covered regardless of what I do.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I think a Montana-series GPS with an external antenna might be a better choice if your use is predominantly in the vehicle. It still has ABC and weather, and you can take it with you when you leave the vehicle. The large screen is the biggest advantage the Montanas have over a watch, it will be far easier to read while behind the wheel, especially off-road.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I do this. I made my own 4x4 activity by making a copy of "Track Me".

    Works pretty well. Really works best with multiband - I tried it without multiband and it really struggled to get good GPS data while I was inside my jeep. Multiband works much better.

    I have mine set up with 1 datascreen plus a map:

    And if I'm navigaating a course, then my normal navigation datascreen pops up as well.

    Just for fun, this is my rig!

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    One other thing I do, is set a hotkey for "Change Sport". So if/when I end up going for a hike or something during my drive, I can toggle between activity types and have it combined into a nifty single multisport activity at the end.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    thanks for all the feedback! I had actually explored the Overlander and Montana options before, and think they are fantastic products built for purpose so could be great options as well. But I think the wearability feature of the Fenix is also a nice one for me that would be a good complement to my existing GPS that's already included in the aftermarket multimedia player that I have on the Jeep (sorry didn't mention before).

    Even when this GPS doesn't have all the bells&whistles of the top brand products like Garmin (this one uses the 'iGo' app -that I guess is also used on TomTom devices-) it's still a good option to navigate on paved roads/cities/suburbs. 

    So I guess my plan will be to keep my existing device on the Jeep as the primary navigation 'on road' and having the Fenix as a tracking device mostly, and also using it as a complement while looking for tracks during off-roading. I think I'll try this way to see how well it works, before considering the Overlander or Montana options again.

    One more question, how easy is to share some tracks/POIs with other peers using Garmin devices? or receive tracks/POIs from them to 'import' into the Fenix?

    PS: nice rig @C.sco! here's mine!