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First Navigation GPS

Dear Folks,

I'm considering to buy my first GPS Comp especially for Navigation. I read and watched a lot of contents about the Explore 2 and honestly I'm not smarter after my studies Slight smile

There are a lot of opinions for sure, negative and positive also, but I want a good first experience and I don't want to blow up the bank...

I saw also a lot of topics here regarding the Explore 2.

What is your opinion especially for the navigation part of the GPS? I don't want to use any training or recording functions. I heard Karoo 2 or Wahoo is also very good but can't decide at the moment.

Thank you for your time and for the responses.

Have a great day!

  • Hi there.
    I've been using plenty of Garmin models so far, and Explore 2 is the one that dissapointed me the most. 
    But, if it is just for navigation purposes, big screen, big battery and fair price make it a good choice. If your unit does not suffer from baterry drain, or crashes when re-routing, you'll probably be happy with your choice. 
    Not sure how to compare E2 with Karoo2, as they don't fit in the same price range, but if I had a choice I'd go for Karoo any time of the day. This Explore 2 kind of sums up all the things that are wrong with garmin.

    Just wait to see if Garmin will add Climbpro on the go functionality; it looks like every other unit gets it, except this one. That will tell you what this device is, and how garmin treats it.  

  • @4045469, When navigation is your primary goal, the Explore 2 is a good choice. The big screen, big battery and fair price are strong points. And if you have Turn-by-Turn navigation enabled, you can start navigating immediately and don't have to wait for the course calculation to finish after pressing "Ride" because the turn guidance overlay data are stored in cache after you upload the course to the device. A nice and handy feature!
    Of course the Explore 2 has some annoyances and instabilities, but my experience with cycling 12000 km's per year is very positive. Three sensors coupled (without dropouts), no connection with smartphone (Bluetooth OFF) and never have issues. Had an Edge 800, Edge Touring Plus, Edge Explore and now the Edge Explore 2.

    The negative image @Medomish draws is his private precipitation of his own, maybe disappointing experiences, but that does not mean that the Explore 2 in general can be labeled as the worst Garmin model ever. I do not deny that some devices do not behave as they should and could and maybe @Medomish has one of the exceptions.... Bad luck for him and I can understand the frustration if he has one.

  • I still think forums are a place we talk about our personal experience, and mine is negative. Also, it is not just my device; every problem I have is experienced by others too. My biggest complaint is that none of these problems are being fixed, despite active tickets to support, and I'm not talking about size of the blue triangle type of issues.

    To qoute myself:
    "Just wait to see if Garmin will add Climbpro on the go functionality; it looks like every other unit gets it, except this one. That will tell you what this device is, and how garmin treats it."  

    This would be a great device if it got some TLC from its creator.

  • To qoute myself:
    "Just wait to see if Garmin will add Climbpro on the go functionality; it looks like every other unit gets it, except this one. That will tell you what this device is, and how garmin treats it."  

    And that exactly is what the OP did not ask advice about...: "What is your opinion especially for the navigation part of the GPS?"

  • Fair enough.
    Device crashes when you stray from the track and press Recalculate. Go buy it.

  • Do not blame @Medomish about his, so called, frustraions... if the device is not working as expected, then vendor should fix the problem.
    Garmin is showing here very VERY bad feedback ignoring this crashing problem for last few months.
    I still can't belive that someone in Garmin line of support still tolerates this problem.
    If you pay for something that is advertised to work, then at the end, it should work.
    This doesn't have anything with "bad luck" scenario.
    Simply, IT DOES NOT WORK AS ADVERTISED!!!
    What is more stupid, Garmin support is not fixing it!
    Shame on you Garmin!