Explore vs 520 Plus

A very good resource for in-depth reviews is the webpage of dcrainmaker (you can just google dcrainmaker + edge explore/520 etc.). However he doesn't cover bugs, for that take a look in the respective subforums of the explore/520 plus.

THE reason for me not to consider the 520 Plus is that the memory space on the device is limited to about a single city worth of maps. Since I am interested in riding for fitness and multi-day touring it is not suitable for me. I'm always looking for a good combination of touring and sporting capabilities in a single device and the explore is the best compromise so far in my opinion.

The edge 1030 would probably do it all for much more money and also higher battery consumption which, when on tour is rather limited without a dynamo hub.
The etrex 30x is much much better concerning gps reception, energy consumption (Two AA Batterys last close to 24h) and general versatility, but lacks training features and recording/uploading tracks is a bit inconvenient. (but the device is also very cheap)
The Wahoo ELEMNT/BOLT is by far the best device concerning training. And the LEDs are really convenient when showing heartrate at a glance. The only thing I miss is the ability to do POI routing on the device itself.

The edge explore is like a stripped down etrex with added convenience. Charging via USB instead of AA, the touchscreen is nice and scrolling around on the map is really great and much faster than the etrex. The things I miss most as a training device (for touring it does all I need it to) are a barometric elevation sensor, better gps reception and 4 datafields on the map screen.

Rudgas - that's really helpful indeed. Thank you

I have both the Edge 1030 and an Edge Explorer and the battery life of an 1030 with attached Power meter, HR sensor, Speed Sensor, Garmin Varia Wifi and BT connection. Is better than the Battery life of the New Edge Explore with only BT phone connection.

So anyone who thinks the Edge 1030 has bad battery life, probably should test it first.

That said: the Edge explore also has reasonable battery life.

You're welcome @sjbrain

I'm not saying the edge 1030 has a bad runtime, it just uses a lot more energy. Since garmin doesn't publish battery sizes for their devices a bit of math:

Official runtimes:
Edge Explore 12h
Edge 1030 20h
Edge 1030 Battery Pack 24h (additional)

For the Battery Pack we know the capacity is 15.5Wh (This is published) so if it gives 24h additional runtime
--> 15.5Wh / 24h = 0.65 Wh/h
--> 0.65 Wh/h * 20h = 12.9 Wh

So the edge 1030 should have a 12.9Wh Battery (approx.) and uses 0.65W during operation.

The Edge Explore has a 5.2Wh Battery (measured) and lasts 12h
--> 5.2Wh / 12h = 0.43 Wh/h

This means the 1030 uses a bit more than 1.5 times the energy the explore uses, as per manufacturer specification on runtimes.

As a possible use-case, a 4-internal-battery Powerbank, usually labeled as 10000mAh (or 16000mAh if they pretend 3.7V instead of 5V) will output ~7400mAH @ 5V which will give 85h on the explore and 57h on the 1030.

I am trying to choose between the (new) Explore at about £220 and the Edge 1030. I don't need the training features of the 1030. The 1030 has a slightly larger screen, GLONASS and a memory slot. For standard European touring would the memory of the cheaper Explore be good enough? If so I could live without the other extra features of the 1030?
Chris

Hi Chris - With the newest map set 2018.10 you'll have 4gb memory free. I think, this should do it....

Thanks ROFOR
Chris

I am trying to understand how Garmin's maps work. If for example I bought an Edge Explore and had 4Gb memory free would I still be able to buy and store (for example) the TopoActive Europe map which is 8Gbts? Would I be able to store the whole map on my PC and just download part of it as and when needed to the Edge Explore?......or do I need enough memory on the device to store the whole map on the GPS device? (ie using a memory card?)
Having downloaded a map onto the gps device can it later be transferred to the PC to allow a different map to be downloaded?
There does not seem to be any explanation of their maps on the website.
Chris [h=1][/h]

OP here. I thought I would circle back on this for anyone pondering the same questions in the future. I've been waiting on black friday to make my purchase, assuming one of the devices would go on sale. No such luck. Instead the 820 has gone all the way down to £175. From what I can research it seems a better option; more memory, route planning direct from the device (not just what you send from the computer - this appeals a lot to me as I often get lost of just see an interesting looking road and want to change plan), more performance measures etc.

The touchscreen on the 820 does seem to have it's flaws though and I am reminded of my forerunner 630 touchscreen which wasn't always great....but I think I can live with that for the cost saving and the the other enhanced features. Decision made. - its the 820