Garmin Overlander

aardvarcus

Adventurer
What does everyone think of the new Garmin Overlander?


Seems a bit pricey, I wonder the quality of the included topo maps (given one of the options is to download additional USGS quad sheets). Honestly I am in the market for something like this, if it lives up to what it should do.

Availability is listed at 3-5 weeks out.
 

Pacific Northwest yetti

Expedition Medic
Geesh, leave it to Garmin...good for them I bet they sell a lot.

It is expensive, but think Sat coms unit alone will be $300, another garmin GPS a few hundred, Phone/Tablet for BCN, and Ultimate camp grounds...500?


It wont replace your phone, but is still pretty impressive.
 
Last edited:

rgallant

Adventurer
Interesting concept, but I am curious how well it will support non US locations, I find most app coverage is pretty inconsistent outside the US lower 48
 

gregmchugh

Observer
So, it is an Android tablet running apps from Garmin, iOverlander, etc, which are available for most Android tablets?

For now I will stick with my Samsung tablet running Gaia GPS and any of these other apps I need until I see how it is going to provide enough value for the money spent...
 

RMAC67

Member
IF we get that product down here in Australia, that will be close or above $1000... that's VERY expensive considering that there is other cheaper options that would do similar things.. If it was priced similar to the HEMA HX1, then its a no brainer - the Garmin for sure as the HEMA product, in my opinion, is very poor as the mate I travel with has had a few fail on him...
One of my concerns with be the durability of the Tablet itself. The HEMA one has had issues here in Aust in handling the heat, charging issues, etc.

Just hope that it does come to Aust for us to check it out....
 
Ok pretty. Interesting. $$$$ ! I tried to contact garmin. Because I had a few questions. But typical of so many big company products. You can’t ask questions about it without a fr....... serial number for a product that isn’t out!
When I see stuff like that. Makes me wonder what else got missed?


1 topo maps. Is the whole country all ready. Downloaded at. 7.5 minutes 1:24000, usgs topo? Or do you have to download theses maps? Or are they the much much larger topo maps?

2. It list inreach mini. But not. The regular inreach as being compatible? Is that just an over sight. If not that really sucks

3. Will it be any better than a Magellan?

4 last. Thing just a dream. It would be so cool if the data ie topomaps could be loaded to a Jeep running Uconnect!
 

dms1

Explorer
I saw that at Overland Expo today and the reps didnt know anything about it and couldn't answer any of my questions. I was so disappointed in them. The unit looked good and the magnetic mount looked even beter. However like most Garmin products, they get released before they have been tested and I am sure there will be many firmware upgrades for the first year while they work out the bugs, plus it could be a complete flop like the 276CX was.
 

rustypayne

Active member
I've been thinking of an inreach and also adding a backup camera. Dashboard real estate in a Jeep is super valuable so combining things in one unit is tempting especially since I already have a Nuvi and this would also replace that. So I'll be watching for some first hand reviews.

I agree with dms1 we've had a lot of Garmin devices over the years and staying on the bleeding edge with them usually involves you doing a lot of bleeding ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: J!m
Looks interesting to me, but the price tag is pretty steep. I already switched from the Magellan TRX7 to Gaia, so I'm not sure what the overlander could offer me that I don't already have (since I use a regular on-road garmin with whatever offroad gps stuff I use). Not downloading maps would be nice...
 

Beowulf

Expedition Leader
We were just at expo as well and visited Garmin. I agree that the reps knew nothing about this product.

What I noticed right away is that the unit seemed dumbed down. The interface was “cartoonish”. It just had a feel of a unit made for the grandparents, not a backcountry power user.

Also, I could not find a way to pick a Datum or change the coordinates to UTM.
 

Airmapper

Inactive Member
2. It list inreach mini. But not. The regular inreach as being compatible? Is that just an over sight. If not that really sucks

It would not surprise me at all. A ******** move yes. The mini uses the ANT+ protocol, kind of a Garmin proprietary spin on Bluetooth. I wear a Garmin Instinct GPS watch, and it will only interface with a inReach mini, but not an Explorer+ because they chose to not allow a Bluetooth connection, one it has the capability of as the watch connects over Bluetooth to my phone.

I like the mini, but I'm not going to get one while my Explorer+ does just fine. Hell I love how it becomes a stand alone mapping GPS even if the screen is small, it's my go to backup unit.

At first glance, I want to get excited about this new unit, because building a new tablet rig was on my mind and I'm very integrated into the Garmin ecosystem already, but like all units that have been targeted to "Overlanders" I'm just waiting for it to fall flat on it's face.

I will say this for Garmin, the online Explore system has been great. I've been using it to catalog my travels and now my watch integrates into it so I can record stuff from my on foot or on bike travels as well. Not to mention move tracks and waypoints to and from devices. That would be the biggest draw to this for me if it fully integrates into that system, all my GPS units with a common cloud storage in the background.

But for the price, a new tablet seems way smarter and more capable.
 
Wow. If you are right I think you are. That is a huge slap in the face to everyone me included who paid some where around 400 for the inreach So garmin hear this .... ...! I’ll take my money and spend it else where and I think many will do the same. What a way to treat loyal customers. You could have just hey don’t buy this .... idiots some where In garmin
 

JackW

Explorer
I'm somewhat interested but since I bought a Garmin Monterra a few weeks before Garmin decided to dump it I'm feeling a little snakebit by Garmin. I've owned a bunch of Garmin stuff and they don't seem to have any consideration for loyal customers.

I'll watch the reviews carefully before jumping in on this one.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,529
Messages
2,875,559
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top