Edge 800 etc.

Hello there (probably non-existent) readers. No prizes for guessing what my boring drivel is about this time. That's right, I bought a Garmin Edge 800 a couple of weeks ago and have finally got to use it, not once but twice! Oh the joys of a summer here (aka two bright days).

Enough weather related griping, what about the Edge 800? Is it any good? In short, yes, it is. I like it very much indeed.

Prior to my recent purchase, I'd been using an Edge 305 for around the last four or five years. I'd found it great but was lured in by the bright lights, colour display and touch screen of the 800. Does the Edge 800 offer much more in functionality when compared with the unit I already had? Probably not, for my purposes anyway. Is it a lot more aesthetically pleasing, user friendly and generally advanced? You betcha! Plus, I got a 'free' (ie. included in the price) Garmin-Cervelo jersey with it. I fell for that one hook, line and sinker.

The easiest and least 'waffly' way for me to express (not in the lactating way) my thoughts on this would be to list its pros and cons, as I see them so far:

PROS:

• Touchscreen makes it easier to navigate menus, navigate (oh, a terrible pun) between pages etc. than button pressing had been
• Good sized backlit colour screen is easy to read and looks pleasing
• Satellite navigation exists in this version (although the Edge 305 was a GPS, it didn't show on screen maps, let one plot routes etc.) but you can see below how I griped about the base map
  
• Battery life (if the gauge is to be remotely believed) seems improved over the Edge 305 despite the more advanced screen etc.
• Mounting system for attachment to bicycle seems sturdier than the 305's (not that I experienced any problems with the older version) and 'locks' in a more satisfactory manner
• Rubber which covers the ports (for charging/computer connection/SD memory cards) seems a bit sturdier than the 305's was
• Slot for memory cards exists. With the Edge 305 it didn't and maps couldn't be 'slotted in'

CONS:

• The base map it comes with is practically useless. I had to buy a wee Garmin 'City Navigator' SD card with UK/Ireland information on it. It was only another £25 or so but it's still more money to take into account. Having written that, it's well worth the £25
• Although navigation can be set to avoid motorways/dual carriageways, it's not detailed enough (as far as I can tell) to let one avoid the likes of 'A' roads. As such, it can plot routes which go along very busy roads. An option to cut out 'A' roads would be good too. I wouldn't like to trust it to set a route if I was away somewhere and didn't know the roads well
• The first time I used it, it took the elevation I left from as sea level even though it was about 500 feet above sea level. As such, the elevation wasn't great for the journey. It was fine as regards knowing I was ascending and descending but I can be fairly sure I wasn't about 400 feet below sea level when it claimed I was
• This is very petty and shows quite how much I like the new Edge 800: Due to its nature of touch screen operation, I noticed my greasy fingers smudge it a little. When I wipe the screen with a tissue it (as you would expect) sometimes flits through to another screen/menu/whatever. Having written that, it's possible to lock the unit so it stays on one particular screen until unlocked. Look, I said it was petty. I'm trying to find fault
• Again this is very minor but it would have been nice if the Edge 800 had been able to communicate wirelessly with a computer, instead of having to use a USB lead. Having written that, I primarly use the USB connection to charge it and therefore connecting with it is no disadvantage
  

All in all, it's a smashing GPS for my cycling needs, or appears to be so far. I suppose more use will reveal its strengths and weaknesses to a much greater extent and I look forward to finding them out.

As I don't have any of those fancy ANT+ power meters, I'm in no position to comment about their use with the Edge 800. Sorry. If anyone wants to buy me a fancy ANT+ power meter set, I'll happily try it out.