GARMIN OVERLANDER GPS UNIT
PRICE: £599 CONTACT: buy.garmin.com
IN MY 20 years of over-landing I have used several Garmin devices. Some of my favourites include the 276C, GPSMAP 62S and the Montana 610. I now have a new favourite, the Garmin Overlander. Comparing my old favourites to my new favourite is like comparing a small, old black and white TV to a large, new Smart TV.
I know that the primary function of a GPS is to prevent you getting lost but once it becomes a smart GPS then I am all for it. For starters the Garmin Overlander is bigger than any other Garmin GPS unit I have ever owned thanks to its 7in screen. The unit weighs nearly half a kilogram and feels like it will be able to handle rough expeditions. You could throw it at the savages if you run out of options.
It comes with the Ram mount and vehicle suction cup. The coolest things are how it magnetically sticks to the mount and powers up and charges without you having to physically put in a cable as the charge cable goes into the mount.
The Overlander offers the traditional driving mapping which will give you turn by turn directions. It also has a topographical mapping option which is great for when exploring lanes and you need the sort of detail normally found on Ordonnance Survey maps . I use a Garmin Marq Adventurer watch when cycling, running or hiking and it is possible to sync all your Garmin devices. While one could use the Overlander for similar activities it only has a battery life of three hours so I only ever took it out of the vehicle when sitting under my awning and planning the next day’s adventures and tracks.
I don’t read manuals unless I absolutely have to, but if you have used Garmin products in the past, then you will find the Overlander very intuitive, with loads and loads of new extras thrown in. I like the pitch and roll screen (which first needs calibrating of course) as it’s a visual affirmation of the severity of the trail you are driving. It will tell you in real time exactly how bad that side slope or decline is.
When out and about I connect my iphone to the Overlander so I can answer and listen to calls through it. Useful if you don’t have hands-free in your Landy. The Overlander has an impressive 64GB of storage. Then if searching for accommodation options in the UK you can use Trip Advisor or various campsite apps to find something suitable. If using it on the African continent it has Tracks4africa, which is great for directing you to off the beaten track locations. The Overlander is everything my previous Garmin GPS units were and much more. It’s a very smart GPS.