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Garmin’s dedicated adventure satnav and seven more hot new must-buys
Garmin’s Adventurous Route option has been a firm fixture on zumo sat-navs for a few years, allowing riders to find the twistiest, most engaging roads to their destination. However, the brand new XT takes things to the next level. Designed specifically for adventure riders, the all-terrain XT has been pre-loaded with full European off-road topographic maps displaying public green lanes and land boundaries, overlanding points of interest, campsites and more. Plus, you can toggle between a traditional map view or BirdsEye HD satellite imagery at the touch of a button. As well as this, there’s also Garmin’s traditional European road mapping offering the latest Adventurous Route algorithm, hazard warnings, and easy route sharing.
The 5.5-inch edge-to-edge display is Garmin’s brightest ever touchscreen which can be used in both landscape and portrait configurations. The unit itself is made to Military Grade 801 standard, meaning it’ll withstand wind and rain, dust, extreme temperatures, altitude, vibrations, as well as surviving a 1.8m drop test. The only downside to that ultra-bright display is battery life, which Garmin claim is just 3.5 hours at full brightness. That said, the zumo can also be hard wired to the bike’s 12v supply. Reassuringly, the XT also allows riders to stay connected in case of emergency. As well as hands-free Bluetooth calling it also allows pairing with Garmin’s inReach satellite communicator (sold separately), and can send your coordinates via text message to a predetermined contact in case of a crash. MCN currently has a unit on test so look out for a review soon.