Originally Posted by
Lava
Well, I'm happy to be the guinea pig! I ordered one from REI just now, thinking the same as you: if it doesn't work out REI is great about the returns, so there's not too much risk.
I probably won't be needing the navigation until bikepacking later this summer, but I'm excited to try that out in a modern GPS ***t. My last bike computer was a cheap CatEye that I got 10+ years ago, so I'm excited about the modernity of the Explore.
I hope it works out OK. I use cheap CatEyes anyway: the batteries last a long time even if used for all riding, nice for local rides, odometer keeps track of long-term mileage (odo can help see how much mileage one gets from tires, chains etc though I personally don't keep track of that like I should).
However, last night I was reading about the Garmin eTrex 32x & I'm thinking it might beat the Edge Explore esp for bikepacking/bike-camping. 32x uses AA batteries which are more convenient & probably lighter & cheaper than a power bank for the Explore. 32x allows memory card, Explore has pretty good internal memory but I read that if one goes overseas it's likely that one will have to delete the US map & reinstall afterward. In re bikepacking the 32x allows 2,000 waypoints vs 200 for Explore. I'm not an expert on the waypoint issue but AFAIK off-road routes can require more waypoints. Even on-road I think that 200 waypoints can be limiting, apparently some folks have to edit their routes to limit waypoints and/or split routes into sections.