Garmin (rubish ) But Are Tomtom The Same ??

I'm a TomTom man meself, and that's really because I bought my wife a really cheap TomTom* years ago and it gave sterling service. I then bought a Garmin for my car (I very rarely use a satnav), and it kept freezing at critical points in the journey, so got it exchanged. The replacement works, but we don't get along - I've had a number of serious arguments with the woman about her navigation abilities.

So when I needed a satnav for the bike, I went for a TomTom Rider. It works fine for me, and got me through France to the Pyrenees and back twice. I mainly use it if I need to get to a specific unfamiliar location in a town or city, so it doesn't get used often. I know my way around well enough for most UK travel.

The main problem now is the GPS time bug, where the satnav doesn't understand what time it is since they reset the GPS counter. TomTom sent me an email suggesting I buy a new one in case they can't fix the problem. It doesn't seem like a difficult fix to me - update the datetime algorithm to work on the reset count - it has got to be a software update fix, not a new satnav.

Using a phone in a waterproof cover, however, does seem like the way to go. You could even get a second hand phone dedicated as a satnav.

*its pronunciation was a bit suspect, so we called it Susan after the person in this old video

 

I'm on my third TomTom over about 15 years (one stolen, one sold with the bike), once upon a time they seemed good - but! Maps are OK (used ALL over Europe) but 'improvements' have reduced options and I find that if you don't concentrate it is very possible to increase your journey time to save half a click! TomTom owners have a saying: Garmin will get you there but TomTom will probably get you there tomorrow. Enjoy your travels.

 

Horses for courses I guess...........
I've had Garmins for more than 20 years, started with a GPSV then a Zumo 550 and currently on a Zumo 660. Never had any problems with them and no problem connecting to bluetooth headset and phone. Planned many years of Euro trips on the pc before leaving, which must add up to in excess of 40,000mls. and always got where I intended.
Only thing I would say is that you need to be a bit of a techno geek to get on with them.