TwoNav GPS.... a Garmin alternative?

Boyd

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Have been using the TwoNav smartphone app for awhile, and it's pretty nice. Their "Land" software runs on Windows and the Mac and is quite powerful - allows you to manage your data and import/export maps in a number of formats.

But the same company also makes dedicated GPS devices the are sold in the EU but are unknown here in the US (the company is based in Spain). Just got an e-mail with their Black Friday pricing, and have to say I'm tempted by some of these. They look like nice alternatives to the same-old Garmin stuff. They have kind of a confusing line-up with many similar devices, but there are a couple that especially interest me.

device-header-02_9.png


Their "Trail 2" has a touchscreen with more than twice the pixels of a Garmin Montana (the Trail2 is 640x480 - the Montana is only 272x480). It also has dedicated hardware buttons for zoom and other functions, something I especially like. Lots of other nice features to this device. Black Friday pricing is $310 - much cheaper than you can get a new Montana 680. I suppose shipping from Spain will be a factor though (AFAIK, there are no US dealers for TwoNav).


They certainly don't have all the US mapping options as Garmin, but the basics are there.


Not really an issue for me, since Mobile Atlas Creator works well for TwoNav - I did a tutorial for creating maps in their RMAP format in section 8.1 here:


These devices actually look perfect for my maps. They don't have the ridiculous tile limits that Garmin imposes on "Custom Maps" just to force you to buy their own products. It may also be possible for me to make real 3d terrain that works on these (something that isn't possible with Garmin).

TwoNav also has some very reasonably priced older devices in their outlet store for $200 and less - cheaper than a Garmin eTrex.


Am going to give these some serious consideration during the sale as a replacement for my broken Montana 600. :)
 

Boyd

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Jul 31, 2004
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Am going to give these some serious consideration during the sale as a replacement for my broken Montana 600.

Decided not to pull the trigger on this. Nice device, but this thread about support probelms in their forum is a little worrisome: https://support.twonav.com/hc/en-us...e-to-get-a-simple-cracked-screen-repair-done-
I also sent them some questions via their website five days ago and still don't have a response, so support could certainly be better.

Also, it doesn't have an SD card slot and there's only 12gb of free internal memory. My Map of the Pines HD would completely fill that. I could deal with that by loading smaller sections as needed, but you shouldn't have to do that in 2020. ;)

Finally, the $330 sale on the Garmin Montana makes the TwoNav price seem rather high when you consider the Montana has a card slot, removable rechargeable battery pack and charger. All the same, I still think the Trail2 is a cool device.... if it was $200, or if there was a US dealer providing direct support, that would make a big difference. :)
 
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