What GPS to get

[FredBGG]

What's a good GPS for kitesurfing?
Would be nice if it did heart beats too.

How waterproof are these things or do you use them with some waterproof housing?

Thaks

Fred

[mobettah]

What's a good GPS for kitesurfing?
Would be nice if it did heart beats too.

How waterproof are these things or do you use them with some waterproof housing?

Thaks

Fred

Don't have one but hoping to get a Garmin 301. Does heartbeat and you can record your session and then overlay it on Google maps. It is waterproof and is a wrist style. Here is the link to the info about it. The 2007 one is supposed to be better than the 2006 one...

http://www.garmin.com/products/forerunner301/

Check this link out it's cool

http://www.skypilotkiteboarding.com/for ... hlight=gps

Shows a session up in BC Canada overlaid onto a satellite view. You get max speed, distance travelled highest elevation (no more guessing about jumps!) and other stuff....

[The Right Stuff]

Dude

Have the Garmin Etrex Legend. Works fairly well - some dropped signals from time to time depending on positioning of the device on my body/rig. It is intended for handheld use and is somewhat large - like a fat old cell phone. Good for showing map details.

Overall I would NOT recommend this specific model for what we do. Size is an issue. It'll generally dangle and drive you nuts and still not be all that accessible during your rides. I don't have a fave to recommend, but the smaller wrist units seem to do well.

The Motion Based site is absolutely stellar. Highly recommended. The hookup with Google Maps is an incredible toy.

Fun stuff. Let us know if you find success.

[droffats]

I'm using the Edge 305. I put it in my pocket for snowkiting, inside my drysuit in the cold water, and I may mount it on the bar this summer. I originally got it for bicycle riding so it is meant to mount on a bar.

I posted a couple of snowkiting rides at http://www.kiteboardmilwaukee.com/GPS/HomePage

But for the full, interactive thing, go to http://www.motionbased.com and search for "snowkiting" "kite surfing" etc. Lots of people post on there. You get a free membership to Motionbased.com when you buy the Edge.

-Stafford

[D_Clark]

I have a Garmin Forerunner 305 which has the heart rate monitor feature. I have been using it to track my Snowkiting sessions. It works great for that and the computer interface is really slick too.

There is only one problem with this unit. The contacts for charging and usb do corrode when in contact with salt water. Not a problem here in Michigan, but for you in the ocean it might be a problem. Mine has been used in salt water acouple of times and still works fine, but it did require cleaning the contacts when they stopped working.

I have used a older foretrex model too. I used that one in a waterproof cell phone bag so the salt doesn't hurt it. Its nice using the smaller unit that is wrist mounted, that is much easier to read on the water while riding.

[KiteSurfingKen]

I have the Foretrex 101. 10,000 trackpoints, fully waterproof, and uses two AAA batteries. It uses a serial connection to download the trackpoints to your PC. I set mine to record in 2 second intervals and I can record a 4 hour session.
It does not do heart rate monitoring though.

I had mine + data cable and a set of 4 rechargeable batteries for about $110. I found a good Ebay deal on a new one.

GPSAction Replay is the coolest software I have found yet. It allows you to replay the trackpoints from your session. Specify the wind direction and it will tell you your angle and upwind speed.

G7toWin is a great app to download your tracks and save them to GPX format for use with GPSAction replay and Google Earth.

I usually Velcro mine to the bar float, on the wrist it impedes bar control. I rarely look at it during the session.
I have used it on the water, snow, and dirt, it is a great learning tool for tracking your progress.
Good winds,
Ken

[liv2surf]

I'm using the Edge 305. I put it in my pocket for snowkiting, inside my drysuit in the cold water, and I may mount it on the bar this summer. I originally got it for bicycle riding so it is meant to mount on a bar.

I posted a couple of snowkiting rides at http://www.kiteboardmilwaukee.com/GPS/HomePage

But for the full, interactive thing, go to http://www.motionbased.com and search for "snowkiting" "kite surfing" etc. Lots of people post on there. You get a free membership to Motionbased.com when you buy the Edge.

-Stafford

I have the Garmin 305 which is out for repair (at my expense due to its NOT being very waterproof and my using it as though it was). On careful inspection the web site indicates it is IPX7 rated: "Most newer Garmin® GPS units are waterproof in accordance with IEC 60529 IPX7. IEC 60529 is a European system of test specification standards for classifying the degrees of protection provided by the enclosures of electrical equipment. An IPX7 designation means the GPS case can withstand accidental immersion in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes. An IPX8 designation is for continuous underwater use." Other Garmin web pages are a bit misleading and suggested to me anyway that it was sufficiently waterproof (I assumed IPX7 was waterproof... most other waterproof watches are waterproof - I was wrong). Garmin was pretty reasonable on the repair because I complained about my misunderstanding (quite cool of them). It was $40 instead of $95.

Customer service told me it is waterproof enough to resist being dropped in a puddle and I was paddleboarding (like freestyle swimming stroke)with it. I have worn it on my wrist kiteboarding numerous times without incident however as the attached picture indicates. I love it (although the display is too small for me to read the maps).

As far as corrosion of the contacts; 1) don't EVER put it into the charging/sync cradle when it is at all wet or damp and 2) put black electrical tape over contacts when in the ocean or water (or running for that matter) - not really a big deal at all. Just move the tape over the contacts and then to another place on the watch back and the back over the contacts and so forth.

I will use it kiteboarding again (albeit with some trepidation) but not paddling.

Good luck.

[The Right Stuff]

So, did you get a beer?

[liv2surf]

No beer. I was not carrying any $$$ and while I was thirsty and a beer would have tasted good (and I was tickled by the novelty of grabbing a can of beer for the walk back), my hands were full, I was barefoot and I did not want to go through the hassle of explaining to one of the workers at the fish and chips "window" why I wanted him to sponsor me a beer (or give me one on the honor system).

[The Right Stuff]

Sorry to hear it.

This is why we need to work so hard in improving our reputation.

If we were all good guys, for sure we'd get beer on the honour system.