GPS units

joshilewis wrote: I just got a Garmin Fenix. Still figuring out the GPS part

I have had my Fenix for just over a year now so can give you a bit of advice:
In tracking mode, turn off the auto-pause feature. The GPS sensitivity is not as high as the bigger handheld Garmins and therefore my Fenix loses the signal and stops tracking often when in wooded areas (and some passes in the berg). Turning off the auto-pause feature sorts this out. (Hiking at Injisuthi: Garmin Legend CX recorded 12.8km distance while Fenix recorded the same track but got 9.4km because it kept on pausing).
Some websites give advice on how to load maps on the Fenix. Warning - DO NOT unless you want a device that is so sluggish that it is almost impossible to use.
The buttons on some units get stuck in when pushing them. This seems to be a problem with dirt. After a "dirty" trail run or hike I use an old toothbrush with water to clean around the buttons. This has alleviated this hassle.
Other than that it is a great little unit. Wish the battery life was better than the 8 hours with GPS on but I suppose for its size you can't have the best of both worlds.

If you use mapsource (was replaced by basecamp)you open the part of the track and invert it, you might have to cut it into sections first and then invert only the section you want to invert.

Thanks PeterHowells. I guess the 50 hour battery life with GPS was a bit of an exaggeration. I'm not planning to use it to take tracks on multi-day trails (unless I get some kind of solar charging scheme going), more for waypoint navigation etc and the heart-rate stuff. I loaded a small (5mb) stripped-out map, hasn't affected the performance that I've noticed.
Thanks for the tips!

@joshilewis. re solar charging: I bought a small 2000mAh external lightweight battery to take on multiday hikes - its enough to charge the Fenix 4 times and comes in really handy.

Nice. Could you send me a link?

Unfortunately it is too old and no longer listed on the website. I bought it from nivo.co.za. I see that they have other portable batteries listed and have a small 3300mAh for R340 listed.
If you shop around I am sure you could find something similar.

Thanks. I'll have a look around

Another way to extend your battery life is to switch it on at intervals. I normally do that with my Montana and find it's standard battery lasts fine over a typical 3 day hike. Last one at Mnweni I still had about 45% battery life remaining. The thing that eats the most of your battery time is the screen. I created a profile specifically for hiking, and with this profile the screen only stays on for a max of 30 secs at a time. Screen resolution also makes a big difference. Alternatively I carry a set of spare batteries (3 X AA).

On my Dakota (using Ever-ready Gold non-rechargable batteries), my old batteries (used on my previous 2 days at Didima) ran out just before Sani Pass on day 3. The new pair then ran out around Langalibalele Cave on day 7 (almost 4 full days of use) - GPS only turned off at night. I was really impressed by this battery life.

My old E-Trek used to go through a set of batteries in just over a full day of hiking.

I don't use rechargables due to getting about 1/3 of the life of non-rechargeables. I use flat GPS and camera batteries later at home in appliances that don't use much battery power (my wii remote and clocks mostly) - so I'm not that much of an environmental terrorist...