Gamin Edge 705 or 800

lawndart

lawndart

Shop: Campmor
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Looking for a new comp/gps. Between the 705 and 800 which one would you pick? I hear both a glitchy, the 800 a bit more cause it's newer, I could be totally wrong though. I know he 705 is discontinued but can still be had. Does anyone have one or the other or both?
 
I have the 800 and like it. However be aware that although it is weatherproof, mine died the first real heavy rain ride I was in. They did do a great job of customer service however and that means a lot to me.
 
I have both. The 705 has been rock solid for 2-3 years. Never had an issue. The 800 is nicer, but I've had a few issues with it. As Rob notes, it has nto fared well in wet conditions for some. Others have had problems with it in the mud. For this reason I use the 800 on the road and 705 off road.

It probably depends on your price point on them. The mount on the 800 makes it better - the old mount is just that bad. The HRM strap of the 800 is also better at first, but it looks to be fraying already. Not sure how well that will last.
 
I was just trying to compare these two last night on the Garmin site. I couldn't do it side by side since the 705 is discontinued but for what I saw I would still get the 705 if you can get it cheap (that should be the case since is discontinued now).

Also, the 705 has held extremely well, not only to heavy rain and mud but also to several hits from crashes. The screen and casing have some scratches now but it didn't break. I think the bigger screen of the 800 (and "softer"?) might be more prone to breaking.
 
Another thing to note is if you do have any issues within the first year of ownership (even an already RMA'd device), Garmin will RMA the unit for you - like Norm pointed out they have great customer service.

I've already had one unit replaced this past winter when I flipped the bike over for trail side maintenance at CR and set her down on a rock (doh!) and I just called them again because 2 of my 4 cadence sensors are no longer recognized so they are sending me another unit again. Your only cost is the return shipping, or if you choose to have them send you a unit in advance (instead of mailing yours in and waiting for a replacement) in which case they charge you $110 per unit $220 up front for 2 units which they reimburse you in full when they receive the defective unit.
 
Like norm, I have both. 90% of the time I use the 800, when I know the weather is going to suck, I take the 705. This was a result of the SSAP in which my 800 became caked in mud...buttons stopped working and it eventually just stopped working completely. Thus im a little suspect of its abilty to take the punishment the 705 can. My 705 has survived skiing, snowmobiling, motocross, biking, jogging, mud, downpours of rain, you name it. Its a very tough. The 800 is nicer. Maps are better, more screens, and ability to swipe from screen to screen. While the features of the 705 and 800 are almost the same, the 800 just all around works better and the mount is night and day better.
 
Personally I have no issue with the 705 mount except for the fact is one mount works on each bike for the 800. With my 705 I need to buy a new mount for each new bike I have.

Or keep screwing with zip ties.
 
I like my 800, its a decent upgrade over the 705. The new mounts make it a deal breaker for me, the 800 wins. The unit works faster and is generally nicer to use. Easier to deal with following previous recorded runs of mine or from others. The "send this to unit" thing on garmin connect actually works now and it can be just shown as a solid line on the map for me to follow. So far I haven't had the issue of having too many gpx files shown at once where it makes me delete them like on the 705. Dunno what the max is on the 800 but the 705 caps out probably around 1mb of gpx files shown, I think.
I still haven't figured out how to stack the gpx files in the order I want though, on the 705 is was alphabetical in accordance to the track name inside the gpx. Doesn't work like that on the 800 so I can't layer them in the order I want, yet. Haven't played with it enough I guess.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. Looks like I'm leaning towards an 800. One other question. Does anyone use a Mac? And I'm guessing I need the SD card if I wanted a more detailed street level mapping? I take it the base map goes down to major and county roads?
 
gtluke;337017 The "send this to unit" thing on garmin connect actually works now and it can be just shown as a solid line on the map for me to follow. So far I haven't had the issue of having too many gpx files shown at once where it makes me delete them like on the 705. Dunno what the max is on the 800 but the 705 caps out probably around 1mb of gpx files shown said:
So does this mean you can now essentially add trails to the Garmin map? The reason I went with a Delorme PN-40 a few years ago was that you couldn't add permenant trails to the base map - only tracks. If this has changed I'd consider the Garmin as it's much better suited to cycling (the PN-40 is small in your hand but huge on the bike).
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