shameless plug for nohands gps holder

[djwini]

i just got back from a trip up north using my brand new waist model no hands gps holder. i field tested the other model for kevin at the WGA campout and thought the concept was good but it just didn’t work for me. made some suggestions, and he made the “waist version” for me. it came just in time.
usually when i am caching, i have my hiking stick in one hand and lucky’s leash in the other. there just isn’t any way to hold the gps too. with the nohands gps holder, the gps is always ready in front of me. just look down. i made one slight modification since the 60 series is a bit heavier and needed a little support. just tied a bungee cord around the neck to keep the bend in it and i was good to go.
check it out and see if it would work for you!
http://www.nohandsgps.com/

[hogrod]

you may not have seen them before, but they do make hiking sticks with gps mounts, or you can fab up your own. I couldn’t find any doing a quick search but I think I seen them on ebay in the past.

here’s a link to a forum post talking about making your own with a ram mount.
http://forums.gpscity.com/showthread.php?t=4125

I really like the idea of hands free, but for me I think I would prefer one mounted to my hiking stick.

[nohandsgps]

Why would you want to add the extra weight to your hiking stick?

[rogheff]

I’d be concerned about the damage that may be done to your GPSr from all the jarring and pounding on the ground. I know the bottom of a wooden hiking staff gets beaten up pretty fast, I’d worry about those shock waves terminating on the GPSr.

Not to mention that in my personal experience, a hiking stick falls to the ground (or rocks, or concrete) when propped against a tree on a regular basis. How many of those falls can a GPSr survive?

[Mathman]

@rogheff wrote:

How many of those falls can a GPSr survive?

So far 5… and counting. 🙂

[hogrod]

@nohandsgps wrote:

Why would you want to add the extra weight to your hiking stick?

Your the manufacturer of this mount so of course you would find issue with someone posting other options. A Garmin etrex or 60 series weight less than one pound so if weight was a concern my question to you would be, Why would I want my gps attached a foot off my chest or waist adding all that extra weight? If I fell my gps would get damaged and I would possibly get hurt from the mount itself.

@rogheff wrote:

I’d be concerned about the damage that may be done to your GPSr from all the jarring and pounding on the ground. I know the bottom of a wooden hiking staff gets beaten up pretty fast, I’d worry about those shock waves terminating on the GPSr.

Not to mention that in my personal experience, a hiking stick falls to the ground (or rocks, or concrete) when propped against a tree on a regular basis. How many of those falls can a GPSr survive?

I’ve had my etrex legendC and VistaCx mounted to my mountain bike and they get pounded all day long without issues. The bike mount only uses a small piece of rubber to absorb shock. I’m sure if I mounted a gps to a hiking stick I would do something similar.

however I would be slightly concerned about the hiking stick falling when propped against a tree, but I think I would just be allot more careful so that wouldn’t happen. I use a collapsible monopole camera tripod as a hiking stick(around $10). The bottom is a round rubber foot, or it can be screwed in to exposed a metal spike. The top has a nice mount for my camera(or gps if I made a mount) and a nice foam grip. I’ve never had any issues with durability even after hundreds of hiked miles, so I would think your wooden hiking stick would be pretty durable too.

[nohandsgps]

@hogrod wrote:

Your the manufacturer of this mount so of course you would find issue with someone posting other options. A Garmin etrex or 60 series weight less than one pound so if weight was a concern my question to you would be, Why would I want my gps attached a foot off my chest or waist adding all that extra weight? If I fell my gps would get damaged and I would possibly get hurt from the mount itself.

I don’t mind you posting other options and or ideas. It happens all the time. I was just asking a simple question. I may want to make another modification so users have more options (just kidding it defeats the purpose of the body mount). You may as well then just buy the Ram mount for your wrist.

Think of the gps holder as a packback for your gps. I think it would be better to mount a gps on your body for your legs to carry vs. on a stick for one arm to carry. Not to mention the gps isn’t in front of you. I can view my gps while I walk. Can you?

The GPS is mounted to a flexible goose neck so it would break away. I understand your concern though.

Happy cachin’.[/quote]

[rogheff]

Well doggone it, now you’ve got me all curious. I’ll have to test this theory. I have an old Garmin that I’ll mount to a hiking stick just to see how well it’ll handle the abuse.

[djwini]

but the point being that now i don’t have to hold onto the gps at all. and if i don’t want to use a stick that day, i don’t have to. and i’ll have my hands free for holding the vegetation away from my face while i can still look to see where i am going.

[bnb]

@rogheff wrote:

Well doggone it, now you’ve got me all curious. I’ll have to test this theory. I have an old Garmin that I’ll mount to a hiking stick just to see how well it’ll handle the abuse.

I have heard that various Garmins (eTrex, for example) have a problem with a connector for the display that is very sensitive to shock. Mine has a display problem that I just attributed to my abuse over the years but my geocaching coworker did a search on the subject when his had the same problem and found that others have experienced it. Supposedly, one of the major contributors to the problem is having the eTrex on a bike mount.

Dropping mine from the car and down into the dry storm sewer directly underneath the open door probably didn’t help it. 🙂

[Scrappy Scout]

Just another opinion from a different person, I have tested the chest mount one. At first it was weird to have your gps close to you but with the flexible mounting I was able to move it away from my chest to a more comfortable position. It works really good for a long hike or dificult terrane. It will keep your hands free (thus the name) 😆 in case you do fall you can grab or brace yourself better than you could while holding your gps. Mind you this is coming from a big fat guy who likes to fall a lot. While it does feel different it does make a big differance. My final thought is I like it. Try it sometime it might make you change your mind.

[cheezehead]

@Team Outdoorsman wrote:

Just another opinion from a different person, I have tested the chest mount one. At first it was weird to have your gps close to you but with the flexible mounting I was able to move it away from my chest to a more comfortable position. It works really good for a long hike or dificult terrane. It will keep your hands free (thus the name) 😆 in case you do fall you can grab or brace yourself better than you could while holding your gps. Mind you this is coming from a big fat guy who likes to fall a lot. While it does feel different it does make a big differance. My final thought is I like it. Try it sometime it might make you change your mind.

DITTO!! It came in very hady while snowshoeing on trails I’d never been on. It will also come in handy bird hunting in a few weeks.

[srvive]

Hi!
I have damaged a Etrex Vista, 60C, and 2 60CSx’s all of them were mounted with garmins bike mount on our atv’s, and the last 60CSx failed while mounted on my motorcycle the same way. On the first 2 units it took over 2000 miles to stop working. The last 2 units went down, one on a 600 mile trip across Newfoundland, and the other on my motor cycle after only 160 miles, this bike vibrates bad at higher speeds with off road tires.
What I mean when I say failed is the unit will shut off for no reason whatsoever, even standing still. My last unit was under warranty, and was replaced but after talking to the Garmin people I’m sure it is this type use
mainly vibration, and some good bumps while being mounted this way.
I still use their bike type mount but have added a foam cushion that it sits in and it has traveled 1200 miles on the atv, and 2200 miles on the cycle with no problems as of yet.
Those of you with them on bikes, if you are only riding on paved or quite smooth trails dont have much to woory about unless you crash, you mtn. bikers it is only a matter of time. Atv’s and motor cycles have very good suspentions and it wasnt enough to prevent the GPS’s from damage.
Good Luck with however you use your GPS’s ! srvive

[hogrod]

Just like my old Magellan Meridian gold and sportrak all etrex models and 60 series gps don’t have the battery contacts soldered to the units main board. I’m sure there are other models this way too.

you can just open the unit up(if out of warranty of course) and solder a small piece of wire to each battery contact so they no longer loose connection with the main board.
the other issue is the battery contacts in the battery compartment get stretched and also loose contact. I’ve seen many forum post where people put a bit of foam behind these contacts to somewhat fix this issue.
I’ve also seen forum post stating that the circuit lacks a capacitor or other means of storing milliseconds worth of power which completely fixes the issue. I looked but couldn’t find any of these post, they had pictures and steps for adding a capacitor inside the 60 series.

[GrouseTales]

Sounds like you need a helmet mount version. You could attach a flexible goose to the top of a helmet, then bring it forward so the GPS is right in front of your face.

The helmet would even offer protection from tree limbs and falls.

An optional accessory could be some cup holders on the helmet, and a long straw so you can drink from the attached cups. This could be the no-hands hydration system. A short stick (stylis) with a bite attachement, would let you push the buttons with your teeth 🙂

(I’m just joking around. I’m not knocking your product)

[Author]

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