Offroad Navigator

The Navman MyEscape 4 has Hema 4wd maps.

And from what I have seen Shaker, they are completly different to what you get in the HN 7 which is a true dedicated off road navigation unit.

Also they do not have the ability to add extra quality didital Topo maps like the HN 7, so again like chalk and cheese, and only a 6 " screen compared to the 7" Hema.

Then when you read the reviews of the Navman, the reviews are on the lined of...a piece of crap, don't waste your money and they go on with not one positive review.

Once again Shaker, do you own a Hema and know of the quality software and dozens of true off road maps that come as standard on the HN7? As it sounds like you do not.

Stick to the Hema for a superior off road mapping system and you will not go wrong.


Stephen

All I did was point out that the Navman has Hema maps.
Do I know of Hema GPS', yes I do, do I want to own one, no thank you.
I use a GPS for street navigation, but far prefer paper maps for off-road.

Hi Shaker

The biggest misconception with a number on navigation system including Navman, Garmin and the like, is they use that magic word "Hema"

Unfortunately that is where it ends in a real big way. What these companies do is purchase map data from Hema and then get their own cartography department to make their own map data using the data supplied by Hema, and not their actual maps.

You would think that they should be the same, but unfortunately they are miles appart. Years ago before I went the true Hema way, I used 2 GPS units. My in car street Garmin had the Garmin Topo maps ( they claim to be Hema but we're not) and my Garmin handheld had the Shonky Maps.

Heading in WA from Ayers Rock, the shonky maps were quite good, but not spot on. The Garmin Topo on the other hand had us driving off road for much of the way to Warakurna. In the end I swapped over the shonky maps to the street unit and used that for the rest of the trip, including the Connie Sue and Anne Beadell Highways.

I contacted Garmin on my return and complained how poor their so called Topo, off road map data was, but they could not care less.

Since owning a number of HN units , they are just fantadtic and can in no way be compared to the other so called "Off Road" ability of those other brand units.

OziExplorer has been a leader in moving maps in Australia for a very long time with the ability to add countless maps to suite your own individual requirements. Like I saud above, they are a number of very good deal around at the moment with the HN7 selling for just over $400

Once you start to add extra maps to the HN units, it opens a complete new way of true outback travel.


Give one a go and you will be delighted on just how fantadtic they are.




Cheers



Stephen

I have a Garmin GPS and have both the onroad maps and Garmin Topo Maps. The Topo Maps are not "offroad" maps but are the same maps as the onroad maps but with much more detailed topo information. They do not have more tracks over the onroad maps.

I have used the normal onroad maps when offroad and found that they are actually quite good with most tracks showing but of course not good enough to be relied upon because there will always be a crucial track that is not included.

I have a cheap chinese 7" GPS ($110) running Ozi explorer with a combination of Hema and Aust Topo maps that I use as a backup in case I need to go somewhere more remote that might not be covered by the Garmin.

At the end of the day I think people need to go with what they are comfortable with and will keep them safe.

I agree Tony F8,

The OP did ask about a cheaper option and I am in the same camp as you in regard to your comments.
I brought a Lenovo tablet for $100 and installed Oz explorer, the EO app and iGo street navigation for a lot less than the major brand GPS units.

Plus you have all the features of a tablet for emails etc.

William

Same here, Samsung 7" tablet running CoPilot for street nav and Ozi Explorer or ExploreOz Traveller for 4wd. Traveller is good, but Ozi has features I like better and can use additional mapping, such as CFA 1:25,000 which have much more detail.

I have a "dedicated" GPS for walking in the bush - you can get tablets/phones to do the exact same thing function wise but battery life, screen readability, some "real" buttons and a few other things have me not changing for the time being.

Cheers
Greg