# Garmin Edge 810 Live Track



## myitch (Jan 25, 2004)

I'm looking into the Edge 810. My main reason for a GPS of this caliber is for safety if lost. The 800 is nice too and cheaper but the 810 has the Live Track feature. I like that since if I am lost in the mountains or road, someone may be able to track my footsteps. 

However, since the Live Track does rely on a cell signal, I may not work well or at all deep in the mountains. Then there's the battery draw on your cell phone too. 

Please share your experiences on this Live Track and other benefits of the 800 vs. 810 if you could. Thanks


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## craigstr (Sep 19, 2003)

I just purchased a 510 and have used the Livetrack one time. It worked well in an area that has pretty poor cell signal. Thats all I got.


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## Wherewolf (Jan 17, 2004)

myitch said:


> I'm looking into the Edge 810. My main reason for a GPS of this caliber is for safety if lost. .. However, since the Live Track does rely on a cell signal, I may not work well or at all deep in the mountains.


Seems to me if you are within cell phone coverage you are not in the wilderness or mountains where you could get lost.


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## myitch (Jan 25, 2004)

Wherewolf said:


> Seems to me if you are within cell phone coverage you are not in the wilderness or mountains where you could get lost.


It's possible to get lost or become missing (in event of accident) on any trail, cell phone reception has nothing to do with it. This Live Track feature can also be useful if someone is expecting you back and you may have had an accident. I'm wondering in this case if someone can find you based on your last tracking. This could be very useful if you often ride solo.


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## craigstr (Sep 19, 2003)

Wherewolf said:


> Seems to me if you are within cell phone coverage you are not in the wilderness or mountains where you could get lost.


Hmmm...I've made calls from the top of Freel Pass, seems pretty easy to get lost or hurt back there. You could get lost anywhere, cell phone signal or no cell phone signal.


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## craigstr (Sep 19, 2003)

myitch said:


> It's possible to get lost or become missing (in event of accident) on any trail, cell phone reception has nothing to do with it. This Live Track feature can also be useful if someone is expecting you back and you may have had an accident. I'm wondering in this case if someone can find you based on your last tracking. This could be very useful if you often ride solo.


There is an option when setting up each LiveTrack session to leave the activity available for viewing for 24 hours, that could be helpful for emergency responders to help locate you in case of an accident or getting lost.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Part of the reason I was balked at paying more for this function was that a fair number of phone apps can do this for free (i.e. endomondo) using the phone GPS, although the other performance metrics such as cadence and HR etc are not posted live. 

I suppose the phone GPS uses a bit more battery, but I'm not sure that having the garmin bluetoothed to the phone is the path to epic battery life either.

Does anyone know if the 810 be used to FIND another ride buddy out on the trail, or do you have to guess where he's going from his livetrack in a web browser, and then head out?


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## myitch (Jan 25, 2004)

ghettocruiser said:


> Part of the reason I was balked at paying more for this function was that a fair number of phone apps can do this for free (i.e. endomondo) using the phone GPS, although the other performance metrics such as cadence and HR etc are not posted live.
> 
> I suppose the phone GPS uses a bit more battery, but I'm not sure that having the garmin bluetoothed to the phone is the path to epic battery life either.
> 
> Does anyone know if the 810 be used to FIND another ride buddy out on the trail, or do you have to guess where he's going from his livetrack in a web browser, and then head out?


I believe that if two have the live track on, they can find each other. At least that's how they're showing it. For finding someone lost on a trail, if cell signal does drop, at least they can decipher the last point where there was cell signal and pick up the trail from there.

For me, I'm not into the cadence, heart rate, etc accessories. After being lost in Tahoe and looking at a sea of snowdrifts and very little idea of where the trail continued, I went into survival mode. And since I often ride solo, getting lost is not a good thing. This Live Track feature sounds like an additional feature to help locate someone out there.


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## craigstr (Sep 19, 2003)

myitch said:


> I believe that if two have the live track on, they can find each other. At least that's how they're showing it. For finding someone lost on a trail, if cell signal does drop, at least they can decipher the last point where there was cell signal and pick up the trail from there.
> 
> For me, I'm not into the cadence, heart rate, etc accessories. After being lost in Tahoe and looking at a sea of snowdrifts and very little idea of where the trail continued, I went into survival mode. And since I often ride solo, getting lost is not a good thing. This Live Track feature sounds like an additional feature to help locate someone out there.


Living in Tahoe myself, if there are that many snowdrifts on the trail, you really shouldnt be out there anyway. It just destroys the trail.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

Have a look at this thread on the subject too.

http://forums.mtbr.com/rider-down-i...tphone-app-sends-your-coordinates-859613.html

.


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## alphazz (Oct 12, 2012)

If you have a cell phone with service, you shouldn't be lost.

The 800 will show you your track and makes it very easy to figure out where you are at or how to get back to your starting point.


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## TwoWheelMan (Jan 5, 2009)

If you want live tracking for safety reasons in the backcountry, look into a satellite tracker or beacon. 

Spot and Delorme Inreach are the two options I'm aware of. I use my Inreach for backcountry rides -- it definitely reassures my family.


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## edubfromktown (Sep 7, 2010)

ghettocruiser said:


> Part of the reason I was balked at paying more for this function was that a fair number of phone apps can do this for free (i.e. endomondo) using the phone GPS, although the other performance metrics such as cadence and HR etc are not posted live.
> 
> I suppose the phone GPS uses a bit more battery, but I'm not sure that having the garmin bluetoothed to the phone is the path to epic battery life either.
> ...


I've been using CycleMeter on the iPhone for ~3 years. Only downside is that on some occasions my rides are long enough to kill the phone battery.

I am considering a Garmin. The 810 is slick and with support for downloaded maps, it is hard to steer myself toward the less battery hungry 510 or a very basic 200. I like capturing BT HRM data on occasion though I guess I could still use my iPhone for that.

A friend of mine has the 810 and downloaded openstreetmap.org data that's come in very handy when we've been exploring new trails with no cell phone reception.


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## dereknz (May 3, 2011)

I've used Google Latitude a few times on my smart phone so my wife can keep track of where I am on my solo ride. Just not too good if riding in large areas with no phone coverage. The app can be set to update 1 to 60 minutes intervals, I have it on 10 minutes internvals. On my Samsung S2 running the app and strava, taking the odd photo and a couple of text to my wife I have managed 9hrs before the battery died. Mountain Bike Ride Profile | to Mt Grey & Mt Karatu then home - 131km - 8:55hrs - Strava


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

If you want real secure "save my bacon in an emergency" functionality, you need a full blown PLB. A SPOT or InReach come close to that but the SPOT does sometimes come up short of being bombproof. Not sure about InReach but occasionally the SPOT doesn't get messages out.

There is also a human element to deal with regarding live tracking. I know a guy who dropped his SPOT in the woods on a long trip and some folks watching his track panicked when his SPOT didn't move for a few days. If you do live tracking you need contingency plans in case you lose your device or there is a transmission failure or whatnot. If you have overly worried family watching your track you need to train them not to call rescue for you until a certain time...something you should do already without live tracking devices


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## heyyall (Nov 10, 2011)

I like live track and have used it many times. My wife likes it when I roll out of the bed and go for a ride...and send her the live track link


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## The Boz (Sep 28, 2011)

My wife can already do the "Find My Friends" app on her iPhone to see where I am, but if I wander out of cell service, or drop my phone in the river, then I disappear completely. A live tracking feature has the advantage of at least showing my last known location, and the direction I was proceeding in. And when you tether to a true GPS device, when you wander back into cell coverage, it uploads exactly where you have been, instead of just assuming the straight line as the crow flies since your last location.

Does the Garmin live tracking only work to allow friends/family track you via a web page? I was hoping my wife could just pop open some garmin app on her iphone and it would show my route/location. A web page would work, but is generally more cumbersome than a simplified app.

I wonder, when will Strava update their app to provide live tracking to invited friends?

And I also wonder, will Garmin allow 3rd party app makers like Strava to tether to the 510/810 via bluetooth?


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## heyyall (Nov 10, 2011)

I've posted live track feeds to Facebook during charity rides. People can click on the post and see the progress in real time. Many have told me they like it (especially the ones that made donations). My wife likes it because she can do other things while I am riding and arrive at the finish line as if she waited all day for me to finish.


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