# Edge 1000 vs 810 questions (battery life cont)



## dances_on_pedals (Sep 17, 2004)

I recently ordered an Edge 1000 (hasn't shown up yet) and I'm considering swapping it for an 810 because I will occasionally need 8+ hours of battery life.

Garmin Edge 1000 review | Cyclingnews.com

According to this^ review 5 hours is all you get out of the 1000 in nav mode. Are there features that can be disabled to that extends battery life in nav mode? I know where I'm going 90% of the time, will the 1000 track for 8 hours with the nav disabled? Can I just turn the nav on at trail intersections and leave it tracking and extend battery life to 8-9 hours?

Thanks


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Anything with a big screen is going to EAT batteries for breakfast if that screen is always on, and especially if the backlight is on. I'm going to suppose that nav mode turns the screen on frequently AT MINIMUM and possibly keeps it on constantly. With my Oregon 450, to even approach long battery life, I have to put it into powersave mode so that the screen turns OFF completely when I'm not using it. And even then, the more I use it, the faster it drains the battery.

This is part of the reason I track most of my rides with my Forerunner 310XT. Super basic (and small) screen doesn't chew up the battery. It runs a really long time and I can always see a couple important data fields like time and distance.

I don't use GPS-based navigation AT ALL in the woods. For me, on the bike, GPS is for data recording and for reporting speed and distance and whatnot. For that, I still use paper maps most of the time. I have my Oregon 450 if I want digital maps, but even then, I'm not using that on the bike as much as I used to.


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## trmn8er (Jun 9, 2011)

brad h said:


> I recently ordered an Edge 1000 (hasn't shown up yet) and I'm considering swapping it for an 810 because I will occasionally need 8+ hours of battery life.
> 
> Garmin Edge 1000 review | Cyclingnews.com
> 
> ...


I have had a 1000 for some time now, and I ride a lot. The above has not been my experience. Although most all my rides have been under 5 hours, I am nowhere in the galaxy of seeing my battery dead at the end of a ride. Not even close. I suspect screen settings is a consideration, but unless you constantly have to follow a line, need full brightness turned on, I see no reason why you cant get at least 8-10 hours out of a battery. YMMV.


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## dances_on_pedals (Sep 17, 2004)

trmn8er said:


> I have had a 1000 for some time now, and I ride a lot. The above has not been my experience. Although most all my rides have been under 5 hours, I am nowhere in the galaxy of seeing my battery dead at the end of a ride. Not even close. I suspect screen settings is a consideration, but unless you constantly have to follow a line, need full brightness turned on, I see no reason why you cant get at least 8-10 hours out of a battery. YMMV.


I want it to record my ride and I'm fine shutting down everything else to stretch the battery. If I'm somewhere unfamiliar I figure I can just turn the thing on at trail intersections, right?


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## trmn8er (Jun 9, 2011)

No need to turn on and off. Just let it run. Adjust screen to dim after say a minute. If u are coming up on an intersecting trail, simply tap the screen to awaken and view where u are. It's really easy and it works.


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## ChrisInYpsi (Apr 15, 2012)

I've only had mine since Christmas, but I'm burning about 12% battery per hour. That's with the default screen settings, a couple ant+ sensors, and Bluetooth. Not with Nav (haven't done a long road ride with the need for turn-by-turn since Christmas).


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## ChrisInYpsi (Apr 15, 2012)

By the way, I believe you can always use a usb battery to keep the battery juiced during a super long ride. Some of the lipstick usb batteries are nicely small and light.


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## dances_on_pedals (Sep 17, 2004)

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the good info.


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## santacruzer (Nov 30, 2004)

I did a 9 hour ride Saturday with the average temp being 23 degrees (which probably decreased battery life) and had 20% left when I finished, for longer rides I have a 2700 mah usb battery I ziptie on the bottom of the stem and I will die before the Garmin


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

ChrisInYpsi said:


> By the way, I believe you can always use a usb battery to keep the battery juiced during a super long ride. Some of the lipstick usb batteries are nicely small and light.


Yeah, depending on the sort of ride I was doing, I'd either get one with massive capacity, or used AA's.


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