Beautifully. It is essentially a hiking gps with coastal charts on it. So you could - and I already have - loaded regular topo maps on it. You can even have both maps loaded, you just cant view both at the same time. Super happy with this GPS now 5 months down the road.
Brett, really great video. I am a long time user of Garmin GPS's (used for hiking) but nothing seams to be good for kayaking. One question, Is the reason you didn't get the SCI because you have a PLB? Or was it a cost factor?
Hey Bob! It was both. I have the PLB. It was WAY more expensive. I Don’t want the monthly inreach fee. I am probably in the minority a lot of people love the inreach… its a great product. But right now, not for me.
@@AdventureOtakuI've come across a number of people who were let down by the inreach service. Took about a month for the emergency help message to come through, if at all. Members of the hunting community that managed to dig very deep and haul themselves out of trouble.
I managed to pick up an old etrex from about 2004 or something. It was basically brand new and cost me NZ$25/US$15. I use it just to get distance, time and speed data for paddles. I put in a few waypoints for start/finish places and that is it. Get about 22 hours on a pair of AAA cells.
And honestly, that is the bulk of what I use a GPS for. It’s a back up for chart work. And a steal at $15us. The down side its only using the US GPS satellites. It’s probably slower to acquire them, particularly if you haven’t used it in a while. And the real problem I had with my Dakota (which wasn’t as old as the one you have) is that it wont communicate with computers or apps. But if it does what you need it to, that’s all you need!
@@AdventureOtakuLooking at it logically, I should be on the open water and have a clear view to the sky so it doesn't matter that it just gets the old system. The old system is good enough. I can still hook it up to a PC, I must update the firmware though as it is so out of date it cannot decipher the date and time. It is still good for relative time though. Can't beat the price and simplicity.
Agreed, in terms of price and simplicity. Curious as to why yours can connect to PC but my newer - but still really old one - couldn’t. Good luck with it.
You can find tides and waypoints quickly using the find menu or by adding them to the ribbon menu. As far as slow redraw rate maybe just turn down the detail one notch if your panning a lot, the redraw rate should be fine when just paddling. I have the 67i with blue chart g3, it redraws ok. The 67i doesn’t float and it’s just slightly smaller because of no floatation in the case. I keep it in an aquapac case tethered to my boat or my pfd. It keeps the salt water off it too. For drift that’s your CDI on the compass or off course data field, it can also tell you which way to turn and you can just use a pointer.
Hi, Off topic... How did you mount your phone (or Gopro?) on your Delta? I'd love to show my family some cool spots I go to and holding my phone for a few sec is less than ideal. Perhaps do a video on this? Drill holes or not, dos, don'ts, etc.
I’ve been planning on doing a video of how I shoot my videos. No drilling. I use GoPro sticky mounts. I have one on the bow, one on the day hatch cover, and one on the stern. I generally run with two cameras one on the bow looking back. One in front of me on a gorilla pod (with the legs under deck bungies) which has a ball head so I can spin it 360º. Occasionally I put a 360 camera on the stern.
Yes, absolutely. Other than the fact that it comes preloaded with charts and floats, it is identical to the hiking version, which would be the GPSmap 66(insert letter variant here).
@@AdventureOtaku I just unboxed and this is my first GPS. I immediately found your video (thanks!). When I zoom over the water (in my case the Puget Sound), I get a lot of great marine data similar to Navionics, but when I zoom over the mountains (in my case the Cascades), I don't see any contour lines. Can I load these or select these?
Yes, you will have to load the topo maps (you may have to buy them, or find someplace to download them), and then there is a menu setting where you turn off the water charts, and turn on the topo maps. Unfortunately you cant have both running at once.
We only have two version of that handheld available here in the UK. Looks very interesting. I had a quick look to see if it was covered by Garmins usually very generous discount for Emergency Services or Military personal, as I bought a Fenix 6X a few years back and got 40% off the price. Defiantly something to look out for in the future once I get out and about more on our Coast and learn about Navigation.
A little off topic, but did you ever upgrade your vhf? I just bought tge std horizon hx890. Its a bit bulky but Im just starting off with nothing besides a cell phone, so the gps and dsc functionality is nice to have.
Do you know of an easy way of putting way points in via a PC map progam? Garmin stopped supporting HomePort and I do not think Active Captain works with the 86sc.
I am honestly not sure you can load the marine maps on a Fenix. I also don’t like how small the screen is. I view smartwatches as a great back up/emergency option. But not a great primary option. At least for me.
I confirmed that marine maps can be loaded on the Fenix. So this could potentially eliminate the need for an additional device by having it all on the wrist, if one is willing to tolerate the smaller screen size.@@AdventureOtaku
That’s good to know, but I am going to stick with non-watch based options for now. The small screen and huge cost… yeah it’s smaller, but the entry level Fenix is almost double the price of the 86.
That is a great price! Great unit. (Im updating this comment 12 hours later! - it's interesting that it is only on sale at West Marine. Even Amazon has it at $329. I am wondering if West Marine simply bought too many of them? Sale pricing is usually dictated by the manufacturer, so Garmin will say "on these dates you can make the price this... but not below this." Which is why you see the same items on sale at multiple places for similar prices... Something weird is going on with that price at WM but I would definitely snap it up. )
It’ll follow a route from waypoint to waypoint. It will follow a track back to where you started. I am not sure if on the road it will do turn by turn. But I am about to shoot a video about why you don’t want that.
@@AdventureOtaku Can you enter a starting waypoint and an ending waypoint and it will calculate the best route? I have the 67i and it just point me to that location and because it is a land handheld, it will do that for road but not on the water. Since this is for water, does it has that ability. I current use Navionic app and it does the routing but when it rain/wet, touch screen will be wacky. So I carry the 67i to at know know where i need to go. Yes, I can do routed recording and back track.
@kkutube1972 it’s going to tell you to go in a straight line between two way points or it will follow a route of waypoints you create. It will not navigate you around islands or other obstacles
@kkutube1972 seriously this is a video I am about to shoot. Email me BrettATadventureotaku.com I want to know why you want detailed turn by turn routing. What is your concern/desire for that feature.
@@kkutube1972I have the 67, too, and it doesn‘t autoroute on water (even with the G3 charts installed). I knew that before I bought the G3 charts, but it’s still a bummer that the handheld can’t do for water what it can for hiking. I just use a chart app on my phone which can autoroute, export the gpx file to the Garmin Explore app, then sync with the 67. Good enough as a workaround.
Funny update. Garmin no longer sells the 86sc. I tried to buy it yesterday and had to contact them ask there was no option to “add to cart”. They advised it still shows on their webpage but they don’t sell it. They still sell the SCI and the S.
I went with the SCI so I could retire my Gen2 Spot (Yes, I know you hate subscriptions.)....and it floats. I certainly don't miss feeding batteries to my Spot and my old 64ST. My Spot could run for days on a single set of batteries, but the 64ST would go through 2-3 pairs of batteries a day. I know you got it to not use your phone, but it does work with Navionics and Active Captain when paired with your phone. On small sailboats, I'll often pair an Android tablet in a waterproof pouch for use in navigation. Sharing data among paddlers on the same trip works better using it with a phone too, even if you're using wi-fi without any internet. Your team can update any route planning and have it available to everyone with a compatible device. I did attach a clip to the lanyard to speed up attaching it to the deck or PFD....even if it does float.
Yeah, I rarely - like only for open water crossings - run the gps all day long. Not my thing. I don’t need Navionics (great product, Ive used it on my phone, just more than I want.) I don’t need active captain. Re the mount I would really love if I could figure out some way to make it compatible with GoPro mounts! I have one right in front of my cockpit that would be perfect.
@@AdventureOtaku I didn't run my GPS all day long until I had a GPS that could run all day long without a battery change. Now it's on the deck of my kayak so I can satisfy my OCD with constant, speed, direction and speed updates. The Navionics and Bluechart combination works well in areas like the Gulf Coast and the Everglades providing more complete data in those skinny waters. Can you get by with less? Absolutely. Early in my paddling career, I did my first Wilderness Waterway with just a handheld GPS with only topo maps and a NatGeo folding map. Nowadays, I use the 86SCi and shoot a couple of text messages to my trip contact. My contact people tend to be much happier about that than I am. I haven't looked for a mount. Between the clip on the lanyard and my deck bungee, it generally works well enough.
@@AdventureOtaku I used the 64st all day for stuff like the Everglades Challenge. You really have to keep track of your location and pace relative to the next checkpoint as they have cutoffs. It also had my route based upon being on the lee side of islands during the small craft advisories. A 64st using lithium batteries also doesn't hold up nearly as well hiking in cold or under canopy. 86 acquires much better and handles cold better. There are Garmin beltclip mounts that should attach to a GoPro beltclip mount.
How well does it work for hiking? I assume that one can add and use topo maps? Thanks.
Beautifully. It is essentially a hiking gps with coastal charts on it. So you could - and I already have - loaded regular topo maps on it. You can even have both maps loaded, you just cant view both at the same time. Super happy with this GPS now 5 months down the road.
Brett, really great video. I am a long time user of Garmin GPS's (used for hiking) but nothing seams to be good for kayaking. One question, Is the reason you didn't get the SCI because you have a PLB? Or was it a cost factor?
Hey Bob! It was both. I have the PLB. It was WAY more expensive. I Don’t want the monthly inreach fee. I am probably in the minority a lot of people love the inreach… its a great product. But right now, not for me.
@@AdventureOtakuI've come across a number of people who were let down by the inreach service. Took about a month for the emergency help message to come through, if at all. Members of the hunting community that managed to dig very deep and haul themselves out of trouble.
I’d love more info on this, mainly out of curiosity. I know a lot of people who swear by their inreach devices.
Well now Im feeling very happy about my PLB purchase….
@@AdventureOtaku My thought is that lives truly depend on it, have both, or make sure your group has both collectively.
I managed to pick up an old etrex from about 2004 or something. It was basically brand new and cost me NZ$25/US$15. I use it just to get distance, time and speed data for paddles. I put in a few waypoints for start/finish places and that is it. Get about 22 hours on a pair of AAA cells.
And honestly, that is the bulk of what I use a GPS for. It’s a back up for chart work. And a steal at $15us. The down side its only using the US GPS satellites. It’s probably slower to acquire them, particularly if you haven’t used it in a while. And the real problem I had with my Dakota (which wasn’t as old as the one you have) is that it wont communicate with computers or apps. But if it does what you need it to, that’s all you need!
@@AdventureOtakuLooking at it logically, I should be on the open water and have a clear view to the sky so it doesn't matter that it just gets the old system. The old system is good enough. I can still hook it up to a PC, I must update the firmware though as it is so out of date it cannot decipher the date and time. It is still good for relative time though. Can't beat the price and simplicity.
Agreed, in terms of price and simplicity. Curious as to why yours can connect to PC but my newer - but still really old one - couldn’t. Good luck with it.
You can find tides and waypoints quickly using the find menu or by adding them to the ribbon menu. As far as slow redraw rate maybe just turn down the detail one notch if your panning a lot, the redraw rate should be fine when just paddling. I have the 67i with blue chart g3, it redraws ok. The 67i doesn’t float and it’s just slightly smaller because of no floatation in the case. I keep it in an aquapac case tethered to my boat or my pfd. It keeps the salt water off it too. For drift that’s your CDI on the compass or off course data field, it can also tell you which way to turn and you can just use a pointer.
Great ideas thanks for watching!
Big Garmin fan here…..Fenix 5plus & 64gsp… wrt kayak app I use f3b row su kayak on my fenix in conjunction with the 64. Have you looked into this app?
I haven’t as I don’t have a watch that will run it.
Hi, Off topic... How did you mount your phone (or Gopro?) on your Delta? I'd love to show my family some cool spots I go to and holding my phone for a few sec is less than ideal. Perhaps do a video on this? Drill holes or not, dos, don'ts, etc.
I’ve been planning on doing a video of how I shoot my videos. No drilling. I use GoPro sticky mounts. I have one on the bow, one on the day hatch cover, and one on the stern. I generally run with two cameras one on the bow looking back. One in front of me on a gorilla pod (with the legs under deck bungies) which has a ball head so I can spin it 360º. Occasionally I put a 360 camera on the stern.
Thanks, very clear and objective! You said you will perhaps use the 86sc for hiking. Can you load terrain and trail data onto the device?
Yes, absolutely. Other than the fact that it comes preloaded with charts and floats, it is identical to the hiking version, which would be the GPSmap 66(insert letter variant here).
@@AdventureOtaku I just unboxed and this is my first GPS. I immediately found your video (thanks!). When I zoom over the water (in my case the Puget Sound), I get a lot of great marine data similar to Navionics, but when I zoom over the mountains (in my case the Cascades), I don't see any contour lines. Can I load these or select these?
Yes, you will have to load the topo maps (you may have to buy them, or find someplace to download them), and then there is a menu setting where you turn off the water charts, and turn on the topo maps. Unfortunately you cant have both running at once.
We only have two version of that handheld available here in the UK. Looks very interesting. I had a quick look to see if it was covered by Garmins usually very generous discount for Emergency Services or Military personal, as I bought a Fenix 6X a few years back and got 40% off the price.
Defiantly something to look out for in the future once I get out and about more on our Coast and learn about Navigation.
Yeah, its a good one. With a discount its even better! REI didn’t have it so I wasn’t able to get my discount.
Thank you! Would you recommend upgrading from the GPS Map 78s?
Honestly, I probably would. That is a 13 year old GPS…. I think you will be really happy upgrading.
A little off topic, but did you ever upgrade your vhf? I just bought tge std horizon hx890. Its a bit bulky but Im just starting off with nothing besides a cell phone, so the gps and dsc functionality is nice to have.
I haven’t. Let me know how you like it.
@@AdventureOtaku will do. I haven't been out since I bought it, I've got the mandatory overtime blues.
Do you know of an easy way of putting way points in via a PC map progam? Garmin stopped supporting HomePort and I do not think Active Captain works with the 86sc.
You can add them manually in Garmin Basecamp (which isn’t a great piece of software) and then transfer them to the unit.
Would a smartwatch such as a Garmin Fenix with marine maps be effective or could is substitute for the 86sc?
I am honestly not sure you can load the marine maps on a Fenix. I also don’t like how small the screen is. I view smartwatches as a great back up/emergency option. But not a great primary option. At least for me.
I confirmed that marine maps can be loaded on the Fenix. So this could potentially eliminate the need for an additional device by having it all on the wrist, if one is willing to tolerate the smaller screen size.@@AdventureOtaku
That’s good to know, but I am going to stick with non-watch based options for now. The small screen and huge cost… yeah it’s smaller, but the entry level Fenix is almost double the price of the 86.
Thanks for your review.
Thanks for watching. I’ll get a response to your email today, I have been paddling.
This is now on clearance at West Marine for $160. So probably a new version coming out, but I’m buying this one for the great price.
That is a great price! Great unit. (Im updating this comment 12 hours later! - it's interesting that it is only on sale at West Marine. Even Amazon has it at $329. I am wondering if West Marine simply bought too many of them? Sale pricing is usually dictated by the manufacturer, so Garmin will say "on these dates you can make the price this... but not below this." Which is why you see the same items on sale at multiple places for similar prices... Something weird is going on with that price at WM but I would definitely snap it up. )
Does it start and destination auto routing?
It’ll follow a route from waypoint to waypoint. It will follow a track back to where you started. I am not sure if on the road it will do turn by turn. But I am about to shoot a video about why you don’t want that.
@@AdventureOtaku Can you enter a starting waypoint and an ending waypoint and it will calculate the best route? I have the 67i and it just point me to that location and because it is a land handheld, it will do that for road but not on the water. Since this is for water, does it has that ability. I current use Navionic app and it does the routing but when it rain/wet, touch screen will be wacky. So I carry the 67i to at know know where i need to go. Yes, I can do routed recording and back track.
@kkutube1972 it’s going to tell you to go in a straight line between two way points or it will follow a route of waypoints you create. It will not navigate you around islands or other obstacles
@kkutube1972 seriously this is a video I am about to shoot. Email me BrettATadventureotaku.com I want to know why you want detailed turn by turn routing. What is your concern/desire for that feature.
@@kkutube1972I have the 67, too, and it doesn‘t autoroute on water (even with the G3 charts installed). I knew that before I bought the G3 charts, but it’s still a bummer that the handheld can’t do for water what it can for hiking. I just use a chart app on my phone which can autoroute, export the gpx file to the Garmin Explore app, then sync with the 67. Good enough as a workaround.
Funny update. Garmin no longer sells the 86sc. I tried to buy it yesterday and had to contact them ask there was no option to “add to cart”. They advised it still shows on their webpage but they don’t sell it. They still sell the SCI and the S.
Of course they don’t. Because I did a review of it.
I went with the SCI so I could retire my Gen2 Spot (Yes, I know you hate subscriptions.)....and it floats. I certainly don't miss feeding batteries to my Spot and my old 64ST. My Spot could run for days on a single set of batteries, but the 64ST would go through 2-3 pairs of batteries a day.
I know you got it to not use your phone, but it does work with Navionics and Active Captain when paired with your phone.
On small sailboats, I'll often pair an Android tablet in a waterproof pouch for use in navigation. Sharing data among paddlers on the same trip works better using it with a phone too, even if you're using wi-fi without any internet. Your team can update any route planning and have it available to everyone with a compatible device.
I did attach a clip to the lanyard to speed up attaching it to the deck or PFD....even if it does float.
Yeah, I rarely - like only for open water crossings - run the gps all day long. Not my thing. I don’t need Navionics (great product, Ive used it on my phone, just more than I want.) I don’t need active captain. Re the mount I would really love if I could figure out some way to make it compatible with GoPro mounts! I have one right in front of my cockpit that would be perfect.
@@AdventureOtaku I didn't run my GPS all day long until I had a GPS that could run all day long without a battery change. Now it's on the deck of my kayak so I can satisfy my OCD with constant, speed, direction and speed updates.
The Navionics and Bluechart combination works well in areas like the Gulf Coast and the Everglades providing more complete data in those skinny waters.
Can you get by with less? Absolutely. Early in my paddling career, I did my first Wilderness Waterway with just a handheld GPS with only topo maps and a NatGeo folding map.
Nowadays, I use the 86SCi and shoot a couple of text messages to my trip contact. My contact people tend to be much happier about that than I am.
I haven't looked for a mount. Between the clip on the lanyard and my deck bungee, it generally works well enough.
@wisenber when you said you 64st would go through 2 or 3 pairs of batters a day, I assumed it was on all day.
@@AdventureOtaku I used the 64st all day for stuff like the Everglades Challenge. You really have to keep track of your location and pace relative to the next checkpoint as they have cutoffs. It also had my route based upon being on the lee side of islands during the small craft advisories.
A 64st using lithium batteries also doesn't hold up nearly as well hiking in cold or under canopy. 86 acquires much better and handles cold better.
There are Garmin beltclip mounts that should attach to a GoPro beltclip mount.
How long can it stay in water?
IPX7, so underwater up to 1 meter for 30 minutes.
Navionic, wish it was on this device.
What is it you want? The user interface?
Confusing, YES.
What part. (I shot this a year ago and am paddling so can’t rewatch it.)
Like sending a text message in 1990? LOL! You mean 2000, or 2005.
Sure…