Hi Brett and thank for the review! I wanted to comment on a couple things: 1- It looks like you missed the navigation mode that would have given you distance to the waypoint, bearing to the waypoint, velocity made good on the course and course deviation. These features are available on the 2nd page of the device and you can also access them when you click "Go To" from a waypoint 2- The GPS speed / heading readings tend to fluctuate a bit at low speed. This is normal and inherent to all the GPS. In order to eliminate that behavior, we have the ability to smooth the readings. When I kayak, I typically use the smoothing at "4" (instead of the default "1" that you had 3- I noticed that you had large variations of speed/heading as well but that is simply because you had the unit inside a building. The GPS signal cannot give you a steady position inside a building 4- We are indeed working on a number of enhancements, including an "arrow-up" feature (instead of North Up). Thank you again for taking the time to review MAPTATTOO!
Thanks for the opportunity to test MAPTATTOO, and being open to feedback. Something most other manufacturers wouldn’t be. Can’t wait to see how this product progresses!
Hi Brett, I have watched quite a few of your video’s now. I am enjoying your common sense approach to kayaking and helping others. Just watched your tips for older paddlers and also your Kayak Paddles video. My wife and I fall into the older paddlers category but we are not new to kayaking and we trained horses for years and are very fit , with great balance good balance and we are athletic. I just subscribed to your channel and wish you all the best. Take care.
Your videos keep getting better & better. Great video, sound, editing, length & content. No fluff or boring B-roll, just the interesting stuff we need to know. We appreciate the hard work you put in producing these videos.
I actually bought one of these a few months back, but I've only taken it out about 3 or 4 times now because the first one died on me after a capsize. I sent it back, they found an issue with the sealing around the USB port and sent me a new one. It's nice to see a video review, because when I bought mine it was annoying looking at something that expensive and there being virtually no reviews on the Internet. I'll throw out a couple quick thoughts. 1. It's actually a $700 device if you sign up for the newsletter on their site and get a discount code. That's still crazy expensive though, and while I do like it I was also in a position to blow seven hundred bucks without worrying too much about it. If that's a lot of money for you and it's between this and, say, a nice paddle or buying your next boat in a better layup, I'd be hard pressed to make the case that this is really *essential* 2. The device is very substantial. You touched on this in the review, but from the pictures I was expecting something roughly equivalent to my Kindle and in fact it was much heavier and thicker than I had assumed. Has a little bit of heft in the hand. 3. I think my biggest gripe, hardware-wise, is that their recommended way to mount it is to buy an adhesive quad lock mount and stick it on the back. I just couldn't bring myself to permanently stick something onto the back of a $700 device, so I designed and 3D printed a case that I can use to mount it to a suction cup. They were gracious enough to provide me with 3D models of the device to make that easier. Here's the model in case anyone wants to give it a go: www.printables.com/model/956378-maptattoo-holder-with-14-mount 4. It looks like when you were on the water with it you added a waypoint, but never put it in navigation mode. I actually haven't tried using waypoints directly on device, but I've loaded it up with a GPX file and entered navigation mode, and that gives you an extra little bar under the speed and heading boxes that tells you distance and heading to the next waypoint (including magnetic heading!). I've been meaning to write them about this, but the auto-advance in navigation mode is very hit or miss. If you really nail the waypoint it will auto advance, but if you're a little off you'll have to manually go into the menu and advance it. Hoping in a future update they can make the tolerance for waypoint intersections configurable and maybe have it also notice if you hit a subsequent waypoint without hitting the one before it and automatically skip ahead 5. You mentioned that the map doesn't change orientation, which is a little weird at first but you get used to it. The thing about the e ink screen is it takes a really noticeable time to update it, and it's worse if you're doing *big* updates. So I suspect if they tried to continuously update the entire chart as your heading changed, it would probably be unusable due to the display lag Overall, I *really* like having this thing, but like I said, it's a lot of money for something most of us don't really need. I hope they sell though, because I get the impression it's a small startup probably not shipping a lot of units, and I'd hate to see this product disappear altogether
In order…1. Didn’t know about the discount. Good to know. 2. Yes. Substantial is a good word. 3. This was how they had it set up for me. It actually worked well, but If I owned it, it would be lashed to the bungies in front of the cockpit. 4. I am sure I missed “navigation mode” would have been nice to know before hand…. A quick tutorial.. some videos…. Thanks. 5. This could be due to the screen. Interesting thought. “Overall” it is a small startup. I was dealing with the owner of the company via email and such. Which is bizarre. Super nice guy. Super responsive to my questions. I too do not want to see them fail.
As a canoeist on the Maine coast this kind of unit would be very useful. As you know there are many islands, rocks, and navigation aids so anything that helps keep everything straight (especially when the fog rolls in) would be great. I use laminated paper charts of the specific area I am in, carry a GPS, and carry a VHF radio and phone for emergencies (never had to use them). I’d love one of these units when they are improved, but $800 is just too pricey for me. I am almost always within a few hundred years of an island or the mainland, so getting lost is not a big concern, but knowing how fast I’m paddling and how long it will take to the next objective would be very helpful. My GPS can give me speed, but I have to guess about how far away the next objective is.
Yeah, it kills me that I didn’t have it in Maine. I was supposed to…. I experienced all the things you talked about in my month in Maine/maritimes. It is the perfect unit for a place like that.
Thanks Brett, a great review of a very interesting and overdue to the market product. Like many, I will have to wait for the price to come down ... a lot., although, their associated charts are very reasonably priced. p.s. I wrote to Maptattoo and told them about your great review. I hope you get to keep it and tell us more later.
On Garmins you can customize data fields. There should be an option to set Distance to destination, it's the essential information. Also, you created the waypoint where you pressed on the screen, not your actual position. Not sure if that was intentional. Surely there is a way to do that via the pad. Those screens are slow on the Kindle as well but feel like paper maps. It's the strongest feature of it.
It was as intentional but you are right I should have made a waypoint where I put in. Actually as I type this I think I did but didn’t include it in the video. But I used the same process. In general menus and controls need a lot more… depth.
Very interesting video. I currently own a Garmin Montana 700i. I make multiday solo trips down the New River in VA & WV, and the Greenbrier River in WV. Since my trips are solo, I wanted something that had SOS and texting (inReach) capabilities. However, if they were to upgrade this unit to have those functionalities, I would seriously consider purchasing in the next year or two. Also, since 90%+ of my kayaking is on inland waterways, the upgrade of the maps would essential (I've done some kayaking around Charleston SC & Savannah GA). Thanks for another great video.
This sounds like a good idea I kind of want to try it now. There is no substitute, though, for proficiency with a map & compass. This is a great Plan A, but Plan B (map & compass) is all but failsafe.
I’ve been following this product for a while, it seems really cool. Unfortunately no Sweden charts last I checked so it will be a while before I try it.
Yeah, I realized after shooting this video, I should have said something along the lines of….. I wish they used some form of standardized maps…. Bluechart, or something like that. So you could just buy the charts you want…. But I bet you have to pay a fee to have blue chart or navionics compatibility…. I don’t know.
I think more maps/charts are available on a growing basis. and they are small enough you could probably ask for them, and actually get a response. I would actually like to see them using a standard format so you could just find the maps you need and install them.
That looks like a very impressive piece of equipment. Have now been out now twice on a couple of my local lakes with my son. We are only on a couple of inexpensive sit-on-tops, but even so it has solidified my drive to want to invest in touring kayaks and step up our game. We both found ourselves wishing we had an accurate, on the fly, way to know how far we have gone, and at what pace, etc. Hopefully more and more devices come out in the not so distant future. Also I want to say "Thank you so much for what you do and have done, Brett!" We have learned so much from you and your catalog of vids.
I have had the website in my Watersports bookmark folder since the end of last year or the beginning of this year. I found them after have a search for waterproof navigation devices for small water craft to Kayaks. I was even thinking of dropping Garmin a line to see if they could do something with one of their Bike Computers, to make them more waterproof rather than rainproof like they currently are. Which would work well inland, like my Fenix watch does show me when I stop paddling to look at its tracking of what I am doing. The watch isn't that useable as the screen is too small and on my wrist without having earbuds or earphones. Not great is you take a swim. The Maptattoo looks like it has and is coming along nicely, especially if they are listening to users. Very interesting video, and hopefully you'll get another unit in six months time to show us how much it has improved in that time. Cheers Brett.
I'm not going to sing Garmin's praises, but your mention of $10,000 is not the only option. I recently bought a Garmin EchoMap for $300 including a depth transducer. This product you're showing seems like it has its niche, but appears to be $799, so more than twice what I paid. My Garmin does not have a battery, so I just connected it to the 12V supply on my sailboat.
When I was referring to the $10k I was referring to the full blown chart plotters that are used on cruising sailboats, like the one in the video I showed briefly. I would also add, that if you got an Echomap with a 7" screen - similar in size to the Maptattoo - it's also $799.
@@AdventureOtaku Yes, you can pay $10k, but your video makes it sound like the choices are $10k or this black and white device. My $300 Garmin has a daylight readable color screen, a depth transducer, NMEA 0183 and 2000 interfaces, can display readings from sensors and control an autopilot, and synchronize routes and waypoints with a phone or tablet. I'm not saying there isn't a market for this device, but don't oversell it.
I don’t think I am overselling it. But keep in mind I am talking about kayaking. We don’t need NMEA interfaces, or depth transducers, or autopilot functionality. I also can’t power the Echomap, as you said it doesn’t have a battery. Yes, the echomap has great features for a sailboat that has power and needs those sensors. I don’t think that is their target audience.
@@AdventureOtaku I'm just saying it's very expensive for what little it does. I was watching your video and thinking "I should get one of those as a backup" until I realized that it's more than double the price of my primary chartplotter. I don't have any NMEA devices on my boat and I didn't even mount the depth sounder, I just bought the EchoMap because I needed GPS and charts on a daylight readable screen. If I didn't need a daylight readable screen, Navionics on my iPad and phone works fine. I'd probably pay as much as $400 for the Maptattoo, but at literally twice that price it's a very expensive option, not "one tenth the price" of a sailboat chartplotter like you say
@youtubeuser1052 oh I agree and I gave them that feedback. For kayakers who don’t want to cobble together a tablet, waterproof case, and charts.. it’s a great option. I can’t afford it.
It looks like an interesting product. The screen is very readable, much improved over my old handheld. They should also build a model with voice control, that would make it more useful in bad weather.
The problem with Garmin as you mentioned is they don’t really listen to what their customers want. They make what they think people want, completely full of software bugs and then take forever to fix all the issues. It sounds like these guys will hopefully be better than that. Coming out with software updates that quickly is not Garmin’s style.
cool item. Very recently my Garmin Fenix watch wove me through a chain of islands in 2 days of 100 percent no visibility fog perfectly perfectly well. I did not see the beach I was going to until 150 feet from it. I wonder if I need more than that really.
Well yes,i have put a lot of time in with it, and the + zoom function of the Fenix is now fine for me. But...i have spent a few days considering this product, and if it incorporated AIS signals to and from other boats and signalling your kayak to others such as incorporating with EM-Trak AIS I as an expedition kayaker who kayaks in fog, among lobster boats, and shipping lanes, (Maine and Nova Scotia Lol) I would buy it. Any thoughts? I would love to try one out too.
I highly doubt that feature will show up. A complaint of mine (and this is in a video somewhere) that you can't buy a handheld VHF that transmits AIS. you can get them that receive AIS, but I want to key a button on my VHF and have me show up on another boats screen, and potentially trigger a collision alert.
Navigation is something I’m always interested in learning more about. I use my phone all the time and seems to work ok for me except visibility in the sun and it’s difficult to use the screen in the rain. I know you said this unit is easy to read in sunlight. I was excited until I saw the price. Am I correct that this unit is $799? I belong to a couple of paddle groups in Eastern NC close to Emerald Isle. I’m always looking for new speakers and topics for these meetings. Navigation is a high priority. Our last one was on wind, tides and current. I was recently paddling with a friend close to Bear Island. We were coming back from Bear Inlet in pouring rain and wind. Couldn’t see my phone and I made a wrong call and we got “misplaced” in the marshes. Tide was dropping and our options were dwindling. We could see landmarks on land but could not find a passage to bring us out. Spent over an hour and a half navigating one path after another in the marshes. Looking for something that might have improved our situation. We weren’t in danger other than dropping water levels at that point. Thank you for all your videos with instruction, gear reviews and safety.
Yes! I have spent a lot of time (and in a lot of places) navigating those marshy inlets. The only trick I have is to stand as high as you can to look. Or send up a drone.
Very cool product, great that they are receptive to feedback and future updates based on that feedback. Any mention of combining topo and charts into one useable "map/chart"?
I use a handheld 7" android-based tablet with software OpenCPN (a freeware chartplotting software) in a waterproof case inside of a waterproof chart case. One question I would want to know is what is the battery use-time & shutoff time for high-operating temperature. Paddling with a unit mounted like that would be awkward (I prefer as clean a foredeck as possible). An interesting test would be to stick it inside a chartcase and leave it exposed in the sun with a timer for how long it stays on due to the greenhouse effect. Furthermore, does the unit have an external float-case available? (Similar to a Lifeproof brand cell-phone float case).
I too like a clean foredeck. I think I said in the video I wouldn’t have mounted it that way if It were mine. I didn’t see any accessories at this point. And if I still had the unit I would happily test it that way for you. I think the outcome would be interesting to see.
Looks like a very cool product and concept. I don't sail, but I can see how it has a market there. But for kayaking? $800 is 1/3 to 1/2 the price of a pretty nice boat. I do think the direct-sun readability is a problem to solve, but it's not an $800 problem for me.
Strictly speaking it's $700 if you sign up for their newsletter to get the discount code, but yeah, I like mine but I'd be hard pressed to tell anyone it's a good financial decision unless you've got a lot of excess money
Hi Brett and thank for the review!
I wanted to comment on a couple things:
1- It looks like you missed the navigation mode that would have given you distance to the waypoint, bearing to the waypoint, velocity made good on the course and course deviation. These features are available on the 2nd page of the device and you can also access them when you click "Go To" from a waypoint
2- The GPS speed / heading readings tend to fluctuate a bit at low speed. This is normal and inherent to all the GPS. In order to eliminate that behavior, we have the ability to smooth the readings. When I kayak, I typically use the smoothing at "4" (instead of the default "1" that you had
3- I noticed that you had large variations of speed/heading as well but that is simply because you had the unit inside a building. The GPS signal cannot give you a steady position inside a building
4- We are indeed working on a number of enhancements, including an "arrow-up" feature (instead of North Up).
Thank you again for taking the time to review MAPTATTOO!
Thanks for the opportunity to test MAPTATTOO, and being open to feedback. Something most other manufacturers wouldn’t be. Can’t wait to see how this product progresses!
Hi Brett, I have watched quite a few of your video’s now. I am enjoying your common sense approach to kayaking and helping others. Just watched your tips for older paddlers and also your Kayak Paddles video. My wife and I fall into the older paddlers category but we are not new to kayaking and we trained horses for years and are very fit , with great balance good balance and we are athletic. I just subscribed to your channel and wish you all the best. Take care.
Thanks so much for watching. Glad you find it helpful!
Your videos keep getting better & better. Great video, sound, editing, length & content. No fluff or boring B-roll, just the interesting stuff we need to know. We appreciate the hard work you put in producing these videos.
thank you so much!
I actually bought one of these a few months back, but I've only taken it out about 3 or 4 times now because the first one died on me after a capsize. I sent it back, they found an issue with the sealing around the USB port and sent me a new one. It's nice to see a video review, because when I bought mine it was annoying looking at something that expensive and there being virtually no reviews on the Internet. I'll throw out a couple quick thoughts.
1. It's actually a $700 device if you sign up for the newsletter on their site and get a discount code. That's still crazy expensive though, and while I do like it I was also in a position to blow seven hundred bucks without worrying too much about it. If that's a lot of money for you and it's between this and, say, a nice paddle or buying your next boat in a better layup, I'd be hard pressed to make the case that this is really *essential*
2. The device is very substantial. You touched on this in the review, but from the pictures I was expecting something roughly equivalent to my Kindle and in fact it was much heavier and thicker than I had assumed. Has a little bit of heft in the hand.
3. I think my biggest gripe, hardware-wise, is that their recommended way to mount it is to buy an adhesive quad lock mount and stick it on the back. I just couldn't bring myself to permanently stick something onto the back of a $700 device, so I designed and 3D printed a case that I can use to mount it to a suction cup. They were gracious enough to provide me with 3D models of the device to make that easier. Here's the model in case anyone wants to give it a go: www.printables.com/model/956378-maptattoo-holder-with-14-mount
4. It looks like when you were on the water with it you added a waypoint, but never put it in navigation mode. I actually haven't tried using waypoints directly on device, but I've loaded it up with a GPX file and entered navigation mode, and that gives you an extra little bar under the speed and heading boxes that tells you distance and heading to the next waypoint (including magnetic heading!). I've been meaning to write them about this, but the auto-advance in navigation mode is very hit or miss. If you really nail the waypoint it will auto advance, but if you're a little off you'll have to manually go into the menu and advance it. Hoping in a future update they can make the tolerance for waypoint intersections configurable and maybe have it also notice if you hit a subsequent waypoint without hitting the one before it and automatically skip ahead
5. You mentioned that the map doesn't change orientation, which is a little weird at first but you get used to it. The thing about the e ink screen is it takes a really noticeable time to update it, and it's worse if you're doing *big* updates. So I suspect if they tried to continuously update the entire chart as your heading changed, it would probably be unusable due to the display lag
Overall, I *really* like having this thing, but like I said, it's a lot of money for something most of us don't really need. I hope they sell though, because I get the impression it's a small startup probably not shipping a lot of units, and I'd hate to see this product disappear altogether
In order…1. Didn’t know about the discount. Good to know. 2. Yes. Substantial is a good word. 3. This was how they had it set up for me. It actually worked well, but If I owned it, it would be lashed to the bungies in front of the cockpit. 4. I am sure I missed “navigation mode” would have been nice to know before hand…. A quick tutorial.. some videos…. Thanks. 5. This could be due to the screen. Interesting thought. “Overall” it is a small startup. I was dealing with the owner of the company via email and such. Which is bizarre. Super nice guy. Super responsive to my questions. I too do not want to see them fail.
As a canoeist on the Maine coast this kind of unit would be very useful. As you know there are many islands, rocks, and navigation aids so anything that helps keep everything straight (especially when the fog rolls in) would be great. I use laminated paper charts of the specific area I am in, carry a GPS, and carry a VHF radio and phone for emergencies (never had to use them). I’d love one of these units when they are improved, but $800 is just too pricey for me. I am almost always within a few hundred years of an island or the mainland, so getting lost is not a big concern, but knowing how fast I’m paddling and how long it will take to the next objective would be very helpful. My GPS can give me speed, but I have to guess about how far away the next objective is.
Yeah, it kills me that I didn’t have it in Maine. I was supposed to…. I experienced all the things you talked about in my month in Maine/maritimes. It is the perfect unit for a place like that.
Very impressed. Look forward to the next iterations. Great to have such a responsive company behind the product.
Super responsive. It was a real pleasure to work with them, and I can’t wait to see what is next.
Thanks Brett, a great review of a very interesting and overdue to the market product. Like many, I will have to wait for the price to come down ... a lot., although, their associated charts are very reasonably priced.
p.s. I wrote to Maptattoo and told them about your great review. I hope you get to keep it and tell us more later.
I appreciate you telling them, but I have already returned it. Honestly I would like to see it in a year. I bet it is a much better unit.
On Garmins you can customize data fields. There should be an option to set Distance to destination, it's the essential information. Also, you created the waypoint where you pressed on the screen, not your actual position. Not sure if that was intentional. Surely there is a way to do that via the pad. Those screens are slow on the Kindle as well but feel like paper maps. It's the strongest feature of it.
It was as intentional but you are right I should have made a waypoint where I put in. Actually as I type this I think I did but didn’t include it in the video. But I used the same process. In general menus and controls need a lot more… depth.
Very interesting video. I currently own a Garmin Montana 700i. I make multiday solo trips down the New River in VA & WV, and the Greenbrier River in WV. Since my trips are solo, I wanted something that had SOS and texting (inReach) capabilities. However, if they were to upgrade this unit to have those functionalities, I would seriously consider purchasing in the next year or two. Also, since 90%+ of my kayaking is on inland waterways, the upgrade of the maps would essential (I've done some kayaking around Charleston SC & Savannah GA). Thanks for another great video.
thanks for watching!
Thanks for the demo
Thanks for watching!
@AdventureOtaku don't know why but I'm trying to send you Georgian bay info in the comments. Says it goes through but then I don't see it posted
That’s been going on lately. Email me. Brett AT adventure otaku .com
This sounds like a good idea
I kind of want to try it now.
There is no substitute, though, for proficiency with a map & compass.
This is a great Plan A, but Plan B (map & compass) is all but failsafe.
Yes but fewer and fewer people actually know how to use a map and compass. It breaks my heart
I’ve been following this product for a while, it seems really cool. Unfortunately no Sweden charts last I checked so it will be a while before I try it.
Yeah, I realized after shooting this video, I should have said something along the lines of….. I wish they used some form of standardized maps…. Bluechart, or something like that. So you could just buy the charts you want…. But I bet you have to pay a fee to have blue chart or navionics compatibility…. I don’t know.
I wish it had charts for more areas. And maps (it would be used on a coastal rowing boat (think "kayak with oars"):
I think more maps/charts are available on a growing basis. and they are small enough you could probably ask for them, and actually get a response. I would actually like to see them using a standard format so you could just find the maps you need and install them.
That looks like a very impressive piece of equipment.
Have now been out now twice on a couple of my local lakes with my son. We are only on a couple of inexpensive sit-on-tops, but even so it has solidified my drive to want to invest in touring kayaks and step up our game. We both found ourselves wishing we had an accurate, on the fly, way to know how far we have gone, and at what pace, etc. Hopefully more and more devices come out in the not so distant future. Also I want to say "Thank you so much for what you do and have done, Brett!" We have learned so much from you and your catalog of vids.
thank you for watching! let me know what touring kayaks you end up with!
@@AdventureOtaku Will do... Will probably be a bit, but we will share when we do. Thanks!
I have had the website in my Watersports bookmark folder since the end of last year or the beginning of this year. I found them after have a search for waterproof navigation devices for small water craft to Kayaks. I was even thinking of dropping Garmin a line to see if they could do something with one of their Bike Computers, to make them more waterproof rather than rainproof like they currently are. Which would work well inland, like my Fenix watch does show me when I stop paddling to look at its tracking of what I am doing. The watch isn't that useable as the screen is too small and on my wrist without having earbuds or earphones. Not great is you take a swim.
The Maptattoo looks like it has and is coming along nicely, especially if they are listening to users.
Very interesting video, and hopefully you'll get another unit in six months time to show us how much it has improved in that time. Cheers Brett.
I hope so Simon. I too have been watching them for a while. Super interesting company.
I'm not going to sing Garmin's praises, but your mention of $10,000 is not the only option. I recently bought a Garmin EchoMap for $300 including a depth transducer. This product you're showing seems like it has its niche, but appears to be $799, so more than twice what I paid. My Garmin does not have a battery, so I just connected it to the 12V supply on my sailboat.
When I was referring to the $10k I was referring to the full blown chart plotters that are used on cruising sailboats, like the one in the video I showed briefly. I would also add, that if you got an Echomap with a 7" screen - similar in size to the Maptattoo - it's also $799.
@@AdventureOtaku Yes, you can pay $10k, but your video makes it sound like the choices are $10k or this black and white device. My $300 Garmin has a daylight readable color screen, a depth transducer, NMEA 0183 and 2000 interfaces, can display readings from sensors and control an autopilot, and synchronize routes and waypoints with a phone or tablet. I'm not saying there isn't a market for this device, but don't oversell it.
I don’t think I am overselling it. But keep in mind I am talking about kayaking. We don’t need NMEA interfaces, or depth transducers, or autopilot functionality. I also can’t power the Echomap, as you said it doesn’t have a battery. Yes, the echomap has great features for a sailboat that has power and needs those sensors. I don’t think that is their target audience.
@@AdventureOtaku I'm just saying it's very expensive for what little it does. I was watching your video and thinking "I should get one of those as a backup" until I realized that it's more than double the price of my primary chartplotter. I don't have any NMEA devices on my boat and I didn't even mount the depth sounder, I just bought the EchoMap because I needed GPS and charts on a daylight readable screen. If I didn't need a daylight readable screen, Navionics on my iPad and phone works fine. I'd probably pay as much as $400 for the Maptattoo, but at literally twice that price it's a very expensive option, not "one tenth the price" of a sailboat chartplotter like you say
@youtubeuser1052 oh I agree and I gave them that feedback. For kayakers who don’t want to cobble together a tablet, waterproof case, and charts.. it’s a great option. I can’t afford it.
It looks like an interesting product. The screen is very readable, much improved over my old handheld. They should also build a model with voice control, that would make it more useful in bad weather.
As someone who uses voice control almost daily (GoPro) I think that would be very difficult
The problem with Garmin as you mentioned is they don’t really listen to what their customers want. They make what they think people want, completely full of software bugs and then take forever to fix all the issues. It sounds like these guys will hopefully be better than that. Coming out with software updates that quickly is not Garmin’s style.
Agreed, here’s to rooting for the underdog.
cool item. Very recently my Garmin Fenix watch wove me through a chain of islands in 2 days of 100 percent no visibility fog perfectly perfectly well. I did not see the beach I was going to until 150 feet from it. I wonder if I need more than that really.
If you can manage the small screen it is all you need. A lot of people - myself included - don’t like the tiny screen
Well yes,i have put a lot of time in with it, and the + zoom function of the Fenix is now fine for me. But...i have spent a few days considering this product, and if it incorporated AIS signals to and from other boats and signalling your kayak to others such as incorporating with EM-Trak AIS I as an expedition kayaker who kayaks in fog, among lobster boats, and shipping lanes, (Maine and Nova Scotia Lol) I would buy it. Any thoughts? I would love to try one out too.
I highly doubt that feature will show up. A complaint of mine (and this is in a video somewhere) that you can't buy a handheld VHF that transmits AIS. you can get them that receive AIS, but I want to key a button on my VHF and have me show up on another boats screen, and potentially trigger a collision alert.
Navigation is something I’m always interested in learning more about. I use my phone all the time and seems to work ok for me except visibility in the sun and it’s difficult to use the screen in the rain. I know you said this unit is easy to read in sunlight. I was excited until I saw the price. Am I correct that this unit is $799?
I belong to a couple of paddle groups in Eastern NC close to Emerald Isle. I’m always looking for new speakers and topics for these meetings. Navigation is a high priority. Our last one was on wind, tides and current. I was recently paddling with a friend close to Bear Island. We were coming back from Bear Inlet in pouring rain and wind. Couldn’t see my phone and I made a wrong call and we got “misplaced” in the marshes. Tide was dropping and our options were dwindling. We could see landmarks on land but could not find a passage to bring us out. Spent over an hour and a half navigating one path after another in the marshes. Looking for something that might have improved our situation. We weren’t in danger other than dropping water levels at that point. Thank you for all your videos with instruction, gear reviews and safety.
Yes! I have spent a lot of time (and in a lot of places) navigating those marshy inlets. The only trick I have is to stand as high as you can to look. Or send up a drone.
Cool, but yeah…that price. As a Canadian I would expect to add about 30% to that number.
I hadn’t even thought of that.
Very cool product, great that they are receptive to feedback and future updates based on that feedback. Any mention of combining topo and charts into one useable "map/chart"?
The combo chart/topo is this paddlers dream….
I use a handheld 7" android-based tablet with software OpenCPN (a freeware chartplotting software) in a waterproof case inside of a waterproof chart case. One question I would want to know is what is the battery use-time & shutoff time for high-operating temperature. Paddling with a unit mounted like that would be awkward (I prefer as clean a foredeck as possible). An interesting test would be to stick it inside a chartcase and leave it exposed in the sun with a timer for how long it stays on due to the greenhouse effect. Furthermore, does the unit have an external float-case available? (Similar to a Lifeproof brand cell-phone float case).
I too like a clean foredeck. I think I said in the video I wouldn’t have mounted it that way if It were mine. I didn’t see any accessories at this point. And if I still had the unit I would happily test it that way for you. I think the outcome would be interesting to see.
Looks like a very cool product and concept. I don't sail, but I can see how it has a market there. But for kayaking? $800 is 1/3 to 1/2 the price of a pretty nice boat. I do think the direct-sun readability is a problem to solve, but it's not an $800 problem for me.
Strictly speaking it's $700 if you sign up for their newsletter to get the discount code, but yeah, I like mine but I'd be hard pressed to tell anyone it's a good financial decision unless you've got a lot of excess money
Agreed.
Have you tried the Sailproof tablet? Compare/contrast would be nice with the maptatto.
I haven’t tried it. If they will loan me one I’ll try it.
The joy of beta testing! Brings back fond memories of my new product development days. Great job as always!
It felt like beta testing, but they assured me this is a production unit. Do what you will with that info.