So my boyfriend has recently really gotten into running and cycling especially. His birthday is coming up and I want to get him a personal run/bike route tracker. I don't know a whole lot about them, but would love some recommendations on what to look for. I don't really know what they go for, but I would definitely prefer to stay under $200.

Bump?

I was going to comment earlier, but figured I'd wait since I've never actually used one for hiking. I was thinking about getting into search and rescue for a while, and I went to a couple training sessions. A couple people had these and they worked pretty well. There are also versions you can connect to a dog collar (which is what they used) and mark your dogs tracks that way (important for the search dogs, so the other searchers can search more in depth). REI offers classes on GPS navigation so you might see if there is one in your area. You could take a quick class and learn a bit about navigation before you decide which one you want to get for your boyfriend. These are good for cycling/hiking/trail running.

For running I have an old version of the garmin forerunner and I love it! It's really easy to use and works pretty well. I've heard they can be slightly off on calculating mileage, but I think they have improved that since my version. The major issue I've had is that you have to have a clear view of the sky for it to find the satellites, and in NYC that's not always easy. I can really only use it when I run in the park by the river or outside the city. I haven't tried it in a heavily treed area, but I would guess it would be the same issue. If you are mid run and it loses the satellites for a moment, it just sort of guesses your route, which creates milage differences.

So it kind of depends what type of cycling/running he's doing. More road stuff I like my forerunner, offroad/trail running/mountain biking, I'd go for a true gps.

Thanks Jen! He's primarily doing road running and all he has is a road bike, so I'll look into the Garmin!

I've got a Garmin Forerunner as well, and I really like it. Mine is the 300 and Aaron has the 500. The 300 you can probably get well within your budget too.

Meredith, what are the differences between the 300 and the 500? I assume the 500 is out of pice range, just trying to understand what to look for when comparing other ones!