UPDATE: Now available for the GPSMAP 78 series (scroll down for pics).
I received an email a couple of weeks ago from a fellow in Idaho who hand manufactures a new style of mount for the Garmin 60 series. It looked interesting enough that I agreed to test it out, and I came away pretty impressed.
Made from Concealex (a modified form of Kydex), the mount seems very rugged, and doesn’t appear to block GPS signals, allowing the unit to be almost completely enclosed. Dave Jankowsky, creator of the mount, has dubbed it the Buzz Bomb Cradle. You need to use a RAM diamond mount with it; I used the RAP-274U.
This is the best 60 series mount I’ve seen. Garmin’s official mount doesn’t seem to secure the unit that well, while the RAM cradle can (if you’re not careful) chew up the rubber base of the device over time. The only downside is price – the Buzz Bomb Cradle runs $75. I’m hoping that Dave will expand the product line and get the price down over time.
While the picture above shows 19’ accuracy for the 60CSx and 35’ for the Oregon 450, the units were generally pretty close in reported accuracy in my test.
I’ve posted some more pics below. You can see that there are cut outs for the ports on the back. Basically, you lay the unit in the cradle, place the top piece on it, and then slide the rails in place. They secure it extremely well; I can’t imagine them vibrating off. If you want more info, there’s a thread on it over at advrider.com.
About Rich Owings
I’ve maybe found an easier and very much cheaper solution:
I used ‘Sugru’ and the result is a rock-solid mount, optimised for viewing angle and operation on the fly. Total cost: $5 and an hour’s work.
Sugru is a fantastic product – it feels like ‘Playdoh’, but cures into a rigid plastic that hangs on leech-like. The cable-ties in my images are just ‘belt-and-braces’ really. Amazingly, the GPS would be just as safe without them.
Go here for images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/53418967@N04/sets/72157624825452090/
Sugru website: http://sugru.com/