In this month’s podcast
- Mad May – Half prices OS maps on the Garmin GPSMAP67i
- The biggest GPS mistakes we see every week
- 32gb TwoNav Terra being reintroduced, and the reasons why
- Why more people are getting rescued in the hills… and what we’re getting wrong – BMC article I recently read
- Andy’s Top Tips
—- 1st Story – Mad May – Half prices 1:25k OS maps on the Garmin GPSMAP67i —-
Garmin led promotion – we cannot offer this discount without them.
– 1:25k, 1:50k and 1:250k map card –
RRP – £349.99
Normal bundle price – £295.00, when bought with a GPS unit
But in May – £175.00 (£120.00 off bundle price, or £175.00 off standalone price)
Garmin GPSMAP67i – RRP £549.99, we have had it reduced to £499.99 for a little while now.
BUT, we are not increasing it in price, we are selling it with the map card offer at this discounted price.
Garmin GPSMAP67i with 1:25k, 1:50k and 1:25k – Yesterday’s price – £794.99
Mad May price – £674.99 (saving £120.00)
???? We may run out of stock
???? We will take your unit/ map card as a trade in – Look for the big button on the product page to get an instant trade in price
To find out more > GPSTraining.co.uk > GPS Store > Handheld GPS Units
—- 2nd Story – The biggest GPS mistakes we see every week —-
—- 3rd Story – 32gb TwoNav Terra being reintroduced, and the reasons why —-
When we ordered from TwoNav back in March, we got a small amount of 32gb TwoNav Terra’s in stock, as we were told they were not going to make any more.
- Only need 64gb if you want to put on more than just 1:25k maps
- Memory prices (DRAM and NAND) have soared by 80%-90% in early 2026, driven by an AI-driven supply crunch. High-end memory demand for data centres has constrained supply for consumer electronics.
Therefore TwoNav have done a U-Turn and this month going to start producing 32gb TwoNav Terra GPS units again.
It will be June before they filter back onto the market.
To find out more > GPSTraining.co.uk > GPS Store > Handheld GPS Units
—– 4th Story – Why more people are getting rescued in the hills… and what we’re getting wrong —-
With the May Day weekend coming up, it feels like the perfect moment to revisit something that was highlighted just before Easter… but hasn’t gone away.
The British Mountaineering Council recently shared new rescue data, and it paints a really interesting picture of what’s happening in the hills right now.
Callouts are up around 24% since 2019, and here’s the headline that grabs you…
18 to 24 year olds are now the most rescued group.
Now, that’s not about ability. It’s not that younger people are less fit or less adventurous.
If anything, it’s the opposite.
More people are heading outdoors than ever before… and that’s brilliant.
But here’s where it gets uncomfortable.
The real issue isn’t the hills… it’s how we’re navigating them
The BMC points to a growing trend:
- Social media hotspots pulling people into unfamiliar terrain
- Heavy reliance on mobile apps
- A lack of basic navigation and planning skills
And you can almost picture the scenario:
You follow a route you’ve seen online
You rely on your phone
Battery drops… signal disappears…
And suddenly the “blue dot” stops moving
That’s when a simple day out turns into a rescue callout.
And here’s the stat people don’t talk about enough
In 2024, there were 3,842 rescue callouts across England and Wales.
Mountain Rescue teams are out every single day.
They’re volunteers.
And in some areas, they’re dealing with multiple incidents a day.
That’s not just a safety issue…
That’s a system under pressure.
So what’s actually changed?
This is where it gets interesting for discussion.
It’s not that people are more reckless.
It’s that the barrier to entry has dropped.
- Navigation feels “easy” with apps
- Routes are instantly accessible
- Social media makes everything look achievable
But what’s missing is the decision-making layer.
As one BMC spokesperson put it, people are often seeing “perfect weather” online… but not the reality on the hill.
This is the uncomfortable truth
Phones aren’t the problem.
In fact, used properly, they’re brilliant.
The problem is overconfidence without understanding.
And that’s something we’re seeing more and more.
The May Day reality
If Easter is busy, May Day is often worse.
- Better weather
- Longer days
- More spontaneous trips
Which means more people heading out… often without much preparation.
And the pattern repeats.
The big question for us (and the listeners)
So here’s the discussion point:
Are we doing enough to teach people how to think in the hills… not just how to follow a route?
Because:
- Technology will keep improving
- Access will keep growing
- More people will keep heading outdoors
But unless skills catch up,
this trend isn’t going anywhere.
Simple takeaway (strong close)
The hills aren’t getting more dangerous.
We’re just going into them differently.
And maybe the real skill now isn’t navigation…
It’s knowing when not to rely on the tech in your hand
—- 5th Story – Andy’s top tips —-
GPSMap H series & Touch
Calls from customers if carrying in pocket find have managed to unlock the screen.
Top – in settings – display & brightness – Set Tap to wake to off then when screen goes off you need a physical press of the power button to unlock
Fenix 8 watches – Distance alert with time taken
Since updates noticed distance alert only shows distance and not time taken, you can set this from auto lap as follows:
– select activity top right
– Scroll down & Select Hike, Trail run settings
– Select Laps
– Select Auto Lap & select by distance, next one down Auto distance change to 1 mile etc
– Scroll down select lap alert , you can have two fields primary and secondary, I have primary as distance secondary as lap time
– Lap Key I have off to stop accidental lap marks
Suunto – Distance alert with time taken
Add distance alert does include time:
- Select Activity top right
- Scroll down to Autolap, set as distance i.e 1 mile
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