Garmin Edge 1000 vs 810 review comparison. Top bike GPS with maps and routes
Almost a year and s half ago we reviewed the new Garmin Edge 510 model, as a Edge 500's owner, I could analyze almost impartially the improvements over the old model. As I already stated I am just a sports aficionado so I can't permit myself the expense of another GPS unit, but I am fortunate to have a friend that really is into sports, so he always is spending money on sports devices and a few weeks ago he bought an Edge 1000 model when he already had an Edge 810 model. So we teamed up to do a review following the structure of our Garmin Edge 520 review, I tried to write an impartial data driven review of the product adding my friend's sensations on the most remarkable features.
Size
The size of the Edge 1000 is visibly bigger, almost smartphone sized, than the Edge 810 and much more of the Edge 500 as a small counterpart. 5.8 x 11.2 x 2.0 cm for the Edge 1000 and 5.2 x 9.3 x 2.5 cm for the Edge 810. Of course the Edge 1000 is heavier, reaching the 114.5g, and 98g for the Edge 810. As reference the Edge 500 weights only 58g.As we are just evaluating the sizing features, in this section we will award the smaller and lighter units.
Edge 1000: 3
Edge 810: 5
Winner: Edge 810
Screen
The screen on the Edge 1000 is bigger, 3'', 0.4" more, in comparison to the the Edge 810's 2.6". The two screens are tactile but on the Edge 1000 is capacititive, similar to smartphones, but on the other hand the 810 uses resistive technology, like the 510, as you may know resistive technology works better with gloves. For our experience the Edge 1000 works good in most scenarios but with gloves you may find struggling just a bit. On resolution terms the Edge 810 has 160 x 240 pixels and the Edge 1000, 240 x 400 pixels.Of course the crispier screen on the Edge 1000 makes it the best screen on a gps unit, but the tactile problems make it recede a little.
Edge 1000: 8
Edge 810: 7
Winner: Edge 1000
Connectivity
The Garmin Edge 810 introduced the cellphone connectivity to take advantage of your mobile phone internet capabilities to access internet, for example to check the weather or even share your route realtime. The Edge 1000, of course, has this capability and takes it one step forward, even you can read your sms or get notified if a there's an incoming phone call.As an extra feature the Edge 1000 is the only device with Shimano Di2 support. Also the start up time and satellite acquisition times are very short in the Edge 1000.
For our experience many of this features were broken on the device release, but as the updates were rolling many of this errors were mainly fixed.
Edge 1000: 9
Edge 810: 7
Winner: Edge 1000
Software
The higher models of Edge has always shared the capability to use routable maps, a feature not available to the 500 and 510 models, and mainly the reason to go for this high end models. These maps work in a similar way to a car gps, a feature that will interest more all road bikers. For the mountain bikers you have the possibility to download routes that you can follow. Also available in the Edge 500 and the 510.With the release of the Edge 1000 Garmin started with a revamp of their website, Garmin Connect, and started offering a new feature that had made Strava, a gps track analyzer and planner, stand out, the so called segments. We already compared Garmin Connect vs. Strava a few months ago, and we also highlighted this feature as the one that made us recommend Strava over Garmin Connect. With this new version of Connect they introduced also the segment competition that Strava offered, and not only that, they also made the Garmin Edge 1000 integrate this feature seamlessly and in real-time.
Of course some of the features on the Edge 1000 were buggy on release, but with the updates this device is also getting more and more stable by the day, you should take into account that the Edge 810 already passed this process, and is probably the most stable Garmin device, and as the crown's jewel the Garmin Edge 1000 will probably get more attention in the next months. Also, you should note that the better hardware on the Edge 1000 makes it generally more responsive.
Edge 1000: 9
Edge 810: 7
Winner: Edge 1000
Battery life
The official battery life for the Garmin Edge 810 is of 17 hours and the Edge 1000's is 15h, probably due to the increased screen. For our experience activating all the connectivity functions of the Edge 810 we measured around a 10% battery drain per hour, with similar result for the Edge 1000.We will give half point more to the Edge 810, but a technical tie.
Edge 1000: 7
Edge 810: 7.5
Winner: Edge 1000 for a small gap
Price
We are talking about high end devices here so don't expect to be cheap, the Edge 810 recently got price cut to $400/300€/£200 to differentiate the price from the Edge 1000 which costs around $600/600€/£400. Expect the bundles, which contain a heart rate monitor strap and a speed/cadence sensor to be around $100/100€/£80 more expensive. Also note the updated new speed/cadence sensor that has no magnet.The increased price tag of the Edge 1000 makes it difficult to approve, the Edge 810, even it is expensive, got price cut thanks to the Edge 1000 release.
Edge 1000: 4
Edge 810: 6.5
Winner: Edge 810
Conclusions
With price:Edge 1000: 6.7
Edge 810: 6.7
Without price:
Edge 1000: 7.2
Edge 810: 6.7
Taking into account the high price tag of the Edge 1000 makes the two devices tie, of course the two devices are magnificent and the best options for bikers.
So, our recommendations would be:
- If you are a segment competition fan and/or you got some money to burn get the Edge 1000, is the best device around and will be for a few years. Also recommend you to get the bundled HR strap and the new cadence/speed sensor, which separately will cost you much more.
- If you want the maps feature but don't want to expend all the money that the Edge 1000 costs, you should get the Edge 810, which is a very good device, more portable and already stable and also if you wait for some offers you can get it for a pretty good price.
- If you don't care about the maps feature or the segments,you can get a Garmin Edge 520.
Big Thanks to all the readers and visitors!