Confused ..... Advice needed re: GPS for off-road use

I have a Garmin 340 & a 390 which I use on my bikes (& actually also in my motorhome !) in the UK & various Euro countries.
Both excellent GPS's for roads & lanes etc....

When down in Aragon this September, & riding some off-road tracks, I struggled not having some topo map info on a GPS. When off road we often had to stop and use our phones to consult google maps to see where we were & use the compass on my GPS to ensure we picked the correct heading. It was a bit hit & miss at times as the Michelin paper maps obviously did not have sufficient detail.

I think what I would like is a 'hiking' type of GPS; a garmin montana / oregon etc.... with 1:25 scale maps.

So in readiness for next year i'm thinking of getting a garmin montana / oregon (2nd hand) and making sure that as a start, I get GB Discoverer V4, for the 1:50k scale UK overall coverage. Then add 1:25k 3000 sq km. map blocks using Garmin Birdseye Select vouchers for the various UK areas I am likely to go off road it .... e.g. staring with the cotswolds.
I can then start using it in the UK to plan routes / track routes to get fully familiar with it, before I consider taking it to Europe next Autumn. (I would also likely use it for some mountain walking ...... again to get really familiar with it)

Question 1: Could I use a montana / oregon with just a 1:25k 3000 km map block on its own i.e. No GB Discoverer SD card plugged in ?
Question 2: I presume the 1:25k 3000 sq km. map blocks using Garmin Birdseye Select can only be downloaded directly to the GPS device. (whereas GB Discoverer premium has the whole of the UK at 1:25k on an SD card ..... (at £300 ish !!)

many more questions but think this is enough for now

I picked up a magellan meridiangold gps off ebay some years ago, its a serial version as opposed to USB, but does come with an adaptor

Only a small screen, but runs on 2 AA batterys and is waterproof as well.

You load the map area you want to cover onto an SD card, and set waypoints etc...

I used it for geocaching, and hardly explored its true capabilitys

If you use an iPhone install the Pocket Earth app. Select the Hiking layer and you are good to go (you will of course have to power and mount the phone, but that is simple enough)

The vector mapping is infinitely scaleable and takes up very little storage on your device - creating and amending routes does require internet access however

Garmin Montana

JohnnyBoxer said:

Garmin Montana

Click to expand...

One of the best I've used for trail riding, so good I even use it as my main GPS when touring -

Before spending money, take a look at the cycling maps at http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/