Montana 710
 

Montana 710
.

After using it for some 3000 miles to date
 

Evaluation still progress- no 'gremlins' so far.:thumbup1:
Few wrong turns but that was down to mapping errors.
No shutdowns
No freezes
No 'omg' moments

As time moves on as do units, my favourites in the Garmin stable, are still the 276Cx (no touch screen and buttons still on 'wrong' side) then the 710 then the 66i.

If you are only wanting an automotive device then there are many other and cheaper options out there, including smartphones.

If you would also like to have a great deal of unit customization options, go off the beaten track to seek out gems whilst you are travelling then the 710 is a good, if more expensive, choice

Specs of the 710 are here

The enhanced battery life, increased memory to 32GB as well as the USB-C charging port are, IMHO, solid improvements over the previous 700.

I've been running a 700 for a couple of years now. I'm generally happy with it.

I like the larger screen than the 600 series, still much more readable in sun than a phone, the rugged rainproof design and the inbuilt InReach.

I don't like that it's not cheap and is prone to random shutdowns - these seem to be vibration linked, possibly the internal battery contacts jumping. It's easily restarted on the button but still irritating.

Note that I found out the hard way. If you have preloaded Garmin OSM and you want to add coverage to adjacent areas the only way is to load the extra maps on the SD card, not to place a gmapsupp file on the hard drive! It confuses the unit and sends you round in circles. Also if your maps overlap it starts messing up. Use one set or the other, not both (Map Manager).

A bit of confusion here!
 

At the risk of contradicting Tomkat, the 710 was announced by Garmin in early January 2025. So how he could have used one for 2 years remains a mystery unless he has made a typo and is speaking of the old 700 unit; but then the 700 being a tri-band receiver does not have the InReach facility he says he has so I'm really confused...

The 710 is also a tri-band and does not have the InReach option either.

As for the multiple gmapsupp.img images, this is a classic mistake I have often seen (as you can only have one- same as the gmapprom).
The work around is very simple in that you just need to rename your new map file whatever meaningful (to you) name you wish and place it in the Garmin folder either in the unit's own internal memory or in the micro SD card.

Overlapping maps and/or having different map types for the same areas, if enabled together, will cause complete calculations meltdown.

The issues which the 700 suffered from, have not, to date re-emerged on the 710

Interesting

If the 700i's random shutdowns are fixed and they've resolved the problem with the charging contacts with the vehicle mounts it should be great.

My 700i is bugging me on those too points and when I return from the current trip needs discussing with Garmin.

(as a side note my unit will randomly shut down just minding its own business on a table, its not a vibration issue more a hardware fault)

@TheWarden
Have a look here- there may be a solution there.
If none of that works, I'd RMA the unit back to G for an exchange/upgrade

You're right and you're wrong. I do have the 700i, and it does have InReach.

Carry on.

Thank you for clarifying the fact that you say you actually have the 700i
Something, as you can see, you did not initially state. It does help everyone if you can get the unit model right when writing about it and especially if you are in need of support.

Unless I read it wrong; there is now a Montana 760!?! Is the 710 already old news and has been superceded?

OR

“No worries. Thanks for clarifying”…

;)

The 760i is out
 

It is a variant of the 710 series; if you want a camera and the InReach options then you need the 760i
If you don't need the camera and the InReach then you need the 710.
Check the specs of each on the Garmin website.

It is worth noting that:
Units ending with an 'i' indicates InReach technology which are not tri-band tech only bi. (GPS and Galileo)

If planning to go Eastwards from Europe then consider that, currently, only the 710 can also receive Glonass in addition to GPS and Galileo being a TRI-Band.

The choice is yours.