Garmin 2720 - Good, bad, or just OK?

[TriggerT]

I want to pick up a 2nd GPS for use during rallies, and I have found what I THINK is a good deal on a use Garmin 2720, for under $100. I already have a Zumo 550, so I am not all that worried about the 2720 having music or bluetooth.

What are people experiences / opinions of the 2720? Just OK, or a solid unit? For the price, I am thinking I can't go wrong.

 

[Geezer]

The 2720 is an excellent GPS. However, it has a touch screen and that is it's weakness. If you are buying locally, try it out and make sure the screen is responsive.

 

[03HiYoSilver]

Trigger,

It is great. Have about 2 Refurbs now for 5 years and they have an IPX rating of 8 (waterproof) out of 9 being the highest. They are fine by me.

 

[wfooshee]

I scored one on fleabay last year sometime for under 150, to replace my aging 2610. Couldn't be happier.

Previous owner was sharp enough to unregister it at Garmin, so when I got it I was able to register and get a free current map update! SCORE!

Didn't like some defaults, but it was a pretty quick process to get it set up like I wanted, with the "info" windows on the side instead of on top, allowing for more map space on screen.

It doesn't show up as a drive on the PC when connected like new units do, but that doesn't really matter since it's not a music player, there's no reason to dump files into it.

I did have to disable the older map in it when I installed the update, as it still tried to use it, and did some really odd routing tricks with both mapsets active. I can't delete the old maps without some fancy hacking I found (but haven't been brave enough to try) but since I have no need of more memory it's not an issue.

For me it was a real upgrade. The 2610 didn't do text-to-speech, couldn't hold enough maps with its default 128MB CF card, and was rather slow to acquire satallites if it had been on the shelf more than a few days. I don't know how you'll see it compared to the Zumo, but I thought the thing rocked!

 

[John d]

I had a 2720 on my last bike and it went with it. My new to me FJR came with a Zumo 550, so I can compare.

In addition to the previous comments you'll find that the 2720 is a good unit but it's not as bright as the Zumo. I made up a shade for better viewing in sunlight.

I'm fairly sure that the 2720 comes with more built in memory than the Zumo so loading full 2011 maps isn't a problem.

There is no internal battery so you can't take it off the bike and review routes, etc., without a wall outlet adapter.

 

[TriggerT]

Thanks guys. I will have to check with the seller to make sure there are no touch screen problems, since I am not buying it locally. The 2720 sounds like just the thing to augment my Zumo. I wonder if the seller is smart enough to unregister it, but after talking with him on the phone, I am thinking probably not.

 

[MartyA]

I got a 2720 for Sally for her cage after 3 yrs of great success with a 2730 for the bike, can't leave home without it. When I registered it for her I was new so I got the one free update. I'm pretty sure the PO didn't un-register it. I sometimes use it on the bike instead of the 2730, just for fun. It talks to us thru the Starcom1. Show up on the PC as either another drive or a Garmin device, no problems. I even deleted some of the foreign voices so I have more room for maps. Except for direct sunlight works just fine. Both actually work just fine.

 

[wfooshee]

The 2720 does not show up as a drive, although the 2730 does. (I'll double-check that to be sure when I get home later, but I'm positive there is no USB drive capability in the 2720.) But it doesn't need to with no music player. No reason to put files on it. Mapsource can send waypoints and routes with its transfer menu.

And yes, it holds the full North America map internally; it uses City Navigator NT rather than the plain City Navigator I had with my 2610, where you had to load maps as well as routes into the device from MapSource.

 

[GBranson]

I bought a 2720 off of CL for 75$. Garmin let me register it and they gave me 2011 maps.

Have been using a 2610 for about 6 months and the display on the 2720 is different

and is hard for me to get use to. I am from the age of paper maps and trying very hard to enter the digital age.

I also took the AC adapter and spliced a SAE connecter midway and that is my power cable to the battery tender connector.

 

[TriggerT]

In another thread I have running on using multiple GPS units, one forum member pointed out that the 2720 does not have an audio jack, which is a deal breaker for me. Looks like I need to find either a 2730 or a 2820.

Thanks for the replies, and I am glad I checked on the forum before closing the deal.

 

[wfooshee]

Your buddy was wrong. Sort of. The audio jack is not on the unit, but on the motorcycle power cable. 35 bucks from garmin, doesn't come with the unit, but fits (at least) all the StreetPilots of that shape, 26xx, 27xx, and 28xx. Power plug for the back of the unit, and a 2.5mm mono jack that pigtails off of it. The other end is simply a fused power wire and a ground wire. That's it. All you need.

You need this to power the device on the bike, and by getting it, you get your audio out jack. The reason the others have a plug built in is because they have music players, and need a stereo output.

 

[FJR Flyer]

I picked up a 2720 on CL for $100 about a year and a half ago. Got the motorcycle power cord as pictured above, and yes it comes with the audio jack. Wired the power cord to my barrier strip and keep it coiled up under the seat when not using the gps.

 

[Geezer]

I have both a 2720 and 2730.

The differences:

2720:

has mono audio

mono audio jack only on the motorcycle power cable

no music storage

storage can not be accessed as a flash drive

2730:

stereo audio accessed via jack on the unit

stores music files

storage accessible as a flash drive

processor faster than 2720

 

[wfooshee]

I'll make some adjustments to "enhance" Geezer's post:

The differences:

2720:

has mono audio

mono audio jack only on the motorcycle power cable

no music storage player

storage can not be accessed as a flash drive (no reason to, nothing to store here)

2730:

stereo audio accessed via jack on the unit (for music in stereo. GPS prompt voice still comes out here, too, I think)

stores music files ('cause it can play them)

storage accessible as a flash drive (so's you can load up yer tunes)

processor faster than 2720

Basically, "Music player or not music player. That is the question."

2720 is a great device, period. I just didn't want the earlier misinformation from his other thread about no audio jack to make him decide not to get it. Since he'll need the power cable anyway, he'll have the audio jack for nav prompting into his comm system.