Karoo and ultra-endurance
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Sorry for the long text. These are my thoughts after my last ultra-endurance race using the Hammerhead Karoo.
I’ve been using the unit for some time now, focused on what really matters to me, mainly navigation. I used it in the https://transpyrenees.cc/ and https://atlasmountainrace.cc/ which is all I care about: a GPS for long distance events.
I’ve been facing some issues, mostly battery related. The device seems very power hungry, a monster consuming power banks in no time at all. I find myself turning off the screen to save battery but then, since there is no sound (always thought that sound in a gps is a very basic feature but it turns out it is not, big disappointment), I may miss some turns.
Due to a miscalculation, I ended up without GPS in the Atlas Mountains, not a scenario anyone would like to encounter. I saw battery levels drop fast from 15% to 1%, even though it lasted that way for a while longer. Followed other riders’ tracks until a tarmac intersection, tried to turn on the Karoo and, not sure why, was back to 3% battery, just enough to take a look at the route. Connected the dinamo converter directly to the gps and the fast descents charged it 1% more until the next small shop. The problem is that you need a very fast pace to charge the Karoo. I remember when I used a Lezyne unit (I know that it’s like comparing apples to oranges), it charged fast using the dynamo and the battery lasted for roughly 24 hours. The truth is that, even with the screen off, it looks like the unit consumes battery like crazy. You have to ensure you have a charged power bank with you and to not let the gps go below 50% as the percentage can be somewhat unreliable.
Suddenly, I realised “hey, I’m turning the screen off and peeking once in a while, plus I have no sound… damn that’s exactly what I did for years when using the smartphone as a gps… bummer”. What if the GPS instead of having that color fancy screen, would have an e-ink screen.. What would be the gain in terms of power? Who cares about colors when you’re trying not to get lost. Actually, I’m thinking of replacing the GPS with an e-ink Android smartphone, probably it will turn out better.
Also noticed that the GPS is always trying to find a route in the middle of nowhere, at least, on occasions where the route doesn’t exactly match the road. Can the auto route be turned off?
Another thing that really annoyed me is that there is a lot of missing information on POI. Distance from current position, full name, details… I had to use the phone to check that. There it is the phone again… at some point I started to think “this thing is useless” and that’s bad for a 300€ device.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the Karoo navigation, it is great when you’re close to home or have no issues with power. The routing capabilities are awesome and already got me safely out of Andorra and other places I had never been before. But for ultra endurance, mainly in remote areas, I may need to look somewhere else. Maybe a ultra-low-power mode may be introduced? Super low luminosity at night, dark maps, auto screen off, auto screen on in directions, etc.
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"I find myself turning off the screen to save battery but then, since there is no sound (always thought that sound in a gps is a very basic feature but it turns out it is not, big disappointment), I may miss some turns."
I hope they can solve this by light the screen up for turn by turn navigations. My mio did this and worked quite well.
"What if the GPS instead of having that color fancy screen, would have an e-ink screen.. What would be the "gain in terms of power?
Well the screen is (one of) the selling points of the karoo hammerhead.
"Another thing that really annoyed me is that there is a lot of missing information on POI."
This is added in last update I thought. You need only internet for getting it to work.
"I saw battery levels drop fast from 15% to 1%, even though it lasted that way for a while longer."
Indeed the battery drops are a nightmare for every cyclist. It is something I also saw on phones before. It is not easy to show the exact status of battery life. Under 5% is always unreliable. Full draining the device can help sometimes.
In my opinion it is a great device, some devices (even if they are great) they don't suite you. I believe you have a case here. This devices is designed for max 10 hour rides, which is more than enough for most users. Also there are lot of graphics for performances during the ride. Something which you probably do not need or do not use, otherwise you were not thinking about to putting the screen off.
For long day2day trips the device lacks battery. HH could improve the battery time significant by making other choices in there the design but they designed it to be great for the 90-95% of our rides. That one time a year (for you more) that we do long something extraordinary is not worth the most choices for better battery life time. I easy manage 200+km rides with the Karoo and 8-9h runtime without being afraid for battery.
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