A WV Bill for Overland Recreation

Big news for overlanders could be coming to the Mountain State. Sen. Mark Maynard, a lifelong 4WD enthusiast, is pushing for WV to embracing vehicle-based adventures in WV. SB 690 establishing an Overland Recreation Fun and guidelines to support the development, conservation and management of trail systems that promote multi-day adventures by highway vehicle.

If the bill passes, I'm sure it'll take some time before the ball starts rolling but this is a big step for adventure tourism in WV!

view the bill >>

The Garmin Overlander - Product Review

Maps and communication are easily two of the most important components to safe advenutres off-grid. We spend countless hours plotting points before we hit the road and we need a reliable device to help us cover ground with little effort. After all, the greatest reward from guiding trips through the backcountry is spending time with our guests at camp - not wasting time searching maps on the side of the road. Our time away from home is limited, so navigating needs to be efficient.

Access to maps and communication, is especially important here in West Virginia. With little access to cellular service in the state, Garmin has been a perfect fit for satelitte comms and when Garmin told us they had something new coming to market, we told them we wanted to be the first to review it so we did it on YouTube - The Garmin Overlander: First Look

The Garmin Overlander

The Garmin Overlander is a satellite ready navigation and communication device (communicaion only when paired with an InReach). If we could offer the perfect description, we'd describe it as, "a tablet for the adventure minimalist."

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Physical Features

At first touch, The Overlander feels like you could toss it across a creek just as easily as you could huddle around it with friends and find your next waypoint. Its rubberized exterior delivers a confident grip for muddy hands and its easy to wipe clean.

The Overlander comes with a magnet mount charging port that holds the device securely to your vehicle. The mount adapts quickly to a suction cup (included) or can be fitted to hold a RAM ball (also included) expanding your mouting options.

We've given our Overlander a work out. Its taken plenty of hard hits, seen miles of washboards and been dropped at least twice (in hand) over the past couple months. Under these conditions and mounted to a Hondo Garage vent mount in our Tacoma, the magnet mount never failed us once.

The mount is powered by a mini USB to USB plug. You can take it to a 12V cig or USB outlet for full-time power based on your conifguration. We opted to find our own plug and intergrate permanent charging capabilites.

Operation

To power this gem up, there's a button that you can lightly touch to the right of the screen on the device. That's it, simple, just like a phone or any other tablet. The first time we turned ON the Overlander, we were welcomed with high resolution image from some pro-photographers epic advenuture with the word "G-A-R-M-I-N" fading into the foreground. Initial thought - wow, this is gonna be good!

The device loads pretty quickly (less than 30 seconds) and the home screen displays a few apps and options in a preconfigured format. A section called "Drive" and "Explore" are by far the most perdominent - we chose "Explore" first.

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Maps and Such

"Explore" takes you into what appears to be an Earthmate (Garmin's navigating app) type environment including all the maps pre-downloaded on the device. Although not included, you can still connect to the internet via WiFi and download sattelite images or other map types. From explore, you can import your routes, track your path and mark waypoints on the fly; you've got full functionality to do what you need to do without the complicated steps and overly robust options that some GPS apps give you. Its really easy.

For all you tech nerds, the Garmin Overlander operates on an Android platform. All of your device functions, settings, etc. are accessible from the "Settings" icon (looks like a set of gears). We haven't tried to connect to the app store or anything like that yet, but we have made phone calls on it (while tethered to a celluar device). All said, don't feel intimidated because it all feels familiar.

GPS Device

Now let's dive into "Drive" mode (that's exactly what it is). When you're ready to drive and let GPS take over, its turn-by-turn ready. Voice prompts, on-screen cues and all the other regular features of most GPS devices PLUS a few fun features none of the rest have! The Garmin Overlander has integrated the iOverlander and other campsite databases into its navigation software to help you find remote camping on the fly, regardless of cellular service. We confirmed our secret campsites are still hidden, but there's loads of camping options available eleswhere (LOL).

With "Drive" you can tell the Overlander where you want to go. The voice recongintion software works pretty well actually and my son loved the History Channel integration (fun road trip facts). Every time he saw that distinct "H" pop up he said, "daddy, what's it say!" With a gentle tap, you get a history lesson about nearby landmarks.

So go pro and navigate like a guide with "Explore" or go confident and let the GPS tell you where to go with "Drive." It was really nice having both features at our fingertips.

Satelitte Comms

More fun things like a digital inclinometer, alitmeter, barometer, compass and tracking are added to the list and we haven't even touched its messaging capabilities yet!

Pair this device with an InReach and you've got full on off-grid comms. With satellite comms on the Overlander, you've got full access to your inReach's app set. Pull the local weather, send text messages to your family and even share your exact location with your friends.

If you're guides don't have satelitte comms, find someone else to invest in for your adventure. There are a range of data plans available through Garmin and we highly recommend subscribing for your adventures into the backcountry - peace of mind is priceless.

Final Thoughts

The price point on the Overlander is set for $699 and includes mouting hardware. Its a super smart and well-engineered piece of adventure equipment without all the fluff and useless off-grid functions that an iPad (w/o GPS antenna) offers. Garmin has clearly invested a lot of time into evalutating the user experience. Garmin sat back, let the lifestyles develop and listened to what people wanted. There's true value in that and you'll see it if you own one.

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WATCH | Built 4 Adventure: Brad's Tacoma. Walkaround

BUILT 4 ADVENTURE: BRAD'S TACOMA. WALKAROUND.
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What does it take to put a Tacoma on 35s? Take a tour of this adventure rig with owner Brad on a recent guided adventure with Mountain State Overland.

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Presented by ARB 4x4 Accessories, OK4WD and Cooper Tire

In partnership with Trees for the Future

Music by The Vegabonds

[WATCH] We Guide: Discovery Route III.

WE GUIDE. DISCOVERY ROUTE III.
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Ever wanted to take a trip with complete strangers and live out of your truck for a few days? That's exactly what we did with this group of thrill seekers. Join the crew from Mountain State Overland and 9 other adventurers on one epic muddy road trip.

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Presented by ARB 4x4 Accessories, OK4WD and Cooper Tire

Presented in part by OutdoorX4

In partnership with Trees for the Future

Music by The Vegabonds

[ENTER TO WIN] Freedom of Adventure Sweepstakes: Summer 2018.

FREEDOM OF ADVENTURE SWEEPSTAKES: SUMMER 2018.
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We've collected some great prizes that you can win and all you need to do is subscribe to our YouTube channel and register your email. Increase your odds of winning and share this with up to 5 friends.

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Five (5) winners will win one of these five (5) prizes. Read the official rules.

One (1) set of Maxtrax MKII Recovery Boards
Warn ZEON Platinum 10S Recovery Winch
ARB Linx Vehicle Accessory Interface
DemerBox Bluetooth Waterproof Speaker
TemboTusk Skottle

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Open to legal US residents 18 years or older. This campaign is hosted by Mountain State Overland LLC and is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google or YouTube. Entires that don't comply with YouTube Community Guidelines will be disqualified. All users and entrants release YouTube from any and all liability related this Campaign.

Music by The Vegabonds

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