TwoNav - 1 year review

Who are TwoNav

TwoNav started their life in 2001 in Spain, where Ivan Twose developed a software solution to help verify waypoint passage during paragliding championships. Two years later, a version of the software was launched for ground sports, called “Land”, offering the same accuracy and safety as the “Air” software, but for planning routes for diverse outdoor disciplines: biking, hiking, trail running, motor sports, and free flight.

TwoNav offer a range of high-quality GPS devices for hiking, cycling, mountain biking, trail running & Trail riding.

Manufacturing of their products is done in their own facilities based in Arenys de Mar (near Barcelona, Spain), this enables TwoNav to take ownership of the entire product life cycle from product conceptualisation and design, software and hardware development, controlling every step of production, as well as distribution.

It is nearly 1 year since we first contacted TwoNav in Spain regarding looking at their range of handheld GPS devices and receiving samples from them, for us to test and evaluate over the Christmas period.

We took the sample units home over the Christmas period, and we all came back to work in the New Year very happy with how the products had performed for us and the ease of use.

During our evaluation and testing we came up with a small number of things that we felt would improve the user experience with the products, from the onset TwoNav were so responsive to queries of this nature and within a few weeks they implemented our suggestions, they have continued to be a breath of fresh air to deal with and we have regular discussions with them on looking at new features or improvements to improve the overall user experience with the products and are looking forward to growing this great relationship and new product developments in the future.

Some of the key features across the range:

The TwoNav range of GPS devices offer different screen sizes and battery life to suit the individual needs and requirements which we will cover further down when we run through the range.

With all the 5 x TwoNav devices we stock we have options to purchase with the devices very competitively priced Ordnance Survey Maps covering all Great Britain.
TwoNav themselves also offer a large catalogue of maps for many other countries.

All the devices are IP67 weather rated, have MIL-STD-810 certification for Temperature, shock, water and vibration and are Resistant to extreme temperatures -20 °C ~ 70 °C.

The full range of TwoNav devices all have multiband satellite connection for - GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou & SBAS/EGNOS, Bluetooth connection for transferring GPX files via the simple Link Mobile app, viewing your phone message notifications or for connecting Bluetooth accessories such as a Heart Rate sensor, all devices also have Wi-Fi 2,4 Ghz / 5 Ghz connection for receiving software updates, downloading new maps, uploading activities to the TwoNav storage cloud.

Something that we really like is the ability to change the colour and thickness of both the route line that you are navigating on and your activity recording line, this is great as we all have our own personal preferences for colours that stand out more when viewing the map and navigating as well as to how thick or thin the line displayed is.
There is also multiple choices for colour, style and sizes of the position indicator showing where you are on the map.

Another great feature is the off-course deviation alarm, this can be turned on or off but you also have the flexibility of being able to set your own alert distance for the alert to activate, we can also set a radius alarm distance around waypoints that you have marked to receive an audible and visual alert that you are arriving at a waypoint.

All the devices have the same menu interfaces which makes our life so much easier with regards to technical support, and for our customers if you do purchase more than one style of device it is very easy to move between devices as all the menus are the same across the range.

Transferring GPS files to the TwoNav devices from a computer requires no special software, whether you are using a Windows or Mac computer you simply copy GPX files into a Data folder on the device or what is great you can also create your own folders within the devices to better organise your routes.

If you do not own a computer, you can simply transfer GPX routes across to your device using the simple to use TwoNav Link mobile app via Bluetooth & Wi-Fi, the devices also integrate to Strava & Komoot for route transfer from these sites using Wi-Fi.

In the box all device comes with a charging cable and the Roc, Cross Plus and Terra devices also have a cycle mount included in the box.
 We do stock a compact ram mount accessory for the Aventura 2 unit to mount it on a bicycle and have the Aventura 2 Moto version that comes with a Ram mount to mount on a Trail Bike.

The Range of TwoNav products

ROC

We start with the smallest and lightest of all the units and my personal favourite the TwoNav Roc.

The TwoNav Roc only weighs 120g and is very compact size measuring 58 x 90 x 20 mm, it has a 2.7” Gorilla Glass touchscreen along with physical button control for zooming in and out on the map, and the addition of 2 x buttons at the bottom of the unit for moving between data box screens, elevation plot and compass screen.
The battery life is 18 hrs from the built-in rechargeable battery.

My first impressions were that I thought the unit may be a bit too small for me, but once I had the unit setup for my own personal needs my opinion changed.
Zooming in and out and moving the maps around is very quick and responsive, being able to change the trip computer data box screen layout to have less boxes making the ones you have larger, the ability to change the route line that you are navigating on to a different colour and thicker line to stand out more really helps when viewing on a smaller screen.

I have with the compact nature and very light weight of the device I hardly notice that I am carrying it even when in my hand and have found it a great addition when I am out trail running for the day and want to keep the weight and size of what I am carrying down to a minimum.

I have also been using the device on my Mountain bike with installed Ordnance Survey maps and fitted to my bike with an additional out front bike mount attachment which keeps the device away from my bars but takes up very little room.

Other than the compact size and weight the only differences this device has over the Cross Plus & Terra units are t hat it has physical buttons at the bottom of the unit to move between different screens, a magnetic charging cable rather than USB-C and also comes with a free download of TomTom road navigation maps for the British Isle, which is great if you are going to use the device for Road Cycling as well. (TomTom Maps can be purchased for other devices that it is not included with from TwoNav)

In conclusion a great device if you are looking for something very compact and lightweight to take with your when trail running or fastpacking but also the flexibility to use on your Mountain Bike or Road cycle without taking up to much space on your bars.

More information on the Roc unit here

More information on accessories available for the Roc here

Cross Plus

The TwoNav Cross Plus weighs 172g and is still a compact size measuring 63 x 110 x 21 mm, it has a 3.2” touchscreen along with physical button control for zooming in and out on the map, The battery life is 20 hrs from the built-in rechargeable battery.

The Cross plus unit gives us a slightly large screen than the smaller Roc unit, it does not have the additional 2 x physical buttons for moving between the different screens but this can be easily done by the touch screen buttons on the front of the device.
Charging the built-in battery is via the supplied USB-A – USB-C cable and we have an increased battery life from the Roc giving us 20hrs.

In conclusion this device would be great for the same activities as the Roc but if you are looking for a slightly larger screened device but with still a relatively compact unit.

More information on the Cross Plus unit here

More information on accessories available for the Cross Plus here

Terra

The TwoNav Terra weighs 198g and is still a compact size measuring 80 x 115 x 20 mm, it has a 3.7” Gorilla Glass touchscreen along with physical button control for zooming in and out on the map, The battery life is 15 hrs from the built-in rechargeable battery.

This device is the same as the Cross Plus but with the Terra device we now bring in the largest screen offering from TwoNav, the 3.7” screen letting you see a larger area around you.

The built-in battery is also charged from the supplied USB-A – USB-C cable, with the larger screen we have a slightly reduced battery of 15hrs but still great for your day hikes and mountain bike rides.

In conclusion a great device when you are looking for that larger screen for your hikes and mountain bike rides but still a slime profile and the Terra has become our most popular and biggest seller within the range of devices.

More information on the Terra unit here

More information on accessories available for the Terra here

Aventura 2 Plus

The TwoNav Aventura 2 Plus weighs 290g and measures 80 x 131 x 31 mm, it has a 3.7” Gorilla Glass touchscreen along with physical button control for zooming in and out on the map, this device also has the addition of  a joystick control for moving the map around and moving through menus and a physical button for moving between different screens, this enables you to manage the device more easily whist wearing gloves.

The larger size of the device is mainly down to the removable larger rechargeable battery, this battery has a great battery life of 36 hrs, you also have the option with this battery being removable to purchase additional rechargeable batteries or an AA battery pack accessory.

The Aventura 2 plus also has a micro sd memory card slot which is great if you intend to add lots of additional mapping for many different countries which then negates the need to remove maps to re-install them when required.

This device is very popular with Hikers, Mountain bikers and trail riders, for Trail riders we have the Aventura 2 Moto version which is the same as the Standard Aventura 2 Plus device but included with the Moto version is a Ram mount for mounting to your trail bike.

The moto version also has included the same as the Roc a free download of TomTom Road navigation maps for the British Isles.

In conclusion this is a great unit when you are looking for a larger screen, but as well as touch screen having more button control for when wearing gloves and the larger battery for those longer multi day trips away.

More information on the Aventura 2 Plus unit here

More information on the Aventura 2 Plus Moto unit here

More information on accessories available for the Aventura 2 here

Further reading 

1. TwoNav, a breath of fresh air - launch of a new brand

2. Walk and Talk - TwoNav Terra

3. Walk and Talk - TwoNav Aventura 2 plus