What handlebar mount for an eTrex?

[Kim]

I've always bought the genuine Garmin mounts. They're not brilliant by any means, but they work OK. That is until they start to wear out. Just recently the unit was making a bid for freedom a bit too often, so I used a thick rubber band around it to stop it jumping out.

You can see the wear marks on the mount and the back of the Garmin (this is after about 7 years):

Wow, looking at mine (which is old enough that I can't remember how old it is) there's none of that brinelling effect, just barely perceptible scrapes from sliding in and out...



ETA: Looked it up, purchased January 2013.  So a similar age.

[T42]

Mine has a wee bit of brinelling, but nothing like the OP's. It shoogles around in the mount, though (also Garmin) so I put a bit of black insulating tape across the bottom and round the mount to hold it in place. It still rattles a bit, but nothing drastic.  My old eTrex 20 rattled too so I tried packing the mount with tape, but it hopped off and cost me half an hour's hoking through the grass verge to find it. It was orange; God knows if the 30x would be that easy to find.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I was wondering if the brinelling might be a chemical effect rather than wear? Though I've no idea what might have caused it.

[T42]

Nah, I reckon it's just because the back of the unit and the mount are both shiny and the unit can move a little with vibration.   After a few months the mount has whitish dust in it - worn-away plastic.

[Kim]

Mine has a wee bit of brinelling, but nothing like the OP's. It shoogles around in the mount, though (also Garmin) so I put a bit of black insulating tape across the bottom and round the mount to hold it in place. It still rattles a bit, but nothing drastic.  My old eTrex 20 rattled too so I tried packing the mount with tape, but it hopped off and cost me half an hour's hoking through the grass verge to find it. It was orange; God knows if the 30x would be that easy to find.

I have a knock-off mount that requires the tape treatment, but all my official Garmin ones are secure.

I use a lanyard, for the odd occasion that the eTrex gets kicked while mounting/dismounting/being in collision with a ungulate on the recumbent, or bashed from below by incompetent water-bottle ejection on the Brompton.

[T42]

How old are they?  Mine is >6 years.  I stopped using a lanyard because stuff kept catching it.

[Kim]

Mostly about that age - I bought them when I upgraded to the eTrex 30 after my Vista HCx got rubber band death.  The one on the Brompton is younger and hasn't seen a lot of use.

[Pingu]

My 7yo device looks much the same as Kim's.

[T42]

I have an unused Garmin mount in the workshop: I'll put it on tomorrow and see if there's any difference.