Garmin 296 vs AWARE
Know GPS' have been to death in various forms on here, but wanted to specifically compare the Garmin 296 against the AWARE.
The former I've used in the past when panel-mounted and recently bought a second-hand one. However, find it not quite optimal for the kind of SE England VFR flying I do (costly updates, lack of touch screen, clunky menus, slow boot-up, lack of pre-loaded VFR waypoints, etc). And it's practically useless for non-aviation applications in Europe without further costly updates it seems.
Tried AWARE for the first time the other day and find the airspace updates a huge selling point, plus the smaller, lighter box and more appropriate level of functionality. Understand battery life is an issue compared to Garmin. What about durability.....(know Garmins have reputation for being rock solid)?
Is there something I'm missing that makes the Garmin worth keeping or worth thinking twice about with replacing for an AWARE?
Probably not an option for me, due to cockpit space and cost, but does anyone run both VFR for different benefits?
Would really appreciate everyone's thoughts?
Many thanks!
BFA