Ownership Review of Garmin Zumo 395LM GPS Guide

If you decide to make the best of the weekend with a long motorcycle trip, you will definitely need a motorcycle GPS. There are various models of GPS guides, and I was looking for myself a while ago and bought the Zumo 395LM, and here are the things that I found during our testing and usage.

Apart from being affordable, the 395LM offers lifetime free maps, rider alerts, weatherproof build, and Bluetooth compatibility, among many other wholesome features! The touchscreen display has excellent sensitivity options that allow you to access the screen even with your indispensable riding gloves.

Display Size	4.3 inches
Screen Resolution	480 x 272 pixels
Battery Backup	4 hours
Internal Storage	8 GB
Weight	9.6 Ounces or 0.6 lbs.
Dimensions	5.12 x 3.7 x 1.18 inches
Waterproofing Rating	IPX7

Relying on your cell phone’s GPS is not sufficient, as it may lose signal often. Neither do traditional paper maps guide you accurately? But those are not the only viable options for you, dear adventurous rider! 

Make the best use of the 21st century, the advancements in technology, and the immense capabilities of the human mind! 

A motorcycle GPS will offer reliable services in your adventure to the unknown! To make navigation more convenient, GPS devices will play several functions. From directions to suggesting places of interest around an area, a motorcycle GPS does it all!

Garmin delivers innovative GPS technologies to its users with the different devices they develop. Let’s find out more about the Garmin Zumo 395LM GPS Guide. 

Review of Garmin Zumo 395LM

Garmin’s dedication to designing and manufacturing the best products makes it so popular among buyers. Their GPS and navigation systems are easily among the best available in the market. 

If you’re a motorcycle adventure lover, you must have heard of the Garmin Zumo 390LM. The Garmin Zumo 395LM is the successor to that model and an alternative to the 595LM. 

The 390LM  has a battery life of four hours, and you can charge it using vehicle power or through a computer via USB cable. 

Let’s talk about the design of this unit for a minute. Thanks to its waterproof build, the 395LM can combat up to one meter of water for as long as thirty minutes. This means that the GPS is suitable for riders even in rainy weather. 

The 4.3” display of the unit is viewable even under direct sunlight, enabling readability. The screen remains bright and clear under sunlight, allowing you to view with convenience.

The screen size is ideal as you can still clearly see the map while you also view the status panel. The touchscreen display is user-friendly and intuitive. With various sensitivity options, you can also use the 395LM with your gloves on. 

Additionally, the tire pressure monitor sensor lets you check the tire pressure before leaving for the weekend! The digital fuel gauge calculates the approximate distance you can cover with the given amount of fuel. 

It alerts you in case of low fuel and also suggests the gas stations nearby so that you can refill the fuel. 

It also warns you during long rides and suggests rest periods and pit stops along the route so that you do not feel tired or fatigued. Not to forget, you will benefit from the alerts regarding animal crossings, railroads crossings, and dangerous curves. Garmin ensures that you enjoy a safe ride with the 395LM. 

You can also connect the 395LM to a compatible Bluetooth helmet and receive calls directly via Garmin. Hands-Free calling lets you enjoy the ride and the call without having to stop, only to have your boss give you work for the weekend! 

It also allows you to control the music that you can play from your smartphone. All without taking off your helmet or phone! You can also connect the unit to Garmin’s Virb action cameras via Bluetooth to record all your adventurous rides! 

The trip log feature keeps a record of the path that you’ve traveled and can be accessed in the Map Layers settings. On the other hand, the trip information page displays information regarding speed and other related statistics of the trip.

You can also navigate the points of interest categorized by Garmin based on popular destinations like restaurants, gas stations, etc.  You can tap your finger at any spot on the map and save it as your Point of Interest; the unit will then guide you to that place! 

This means that you can customize the map. The Garmin Folder of the microSD memory card already has pre-set maps for your convenience, any other maps you can easily download and access. 

Not only does the Garmin Zumo direct you using the names of streets, but it also guides you with the names of famous or landmark buildings, traffic lights, etc. 

This is helpful because most of us don’t know the 5th cross but know the road by the little cafe around the corner. Garmin preloads the 395LM with new areas for you to explore. Garmin’s adventure routing lets you choose from hilly roads, terrains, etc. 

Under the app icon on the screen, you can also access Compass to make your ride more convenient! Under the TracBack feature, you can retrace your recent path right back to where you started! Incredible, isn’t it? 

Moreover, this GPS guide comes with both motorcycle and car mounts. So, you can use the same Garmin GPS guide for both your vehicles without spending additional money.

This model is not available on Amazon right now, instead of this, amazon redirects the page to the Zumo 595LM, both are the same but with some minor upgrades. We have made a detailed article about the Garmin Zumo 595LM Review.

	Zumo 395LM	Zumo 595LM
Display Size	4.3 inches	5 inches
Screen Resolution	480 x 272 pixels	800 x 480 pixels
Battery Backup	4 hours	4 Hours
Internal Storage	8 GB	8 GB
Weight	9.6 Ounces or 0.6 lbs.	14.4 ounces or 0.9 lbs.
Dimensions	5.12 x 3.7 x 1.18 inches	1.3 x 5.87 x 3.83 inches
Waterproofing Rating	IPX7	IPX7
	Check on Amazon	Check on Amazon

Key Features

• Waterproof, weatherproof
• Various alerts for riders
• Bluetooth compatibility for hands-free calling 
• Compatible with Spotify and Pandora
• Glove-friendly, sunlight-readable 5-inch dual-orientation touchscreen 
• Rider alerts for sharp curves, state helmet laws, speed cameras and more

PROs & CONs

My thoughts: Garmin can never go wrong with their navigation systems, and this Zumo 295LM proves just that! 

It instantly becomes popular among enthusiastic riders because of desirable features like rider alerts, Bluetooth compatibility, waterproof build, readable display, etc.

We loved the screen size and its ability to stay bright and clear even under the sunlight. While checking the Bluetooth connectivity of 395LM with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, we did not face any problems and observed that the unit ran smoothly!

Riding through the busy roads around our city, we saw that the unit did alert us about railroad crossings and areas near the school. 

It sent us a notification when we were low on fuel and suggested that we refill it by offering navigations to all nearby gas stations. We must say, we’re impressed!

Important Things to Keep in Mind Before Buying a GPS Tracker

• Size and Sensitivity of Screen: It will be challenging to read small texts or icons on a small screen while riding. It calls for a hazard! It is always better to go for large screens as you can easily read the text while you are driving without losing sight of the road. 

Additionally, the touchscreen display should be accessible even with gloves on. Most motorcycle riders wear gloves, and removing them each time you want to touch the screen makes it pointless. 

• Durability: Well, all adventure lovers know how much the motorcycle trembles in off-road terrains or hilly regions. A flimsy GPS guide will be prone to damage soon enough, so always remember to buy those navigation systems that are weatherproof, UV-resistant, and robust. 

A waterproof GPS guide is highly recommended because come on; nothing matches a long trip in the rain! 

• Mount: If you own multiple vehicles, you do not want to purchase a separate navigation system for the other vehicle. Go for those GPS trackers that have a universal mount to use the same tracker in all other vehicles. This will save money and make more sense. 

• Anti-glare Properties: If you want to view the screen clearly under sunlight, make sure that the screen does not create glares. It becomes vital to consider anti-glare properties, especially when you have sensitive eyes and a smaller screen. 

You wouldn’t be able to see anything that the screen displays, thus, distracting you from the ride completely. 

• Points of Interests: POI is all those popular locations that become crucial during a ride. For, e.g., hospitals, service stations, gas stations, airports, restaurants, etc. An excellent guide will suggest all places of interest or other necessary locations closest to you. 

This way, if you want to eat or use the washroom during the ride, you can rely on the GPS to suggest the nearest place. 

• Map Options: Go for those GPS guides that include maps to all the places that you wish to travel. Most manufacturers keep updating the maps as new places keep opening up. 

A few of the GPS guides have LM after their name, suggesting that you get lifetime access to free maps. Hooray!

• Bluetooth Compatibility: When the GPS guide has Bluetooth compatibility, it can easily connect to your mobile phone, Bluetooth-enabled headphone, etc. This makes it easy for you to attend hands-free calls and control the music. 

I mean, do you want to abruptly stop amidst your ride just to hear your boss rant? Hands-free calling allows you to continue your call as you enjoy the ride! 

Final Thought

Why should you buy the Garmin Zumo 395LM, you ask? Simply because it is the best. Garmin never disappoints, and neither will this GPS guide. Apart from being affordable, the 395LM offers lifetime free maps, rider alerts, weatherproof build, and Bluetooth compatibility, among many other wholesome features!

The touchscreen display has excellent sensitivity options that allow you to access the screen even with your indispensable riding gloves. You can view the GPS screen under scorching sunlight as the anti-glare is bright and clear.

It alerts you in low fuel situations and suggests nearby gas stations, pit stops, and rest periods to avoid fatigue. You’re probably thinking that the Garmin Zumo 395LM cares for you more than anybody else! And well, that might as well be true!

Bluetooth compatibility allows you to connect the guide to your phone or helmet and enjoy hands-free calling and music control. So, stop worrying about interruptions during your rides! Garmin understands that some work calls can not be avoided, but it also knows that the ride brings you joy! 

The four-hour battery life is longer than what other GPS guides last for and the convenient charging options give this GPS bonus points! Compared to other Garmin GPS navigation systems, the 395LM is improved with more features and proves to be inexpensive. 

All these features are but secondary; what makes the 395LM suitable is that it is affordable and usable! Garmin ensures that all of its consumers benefit from the best navigation systems that they design. 

We strongly recommend Garmin’s Zumo 395LM because we love it. The design and functionality of this GPS guide are unmatched! Enjoy your ride with this companion! As it is not available anymore you can go with the Garmin 595LM the big brother of 395LM, which launched together back in 2016.

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