After doing hours of research for a dash mount for my Garmin Nuvi 205w, I decided to give this one a try, and so glad that I did. I looked at the bean bag one and this one, and really wanted a smaller footprint and less bulky mount to put up on my dash. I was concerned about this mount and it rolling, flipping, or tumbling off the dash. To my surprise and delight it never moved !! I have tried it in both of our cars, even used it in the van for our vacation. Fits all three and sits there holding it's position. Some have made notes about a residue that is left behind, I experienced this in 2 of our vehicles, but when I cleaned the car and wiped the dash down, the `residue' was gone. Most likely from the silicone bottom on the mount that holds it in place. Love the flexibility and the fact that you can bent this mount to contour to your dash, and then the swivel mount allows you to adjust the Garmin to see it at any angle. Mounted in my car I took a few corners hard to try and tumble the mount w/ the Garmin, but no luck, it just sat there telling me where to go "literally". Granted I am sure you can tumble it of the dash if you hit a hard core bump or drive erratically, but everyday driving & circumstances it does it's job. If the bottom silicone gets icky from lint, dirt, debris, all you have to do is wipe it down with a cloth and good as new !!
Love the look, the small foot print, and the flexibility. I would recommend this mount to anyone that is looking for a more stylish, but completely functional dash mount, that can go with you most anywhere and in any vehicle.
Loving my Garmin Mount & Garmin Nuvi 205W... Garmin Portable Friction Dashboard Mount
I already have the "bean bag" mount and was glad to see this new, updated design, so I ordered. It does look more "factory". Was unpleasantly surprised when it arrived. The main upper portion is a pliable plastic that molds to the contours of your dash. The bottom, though, is a strange feeling silicone, that leaves your fingers feeling like you just handled a silicone spray or lubricant. Right on the packaging, but hidden from view until you remove the mount, is a message about cleaning residue left behind on your dash. Indeed, it even left an imprint mark on my kitchen counter while I was reading the packaging! Who wants to clean up a silicone stain every time you use it. I've already sent it back and will stick with the bean bag.
Got it to replace the Garmin bean bag friction mount. The base of this unit allows twisting to conform to the curves and contour of the dash.
This base will not move on the dash as it has a "sticky" base, however, the base and the mounted GPS toppled and rolled off my dash and landed on the front passenger seat when I cornered at moderate speed.
So while it won't slide, it can fly!
I was skeptical about buying this product at first. When I got it I was even more doubtful that it would work well since it was so light weight and small. How could this stay in place? Boy was I wrong. The rubber has a piece of metal in it so you can mold it to the dash board. The backing is just like one of those rubber lint rollers with a tacky side. I took really hard turns on exit ramps and it did not fall over. It holds in place solid. I did get a residual wet mark on the dash board kind of like when you use armour all and do not blend it in well. It does just wipe off with the palm of your hand though. I would recommend placing it in a zip lock bag or something when you take it down so it does not collect junk from under the seat. Clean up is easy with just soapy water and let air dry when too much dust accumulates. This is better than the bean bag.
I would also like to add that the reviewers saying this product falls off their dash is most likely because they do not clean their dashboard. Just like a lint brush, you must remove the lint for it to work!
I almost returned this item as I thought it was too unstable with my Nuvi 255WT. While driving on normal roads, I noticed the GPS was shaking to the point that navigating with it became downright annoying. I found the problem to be the rear of the flexible/sticky base where the mounting arm is attached. While the front of the base stayed firmly in place, the rear could twist up slightly from side to side resulting in the GPS shake I was experiencing. I believe this is because the rear of the base is more narrow than the front and therefore not as stable. For comparison, I switched back to my old Garmin sandbag mount and there was absolutely no shaking with that one. But, I really liked the looks, lower profile and better non-slip design of the friction mount and decided to work with it a bit more. Fortunately, I found that I could eliminate the shaking by pressing one/both bottom corners of the GPS unit into contact with the rubber base. This worked perfectly and with the shaking gone, and that sticky base stuck to the dash, my GPS has never felt more secure (better than the sandbag). I would definitely recommend this mount to others and if you experience the shaking problem, just try the tip I mentioned above.
Until I purchased this mount I only used the Garmin on road trips, now I used it almost all the time. It is almost like having a built in GPS. It sits on top of the dashboard, you just place where you want it and it stays, no suction cup needed. When you leave the car just place it on the floor out of sight with the GPS in place. I can program it while holding it close instead of reaching over the dashboard to the GPS mounted on the windshield. If you have a portable Garmin GPS this is the way to go.
This is a road warrior's dream. Garmin thought through the movable dash mount very carefully with this product.
I've travelled (airplanes to rental cars) for a few years with the Garmin bean bag mount Garmin Portable Friction Mount [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]. It's kind of a pain in the neck, you have to remove the arm completely, find a place to store that, and then find a place where that bean bag won't get all bent up. When you arrive, assemble all that junk and toss it on the dash.
This mount is simplicity and designed around tossing it in a carryon bag. The rubber / silicone base is about the diameter of a CD with an extesion about 1/2 that size. So it's compact. The arm for mounting the GPS folds almost completely flat. So the whole thing transports very easily.
Mounted on the dash, simply bend the pliable rubber base to conform to the dash, flip the arm up, snap in your GPS, and you're good to go. This thing holds the dash as well as the beanbags. No the GPS doesn't fly all over any more than it does with the beanbag.
And the base is some kind of strange material like a post it note. It does feel weird and smells odd the first few days. Any residue - no not happening. It sits on a Mercedes dash with no fear that it will ruin my dash.
This is a much more portable and solid version of a removable dash mount, than the beanbags. The pictures don't do it justice. - Gps Mount - Garmin Nuvi - Nuvi Dashboard Mount - Friction Mount'
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