I am in the market for a new GPS unit to be used when hunting/camping/fishing/etc. I haven't bought a GPS in about 5 years so I am sure there is lots of new technology/models available. Cost is not a major concern as I believe in buying the best equipment possible for long term use so something with a good warranty and reputation would be good. Also needs to be able to load TOPO maps. Are there other features you guys have found to be desirable? Any info/suggestions along with specific model recommendations appreciated. Thanks in advance.

bulldog, I have a Garmin E-trex Vista and I like it real well. It replaced a Magellan 315 which did all I needed it to but the Garmin is a far superior unit and it is topo capable. There are about a million to choose from so I guess you'll need to read some reviews and go from there. Jim

Bulldog, I don't know if you have a Walmart close by, but they often times have pretty good selections of GPS available at ranges from very basic, to very good. You can also get factory refurbished units for 1/2 price at some places.

mike

I have an E-Trex Vista which would shut off after 1 1/2 hours. I loaded the software update which solved the problem.

Just be sure to get one with an electronic digital compass. The lower end Garmin's (like the 110) do not have a digital compass and only show your accurate directional readings if you are moving. If you are walking North and stop do a 180 and stand still, the non electronic compass will still show North even though you're facing South. It won't show a southerly heading until you've been walking in the new direction awhile... very disconcerting. That said, I always carry a magnetic lensatic compass as a primary and a plastic silva magnetic compass as a backup.

I also have a Garmin that is maybe 10 years old, works OK, but I want to upgrade, I am looking at a Magellan Sportrak Map, several of the guys I hunt with have them and have had good experiences with them.

You really need to look at the Magellan eXplorist 400. For $275 you can get the unit, MapSend TOPO USA 3D and a 128 MB data card. It will use data cards as large as 2GB. You could get the entire continental US on that. Also will use MapSend Direct Route North America for automotive routing.

http://www.thegpsstore.com/Detail-Magellan-explorist-400.asp

I just went through tis myself. Checked on all the forums I could find, read articles, reviews etc.
Right now it appears that the Garmin 60cx, or 60sx are the two most favorite. From what I have read they are quick to lock on to satellites and work well under canopy. Working under canopy is important to me here in Pa.
That said, I opted to go with the Lowrance ifinder Expedition C+ which came with topo map software and cables etc. From what I read it appeared to work as well as the above mentioned Garmin for $100+ cheaper. It has 16 channels, takes standard SD memory (Garmin uses a non-standard smaller size), and has all the other bells and whistles. Lowrance is not as well known for their hand held GPS units and I think they are looking to buy a little market share. The cheapest price I found for the Garmin 60cx surfing around the net was $419.00 then you had to buy the topo software.
Check both out, read their specs. and see what you can find on the Geo forums.
Good luck

ou really need to look at the Magellan eXplorist 400. For $275 you can get the unit, MapSend TOPO USA 3D and a 128 MB data card. It will use data cards as large as 2GB. You could get the entire continental US on that. Also will use MapSend Direct Route North America for automotive routing.


One of my friends had the topo software for this so I am saving the money needed to buy it.

Thanks everyone for all the help. Will look into those that were mentioned.

Anyone know of a good GPS buyers guide?

Anyone have any experience with the Garmin GPSMAP 76CSx?

Cabelas advertizes one called a Rhino. Radio and gps combined. It also has a feature that looks great to me. It has maps in it that show terrain contour lines and lakes and roads. It also will program with your hunting partner's rhinos. If you want to find your buddy and you are in a helluva place, your rhino will radio his gps and it will check it's location and radio it's coordinates to you. He shows up on your map in your gps. You always can find your pals. This would have been nice last year in the shadow of the Tetons. My buddy called me on the radio at last light on the last night of the hunt, telling me he had an elk down. He was not on a place that was on my map. He was about 3 miles in on some plateau some where. I had to go in in the dark and find him. Wind howling and it about 10 degrees and help him pack it out in grizz country. It would have been damn nice to have known just where he was. The rhino might be worth a look.

I've got 6 GPSs! I have a Rino 120. It's a good GPS. I put it in my shirt pocket and it will track you whereever. The mapping feature is limited by lack of internal space. If you buy one, you might as well buy two. The "find your buddy" feature only works if the buddy has one also.
The one I use in my plane is a Garmin III plus. Its a little bigger so has more internal space for terrain maps. I took it to Africa and it worked great.
The Lowrance is a good unit and more user friendly than the Garmins. Cheaper also.

try the garmin 60 its a great littl unit....the one thing i really like about it is the battery life is 28 hrs!!
GPS CITY has a good range and prices are good
daniel

The Rino 530 says it comes with a mini USB and 56 mb of internal storage. Whats the deal with the mini USB? Is it always a part of the unit and how much memory does it have? Seems like very little memory if the USB isn't somewhat large and integral with the unit. Also don't really like the fact that it uses "Rechargeable lithium-ion battery for up to 16 hours of outdoor use" can you buy extra batteries or is it once te batt is out you are screwed?

I own an etrex vista with the topo maps. It is a great GPS and I know several other people with the same setup, thats nice so you can use someone elses if you had to. My only gripe is I think a color screen would be easier to read with the topo maps.

quote:

Originally posted by mousegun:
My only gripe is I think a color screen would be easier to read with the topo maps.

Sounds like you need to trade your Vista in and buy a Vista-C. It has a color screen and is much easier to see. Jim

quote:

Originally posted by bulldog563:
Are there other features you guys have found to be desirable?

In North America, a WAAS enabled GPS will give you MUCH greater accuracy than a standard GPS.
I think it's a good feature to have.

WAAS enabled GPS

From what I gather here, most of them are North America oriented? What do you do when you travel to other countries and want to plot way points, etc.?

quote:

In North America, a WAAS enabled GPS will give you MUCH greater accuracy than a standard GPS.
I think it's a good feature to have.

WAAS enabled GPS

The Vista is WAAS enabled. Be sure to turn it off if you are just tracking through the woods. It will chew up your batteries. The Garmin Mapsource software is nice to get you to your hunting destination too.

quote:

Originally posted by gotogirl3:
From what I gather here, most of them are North America oriented? What do you do when you travel to other countries and want to plot way points, etc.?

goto, most (if not all) GPS receivers can be programmed to (or automaticaly) look for the satellites in their area.

quote:

The Vista is WAAS enabled. Be sure to turn it off if you are just tracking through the woods. It will chew up your batteries.

Good point, Comet! If you don't need the WAAS feature on your GPS...... turn it off!

quote:

Originally posted by gotogirl3:
From what I gather here, most of them are North America oriented? What do you do when you travel to other countries and want to plot way points, etc.?

The biggest thing in being NA oriented is getting maps. I have a couple of rinos. I can get road maps of other places in the world, but topos are harder to come by.

I've used my rinos in Asia and Africa. They work just fine. It just takes more time to acquire satellites the first time after traveling a fair distance. That's because it's looking for the satellite constellation of the last point it was at. This search can be sped up by letting it know it's new, general, location. Like northern Zimbabwe or Hong Kong.

Plotting points, routes, tracking works fine overseas. They've gotten me back to my hotel a couple of times.

-Steve

quote:

Originally posted by gotogirl3:
From what I gather here, most of them are North America oriented? What do you do when you travel to other countries and want to plot way points, etc.?

Most of the US sold GPS units have "corse" North American Maps in the firm ware. This will not affct how the GPS works in countries off the continent. Mine has worked well in Central America and Europe.

quote:

Originally posted by bulldog563:


Anyone have any experience with the Garmin GPSMAP 76CSx?

Bulldog,

Of the various GPS units I have, I mainly use my Garmins 60CS (which they now have upgraded to the 60CSx). I chose this over the 76 type as I found the 60 type a little more handy. For my hands at least. Try them both out, getting a feel for the button placement before you decide which to buy. Some like the buttons on the top like the 76's have, and some prefer them at the bottom like the 60's have.

Either way, Garmin makes the most user friendly GPS's on the market IMO.

If you move during low light/night time light conditions, an on/off illumination feature for screen and controls is desirable.

FWIW
Over here in the "sandbox' the unit of choice, even over the issued one, is either the Garmin 120 or 130. My guys all have the 120 and it has proven itself more than once. I'm sure there are others just as good but the placement feature on each unit can be invaluable at times.

SFC E7

Go Garmin. Love mine!!

P.S. Magellan is a french-owned company.

27.1 percent of the Thales Group is owned by the French government. Alcatel SA, a global company, headquartered in France, provides hardware, software and services to telecommunications service providers and enterprises and owns 21.6 percent of the Thales Group. The Dassault Group, a French company mostly involved in aviation and electronics, owns 5 percent of the Thales Group. The Thales Group is ranked as the 485th largest company by Fortune 500 Global and is the 9th largest defense contractor in the world. The Thales Group has operations in more than 50 countries and 65,000 employees, and generated 11.1 billion euros in revenues in 2002, 10.5 billion euros in 2005.

Magellan is no longer owned by French interests as recently it was purchased from the Thales Group by Shah Capital Partners to form Magellan Navigation, Inc. So Magellan is US owned, not French. http://www.shahcap.com/index.html Magellan Navigation, Inc. will retain the current senior management. Magellan Navigation, Inc. will employ 600 employees, with 300 at the headquarters site in San Dimas, California, and 300 at sites in Europe and Russia.

Garmin Ltd. was incorporated in George Town, Cayman Islands in 1989.

I bought the Lowrance Expedition C for $215. Has all the bells and gadgets and is HQ in Tulsa, OK

I also wanted to add that ,among the major electronic manufactures, garmin has a sterling reputation for fine customer service. Having sold electronic for the past 4 years, I have found Garmin to have the wonderful combination of superior products and customer service. I personally own an Etrex LegendC and it is very effective even under thick canopy, as long as it isnt raining. A gps + a good topomap make wonderful hunting tools.

I just brought myself a Garmin GPSMap 60 CSX, my intention for use is hunting, as I can buy topographical maps for both North & South Islands of New Zealand to be used in conjunction with a good topographical map, as well as the bluechart maps for NZ coastline.

These particular units are the standard issue to New Zealand Search and Rescue teams, not only for their very good mapping features, but mainly due to the fact they can be used under thick bush cover, something that made me choose this over say the Garmin Etrex.