THSCC Forums

Hey Guys and Gals,

I'm looking for a recommendation on a GPS unit. I want one of the smaller handheld units like is used for hiking- not a larger box that is designed for automobile use only. I've considered so far the Garmin Etrax Vista and maybe the iPAQ Garmin unit, which is a GPS built into a Palm. Their are real pros and cons to the latter. It must be rugged and able to withstand at least a little abuse. I've read that some of them actually float! (But I'd hate to try it with mine.)

I plan to use it for field work, as well as street navigation. I will get one with the WAAS support and 12 channels. Long battery life and a waterproof case are helpful. Turn by turn directions are nice too.

What have you used and what do you like or not like? How do you use yours? Did you have to buy more maps for yours to make it useful? Just curious.


Miles

Miles,

I would suggest any of the Garmin units. Garmin also make the best aviation and military units so you know the technology is top notch. Also I have played around eith the Garmin Street III and foudn it easy to use.

Miles,

I don't have much experience with these, but I did buy one of the Garmin eTrex models ("Legend" version I think) for my parents about a year ago. Played some with it and found it to be a cool toy. One thing I noted (and this is probably an issue with most any models with small antennas) is that if you plan to walk and store tracking data at the same time that your body (and other stuff) can block the view of the sky and sats. Not sure if this matters to you or not. I think some serious people use external antennas or carry the unit on their upper body while they walk.

I also had purchased the Garmin topo maps/software for them. The maps that come with the unit I had was just basic stuff that would not work well for hiking. I was amazed at how many topo maps that I could load into the memory. Just about an entire state's worth. I ended up loading theirs up with most of the mountains of WV and VA (they live in WV).

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