GPS questions - Looking for something to track my hiking

[RaiderJ]

I'm pretty green when it comes to GPS stuff - but I'm looking for a basic unit to take hiking that will track how far I've gone over a period of time, mostly to check my distance and average speed. The ability to download data and plug into Google Earth or something would be a huge plus.

Anyone have recommendations on this?

 

[IronWing]

Garmin GPSMAP 76CSX (or GPSMAP 60 SCX, same features, different form factor) if you can afford it.
Garmin GPSMAP 76S if you can't.

 

[Stiganator]

Hey RaiderJ,

I have a Garmin Vista HCx. I really like it. Its color, finds sats in about 10 secs. Has the SIRF III chipset. Put in a 2 gig card and I bet you could hold most if not all of Alaska. I have all of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois from Topo 2008. Topo 2008 has elevation data, streets, parks, lakes, and the Vista HCx has a compass and elevation meter, neither are super accurate, but they work well enough. It takes a little bit to get used to the control, but I am used to it now. Splurge on the Lithium AA batteries, they last a really really long time.

 

[GRIFFIN1]

Pretty much any Garmin will do what you want. None of them are worth what they cost.

 

[Stiganator]

I got mine for cheap. Gander Mountain price matches if you bring in a print out. You could photochop it if you want to be underhanded .

 

[ScoobMaster]

If you don't want to pay "top dollar" and are like me in the "give me more bang for my buck" philosophy, take a look at the

Lowrance iFinder Expedition C

If you buy it in the "plus" bundle pack, it comes with the "mapcreate" mapping software (Garmin's mapping software, while excellent, costs a small fortune)

 

[RaiderJ]

Yeah, I'm not looking for anything special. Just something to track my distance. Altitude is important since I'm going up and down ~3,000' in elevation. A memory card slot would be nice so I don't have to fiddle with cables.