what is a good GPS unit here?

[aic]

and here



here

 

[aic]

bump for the night shift

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

It all depends on application. I have a Bluetooth GPS I use with my PDA, and that is perfect for me. Better maps than any dedicated GPS unit. Unless put in a Rhino box or some such thing, it would be a poor choice for backpacking.

How will you use it?

 

[aic]

first time GPS. Use for driving and camping. Have a $50 gift certificate at cabela's.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

The Lowrance looks like a good bargain, however note it is not waterproof.

Any of the eTrex series are pretty good. I think color is nice, but not nearly worth the price.

WAAS sounds good in theory, but in practice it's not at all useful on the road, and marginally so in the field.

Get one with a display that looks good. Tiny sucks. I like the Vista, but it all depends on what works for you. One thing to be mindful of is the base maps aren't extremely detailed. You can order software for it, but the memory is exceedingly low. I have Navteq software for my PDA, and it has all of NY,VT, ME, NH and MA installed. THat's 140 mb in maps. Not going to get that into any dedicated GPS.

This is really apples and oranges, but I mention it just so you know the limitations of these devices. As far as roaming in the wilderness, they are great. Any will get you from point A to B and back. You don't really need a map if you have coordinates. YOu just plug those in.

Have fun. PS, check out geocaching. It's pretty fun.

 

[LostWanderer]

I actually have the Lowrance IFinder. Great little unit at a killer price, but a little off mainstream. It comes with a decent basemap, signal reception is very good, and best of all it has a slot for an SD card which virtually noone else has. This means you can basically store more waypoints than you'll ever need to worry about. SD cards are supposed to be handy for the basemaps too, but I don't use anything other than the standard which is usually good enough for driving around and stuff.

If you want to ensure the maximum capatibility potential go with a Garmin unit, if you want bang for the buck, IMHO you can't beat the Lowrance. As a general rule, I've found the mapping software on all of them incredibly dissapointing. Unless you go with a PDA/Laptop solution an something like Microsoft Streets and Trips, you're going to be stuck with the basic mapping that comes with the unit or paying $100+ for a little more detail.

Oh - Check out GPS Discount for pricing, they usually do pretty good and give you T-shirts and stuff. Also might take a look at GroundSpeak's Forums on GeoCaching where they have some good input from other users.

If you want more info, feel free to PM me... Good luck!

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: Hayabusa Rider
The Lowrance looks like a good bargain, however note it is not waterproof.

Any of the eTrex series are pretty good. I think color is nice, but not nearly worth the price.

WAAS sounds good in theory, but in practice it's not at all useful on the road, and marginally so in the field.

Get one with a display that looks good. Tiny sucks. I like the Vista, but it all depends on what works for you. One thing to be mindful of is the base maps aren't extremely detailed. You can order software for it, but the memory is exceedingly low. I have Navteq software for my PDA, and it has all of NY,VT, ME, NH and MA installed. THat's 140 mb in maps. Not going to get that into any dedicated GPS.

This is really apples and oranges, but I mention it just so you know the limitations of these devices. As far as roaming in the wilderness, they are great. Any will get you from point A to B and back. You don't really need a map if you have coordinates. YOu just plug those in.

Have fun. PS, check out geocaching. It's pretty fun.

Errr no. WAAS is amazing, in the field and on the road.

Do NOT buy anything but a Garmin or Magellan. Buying a Lowrance would be equivalent to buying a Daewoo.

There are two options as far as I'm concerned: Garmin Etrex Vista or Magellan Sportrak (Color).

Sportrak Color with case and topo software.