Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Anyone have/use a handheld GPS receiver?

I'm thinking of purchasing one of these little doo-dads, as I do a fair amount of travelling/outdoor recreation/hiking/canoeing.

Anyone have any brands (Magellan, Garmin, Lowrance) that they would recommend? Any particular models by these brands? Any types that you would say are NOT recommended?

I think my budget is centered somewhere around the $225 mark..so figure a few bucks in either direction.

Thanks a lot in advance.

I used to have an old Magellan a few years back that I liked.

If you do get one, The funnest thing you can do with it is GEOCACHING!!!!

http://www.geocaching.com/

I have the Garmin eTrex . I use it almost exclusively when I ride my 4-wheelers so that I know how to get back to camp or the truck. I absolutely love the Route feature which leaves an electronic breabcrumb trail of where I was and how I got there. I first bought a low end Magellen, but I didn't want to think too hard and rely of marking waypoints and using a compass. So I returned it after some research about the eTrex line.

I didn't need it for any kind of any road maps or travel by car which is what the more expensive ones add feature-wise. I just need to know where I've been, where my campsite is, and how I need to get back there and the routes on eTrex were the easiest for me to use and understand. If I wer eso inclined, I cold use it more typically with a compass and mark more waypoints, but it serves my simple purpose.

On Garmin's site there is a handy product comparison. If I were to buy another one today, I'd get the Venture, though. About $150 from Amazon and $45 more than mine, but the WAAS, higher resolution LCD, and click stick thing would be of value to me. The only real greif I have with mine is that it doesn't allow scrolling in the map mode. I can zoom in and out, but when I zoom in, I cannot scroll to get some details.

I also have a 12V DC adapter that I have wired into my 4-wheeler and a handlebar mount.

www.garmin.com has a lot of information about GPS's in general, as well as detailed information on their products (even users manuals).

Aaron

I say go Garmin! I think they are far superior then any other brand. My Garmin is great, its got plenty of memory and way points for everything I want to do. I love it. If you research it most people will also tell you to go with Garmin, read reviews on TechTV's site and such, theyve tested them all. Software is kinda expensive and the maps are a little outdated, but at least you can get some unlike a lot of other GPS recievers. Shop around, go to some recreational stores and talk to a salesman, hell tell you everything you wanted to know, and probably more. I left there pretty confused, but after playing around with it for a couple hours I had the whole thing figured out. Ill never get lost again.

Bingo with the Garmin Etrex. I've got the Etrex Vista and took it with me to Costa Rica this last February. It performed like a champ and kept us on track even through some jungle romps and 4x4 rides up mountain roads in the Arenal region that were flat out insane. I even did some readings out on our fishing trip, just to play with it's offshore capabilities. Lots of fun!

I've got all my waypoints from that trip, as well as a running long on elevations, speed, etc. download on my laptop. There's a lot of neat things you can do with one, but honestly, I could have gotten by with a cheaper model and been just as happy. I got mine for right around $350, but you might be able to find them cheaper. I have a friend that has an Etrex Summitt, which can be had for $250. It's pretty much the same unit, just without all of the extra bells and whistles that you most likely wouldn't use anyway. His was the one that turned me on the the Garmin units in the first place.

I rely on a Grmin E-Trex to get me and my freshly killed stuff out of the north woods of Michigan and on kayak trips in the Great Lakes. The accuracy is sometimes scary (scary good; as in I'm thinking no way is the truck this way and then bingo, there it is). Learning to trust it is cool. I would do some research before buying another E-Trex though. Mine is the base model when they first came out. Water resistant was key for me and at that time the GPS48 was overkill for my needs. I also have the CD topo software from garmin and can plan & download to the GPS. A great feature.

Go Garmin.

Mark

That's funny. I just read about this yesterday! I'm going to be going on a search tomorrow with some co-workers!

go for the garmin, my dad has one, and he loves it, incredibly reliable, easy to use, and accurate