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Hand held GPS suggestions
- Thread starter Lc82
- Start date
I have only used Garmin, going on my 3rd unit since 2002,
few things to keep in mind when buying
-internal or external batteries, external AA Nimh are the way to go, its simpler to use rechargeable batteries than use bike power, some gps have been quirky when you shut off power from bike to them, in some units there is a setting that says remain ON while on external power is shut off I lost a track because of that.
-touchscreens are great BUT generally use more battery power, some have cameras , your smart phone takes better pictures IMO
-can external Micro sd MAP cards be bought like off the shelf Trackmaps type ??
- the ability to log tracks and waypoints and save them is one very interesting feature to consider, not all gps's have that ability, most mid priced units can do this but the cheaper ones have no ability to do this.
-for me the Garmin 64S has been the best bang for the buck , what I like about it is battery life is extensive, fairly user friendly if you have previously owned Garmin its somewhat intuitive, plenty of options to navigate through the menus easily, and tracks can be transferred by the proprietary Bluetooth they have to other garmin handhelds with the same feature while out in the trail.
-for pc and android map management I personally use OzyExplorer to manage my tracks and maps, but Garmin has free software called Bootcamp which is pretty good to manage your tracks , what I like less with Garmin is that it doesn't easily lend itself to png or jpeg maps like Quovadis to be easily managed and imported , but that is more my reason for using Ozi.
-expect to change gps every 3-4 years , the technology advances so fast that my 15 yr old Etrex Legend is a dinosaur by today's standards.
Have a look Trackmaps for the map for your area, and if you ever do a gps upgrade of the fw pull the map sd card I have hosed an sd card in the past.
My store of choice is gpscentral in Calgary, they are gps specialists and offer extremely competitive prices.
stu
few things to keep in mind when buying
-internal or external batteries, external AA Nimh are the way to go, its simpler to use rechargeable batteries than use bike power, some gps have been quirky when you shut off power from bike to them, in some units there is a setting that says remain ON while on external power is shut off I lost a track because of that.
-touchscreens are great BUT generally use more battery power, some have cameras , your smart phone takes better pictures IMO
-can external Micro sd MAP cards be bought like off the shelf Trackmaps type ??
- the ability to log tracks and waypoints and save them is one very interesting feature to consider, not all gps's have that ability, most mid priced units can do this but the cheaper ones have no ability to do this.
-for me the Garmin 64S has been the best bang for the buck , what I like about it is battery life is extensive, fairly user friendly if you have previously owned Garmin its somewhat intuitive, plenty of options to navigate through the menus easily, and tracks can be transferred by the proprietary Bluetooth they have to other garmin handhelds with the same feature while out in the trail.
-for pc and android map management I personally use OzyExplorer to manage my tracks and maps, but Garmin has free software called Bootcamp which is pretty good to manage your tracks , what I like less with Garmin is that it doesn't easily lend itself to png or jpeg maps like Quovadis to be easily managed and imported , but that is more my reason for using Ozi.
-expect to change gps every 3-4 years , the technology advances so fast that my 15 yr old Etrex Legend is a dinosaur by today's standards.
Have a look Trackmaps for the map for your area, and if you ever do a gps upgrade of the fw pull the map sd card I have hosed an sd card in the past.
My store of choice is gpscentral in Calgary, they are gps specialists and offer extremely competitive prices.
stu
SimonGagne
Member
Hi,
I don't much about GPS in general, but form my personal experience, I have been using the Garmin Etrex 30 for the last five years. I really like it and even used it in my car for road direction (it does both).
Pros:
Run on AA battery, so you can just carry an extra set. battery are god for a good 16-18h hour depending on how you play with it
Very sturdy, I have drop it so many time on ground and rock and still looking good
Color screen Its probably standard now, but it wasn't when I bought it
Wateproof you can drop it in a puddle and it's gonna be fine
Lots of accessories available , belt clip, case, mount, strap
Lots of maps available just check the Garmin website, you could be surprised!
Also works for on road direction
You can easily download maps for free ...yeah I know you not supposed to, but you can do it if you want,
You can usually share maps with friend that also have Garmin GPS maps are quitte expensive, depending of what you want, it could be more than the actual GPS, so if you can share, it help a little bit
Have an SD card slot
Works with google earth too see you tracks and way points,
Cons:
Screen is small , if you have reading glasses, probably better to get something bigger
Control is done by button on the side and a "nipple" on the top takes some time to get use to it but works with gloves
Price is still about 200$ I paid around 260$ 5 years ago and its not new so could be cheaper
The Garmin BaseCamp app that cames with it for maps management is crap maybe it got better but never returned to it after trying couple time the first year
Simon
I don't much about GPS in general, but form my personal experience, I have been using the Garmin Etrex 30 for the last five years. I really like it and even used it in my car for road direction (it does both).
Pros:
Run on AA battery, so you can just carry an extra set. battery are god for a good 16-18h hour depending on how you play with it
Very sturdy, I have drop it so many time on ground and rock and still looking good
Color screen Its probably standard now, but it wasn't when I bought it
Wateproof you can drop it in a puddle and it's gonna be fine
Lots of accessories available , belt clip, case, mount, strap
Lots of maps available just check the Garmin website, you could be surprised!
Also works for on road direction
You can easily download maps for free ...yeah I know you not supposed to, but you can do it if you want,
You can usually share maps with friend that also have Garmin GPS maps are quitte expensive, depending of what you want, it could be more than the actual GPS, so if you can share, it help a little bit
Have an SD card slot
Works with google earth too see you tracks and way points,
Cons:
Screen is small , if you have reading glasses, probably better to get something bigger
Control is done by button on the side and a "nipple" on the top takes some time to get use to it but works with gloves
Price is still about 200$ I paid around 260$ 5 years ago and its not new so could be cheaper
The Garmin BaseCamp app that cames with it for maps management is crap maybe it got better but never returned to it after trying couple time the first year
Simon