Which GPS - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

vind21 · 09-23-2006, 05:27 PM

Im having a hard time deciding which gps unit I want to buy.

Im stuck between an etrex venture CX or an explorist 500/600.

Im mainly going to be using the unit for night hiking and off trail backpacking. I really need a unit with decent topo maps and a nice texas basemap.

The thing is I keep hearing such diffrent things about which company has the better mapping software and which units hold signal better.

I hear magellens tech support is terrible but the people who have working units are really happy with them. Any one have any thought or personal experiance with these units?

Alchemist2000 · 09-23-2006, 10:14 PM

I don't know much about Magellan's products or their service, but I know from first hand experience that Garmin's service is fantastic. I am very happy with my older model Garmin (GPS V) that I have had for many years now. I use it heavily for off trail hiking and hence use topos. I believe it is true with units from either manufacturer that unless you have topos for some specific, specialized area (such as the topos for the National Parks) they do not have great resolution. At least for the Garmin maps, you can look at them online (www.garmin.com) and see if they meet your needs.

If you need more info, I would recommend the collection of reviews at http://gpsinformation.net/ For input from actual users of each of these models, you might try the "gps units and software" section of the forums on geocaching.com, http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showforum=11

Good luck. I have been thinking about upgrading for sometime. I will definitely get a Garmin since I already have a fortune invested in Garmin software, but I haven't convinced myself that the new features are worth the money compared to staying with what I have at the moment. I will be anxious to know what you decide to get and how you like it.

vind21 · 09-24-2006, 11:58 AM

Thanks for the info, I really like the topos, they are half the reason Im getting a gps, in most cases I wont need one but the ability to turn on back track mode and throw it in your pack and not have to worry about where you end up and how to get back is so nice I can't ignore it.

Im definatly going with a model that has removeable SD cards so I can switch my topos on the fly so that pretty much eliminated everyone but garmin :idea:

And Im being tempted by the 3 axis compass but I think thats just overkill.

Shannon · 09-24-2006, 04:47 PM

I recently upgraded to a Garmin GPSMap 60Cx. I haven't used it very much except for short walks, but we are spending this coming week at Rocky Mountain National Park (I'm posting from our cabin, in fact, in Estes Park, CO) so we'll be able to provide a good review of it upon our return. I've got it all preprogrammed with various waypoints for trailheads, our lodging, etc.

Justin and I are huge Garmin fans, owning something like 6 or 7 units due to the specialized nature of each -- we own two different Garmin units for auto use, one of which is primarily an aviation GPS which Justin uses but it doubles as a good auto navigation unit; we own various small Garmin units for bicycling (Justin's has the heart rate monitor; I have an original Forerunner and one of the newer ones, sans heart rate monitor); we have two Rino's around here somewhere (they have built-in Family Radio Frequency for walkie talkie use, and can transmit their coordinates to fellow Rino users.)

I used to own a Garmin GPSMap 76S and loved it, but had always planned to use it for cycling because I didn't like the form factor for hiking. When we got into cycling, I realized it was too cumbersome to mount on my handlebars, so I sold it for a nice sum on eBay and bought the GPSMap 60Cx. I also owned an original Garmin Streetpilot, and upgraded about a year or more ago to the color touchscreen Streetpilot (Streetpilot 2720) with text-to-speech capability. I love it, and still use it even though my new vehicle has a built-in GPS navigation system (sub-par compared to what Garmin offers; I only got it because it was a requirement to get the hybrid-specific energy management -- read: geeky info -- stuff like how the power's being distributed and my real-time miles per gallon.)

Garmin, all the way! And yes, we are stockholders. We love the products and rely on them, so buying some stock was a natural choice.

WestTexas · 09-26-2006, 02:12 PM

Hey Shannon, I've pretty much had nothing but Garmin myself for the portables (Lowrance in the bassboat!). Hiking, driving, flying.. all Garmin products. I'm currently using the Garmin eTrex Legend Cx. I like that I can actually download the super nice topos from National Geographic onto it. I actually first bring up the topo on the PC, then it's super easy to import, draw, edit, etc your routes and the drop the whole shebang (topo graphics and routes, etc) right onto it.

I've been super interested in the Rhinos. We usually each carry a 2-way radio (the little FRS units) to keep in touch if we're a larger group and get seperated. But I've been intrigued by the capability to actually see the other persons location on my handheld map.

How has your experience been with them?

Thanks in advance, WT

Cajun Camper · 09-27-2006, 02:19 PM

I purchased the Garmin eTrex Legend a year or so ago to fish off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf. I found it affordable and amazing for the water, and also driving. It has really saved me a few times.

I can't say how well this works in the parks, I didn't try it - but I will next trip to Inks Lake. For about $130, it has a great road map, is zoomable, lots of functions and features and easy to use.

http://www.garmin.com/products/etrexLegend/

Jamie

PUNCHY · 09-27-2006, 02:50 PM

Love our Garmin Rino 130's. This system has the ability to talk two-way with other rino users. You can send coordinates between the 130's and later and can even ping the other user to find there location. We keep one while the kids go out exploring and we know where they are and can also call them back for dinner. A big thing that sold me on this one vs some others was it had an electronic compass and I could hit noaa weather when hiking, fishing....... I wanted to get the 530's but decided I didnt need the color TFT

Which ever system you get buy some good topo maps and try geocaching. Geocaching besides being fun for the family will help you to become proficient in your choice of GPS system. A big thing to remember is when the batteries die you still need to get back so always have a compass handy.

WestTexas · 09-28-2006, 07:55 AM

Ok... I know what I'm about to say may seem like heresy, but here goes...

Do I have a compass? yeah, it's somewhere in my pack, I think.

But my eTrex Legend C uses 2 AA batteries. And let's see... I have a $10 jumbo pack of AAs from Wally World as well.

Oh yeah....ever since I bought the eTrex Legend C, I still throw my original eTrex Legend in the pack as well.

Oh yeah, my hiking partner has his GPS too.

The one thing that years and years of flying taught me was to as much redundancy as possible.

Certainly there's the cost factor, but more batteries and second "el-cheapo" GPS is pretty much in anyone's reach.

I'm old and I've done it both ways long enough (compass and GPS) to convince me I'd rather have another pound of extra batteries and a second GPS than to slog it out with a compass.

WT

Cajun Camper · 09-28-2006, 09:01 AM

I thought we were supposed to carry a straight pin, and when we got lost rub it on a rock to magnetize it. Then we carefully place it on the surface of a cup of water and watch it point north as a compass.

Isn't that what everyone does?

(hee he hee)

PUNCHY · 09-28-2006, 10:41 AM

GOOD POINT! I forgot I can afford an extra brick of batteries, but old habits you know. Several schools Ive attended in the past required proficiency in the compass and map reading.

WestTexas · 09-29-2006, 08:39 AM

Having a good map (one where you can determine lat-long on it), with waypoints marked, is a must.

I pretty much develop my own custom set of maps on my PC, using a combination of National Geographic's Topo maps and my mapping software (MapSource) for my Garmins. This lets me incorporate all kinds of things like a hybrid street / topo map, mark up the trails, etc.

Over the last year, I've been buying National Geographics waterproof map paper. It's incredible. The maps I print out are pretty much tear proof and water proof.

WT

PaulR · 10-24-2006, 11:41 AM

Do you print from an ink-jet or laser? The only color printer I have access to is injet, and knowing how it smudges and runs, I'd be hesitant to use that, regardless of paper quality.

Shannon · 10-24-2006, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulR

Do you print from an ink-jet or laser? The only color printer I have access to is injet, and knowing how it smudges and runs, I'd be hesitant to use that, regardless of paper quality.

You shouldn't be getting smudged or runny prints on your inkjet. Make sure you use the proper paper for your printer (papers labelled "Inkjet" for inkjets, and "Laser" for laser printers) and use a high quality paper for printouts that you want to last. Up until the past 9 months or so, we even printed our business cards on our personal inkjet printer (using Avery business card paper) and those looked and held up terrific! They even make transparency 'paper' (actually sheets of transparent plastic) for inkjet printers and I've used those without any running or smearing. You have to use the correct side of the paper, if there is one. Many of the bright white papers have a duller side, and that's not the side you want to print on, for example.

Shannon · 10-24-2006, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WestTexas

I've been super interested in the Rhinos. We usually each carry a 2-way radio (the little FRS units) to keep in touch if we're a larger group and get seperated. But I've been intrigued by the capability to actually see the other persons location on my handheld map.

How has your experience been with them?

Thanks in advance, WT

Ours are the original Rinos, the Rino 110, so they're fairly old. We occasionally still use them when geocaching or visiting a park with my eldest niece and nephew (they have their own Rino 110s). It is indeed handy to see their present positions plotted on our Rino units, especially when geocaching (when everyone sometimes ends up out of sight of one another briefly).

The Rino units, like all of Garmin's product line, are built solid and function as desired. I was not a huge fan of the user interface on the Rino 110, and I'm not sure in what ways it has changed on the newer Rino units. I'm sure it has improved, just as the newer incarnations of some other Garmin units I've used (Streetpilot, GPSMap, etc.) have improved over the years.

PaulR · 10-24-2006, 11:58 AM

Thanks Shannon.

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