Handheld GPS units looking for recommendations

Mike Repp

Mike Repp

Well-known member
Well its time, I have to buy a new handheld GPS. I have had a Garman 12 for about 15 years has been working perfectly and i love it. Unfortunately someone stole it out of my boat. So i am looking for a new one. I am thinking of getting the Etrex Venture HC, waterproof and has storage capacity for maps. Any thoughts? What are others using?

What really kills me is that every spot I have ever had a tree stand or duck blind were on my old unit and its now gone. I even had waypoints from europe in that Garman, Neushawnstien castle (sp), parts of Rome, Zurich, Munich etc. Ticks me off that I just had gone in to pay for gas and came out and it was gone. My own fault this is the one and only time I never removed it from the boat at the launch.
 
Had a 12 and sold it, then used my Astro 220 until I sold that, now using the Rhino 530 Radio/GPS. So far, so good. It's really nice having the radio option even if it's not VHF.
 
I have Garmin's Vista HCx and like it very much. You can save your waypoints to another device to avoid losing them.

Jeff Churan
 
Jeff thats really handy to be able to save the waypoints. Do you save them to a computer or SD card or both?
 
We are using Garmin 76 & 78's at work.
They use the Garmin Mapsource and a USB cable to hook up to the Laptop.
That lets you download your waypoints or upload new ones.
Pretty cool stuff.
West Marine has 76's on sale for around $180.00 since they are a discontinued model. The 78 replaced them.
 
I have several SD cards with different base maps on them...i.e. Topo USA, Topo Canada, etc. When new waypoints are established, they go directly to the SD card that is in the GPS unit at the time. By means of a USB cord, I always transfer from the SD card in the device to the hard drive on my computer. Folks who know me will wonder if my grandson really does all this, and the answer is "yes."
 
I just put a Garmin 76CX on order. Price was decent, but I think for marine use I'll probably have to buy the garmin blue chart to get the best detail and chart soundings. $225 for the gps and $180 for the northeast blue chart...damn.
 
thanks a lot guys i appreciate the input. Looks like I need to go and look at a few different models and see them first hand. definitely want handheld, waterproof is really nice and having maps is a plus.
 
After using the 76s & 78s at work, if I had the need and the $$, I would buy one.
 
In the higher price range, I really like my Delorme PN 40. It comes with a very functional mapping software, and for about $25 a year you can download unlimited imagery from Delorme's website. This provides USGS topo maps; NOAA coast and harbor charts; color and B+W aerial photos; and satellite images. I can't speak for the coverage outside of New England, but it is comprehensivefor my area, and they have recently added images for much of Canada as well.

It also comes with a medium resolution set of topo maps, but I rarely use them, preferring what I can download.

A really neat feature is the ability to store maps and images on an SD card or internal memory, then switch views in the field.

I've used it a bunch this summer accessing remote trout ponds, and the ability to switch between the USGS topo map with high resolution contour lines and a recent aerial photo that shows current location of logging roads, skid trails, and beaver flowages is really useful.

Duck hunting, I like being able to switch between the NOAA chart and a color aerial.

All of the images on a computer screen are also super useful for planning scouting trips, and have led me to some spots I might not have found otherwise.

You can also download waypoints and tracks, and even use the software to convert tracks to trails or roads on your computer based maps, which can be downloaded back to the machine.

If I were buying today, I would upgrade to the PN 60, which has faster processing, much more internal memory for storing maps and images, and is said to be much better on battery life. The one complaint I have with the PN 40 is short battery life. I think the PN 60 is about $50 more.
 
I have a Garmin Dakota. It was inexpensive but has worked well.
It is nice and small.
The touch screen took a little getting used to.
It is a little difficult to see in bright sunlight.
Battery life is not that great.
 
I'vehad 3 Magellans and like them all. currently using the Triton 400. You can upload all kinds of neat gee whiz stuff into it including tidal info.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top