I know this has probably been beat to death but I can't find any info in the search engine here. I'm looking for a hand held gps that I can download maps from trail systems that have it available, map where I've gone so I can backtrack if need be. able to mount to my handle bars and use in my truck as well for the road. What are you guys using and what do you think.

 

I personally find the purchase of a gps is kind of a waste of money (depending on your cell service you have) my phone being an android has all the GPS features that I need (directions, breadcrumbs, route planning etc..) I can use in my vehicle or on my quad (just need to be cautious of rain, mud, water puddles etc I put it in a ziplock bag when on my quad) just a thought why spend 100 or more when I have it all on my phone

 

Readymixer69 I am not aware of any handhelds that can easily be used in your vehicle. I use a Garmin Venture HC and have been very happy with it. I use it to track all of our rides, can leave a bread crumb trail, can find my location on a map based on the shape of the bread crumb trail, etc and usually load our rides in Google Earth. In Google Earth you can use your tracks to create maps and/or just look at the terrain you have ridden. When it comes to using this in a vehicle, it only shows the major highways and cannot be used to put an address in and get directions. I believe some of the more high dollar GPS are more compatible for both uses, but not sure you will find a handheld that will do this.

Irinman....the reasons you mentioned make me think spending $100 on a gps is a cheap solution. When I ride, I look for every bit of water I can find and ruining a $200 iPhone is expensive compared to having a $100 gps that is water proof and can stand up to the elements and conditions of riding. The bigger issue with using a cell phone when riding is the weakness of the gps signal. I am from Springfield, OH but we commonly ride in west Virginia. I am yet to find a place where my gps will not pick up a signal, but my phones gps is weak and doesnt hold up in the heavily wooded areas out in no mans land. The thing with a gps is that when you need it, you need it and having it loose a signal can actually be dangerous depending where you are riding.

 

I agree. with my phone when we went to wayne I had 0 signal for phone but the sat signal for the gps worked even with no signal. I have an ATT Atrix 2 my brother in law has an ATT phone that wouldnt do anything and a buddy has verizon and couldnt do anything but my phone I went in and changed the settings to use the GPS signal and it worked fine in wayne anyways. I got there on a Thurs night and went on a ride by myself not knowing the trails and with my phone I was able to get back (at that time I did not have the breadcrumb application) just looked at the map in navigation and found my way back it would have been a long night if I didnt figure out how to turn off the cell tower and change to GPS

 

Garmin Dakota 20 works great for riding and for hunting for me. However, I bet you can get a nicer and bigger Oregon for cheap now...check out the gpsstore

 

I use a Garmin Nuvi 500. I mount it to the handlebars with RAM mounts. Leaves a trail you can follow back, can be used for street directions, has topographic maps, and is waterproof and dustproof. It comes in real handy if you are late getting back to the truck. Had one ride where we spent the last 3 hours in pitch black. It really does (obviously, I suppose) change how you see the trails and connectors. Having the GPS zoomed in to see if I had just gone by a connector that I needed to take was a blessing. Probably saved us a couple hours of backtracking.

Just don't get the software and map updates if you buy it. It will make it so the Topo maps and street maps don't work together so well.

 

Thanks for the input guys. I was at a Dicks sporting goods picking up ammo and noticed they had the garmin venture HC with topo/streetmaps software on clearance for $120 in order to make way for the latest and greatest. I figure for the price it'll work out great. I have a regular gps if need be for the road trips.