I'm looking to pick up a GPS unit. I see that there is a wide range of
bells and whistles, not to mention price. I would like one thats somewhat easy
to use that will get me from point A to point B and back.
Any suggestions would be a big help!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Thanks, Jim

 

I have a garmin eTrex. We always had Garmin back when we had a boat, so I trusted them. The eTrex is less than 100 bux and will get you there, back, and somewhere else. The trackback feature is very useful, it automatically records where you drive, so you just hit a button and it will guide you back the way you came, rather than just point you in the exact location that your destination is (so you can follow the trails back and not guess if they will get you in the right direction).

I had one problem with it turning off every once in a while, about 2 years after the warrantee ended. I sent it in and they overnighted me a new one a few days later; they even copied all my data to the new unit. No charge for any of that, even though they felt that I was using bad batteries, they replaced it without any more questions.

 

stick with garmin.

the etrex is the most cost effective one I have found.

 

I used to have an etrex vista, and I did like it. I recently upgraded to a Garmin GPSMap 60C. The color is more of a luxury then a necessity, but it makes the terrain much easier to read. Also, if you get the City Sellect Software, you can use it to give you directions around town. This is crazy fun. I'll never use mapquest again! It will tell you where the nearest chipotle is... now that's a useful too [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].

The real benefits to the 60c over the vista that I noticed immediately was that it would track satellites much better. With the vista, I couldn't dream of just putting it in my pocket and letting it track me around. The 60C will do that all day...even in tree cover. I alway just assumed that all GPSs lost track when you went into some trees. not anymore! The only downfall to the 60C is that it is a little bigger, and they don't have as nice of covers for them. Other than that... I LOVE it. Even with the color screen, the batteries last about twice as long as my vista used to.

I got mine on ebay for $365 including the city sellect software. You can also look for a 60CS which has the barametric altimeter and electric compass, but I found that I never used those features with my Vista, so I went w/o this time to see if I would kick myself. So far, I don't care [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].

Oh, one other thing... the 60C has 56Mb of memory, where the vista only has 24. I fit all of Colorado Topo on there, plus all of Denver and some surrounding areas for City Sellect. All the maps I'll ever need [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].

Mike

 

Garmin Rocks. I had an Etrex and liked it but I sold it and went back to my old Garmin Emap. The Emap has street maps and a larger screen than the Etrex. It is super easy to use and you can pick one up on Ebay for less than $100. It doesn't have a pretty color screen like the new models but it is a full featured GPS. The 2 AA batteries last a long time too. If you put 2100 mah rechargeables in it, they seem to last forever. It's a great all around GPS for the car or 4-wheeler.

 

Garmin the best, Make sure WAAS enable and memory storage is important.Get bthe best you can now because the stuff changes quickly and i use the GPS map 76 CS Colour screen and easy to use. GOOD LUCK

 

Used both garmin and magellan just sold my etrex legend went with a magellan meridian platinum (grey scale not color) it has a larger screen and uses a sd card to store maps it also has abuilt in 3 axis compas
garmin and magellan are the two most pouplar brands and are the most affordable check out there sites
also if you can afford it a mapping gps is the way to go it lets you up load maps into it
check out amazon.com they had the best price and free shipping

 

Well if you want to spend some more money, some of the ones mentioned above are the way to go. But if you have a tight budget, don't think a cheap one will be a waste of money, the eTrex is well worth the money. Also, it's bright yellow color has helped me find it in the leaves more than once (fell out of my pocket once.) Also it is water proof for a few feet (the battery compartment gets wet, but the electronics are sealed) so if you drop it in a puddle theres no worries.

 

For what your wanting it for an E-trex is the way to go. I use it to lock in where I park my truck while hunting. After the sun goes down I just hit the little GO TO button and have never had a problem finding my truck in the dark. Years ago I have spent the night out just waiting for sun up. I love my E-trex[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I totally agree. The etrex definitely does the job great, and is by no means a waste of money. It all depends what you're using it for, and what your budget is.