I have the Magellan 315 and love it. Great all around GPS and not to costly either.

 

I also have the M 315. A quick look through the manual and I was operating it without a problem. Paid $129.

 

I have the Garmin etrex if you want one cheap this is the best one my dad just bought a etrex for $98.95 I have the Garmin map program and the Microsoft Map point the Map point works great with my etrex but the Garmin program does the USGS maps for off road maps. My friend has the Garmin Vista that is one sweet GPS there is every feature you can imagine on a GPS with that model but it is also about $350.

 

Garmin Etrex Vista all the way -- you can find your way TO the trails and then find your way OUT of them. (i.e. has road maps too...you can justify the purchase to wife/girlfriend because you'll never have to stop and get directions...haha) Anyway, great little toy to have. Waterproof, speedometer (trip time, odometer), compass, altimeter (w/ ascent/descent rate), barometer, backlit display -- all in one. Has a basic overlay map of North/South American pre-installed, has 24 MB of additional memory ready for maps, and up to 500 waypoints that you can name yourself (i.e. trailhead, campsite, etc.) Mounts to your handlebars with the handlebar mount, which runs about $15. In case you can't tell, I'm a tech-gadget kinda guy, and I'm pretty satisfied. Downfall of it is that it runs on AA batteries, which only last about 8 hours if you're using the backlight often. Oh yeah -- it's not $350 -- picked mine up for about $250 w/shipping on E-bay.

 

Garmin GPS III+ with Ram Mount.
picture

 

I have owned two garmins and two magellans. I cannot believe you would pick the garmin over the magellan if you have used them both.

 

Baffalo, where did you get the $15 handle bar mount? All the mounts I can find, pricewise, are $60 to $80. These are generic "Squeeze" mounts.

Thanks

 

I have a Garmin Vista mounted on the handlebars with a Garmin mount. My only complaint is that the handlebars vibrate so much, it will turn off. Then again, there may be something wrong with it. I also like the the built in compass that you can use if all else fails.

 

Goofieones -- to obtain a handlebar mount (or an automobile mount, etc.) for the Etrex series you can go to www.garmin.com, do a search for the Etrex, and go to the accessories page. You can pick it up there for about $17, or you might be able to find one on E-bay for cheaper. It's not a super heavy-duty mount, but it's worked for me so far!!

 

Xit...i have a magellan, brother-in-law has a magellan, and my brother has the garmin etrex.....and we all agree that his is the best gps...for various reasons...smaller, more accurate, more features....i didn't say the garmin is a better gps....just that we think it is more suitable for us...if i can find someone to give me $100 for my magellan i'll be getting the garmin.