View Full Version : What GPS to buy?
NorCalGuy
05-22-2009, 09:38
Hello all,
So what is your favorite GPS? I am a noob backpacker and still learning here. I took the REI GPS basics course last night and checked out a few different GPS models. I was told that a lot of those new iPhone looking Garmins are really just for looks, but nothing else good about them. Is there a particular model you guys would suggest? Right now I am leaning towards the DeLorme PN40…
What I am looking for in a GPS:
I am going to be using it for backpacking only (deep woods eventually)
I want a color screen (Hopefully topographical)
Needs to run off AA or AAA batteries, no rechargeable stuff please.
Idea? Comments? Concerns? Suggestions?
Thanks for the help all!!!
The Garmin units that end in "x" are pretty good, we use them for trail mapping. Battery life for days on regular AA alkalines on the 60CSx or 76CSx that I personally use. Can get better deals on them now that Garmin has the Colorado and Oregon. One guy I know from the trail mapping community got the Colo and returned it a week later saying it was a step back in reliability and battery life.
The DeLorme PN-20 was a disappointment in its receiver and battery life. To DeLorme's credit they contacted me based on a bitch post I had regarding this on WB. The PN-40 sales literature says they addressed many issues I had with the PN-20, and more. However right now I'm not in the market for a GPSr. With the maps the PN-40's likely cheaper than the Garmin with maps.
I have the Delorme PN-20. I agree with the battery problem. I keep it on the charger most of the time. But it gets satellites even in heavy leaf cover. I use it mostly to help design and map local land trust trails. I'm tempted by the more expensive PN-40. But I think I'll wait for some user reviews.
I'm partial to Delorme. Their headquarter building and store is just 30 miles down the road. Thirty miles is nothing compared with most Maine distances.
My nearest supermarket is a 14 mile round trip.
Weary
I wound up getting the Garmin just after I bought the PN-20. Started both of them and left them on the hood of the truck at a wooded trailhead parking lot. The Garmin had acquired by the time I had the pack on. The PN-20 acquired - ten minutes later.
After a couple of other head-to-head days like that, the PN-20 sits in the bedroom until I lose one of the other units.
(I have 4 Garmins since I have a tendency to buy one six months after losing the other one, then the first one turns up four months later. :) I've now done that with two generations of Garmin technology, the PN-20 was supposed to have been the replacement for the GPS12/GPS12XL pair I got like that. I did that with a 60CSx I got for the 76CSx I lost that wasn't even mine, fortunately now the 76CSx and the pack it was in now turned up!! Can't believe I did that twice!!!)
ARambler
05-22-2009, 10:26
The state of the art navigation chip is 3 years old, so accuracy is pretty similar for the new units (pretty much all of them).
Until recently, the gps information was transfered to the map, and the map used for navigation (slightly over simplified). It is now possible to put the map in the gps, and navigate from the gps screen. The map is still used for periferal vision and more readability/detail.
So, you will want to decide what gps/software has the best maps for you. Obviously, the bigger the gps screen, the better. Unfortunately, the "best" units are both very expensive and heavy. So, today, most people are not using the top units. Even with the cheapest units, you can enter key navigation points as a waypoint (say a point on the ridge you want to drop off) and then navigate even if you are in the fog. It is universally believed that you do not need a gps for the AT. Whereas, a gps is used by the majority on the Continental Divide Trail.
I used the Garmin Colorado on the cdt. It is a good unit, the complaints were from bugs in the early units. The Colorado is being replaced by the Garmin Oregon which has a touch screen. These units come with 1:100,000 scale accuracy maps for the whole USA built in. If you want more detailed maps you can order 1:24,000 topos maps for much of the USA.
Rambler
NorCalGuy
05-22-2009, 10:30
The Garmin units that end in "x" are pretty good, we use them for trail mapping. Battery life for days on regular AA alkalines on the 60CSx or 76CSx that I personally use. Can get better deals on them now that Garmin has the Colorado and Oregon. One guy I know from the trail mapping community got the Colo and returned it a week later saying it was a step back in reliability and battery life.
The DeLorme PN-20 was a disappointment in its receiver and battery life. To DeLorme's credit they contacted me based on a bitch post I had regarding this on WB. The PN-40 sales literature says they addressed many issues I had with the PN-20, and more. However right now I'm not in the market for a GPSr. With the maps the PN-40's likely cheaper than the Garmin with maps.
Awesome, thanks. The instructor suggested the PN-40 because the maps where wayyyyyy cheaper then the garmin ones and it had topographical. Anyone ever used a PN-40?
Jayboflavin04
05-22-2009, 10:33
Good ole map and compass! A $10 silva and topo maps!
I have a Magellan GPS I will sell ya cheep!
take-a-knee
05-22-2009, 11:48
Good ole map and compass! A $10 silva and topo maps!
I have a Magellan GPS I will sell ya cheep!
Amen to that. That little wrist mounted Garmin is all a hiker needs. It was good enough for Andrew Skurka to complete the Great Western Loop. No one needs a color screen, just needless bells and whistles. A GPS is nearly useless without map and compass skills. A GPS will help you "find yourself". It, at that time, you still can' fix your location on a map, you are still lost.
fiddlehead
05-22-2009, 13:03
I use a Garmin 60CSX and think it's great.
I never loses signal.
Works fine in the pouring down rain
Great color screen
User friendly
Simple to hook up to the computer and transfer tracks and points as well as screen shots
2AA batteries. (I use rechargeables but any kind will do)
When i use it, i leave it on all the time because i'm creating tracks that i put out on the "net" for others to download and use. and there are no trails to follow, only my gps track. The batteries lasted for almost 2 days last time out. (i turned it off at night when i got to camp)
On the downside, it is big, clunky and heavy.
But my old Legend was so small i could barely read it.
I'd be lost without it.
There are no topo maps of this island where i live. (Phuket)
(if there were, i'd be using the gps anyway, it makes it so easy)
Good ole map and compass! A $10 silva and topo maps!
I have a Magellan GPS I will sell ya cheep!
I couldn't agree more!
The new Garmin Oregon 550t is a great GPS and has a built in digital camera. Not too shabby....
MintakaCat
05-22-2009, 21:56
I have an old Garman Legend I bought about 5 years ago. At the time it wasn't too bad but it doesn't work all that great in the woods. By that I mean you have to wait on it to figure out it's location. Sometime that can take 5 or 10 minutes.
I take it on day hikes but I leave it home on overnight trips. A map and compass always go with me.
Get the newest technology you can, and budget in the Topo US package, it's worth it. I've worked as a professional map maker, so I'm hooked on this stuff.
I've hiked AT in GA/TN and MD with a Garmin 60Csx, which was great, although that technology is several years old now. You can do better; better graphics and lighter unit. The 60Csx lasted two full days on a set of batteries (2 AA); maybe you can do better than that. BTW we did get "lost" two or three times, and looking at the GPS saved us each time. One place was just south of Clingman's Dome where we took the descending trail--don't go down there!
Personally I loved having it on the AT; the topo base maps showed everything and I always knew how far it was to shelters, springs, roads, etc. And after the trip I was able to study the tracks I recorded. Every day I had a record of feet climbed and descended; generally 5,000-10,000 ft; very impressive.
I also carried the paper maps but rarely looked at them. However, if you drop your GPS it might break so you need a map backup.
After trying several others, i stick with the garmin 60csx, i do a lot of bushwacking by marking my starting coor. always bring me back to that spot. plus it is great for geocaching also
We have the Garmin Oregon 400t...love it! Very easy to use...
you dont need one! follow the blazes! ;)
rwpontius
05-23-2009, 16:28
I have the Garmin etrex Vista CSX. I really haven't used it that much and would not be considered a power user but it has worked well for me and I am still on the first set of batteries. Not necessarily an endorsement but no problems so far. I have been able to figure out everything I wanted to know. Note this is my first GPS so it is all new to me.
RP
rwpontius
05-23-2009, 16:29
Oops-make that an HCX not csx!!
RP
They won't work when the satellites all die.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520636,00.html
SunnyWalker
05-23-2009, 19:45
My favorite is one of the Magellans. They are selling them right now in Wal-Mart. under $200.00 and you can purchase one with the maps in them. It looks like detailed maps, not the maps that come with a gps unit. These seem to be what we could take hiking, topographical and etc.
JaxHiker
05-24-2009, 09:21
I use a Garmin 60CSX and think it's great.
I never loses signal.
Works fine in the pouring down rain
Great color screen
User friendly
Simple to hook up to the computer and transfer tracks and points as well as screen shots
2AA batteries. (I use rechargeables but any kind will do)
When i use it, i leave it on all the time because i'm creating tracks that i put out on the "net" for others to download and use. and there are no trails to follow, only my gps track. The batteries lasted for almost 2 days last time out. (i turned it off at night when i got to camp)
All of this.
fiddlehead
05-24-2009, 09:46
I have a dilemma right now that maybe someone can help me solve.
I have about 9 tracks on my GPS that tie my 53 km trail together (made on different days)
Then i went out and hiked the whole thing in one shot for the last track as it filled up my built in memory.
Now, the Thailand army is thinking of using my track for a training course.
I want to go out and fix up a few spots and create a new "Total trail track" before they do this (i'm afraid they will get hopelessly lost as it took me over a year to find this route and piece it together)
However, my GPS is filled up and i can't delete the tracks because i need them to find my way again (the jungle grows shut very quickly here now as it's rainy season)
So, i'm thinking of buying a bigger micro sd card to replace the one inside and hopefully can add more tracks and more memory. (totally filled up the memory creating all of those tracks)
My only other option, the way i see it, is to have 2 gps' and create a new track on a new one while i'm looking at the old one.
I can't afford another one so, i'm hoping someone can tell me if it's possible to do what i want and how to go about it. (i have downloaded all tracks to my hard drive for backup)
Help?
JaxHiker
05-24-2009, 10:12
Chances are a new memory card won't help since the number of tracks available is probably more a limitation of the GPS unit itself and not the memory. In a similar fashion most limit the number of waypoints as well. I had a large track with over 700 waypoints but it would only import the first 500.
If you've already downloaded the tracks then I don't see what the problem is. Just provide the GPX or whatever files to them and they should be fine. If you need more tracks on your unit then delete what's there. If you need to load these tracks again just re-import them.
fiddlehead
05-24-2009, 10:17
The problem is that i need the old tracks to find the route to create the new one. (trail has grown shut in many places)
I will take a machete along and open it up aprox 2 weeks before they go in for their training. ( I want to make it easy on them as it is really tough in some places and i don't think they are used to jungle trekking yet. these are newbie army dudes)
Wise Old Owl
05-24-2009, 11:03
I ran into this with a garmin unit while importing the AT, My solution was moving the tracks back to the support software and removing the detail out of the data. For mapping you might need the detail, but for someone to follow where you went, a way point every 20 feet is unnecessary. You need to remove some of the detail and copy to another micro chip will help so you will have a back up of your data.
There are support programs on the Internet but they all have a learning curve as they were written by colleges and are freeware. The programs I found so far, were discussed in old threads here a year ago. And I am not happy with them anyway. DNR Garmin, GPS Trackmaker was OK.
JaxHiker
05-24-2009, 21:20
I see now. Like WOO said, you can take the GPX and delete waypoints. Most units mark too many waypoints for the level of accuracy that most of us need. Let me know if you need some help with this.
fiddlehead
05-24-2009, 21:31
Yes, it's not that i don't have any tracks left to use, it's just that the track log is full.
There is a choice of checking a box called: "Wrap data when full" or something like that.
I was hoping I could also have a choice that would "install data on HD card when full" or something.
I appreciate you guys helping me. I will probably go out and re hike it and use less data points in creating my track (an option on the 60 CSX) That will probably help although the jungle is so thick, having all those data points would've been nice sometimes.
I'm sharpening up my machete. Thanks.
I'm comfortable enough with wiping the tracks and re-uploading them to the GPSr.
The Garmin MapSource, just the basic software without any maps that comes with all the units, has quite a nice function on simplifying and pasting together tracks that a fellow volunteer mapper guy told me about. He says it's better than kilobuck software at weaning track files down to reasonable size, and what little I've had to use it (the kilobuck software doesn't have a size limit :) ) seems to work well. If you PM me an e-mail address I can forward this fellow's instructions in case of interest.
They won't work when the satellites all die.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520636,00.html
Anyone know of a good model that uses both GPS and Galileo?
Anyone know of a good model that uses both GPS and Galileo?
Galileo isn't operational yet. :o
Galileo isn't operational yet. :o
Should be by this time next year
We are just getting one that uses both GPS and GLONASS - can't say how good it is yet. It is US made and costs $5k though.
We are just getting one that uses both GPS and GLONASS - can't say how good it is yet. It is US made and costs $5k though.
holy crap :eek:
If you are just starting out backpacking, I would recommend that you become proficient at Map and Compass before you get and become dependent on a GPS. Electronics can fail at any time, and unless you know how to navigate with a map, you could find yourself in trouble. Not so much on the AT, but at many other popular hiking locations.
That said, I just got back from my first backpacking trip on which I carried a GPS, and was very happy with the performance of my Garmin eTrex Legend HCx. Worked flawlessly on the Superior, Border Route and KEK. - Fantastic trip by the way, and not nearly as difficult to follow as the reputation implies.