What is a good recommendation for a good GPS unit for hiking, camping, and hunting? I don't plan to do a lot of geocaching, but want it more to help me keep from getting lost while hunting new area and to use in scouting with my son. I'd like one with Topo maps, but I dont' see many that come with very good maps installed until you get into the $300+ range in price. I'd like to stay well below that if possible...even if I have to buy maps later. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
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Looking for a good hiking/hunting GPS.
- Thread starter Timblade
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2006
- Messages
- 288
IMO, Garmin is just about the only game in town for what you need. Finding one below $300 that has decent features, and more importantly, can acquire and hang onto a good signal is going to be a tall order.
Another thing to consider, is the lower-end models do not have a micro-SD card feature. I pop in one of the OnXMaps Hunt chips. It's a must for me in MT, as the property lines are incredibly complicated/checkerboarded, etc. and the locals are very hostile towards trespassers, accidental or not.
I've owned (2) Garmin 450T's and (2) Rinos. They have worked great. Many friends have the cheaper "eTrex" models, and at times they were useless---took forever to get a signal, then would continually lose signal, etc. Basically paperweights IMO.
Any model above the 450 or 450T's had features I didn't need such as a camera, unecessary maps, big external antenna and wireless stuff I'd never use or were the size of an iPad!
Good luck.
Another thing to consider, is the lower-end models do not have a micro-SD card feature. I pop in one of the OnXMaps Hunt chips. It's a must for me in MT, as the property lines are incredibly complicated/checkerboarded, etc. and the locals are very hostile towards trespassers, accidental or not.
I've owned (2) Garmin 450T's and (2) Rinos. They have worked great. Many friends have the cheaper "eTrex" models, and at times they were useless---took forever to get a signal, then would continually lose signal, etc. Basically paperweights IMO.
Any model above the 450 or 450T's had features I didn't need such as a camera, unecessary maps, big external antenna and wireless stuff I'd never use or were the size of an iPad!
Good luck.
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- 3,440
I have a 60CSX, bought refurbished. $200.00 have to buy maps seperatly. Has worked for years. Both in the woods and on the bike. Screen is a little small by todays standards. But I like it.
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2015
- Messages
- 41
Look at the Garmin Etrex 30, GPS Map 64 , Dakota 20, and the Oregon 600. Those are their newer models. The differences will be size, and buttons, vs touch screen. Some versions come with 100K topo maps of the whole USA built in. FREE , high res, 24K scale topo maps can be found at www.gpsfiledepot.com
Garmin 60cx for me. Been hiking backpacking geocaching using it to navigate the streets and canyons while riding my motorcycle. Battery life is great I can get as much as 20 hours on a pair of fresh batteries. Only thing the new ones have over it is the larger screen. But the bigger the screen the shorter the battery life.. For outdoors activities as in hiking and backpacking you cant get anything better.
Would buy another one in a heartbeat.
Would buy another one in a heartbeat.
My preference is Garmin. I cannot recommend a particular model as I'm unfamiliar with most of the new releases, but here are a few things to keep in mind when shopping:
Some Garmin GPS series use a menu-driven interface, while others use a more graphical interface with icons like a smart phone operating system. Matter of personal preference.
The "S" in some model names refers to "sensor." These have built-in altimeters and compasses. Without it, the GPS can only show your direction when moving.
Only some models have a jack for an external antenna. This is not critical for basic camping and hiking, but if you're using the GPS for map-making in deep canyons or under tree cover an external antenna is a must-have.
The color screens are much easier to read in bright sunlight.
Thumbs-up for having an SD card slot.
The Garmin website has a great feature, click to compare various models side-by-side.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/cOnTheTrail-cHandheld-p1.html
And if you have questions about particular features or capabilities, you can download and read any of the models' manuals before purchasing.
You can sometimes save a bunch of $$ by shopping for recently-discontinued models. :thumbup:
Some Garmin GPS series use a menu-driven interface, while others use a more graphical interface with icons like a smart phone operating system. Matter of personal preference.
The "S" in some model names refers to "sensor." These have built-in altimeters and compasses. Without it, the GPS can only show your direction when moving.
Only some models have a jack for an external antenna. This is not critical for basic camping and hiking, but if you're using the GPS for map-making in deep canyons or under tree cover an external antenna is a must-have.
The color screens are much easier to read in bright sunlight.
Thumbs-up for having an SD card slot.
The Garmin website has a great feature, click to compare various models side-by-side.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/cOnTheTrail-cHandheld-p1.html
And if you have questions about particular features or capabilities, you can download and read any of the models' manuals before purchasing.
You can sometimes save a bunch of $$ by shopping for recently-discontinued models. :thumbup:
I have a slighter simpler version of this unit, it is called GPSMAP 60CX. The difference with the 60CSX is that my unit does not have barometer or electronic compass. Those two features take a tax on the batteries and are not really needed. The electronic compass requires you to keep the unit absolutely flat (level) and the barometer.. .well... that's up to you.
I think that buying/downloading additional maps is a must. Don't expect to buy a unit with the precise maps you need already preloaded.
One further advice, stay away from the touchscreens. They might seem like a good idea untill you realise that you need to take your gloves off to use them.
The updated 60 series is called 62. Just in case you want to look for new units (instead of used or old stock)