Hand held GPS unit recommendations

pat701 · May 22, 2007, 07:38 PM

I am concidering buying a hand held GPS unit for hunting. I know nothing about operating a GPS unit. Would you please give me some recommendations on units that are easy to operate? I am looking to spend around $250 on the unit. I need one that is water proof , has a long battery life, and easy to use.

bdcbbq · May 22, 2007, 08:03 PM

Try some of these sites.

GPS World

Roadmap GPS

GPS Information

Rated4Stars

rantingredneck · May 22, 2007, 08:06 PM

I bought a Garmin Etrex legend a couple years ago. Very user friendly, light, long battery life. Works great for navigating hunting areas, marking stand and sign locations, etc. Also has a nice basemap of n. america that covers the major highways and has information on what's off the exits so you can plan stops on long trips (my wife loves looking for walmarts and targets when we're travelling

)

I think I paid right at 200 for it then but it's cheaper now. I think they have a higher model available now that's probably even in your 250 price range. The Vista maybe?

FirstFreedom · May 22, 2007, 08:14 PM

I've got the Lowrance I-Finder, which works great for my purposes, but if I were buying right now, I'd definitely check out the new Bushnells - evidently they have a lot of map detail in the new models for a good price - it jives up with some larger database of detailed maps, giving you more info that most GPS units. In five years, they will likely ALL do this...be hooked up with Google maps or some such.

Capt. Charlie · May 22, 2007, 08:19 PM

I have a Magellan Meridian Gold. It's a serious instrument, but like most Magellans, it's not the most user-friendly GPS ever built. RRR echoes what I've heard said many times about the Garmin E-Trex. They are probably the easiest to use out of the bunch.

One thing I would mention though; any GPS takes practice. Don't expect to take it right out of the box and be an instant Dan'l Boone. I toyed with mine for weeks before I even began to feel comfortable relying on it in the boonies.

boltgun71 · May 22, 2007, 10:26 PM

Another vote for the Garmin Etrex. Its very user friendly and the Legend version is easy on the wallet. I have used several Garmins from the Etrex Legend to the high end Etrex Vista and the Rhino 110/220/330 and have found them all to be very reliable and easy to use.

rebelwon · May 23, 2007, 07:04 AM

Another vote for the Garmin e-trex Legend Cx. Easy to use, and you can load a lot of maps and data with the removable micro-SD card. Most of all, the display is easy to see in bright sunlight.

May 22, 2007, 07:38 PM	#1
pat701 Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2005 Location: South west Missouri Posts: 315	Hand held GPS unit recommendations I am concidering buying a hand held GPS unit for hunting. I know nothing about operating a GPS unit. Would you please give me some recommendations on units that are easy to operate? I am looking to spend around $250 on the unit. I need one that is water proof , has a long battery life, and easy to use.

May 22, 2007, 08:19 PM	#5
Capt. Charlie Moderator Emeritus Join Date: March 24, 2005 Location: Steubenville, OH Posts: 4,446	I have a Magellan Meridian Gold. It's a serious instrument, but like most Magellans, it's not the most user-friendly GPS ever built. RRR echoes what I've heard said many times about the Garmin E-Trex. They are probably the easiest to use out of the bunch. One thing I would mention though; any GPS takes practice. Don't expect to take it right out of the box and be an instant Dan'l Boone. I toyed with mine for weeks before I even began to feel comfortable relying on it in the boonies. __________________ TFL Members are ambassadors to the world for firearm owners. What kind of ambassador does *your* post make *you?* I train in earnest, to do the things that I pray in earnest, I'll never have to do. --Capt. Charlie

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

May 22, 2007, 08:03 PM	#2
bdcbbq Member Join Date: March 28, 2007 Location: Wherever there's fried chicken or BBQ Posts: 75	Try some of these sites. GPS World Roadmap GPS GPS Information Rated4Stars

May 22, 2007, 08:06 PM	#3
rantingredneck Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,728	I bought a Garmin Etrex legend a couple years ago. Very user friendly, light, long battery life. Works great for navigating hunting areas, marking stand and sign locations, etc. Also has a nice basemap of n. america that covers the major highways and has information on what's off the exits so you can plan stops on long trips (my wife loves looking for walmarts and targets when we're travelling ) I think I paid right at 200 for it then but it's cheaper now. I think they have a higher model available now that's probably even in your 250 price range. The Vista maybe?

May 22, 2007, 08:14 PM	#4
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	I've got the Lowrance I-Finder, which works great for my purposes, but if I were buying right now, I'd definitely check out the new Bushnells - evidently they have a lot of map detail in the new models for a good price - it jives up with some larger database of detailed maps, giving you more info that most GPS units. In five years, they will likely ALL do this...be hooked up with Google maps or some such.

May 22, 2007, 10:26 PM	#6
boltgun71 Senior Member Join Date: January 4, 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 547	Another vote for the Garmin Etrex. Its very user friendly and the Legend version is easy on the wallet. I have used several Garmins from the Etrex Legend to the high end Etrex Vista and the Rhino 110/220/330 and have found them all to be very reliable and easy to use.

May 23, 2007, 07:04 AM	#7
rebelwon Member Join Date: August 8, 2006 Location: Ellicott City, MD Posts: 23	Another vote for the Garmin e-trex Legend Cx. Easy to use, and you can load a lot of maps and data with the removable micro-SD card. Most of all, the display is easy to see in bright sunlight.