Hand held GPS units

[CalgaryRider]

Hey,

I have been checking out GPS Units, and came across this one. I know a few guys in the club David (Tent) and I think Kim (Hounddog) have this type of unit, so looking for feedback. Also it seems like a pretty good price too!

http://www.gpscentral.com/product/garmin-rino-130

[Skibby]

This summer i purchased the Oregon 400t handheld unit. I love the thing. Easy to use, full color, large screen and everything is touch sensitive menu based operation. Highly recommend the oregon series. Well worth the price.

[jreid]

I'd definitely splash out for a full color display.

I've got a super old eTrex handheld that chews through AA's like crazy... its OK.

I picked up a Bluetooth GPS dongle from GPS City for 50-60 bucks and I really like using that with my laptop. If you are looking for a cheap way to get GPS capability that is a great option. Dont know how it's reception would compare with some of the higher end garmin units though.

[BeachBoy]

I had a vista HCx and changed it for an Oregon 300 (I have maps online so no need for the pre loaded ones)

I love the larger screen as I use mine in the truck as a driving unit too, with a suction cup.

[Winch]

Yep, there are so many to choose from, so it really depends on what you want to use it for. Saving offroad trails? Navigating city/ highway? Hiking?

Main thing, I think is that you need something allowing you to add maps and save routes/ trails. I would say, one of the most versatile GPS's available are the ones that work through a laptop, or PDA, because you can use the computer technology to search for places (through google maps), download stuff, save stuff, etc.

I have the Garmin 550, though (which is a crossover between highway and offroad use), and I'm quite happy with it: http://www.gpscentral.com/product/garmin-nuvi-550

[CalgaryRider]

I have the Garmin 550, though (which is a crossover between highway and offroad use), and I'm quite happy with it: http://www.gpscentral.com/product/garmin-nuvi-550

I didn't know that you could get a unit that did both highway and off road, I guess its time to do a bit more research! Thanks for all the info guys!

[Winch]

I should add though, that while it pretty much has all the highway features one would expect for a model of this vallue, the offroad features are somewhat limited compared to a true offroad/ handheld device. It has trackback and the ability to save routes, but according to the manual you can only save 10 routes, which may be limiting for some. I would imagine however that you can probably save many more on the external memory card, but haven't checked that out yet.

[freeze]

Hey Shayne. I've got the Garmin 76CSX which is for the backcountry but has the ability to do road nav as well. It has the same UI as David E.'s Garmin. It does topo, trackback, city nav, and can connect to a laptop for laptop nav as well. I use an external antenna to get better precision.

It does have one of the strongest receivers in it's class so it's fairly precise without the antenna.

It also has barometric and altimeter to see how high you are or when weather is coming in.

I also like that it's fully waterproof and it floats!

http://www.gpscentral.ca/graphics/garmin/76CSxoverview.gif

[Tarzan]

Not exactly related but of interest none the less.

http://bc4x4.com/features/2009/google-kills-garmin/

[Doc McCoy]

Yeah ... can't wait for that on the iPhone. However ... the biggest draw back is the inability to cache maps with Google Maps (though there is an app for that). Garmin will be around a bit longer yet.