howdy

im looking to get a nice,basic gps hand held unit! anyone got any suggestions? ive been looking at this one at the rockshop.



this seems to be what im looking for... high visibilty, hand held,water proof, basic,etc. is there something im missing though? will i need to upload/download new software every year? do i need to do that? are these reliable? etc.

ill be using this in the jeep and fourwheeler.

well... i await your responses.

later

jason

Jason,

I got an Etrex Vista about 2 years ago and can't imagine going out without it. We used it in the desert on new trails and it's mapping feature ensured we NEVER got lost. Within about a 10th of a mile we'd know if we had made a wrong turn, particularly if out at night. Garmin has come out with occasional updates, but I never upgraded it since it worked fine, and there's a small chance that it'll lose all functions if it fails to upgrade correctly and you'll have to send it back. Not sure what the difference is within the various models in the line, but for a simple handheld unit it's great. Easy to read while bouncing about, simple to operate while driving, and gives me real time speed so I don't have to worry about the speedo error after putting on the bigger tires. 1 pair of battries will last us most of the day, we got rechargables and take a spare set, plus the power cord for night use. I really like the ease of the clik stick on mine, and the altimiter is kind of nice for playing in the mountains. Get the case, it comes with a clip that'll allow you to clip it to your visor. All in all it's one of the best purchases I've made for my Jeep.

Jason,
This is Squid in a Jeeps other half...and trust me he loves that thing...One of the first things he told me waa that we were 2.9 miles from the TJ Mexico border and 16 ft above sea level.
Once he got it on the trail though it really has helped keep us headed in the right direction.
Good Luck

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sgt Kat,

howdy

thanks for the replies!!!!

i went to rei the other day, for something totally different, and while i was there the light bulb in my brain flickered on. i realized they have gps. so i asked a ton of questions. i really wore some poor girl out for like 30-45 min. i could tell she thought she had a sale. sorry! anyway one thing i really want(now) is to be able to memorize paths and down/up load them on my pc etc. thats cool! now i have to decide if i wanna give the rockshop $10-$30 more for one of these. hehe. you listening mike?

thanks again guys.

later

jason

howdy

by the way... whats with all the locked topics in the gps section???

later

jason