I am in the market for a GPS, and was just looking for some advice on what folks are using out there and what they would stay away from now, as a result of a bad experience. Thanks and hope to hear back soon, aloha.
Joe
I use backcountry Navigator on my Droid phone. It works awesome you can download the TOPO maps for free and it is really accurate. I can have a GPS and my phone in case of emergency. Bring a solar charger if your going to be out for more than a couple days though.
Although not the latest Droid tech- for reliability and ‘all terrain’ I have used the Garmin 60CSX for quite a few years on a variety of expeditions- hiking, climbing, polar ice, sea, and found it to be excellent and reliable unit. As far as i know it has been superseded by the 62 model, a more spec’d unit with some extra features( which i don’t find i need) but you can probably still find second-hand or reconditioned 60 CSX units ( i got mine reconditioned, virtually as new for under $300 via ebay). I have met many other users of the same unit and they all rate it very high. You can load maps onto micro sd cards- so have sets for many locations if you travel ( i have sets for USA, AK,. AUS/NZ at different scale maps ) etc and save routes and tracks and upload to websites, share, and get GPX files from others to use. in short, a reliable & versatile unit. Batteries seem to last longer then specified ( few days per set of AA) and you can always recharge the batteries via solar etc.
There is also an external power connector - which you could connect to a solar charger ( have not tried it but have used other external power kits- home made- and they work)
finally , of course- this unit is waterproof.
full specs here: (Garmin Site) http://www8.garmin.com/products/gpsmap60csx/
Hope this helps.
Awesome, thanks for so much helpful info. anyone else using different gear?
days later.
I picked one thanks.
I agree that the Garmin 60CSX is the best GPS I have used for ease of use and robustness. unfortunately Garmin do not seem to make them anymore, and now their 62 series is the equivilant model. I still prefer the 60 though.
I had a Delorme Pn-40 that worked flawlessly for years until I lost it somewhere. I purchased the newer Delorme PN-60 and it is quite an upgrade in performance from the PN-40. I paired my PN-60 with a SPOT. The SPOT allows me to send a track point to a website every ten minutes as well as send text messages out for general check in or emergency. Now if I break my leg in a deep canyon I can at least send a message out for help. Another nice thing about Delorme is that you get good Topo maps for the entire country with your GPS. If you want different ones (USGS quads or aerial images) you can buy a $20 yearly map subscription and get all you want.