Best hand held gps

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Mike Waters
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Best hand held gps

Post by Mike Waters »

what gps units are you guys using. I get lost in the woods alot, i need some assistance finding my way back to the truck.
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Don Becker
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Don Becker »

I use my phone lately, but I have a Magellan Explorist 400 that I really like, but I think it's getting a bit dated.
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Mike Waters
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Mike Waters »

My biggest concern is the reception. Do I need one of the $400 ones with a large antenna or will the little cell phone looking ones work in the mountains?
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justinm
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by justinm »

I've had a Garmin 60csx for a few years now, and it's never let me down in any setting. Other units have. It's rugged and waterproof to some degree as well.
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Bryan Hamilton
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Bryan Hamilton »

I have a Garmin e-trex that works pretty well for me.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Don Becker »

Mike Waters wrote:My biggest concern is the reception. Do I need one of the $400 ones with a large antenna or will the little cell phone looking ones work in the mountains?
Mine worked fine around the hills and Bluffs of Snake Road, but I haven't been out to the mountains since I've had this phone.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by jswingchun »

justinm wrote:I've had a Garmin 60csx for a few years now, and it's never let me down in any setting. Other units have. It's rugged and waterproof to some degree as well.
+1 to this one. If you buy the maps, it will do turn by turn (not voice) for driving and you can load topo maps too. You can switch back and forth between the map sets. Quick satellite pickup too for the most part.
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Chris Smith
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Chris Smith »

I also have a Garmin 60Csx. It is a solid hand-held GPS! If I were in the market for a new unit, I would probably get the Garmin 62stc.

-Chris
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BillMcGighan
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by BillMcGighan »

I've had good results with the Garmin etrex20 (a mid price range item - approx $200).
Signals in the mountains are always a challenge, but this seems sensitive to handle most.
Added plus is that the etrex series can lock in on the Russian GLONASS satellites (when fully functional), as well as our own.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Jeremy Westerman »

Everyone seems to already have given you the best advice Garmin 60csx. My only complaint is I shoulda bought the Garmin Rhino pretty much the same but it has walkytalky features that would have been cool for use with friends. If you buy a Tom-Tom or Magellan for ANY REASON besides road travel or boating you just wasted your money.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by chrish »

I have a Garmin 60CS which predates the CSX model.
It is probably 8 years old at least and has been all over the world with me. I have used it in forests, deserts, cities and it has never let me down.

The screen was cracked 4-5 years ago while it was in my suitcase on an international flight. The thing never missed a beat and still works as well as ever with the cracked screen. It still seems to be waterproof.

Here's a photo of "the old girl" at a particularly interesting GPS coordinate about a year ago -

Image

Two thumbs way up for the Garmin 60/62 series :thumb: :thumb: . Great field herping GPS!
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Mike Waters
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Mike Waters »

Thanks guys, I just ordered the 60Csx. Lets hope i dont get lost in the woods before it arrives. FYI it cost more to overnight a GPS unit then it does a big box of snakes.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by beanie »

We use Delorme. Its a very good GPS for the price and I find it easier to use than the Garmins. There is no buying maps either it comes with everything for free.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by chrish »

beanie wrote:We use Delorme. Its a very good GPS for the price and I find it easier to use than the Garmins. There is no buying maps either it comes with everything for free.
You can get a lot of maps for free for Garmins as well, but you can also buy maps.
The think I like about the Garmin units is that there are maps available for much of the world.
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Eric East
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Eric East »

Dude you were in the middle of nowhere with those coordinates! :-)
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Biker Dave »

I've been using my garmin nuvi out of my truck. The battery life stinks but it seems to work ok so far...
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by chrish »

Eric East wrote:Dude you were in the middle of nowhere with those coordinates! :-)
Actually, it is somewhere pretty cool and even produced a FHF herping post - viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3849

Chris
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Biker Dave »

Anyone ever use a Garmin Oregon?

I have a nice size gift card from Cabelas and I cant decide to pull the trigger on a real GPS or not.

DAve
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Jeremy Westerman »

Biker Dave wrote:Anyone ever use a Garmin Oregon?

I have a nice size gift card from Cabelas and I cant decide to pull the trigger on a real GPS or not.

DAve
Had a buddy that bought one for our canyoneering trip and we all still had older 60Csx. His is the only one out of the group that lost signal and he was so frustrated he took it back right after. So based on that one datum point I would say no...don't pull that trigger. As I just saw this you probably have had yours for months now. Care to add your insight on it if you bought it? I will use my 60csx until it dies or I die or both (great unit) or something really phenomenal comes along that I think is worth purchasing something I already have over again.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Biker Dave »

So far, now that I have sort of figured it out, it does everything I want it to do. The screen is nice and bright even in direct sunlight. Granted I havent had it in any deep canyons or heavy tree cover yet, so I can't comment there, but it works inside my house! So that kind of gives me a clue how it may operate in a canyon.

I like it so far. Beats my Garmin Nuvi that have been using for a couple years!
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by tomharten »

We use the Garmin Etrex with our students on a middle school herp project. Pretty easy to upload the saved points to Google Earth if so desired. This is helpful for the project that we are working on. I imagine some of the other mainstream units would do the same.

Tom H
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Biker Dave »

I havent tried any of the programs for uploading data points yet. That will come!
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by spinifer »

You can get a lot of maps for free for Garmins as well,
Where do you get maps for free???
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Re: Best hand held gps

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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Nshepard »

Chris Smith wrote:I also have a Garmin 60Csx. It is a solid hand-held GPS! If I were in the market for a new unit, I would probably get the Garmin 62stc.

-Chris

I love my Garmin 60CSx, perfect in my opinion. Gets satellite reception even in the rainforest, during storms, cloudy weather, whatever. I've dropped it, banged it into rocks, gotten it pretty darn wet, and it still works like the day I got it.

I recently got to see and play with the new 62stc and it sucks compared to the 60SCx.

I will warn you all, don't get touch screens, they suck batteries!
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Tim Borski »

Mike Waters wrote:what gps units are you guys using. I get lost in the woods alot, i need some assistance finding my way back to the truck.

Why do I question this? :lol:

Garmin Etreks 10

Tim
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Mike Waters
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Mike Waters »

Well since this thread has been resurrected and i have been using the 60csx for a few months now i figured i should give a product review. This thing is great, i have hiked through canyons and deep forest with great reception. I added the topo maps that shows all the streams and most trails. It is a must have for someone who has no sense of direction, lol, my favorite feature is the one that marks the location of my truck. It is also fun to track your path and review your distance and change in elevation. You would be surprised at how many miles you actually put on a pair of boots in a year. Speaking of boots, i broke down and bought a pair of kenetrek boots last year. I will never go hiking again without them. After one year of hunting both herps as well as hound hunting bear and bobcat walking well over 200 miles last year and these boots like dang near brand new.
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Chris Smith
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Chris Smith »

Nshepard: Why does the 62stc suck? We just got one at work and it is just as good as the 60Csx (but has even more features - including capability to use Garmin's new "custom maps" feature).

-Chris
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Reptiluvr »

I've used the Garmin 60CSX in TX and KY as part of field jobs. It did well in both situations although they were both wide open territories. Used them daily to save data points. I love that they map out all your points for you. It made tracking the movements of my subjects (quail in KY) pretty easy.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by John Martin »

Hey, the thread isn't even 3 years old yet, and all good threads need resurrecting! :lol: I might be in the market for a handheld gps unit. At the time of this thread the Garmin 60csx seemed to be the most popular. Just wondering if any of you tech savvy people out there have any updated input as to whether this is still a good buy used (eBay), or whether there are newer, better things available. And if it matters, I'm in Australia.

Thanks in advance :beer:
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by John Martin »

Ok, so nobody wants to play the old post game... :thumb: Since this thread "resurrection" I've read a number of online reviews and am thinking of the 62s. The 60csx is not out there anymore (not even a used one on eBay Australia). Anyone have any input in regards to the 62s? And Nshepard, I'm also curious as to what turned you off to the 62 series. Thanks guys and gals...
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Biker Dave wrote:Anyone ever use a Garmin Oregon?
Yes. I've been using one for two years now. Fantastic device, and unkaputtable. I bought it because the antenna is big enough for reception under rainforest canopy. Also very user friendly, touch screen and features alike, no more maddening old-generation button control, while being a hard-core, save-your-ass-in-any-situation machine. Can't go wrong with that thing!
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by jonathan »

I'm in the market for a GPS as well. Used an eTREX back in the day, worked out well enough for me, but I might want something more in the rainforest nowadays.

What people have been saying about durability and signal in tough places are both priorities for me.

But here's a different priority no one has talked about. I'd like something with nice data input capabilities. My eTREX was particularly annoying to input data with, and I ended up having to make shortcut codes for myself just so I didn't spend all my field time typing into my GPS.

Besides just being a bit easier to type with, I would love a unit that allowed me to quickly group entries. For example, would it be possible for me to set up 10-15 categories ahead of time, and then smoothly save points into the desired category? For instance, it would be very helpful if I could preset a category for every genus, and then save the datapoints for any particular herp I find into its appropriate category.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Biker Dave »

I'm totally digging the Oregon. Works great. It takes a couple minutes for it to start up...finding satellites .... But once it's linked it works great. If you don't keep the screen turned on constantly the batteries last a long time.....months.....not hours.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Jeroen Speybroeck »

jonathan wrote:so I didn't spend all my field time typing into my GPS.
To deal with that, I talk into a basic (yet sufficiently water resistant) recording device, adding the relevant data to the generic auto number of the GPS. The time and misery this saves in the field is more worth to me than the time it costs to process my babbling afterwards.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by BillMcGighan »

Besides just being a bit easier to type with, I would love a unit that allowed me to quickly group entries. For example, would it be possible for me to set up 10-15 categories ahead of time, and then smoothly save points into the desired category? For instance, it would be very helpful if I could preset a category for every genus, and then save the datapoints for any particular herp I find into its appropriate category.
Since most modern smartphones (2014 +) now have real GNSS receivers in them, seems like this would be a great application of an APP that is a GPS with voice recognition note taking!
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

FWIW, I just learned that there are portable solar panels for GPS units and smartphones, in fact, anything with a UPS port. Might just be the solution to the hunger for power most GPS units display.

http://www.goalzero.com/p/147/goal-zero ... omad-7-kit
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Re: Best hand held gps

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Not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I believe that no matter how good the gps, functional knowledge of the basics of terrain navigation and topo map and compass use are essential as a backup. The gps is a superior tool, but the old wisdom that "two is one and one is none" still holds true. Terrain nav and map and compass use are also fun and interesting, as well as being useful. Just my $0.02.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

MCHerper wrote:Not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I believe that no matter how good the gps, functional knowledge of the basics of terrain navigation and topo map and compass use are essential as a backup. The gps is a superior tool, but the old wisdom that "two is one and one is none" still holds true. Terrain nav and map and compass use are also fun and interesting, as well as being useful. Just my $0.02.
Amen, brother! A very useful point, especially if you get yourself in situations where a malfunctioning/dead GPS could also spell your end (people have perished in the jungle less than five miles from the next road). I always have two compasses on me, wherever I go....and a map, if available :-)
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by MCHerper »

Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote:
MCHerper wrote:Not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I believe that no matter how good the gps, functional knowledge of the basics of terrain navigation and topo map and compass use are essential as a backup. The gps is a superior tool, but the old wisdom that "two is one and one is none" still holds true. Terrain nav and map and compass use are also fun and interesting, as well as being useful. Just my $0.02.
Amen, brother! A very useful point, especially if you get yourself in situations where a malfunctioning/dead GPS could also spell your end (people have perished in the jungle less than five miles from the next road). I always have two compasses on me, wherever I go....and a map, if available :-)
It's funny how even the basics of terrain and natural nav can reliably put you in the right direction. A friend of mine showed me the stick and the shadow trick. Basically you put a stick in the ground, and put rocks or debris down in a straight line to show the shadow of the sun. Come back as little as 15 minutes later and repeat. Put your left foot on the first line, right foot on the second, and you are facing due north. I did this and took a bearing with a compass, corrected for magnetic declination, and it was right on.

For those of you who are new at compass use, if you use a compass, don't make the mistake of putting it down on the ground or on a rock to take a map or field bearing, the iron in the rock can seriously throw off the bearing. Also make sure to keep magnetic declination in mind, and practice these skills until they are mastered in a low-stress situation (don't try to do it for the first time when you are lost). Triangulation works very well to locate your position, even if it seems hokey.

If anyone is interested, let me know, I have some good resources for learning map and compass use.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

It's funny how even the basics of terrain and natural nav can reliably put you in the right direction. A friend of mine showed me the stick and the shadow trick. Basically you put a stick in the ground, and put rocks or debris down in a straight line to show the shadow of the sun. Come back as little as 15 minutes later and repeat. Put your left foot on the first line, right foot on the second, and you are facing due north. I did this and took a bearing with a compass, corrected for magnetic declination, and it was right on.
Very interesting method! Will it work in sunless places such as thick jungles, though?
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by MCHerper »

Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote:
It's funny how even the basics of terrain and natural nav can reliably put you in the right direction. A friend of mine showed me the stick and the shadow trick. Basically you put a stick in the ground, and put rocks or debris down in a straight line to show the shadow of the sun. Come back as little as 15 minutes later and repeat. Put your left foot on the first line, right foot on the second, and you are facing due north. I did this and took a bearing with a compass, corrected for magnetic declination, and it was right on.
Very interesting method! Will it work in sunless places such as thick jungles, though?
Hans, unless you can find a sunny spot, I don't believe so. It would be interesting to find out what would work as far as terrain nav in a dense jungle, I have no experience with this terrain.
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

MCHerper wrote:
Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote:
It's funny how even the basics of terrain and natural nav can reliably put you in the right direction. A friend of mine showed me the stick and the shadow trick. Basically you put a stick in the ground, and put rocks or debris down in a straight line to show the shadow of the sun. Come back as little as 15 minutes later and repeat. Put your left foot on the first line, right foot on the second, and you are facing due north. I did this and took a bearing with a compass, corrected for magnetic declination, and it was right on.
Very interesting method! Will it work in sunless places such as thick jungles, though?
Hans, unless you can find a sunny spot, I don't believe so. It would be interesting to find out what would work as far as terrain nav in a dense jungle, I have no experience with this terrain.
Terrain nav = displaying topographic details?
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Re: Best hand held gps

Post by MCHerper »

Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote: Terrain nav = displaying topographic details?
My understanding is that yes, terrain navigation is using topographic details on a map to navigate. Peaks, ridges, streams, etc. An example of natural navigation is using such features as vegetation differences in a North vs. South facing area for general navigation, and celestial navigation is using stars at night or the sun during the day for navigation. I find that, without a compass, terrain nav with a topo map is easiest, but then again I am usually in an area that is at least hilly and tends to be deciduous forest with a healthy smattering of fields, streams, etc. In flat sandy pine woods, it's a whole different animal. In the jungle-type environment that you are referring to, I imagine that it is all very challenging without a compass and well-detailed topo map.
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