Best GPS

[NavyFishin]

This is a in your opinion topic. For those of us that dont own a GPS and would like to get one, those of you that do please give us some pointers ranging from best bang for your buck and helpful features to look for. Thanks.

[bloc004]

I just recently purchased the Garmin Legend. I was torn between that and the Lowrance h20. I wanted to use mine for hunting as well so that is what my decision maker was. Now I look at lake maps ahead of time and mark spots before I head out. One extra step, but It gets me to the right spots!

[croixflats]

I have the Garmin 76cx does everything the lowrance does and has turn by turn for city navigation and capable to geocache. Takes lakemaster, topo grapgh, and street maps and more. Still learning all the features and its easy to use. AND IT FLOATS!

I got mine through Dave webber at ProFishingSupply.com Go to his HSOforum and you can compare units. Ask him any questions and he will do his best,witch is darn goog, to answer them And he has good prices

What it comes down to is what you want the gps to do for you. You can go on the cheap and get a good unit but you are limited to what it will do.

[robert1965]

garmin

[Draven422]

I'm sure it will be brought up sooner or later, but the Lowrance h20 and h2oc are something to look at.

I can't say it's the best, since I'm still on my first GPS and don't have much to compare it to.

It works for me when I go hunting, fishing, traveling, and finding POIs. For me, it's an all around great unit.

[Rope]

I use a H2Oc, that I also bought from Pro Fishing Supply.Dave is real nice to deal with and goes the extra step to make the experience good.My son uses a Ifinfer Hunt and likes it also.Are they the BEST?They keep me happy.

[Ed Carlson]

I use the Garmin Rhino 530 HCX. I Love it! Best money I spent in a long while.

Know exactly where you are at all times with Rino 530HCx and the precision of high-sensitivity GPS. This waterproof FRS/GMRS radio plus GPS navigator adds a barometric altimeter, electronic compass and NOAA weather radio in addition to the popular features of the Rino 520HCx — 5 watts of transmit power, a microSD card slot, brilliant color display and a high-sensitivity GPS receiver — so you’ll never be lost again.

Pinpoint Your Position

With its high-sensitivity GPS receiver, Rino 530HCx locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. The advantage is clear — whether you’re in deep woods or just near tall buildings and trees, you can count on Rino 530HCx to help you find your way when you need it the most.

Find Your Friends

Like the rest of the Rino series, Rino 530HCx offers a unique Position Reporting feature. Position Reporting lets you send your exact location to other Rino users in your group so that everyone can see your position on the map page. And, because Rino is a standard FRS/GMRS radio, you can use it to communicate with any other conventional FRS/GMRS radio around.

Transmit with Power

Rino 530HCx boasts a whopping 5 watts of transmit power (GMRS), which lets you contact others from up to 14 miles away (line of sight). In Canada, you can transmit at 2 watts over GMRS with a range of up to 8 miles.

Other Rino 530HCx features:

* Barometric altimeter pinpoints your precise elevation.

* Electronic compass tells you what direction you’re headed, even when you're standing still.

* Bold color TFT display makes it easy to see and navigate to family or friends at an amusement park, lake or other outdoor group activity.

* microSD™ card slot accepts preloaded MapSource® data cards with detailed maps. Also reads LakeMaster micro SD cards.

* Automatic routing and turn-by-turn directions with alert tones let you find an address or point of interest and drive there (with optional MapSource map data).

* Rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides up to 14 hours of outdoor use.

There is a $80 rebait on it now too tell the end of the year.

[dan z]

I have the best lowrance made its an expidetionC instead of having a magnetic compass it has an electric compass which helps when moving at slow speeds I have heard when your going less than 1.5mph the magnetic compasses dont stay true to thier lines. the lowrances all take cards which is nice for me atleast I dont have to download charts to a card then install them on to the unit. I know the garmins have some that take chips but have looked at some of then prices on there chips and they seem to be a lil more expensive than the sd cards for the lowrancec I have had my unit for 3 years and have had nothin to complain about. Iam sure someone will tell ya the color units use more battery juice but IMO the juice used is well worth the money the color units are a lot easier to read...

not sure what prices are now but this is what they were the last time I checked

h20= 169

h20C= 269

ExpidetionC= 300

explorer=199( the none color expidetion)

hunt=199( has different symbols)

[BobT]

Somebody may be able to verify this but I believe Garmin products may have a little edge on speed accuracy. My Rino120 is accurate down to about .1mph. Something to consider if you like to use this feature for trolling.

Also, if you plan on using it for fishing, waterproof is a good idea and floatation is even better. Rinos like mine don't float but are submersible. A nice feature when you drop it in the mud while ATVing and then need to clean it. I speak from experience.

I can also attest to the ruggedness of my Garmin Rino120. It has been dropped 16 feet out of a deer stand onto rocks, dropped and buried in mud (ATV incident), dropped in a lake, and still came up ticking like a Timex. It finally gave in when I slipped while ice fishing and landed on it with my hip, which brings me to service.

I can tell you that Garmin's service it great. For a fixed fee I was able to replace the one I damaged and unfortunately about 10 months afterward began to have trouble with it shutting off intermittently while using battery power. The replacement only had a 90-day warranty but they covered the unit anyway. Turn-around on repairs is fast too. In both cases for me I had my replacement unit within 5 work days.

If you plan to use yours for hunting or other field applications on your feet, consider getting one that includes electronic compass. Without it, the unit won't know which way you're facing unless you are moving and this can confuse you if you're not accustomed to it.

Mine is not a color model so I can't speak about that.

Good luck in your search. There are a lot of good, quality brands and models to choose from.

Bob

[Fever]

I bought a Lowrance H20 with the lake master chip last spring. I could not be happier. It has opened up areas I never would have fished or found. I also have a legend that I use from time to time to transfer spot I have saved on it to my H20. The Lake master chip is worth it's weight in gold for deep water structure fishing and I'm hoping it'll help get to the spot on the spot during this hardwater season. Unfortunately I've been sick for a couple weeks and haven't had the opportunities to use it as much as I'd like. btw... it also came in quite handy while deer hunting up near Leech Lake as far as finding small loging roads. I was pleasently surprized to find those small roads were on my unit.

[Northlander]

I think Lowrance has such a large share in the hand held market because they take Chips like lakemaster or Navionics.

I wouldnt own a hand held that wont take a chip or that you have to buy extras to be able to download maps onto. Too much nonsense for me.

I have the H2Oc and love it. If I hunted I would go with the hunt or Expedition because of the compass mentioned in a above post.

Prices are dropping on these units. Do your homework and you can find some great deals on them now.

[Nordern]

Has anyone ever used a Magellon Triton 1500? I have an option of selecting this GPS froma service award at work and would pass over it if it's not that great.

[BobT]

For anyone interested in finding that right GPS to fit their needs, your best bet is to go where they have a decent display of units that you can get touchy-feely with first-hand. We all have chosen ours for whatever reason and you'll get a lot of different opinions here why we think our choice was best. In the end, it was best for us but may not be best for you.

Whether you choose Garmin, Lowrance, Magellan, or any other brand, if it has the features you need for the way you plan to use it, it will be the best choice for you.

Bob

[Hakksaww]

I own about 5 gps' at any given time

I have Magellans for handhelds and Garmin for the cars. The accuracy on my magellan's are SPOT ON.

Remember - they are all subject to signal drift - every one. You just have to remember that it's averaging based on returns from up to 12 satellites, and it's ability to average it out correctly that determines it's accuracy.

That being said, I hate them for fishing because the lake maps are next to impossible to get.