Looking for a new handheld GPS

[walleyehunter80]

I plan on doing alot of big game hunting in Nebraska, Montana, Colorado and wisconsin in the coming years.

I was wondering what GPS do you have and if you like it or not. What states have you used it in and how well did it work. Does it have public lands marked well allong with boundaries?

Does it have satelite imagery if so do you like it? How accurate?

Thanks

[MN Mike]

I have a Garmin Colorado 300, it is not a current model and was discontinued some time ago, basically it's the same thing as a Oregon series just not a touchscreen.

I used it in Colorado this year Elk and Mule Deer hunting, downloaded a Topo map for it for free from the gpsfiledepot site. When I registered my Colorado, Garmin sent me a discounted price on their Birdseye product, it's a 1 year subscription to their satellite imagery system, so I downloaded the area I wanted into my Colorado 300 also.

Accuracy was VERY good on both products. It was nice to have both maps loaded in the GPS at the same time and you could switch between them very easily.

When you're looking for a new Garmin, look for GPSMap 78 or 62 series ( non touchscreen models ) and the Oregon or the new Montana series ( touchscreen models ). Montana's will rotate the screen when you tilt them, plus the biggest screen of them all.

If you get a chance to check them out in person, I always recommend asking to take them out in direct sunlight and see what you like best. Personally I like non touchscreen devices ( brighter screen ) but to each his own.

Lots of possibilities with these Garmins, many different maps to download and use.

Mike

[walleyehunter80]

Hey thanks Mike, you have been very helpfull.

You think garmin is the way to go now days?

[MN Mike]

In the Handheld / Nav GPS Market I don't think they can be beat when you look at the list of available maps and the amount of custom maps that are being built plus the features you get with a Garmin.

They cover just about any need you want or have when it comes to a GPS, you want one that has buttons on top or buttons on the bottom, they've got it, you want touchscreen, they've got that too, want one that floats, yep, they have it covered.

Garmin's track record is very strong as far as a dependable, accurate and rugged GPS. Customer support is top notch too, I can vouch for that personally.

I bought my first one in Jan. of 1998, still works to this day and it hasn't been treated well but you turn it on, give it about 15 minutes on the hood of the truck ( if it hasn't been used in a while ) and it's ready to go just like it always has been, I can trust it to be there when I need it.

Mike

[walleyehunter80]

I dislike the touch screen the same as you, for some reason I want the buttons. Its seems as if most cell phones and GPS units are becoming harder to find with buttons.

I will take your advice and look into Garmin, It was what I was leaning toward anyhow. The one I had checked out at the store was the Garmin 62ST but I thought it was a bit slow at bringing up the new map while scrolling in any direction.

The maps I was looking at were the Garmin Topo 24K, The one with Nebraska, Northdakota, Southdakota, Minnesota and Iowa. Makes me mad they didnt include WI.

[MN Mike]

I will take your advice and look into Garmin, It was what I was leaning toward anyhow. The one I had checked out at the store was the Garmin 62ST but I thought it was a bit slow at bringing up the new map while scrolling in any direction.

When it comes to the map draw times, you have a couple of items that can cause a slow draw time. The number of maps active at one time has an effect AND the map detail has a big effect, you can toggle that to different settings, my GPSMap 60 has these settings: Most, More, Normal, Less and Least. That in combination with how tight you are zoomed in will effect draw speed.

If I were in the market for a new one, that 62st would be on my list for sure.

Mike

[bigbad401]

I have a Garmin Oregon 200 and I love it. I like the touchscreen. On mine I have not noticed too much with slow map draw times. The Birdseye maps will slow down map draw, but on normal maps I don't find too much slowness.

[walleyehunter80]

Where would you say would be the best place to purchase a new gps, somewhere when I talk to a salesman they actually know more than I do. I have not had good luck at the big box store that starts with a "C"

[leech~~]

Where would you say would be the best place to purchase a new gps, somewhere when I talk to a salesman they actually know more than I do. I have not had good luck at the big box store that starts with a "C"

Huuum, I have gotten pretty good info from the "C" store guys more then any others? Maybe you got a new person? You could try some where like Thorn Bro's as well. WMart No, FF No, Gander No, Reed's is another good one.

[MN Mike]

It sure is a roll of the dice when it comes to salesmen at the bigger stores, I've had decent luck at Cabelas, Scheels has been good, Gander varied from store to store and I would agree with Leech on Reeds.

If you're limited on the stores close to you, call them and ask someone who's the best Handheld GPS person you have and catch them when they are at the store.

I've been there before, walked away shakin' my head wondering why they have someone like that selling GPS devices BUT then come back a week or month later and the next guy is flipping right thru the screens like nobody's business and knew their stuff.

Mike

[schweady]

Where would you say would be the best place to purchase a new gps, somewhere when I talk to a salesman they actually know more than I do. I have not had good luck at the big box store that starts with a "C"

At the Rogers Cabelas, the handhelds used to be in the fishing dept, along with the boat units and the guys there were top-notch -- knew all the units, various updates, differences between cards, on and on. All my years troubleshooting my Lowrance unit and annual LakeMaster and card purchases and Navionics card upgrades were handled with ease over there. Now, the handhelds are over on the hunting side of the store and the guys there (at least for the 2-3 times I've talked with them) were not exactly clueless, but were nowhere near as knowledgeable or willing to walk through my questions in any depth. I was glad that I had done my homework well enough to know what I wanted and pounce on a very good sale price on my Garmin 62st.

[walleyehunter80]

I also have had real good luck with the knowledge that the sales guys at scheels had. Gander on the other hand I have also had bad luck.

I think its settled, I am going to buy a garmin 62 STC with garmin 24 K topo chip.

Thanks all for your input