GPS Handheld

[john5948]

I'm in the market for a new gps. I have already tried the Lowrance endura series and didn't really care for that at all. I'm leaning more towards the garmin devices know.I was looking for your advice of what series of the garrmin to get. Do the $100 vs the $300 versions make much of a difference if I'm just going to use it for ice fishing mainly?

[vman11]

Maybe a different direction than you intended, but have you considered a non-handheld?

For instance, when I ice fish I am either on my sled, SxS or truck. I take my hds7 off the bow of my boat and RAM mount it to whatever vehicle I am in.

I have a handheld but it very rarely gets used now that I've set up my larger unit. Easier to see contours, it can quickly be turned into a fish locator with the purchase of a transducer and now my boat electronics are being used all season. Just a thought.

[magicstix]

I'd like to know the same, who makes a good handheld GPS?

Who's will take the new Lakemaster chips?

[FISHINGURU]

Pretty funny, I just busted out the H20c and threw in a new pair of batteries and was wondering if this thing is outdated lol. Don't matter though because I love the thing, just wish it would find my location faster and load faster when zooming in and out. That would be the only reasons for me to upgrade.

[magicstix]

That's what I'm trying to replace, H20.

[MN Mike]

If your looking for a handheld for mapping purposes, I would suggest the garmin etrex 20 at minimum, you'll probably find those for somewhere around $170.

After that the GPSMap 62 and 78's would be a good choice.

The cheaper garmins like the etrex 10 are very basic, not what you would look for if you want mapping.

As far as pricing, higher prices get you larger screens, barometric sensor, electronic compass and / or a built in digital camera.

There are a lot of free topo maps and other maps that can be downloaded for garmin, most are free.

Mike

[Bureaucrat]

I've got the Garmin 62S. I'm pretty pleased with it. It does have some drawbacks:

*Acquiring location can take a while just like an H20.

*Not all maps are very great as far as contour detail goes.

*It eats batteries like an H20.

*The HSOforum for updating maps and devices can be a tad tricky to navigate, but it can be done.

Pluses:

*Garmin has a single chip for ND/SD/MN/WI/IA. It's got almost every major lake you could want to fish. It does not have all the smaller more obscure ponds, but coverage is pretty good. No need to buy a LOW chip, or a Dakotas chip. It's all there.

Overall, I am happy with my 62S. It's not perfect, but it does the job.

[low277]

I picked up a Garmin 62s about a month ago for just under 200 dollars. I already had a lake chip that I had bought to use in a Nuvi.

So far I like it alot, I bought it to replace a much older Garmin and the 62s is much faster to turn on, find itself, load different pages etc.