GPS ?

[Lockman]

I want to buy a new GPS,been debating between the Garmin Etrex Legend and the Cobra 100 wass traxis.Is anyone familiar with either of these units(likes or dislikes)or have any other suggestions on a unit you prefer?I would prefer something in the $150.00-$225.00 range.

[waterwolff]

pretty tough to beat a garmin I have been using one for 10 years now and have never had any problem with any of them right now I have a map 76 handheld and a 182 in the boat they are user friendly for sure

[sandman469ss]

I have the Etrex Legend and couldn't be happier with it. It's nice that it comes loaded with all the map data that it does. Search the web and you can find a pretty good deal on them. My friend has the model below the Legend, and gripes that it doesn't have the software that the etrex comes with. Hard to beat a Garmin.

------------------
Takin it easy! & if it’s easy, I’ll take it twice!

[McGurk]

I've used the garmin legend for about a year and have been very happy with it. Small, easy to use, lots of compatible software.

Any one have any ideas on longer-life yet affordable batteries (this uses 2 AA batts)?

[Lockman]

Thank's for the feedback everyone,sounds like Garmin is the way to go.Now just have to find the best price.

[sandman469ss]

McGurk,

They have a cigarette lighter adapter, sell them at Fleet, Cabelas, Gander. Cheapest at Fleet & Cabelas. It's $32, but if you go through a lot of batteries, that would be the way to go. I'm getting one with my Cabelas bucks as soon as I get down there, cause most of the time I use it, I'm either in the truck or boat anyway.
Otherwise, I've just been using the cheapest bats I can find, and they don't wear out any quicker than the spendy ones.

------------------
Takin it easy! & if it’s easy, I’ll take it twice!

[Justfishing]

McGurk

I use recharable Nimh batteries in my digital camera. They last a lot longer then the alkalines. They are rayovacs and the charger will charge both alkaline and nimh batteries.

My camera can eat alkalines in a day and and I can get 3 maybe 4 days from my nimh

I use my camera daily for my job and have had this set of batteries for over a year. I think you can get a pack of 4 for a $10 and the small charger for $15.

[This message has been edited by Justfishing (edited 03-18-2004).]

[Sharphook]

I almost bought the Garmin Legend until someone convinced me to purchase the Lowrance IFinder Pro. It was the same price and did much more then the Legend. I have used it several times, including on Winnie and it has never failed me. It has a basemap, compass and I think 16mb of memory. It takes software chips and memory chips. But that is the catch with any GPS, the software will cost you $$$. The IFinder has an advanced use and easy use. I figured out both in a couple of days. Very user friendly. I also like the larger display area, which makes it bigger then the Legend. The unit does comes with a cigarette adapter so you don't have to eat up so much batteries. When I bought mine, the sales person had sold 60 of them in two weeks. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[Sportfish1850]

I'm in the market for GPS too and doing a lot of research on the various brands and options. I agree the I-Finder Pro is a nice unit. The only thing I didn't like about the I-finder series (any of the 3 current models including the pro) is they are not water proof. Anything electronic that goes in my boat had better be water proof. Sticking it in a water proof pouch to operate through is not sufficient.

Lowrance says its coming out with an I-Finder H20 which will be waterproof but its not supposed to hit the market until mid-late May. So it will likely not be around until June.

I'm debating waiting until the I-Finder H2O comes out or going with a slightly higher priced Garmin model that offers most of the same features and LakeMaster compatibility.

[McGurk]

Thanks for the feedback about batts. I think the rechargable batts will be the way to go. I'd been buying the sleeve of 24 AA's from G.M. and they sure seemed to burn faster, but maybe I was just using it more.

The Vista has a couple of built in features like the altimeter (most lakes are flat) and the electronic compass (a little faster than the GPS compass but just keep moving and you'll have a good direction) but all in all the biggest benefit would be the memory storage. And as cheap as memory is getting and as tiny as the dig. camera cards are I don't know why the price is offset so much. I'd rather see an expandable slot on future units with the number of mapping program options there are out there.

$.02

[sandman469ss]

I've used my legend for about a year and a half, and I'm at 1% memory usage, of course I don't store many tracks. The altimeter is a wash, unless you're doing mountain climbing seriously. You are able to set the unit to display elevation.
I looked at all the Etrex when I bought mine, & I think the Legend id the best bang for the buck.
Besides, they are always coming out with new stuff, & we have to have a reason to go to the sporting goods store every year and get some more stuff don't we.

------------------
Takin it easy! & if it’s easy, I’ll take it twice!

[hanson]

Anyone have an opinion on the difference between a Etrex Vista & Legend?

They both have mapping but I think the Vista has more memory and also costs more. Anyone see a need to have the extra memory capacity, or are you Legend users getting by just fine with what you have? I'm leaning towards the Legend unless I'll be happy I spent the extra money for the Vista.

Opinions anybody??

[McGurk]

The memory usage is only a concern if you are using additional mapping software. I have the Roads and Recreation pack from garmin as I like to use it as i'm driving. On a long trip you can cover a large portion of country and therefore load alot of data from the pack, using up 8 mB pretty quick. For points and tracks, though, you will have to do a lot of marking to fill up 8 megs.

A quick jab at the software: With the prices they are charging for Map/ Topo/ Lake data packs it's no wonder there is software piracy. $200+ for some packs when you can get the hardware for +/- $100??? Sounds like the Gillette replaceable razor blade system at work again.

[hanson]

Thanks everybody for your feedback about the Legend & Vista. I've been looking at the Vista for awhile now but haven't plopped down any money yet. I think it'll be a little easier to stomach the price of a Legend. Since I don't need the altimeter & electonic compass, the extra memory is all I'd probably need. From what I've gathered above, marking waypoints and tracks won't eat up the 8mb the Legend has so that's the way I'm going to go. Looks like I'll be getting it in just enough time for ice fishing to end.