# Best handheld GPS



## blindhog (Feb 19, 2008)

For land and sea.  I want to use one for turkey hunting and then use it for fishing the flats.

What do you suggest, and why?


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## whitetaco02 (Feb 19, 2008)

Lowrance iFinder Hunt C.  It is very easy to use and you can buy SD cards for land and sea with "hotspots" on there.


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## KDarsey (Feb 20, 2008)

Bump for more input


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## NOYDB (Feb 20, 2008)

I researched the heck out of them before I purchased mine. There are plenty of good choices available. Go to the mfc web sites and get their specs to compare. For those of us that hunt & fish I narrowed it down to these:

Garmin: eTrex Vista, RINO 130 or 530, GPSMAP 76 or 60. The ones with electronic compass function.

Magelleon: the 300 and 600 because they have the compass. They may have introduced more models.

Lowrance: Explorer, Hunt or Expedition.

I tried monochrome but ended up trading up to color, it's just so much easier to see and to me gives more information. Costs more but I think it is worth it.

I decided I liked the ones that allow you to use expandable memory cards. More flexabilty. I prefer SD cards as they are more common and less expensive.

I finally settled on a Lowrance Expedition, I liked the bigger screen that it has over the others. Downside is the unit is bigger than the others because of that. However, it fits in my hands better and the controls are bigger too, which with my fat fingers is easier to use.

The eTrex is the smallest, but it works as well as any. The RINOs are really neat, but if you don't have someone else with one, may not be worth the extra cost to you.


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## whitetaco02 (Feb 20, 2008)

http://www.tigergps.com/gpsreceivers.html

Go here and read more about the features that best suits what you are looking for.


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## Shane Dockery (Feb 20, 2008)

garmin etrex vista hcx with the micro sd cards for highway nav, and the ones for lakes.  great little unit.


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## k4deez (Feb 21, 2008)

*garmin*

garmin etrex, inexpensive and the most simple one i have ever used.


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## KYBobwhite (Feb 21, 2008)

*Garmin 60CSX*

In my humble opinion, the Garmin 60CSX is the best handheld out there. I have used everything from the cheapest handheld up to Trimble units providing submeter accuracy (for work) and this unit gives you the most bang for your buck. I paid $500 for mine and you can  now get one for as cheap as $270.00-300.00. I use mine for hunting and for work as well as when travelling. You can do routing if you buy the software (around 100.00-125.00). It's connects to sattelites really quickly and the precision accuracy can be as low as 8 feet. Best purchase I have ever made.


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## Swamprat (Feb 22, 2008)

In my honest opinion there is no "best" GPS handheld device. They all receive the same signals so it boils down to what bells and whistles you want with your device.

A $100 handheld will get you to the same place as a $500 unit under the same circumstances. The key thing to remember is what point you located at 9 in the morning might be 50-100 feet or so off at 3 in the afternon due to a different sattelite configuration and varying differences in DOP precisions. A hanheld unit is built for navigation, not pinpoint accuracy. If you can't find your vehicle within 100 feet of it's recorded handheld position then you might as well stay home.

I have been involved with GPS since the early 1990's and have done sub millimeter static observations to sub meter locations with different types of GPS equipment. In the early days most GPS was done at night due to the limited number of satellites and that the orbits were mostly over the region at night. Most GPS observations were pre-planned prior to where you knew at what exact time you turned on a receiver to let it "cook" for an hour to obtain enough data for post processing.

Today we are not limited to satellite coverage but there is a few times during the day where it does get somewhat unproductive (most notably from 11:30 am till 1:00 pm) where you loose a few satellites and they become bunched into one orbital plane.

Now back to the handheld question......find a unit that suits your needs as well as budget. A Etrex does a great job for the price. Look on Ebay for a Garmin GPS III.....one of the best units ever produced since it gave you an option to use the antenna externally with a cable.

Like I said....they all receive the same satellites and no handheld unit has the "magic box" so to speak unless you go really high end with a Magellan ProMark 2 or 3 or the Mobile Mapper which both are geared toward GIS applications as well as static GPS after post processing but the $2500 price tag does not make it a affordable option to just find a catfish hole.


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## Ozzie (Feb 25, 2008)

To me the biggest difference is between a mapping unit and a non mapping unit. A non mapping unit will take you back to a place where you have been before, but a mapping unit will take you to a place where you have never been.


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## Doyle (Feb 25, 2008)

Whenever you get your choice narrowed down (by features), I suggest you take it one step further.   See if the store will allow you to step outside with several and see if you can read them in bright sunlight.    Most units can be read well in dim light (most have built in backlights).  The problem comes with bright sunlight.   Many units are less than readable when you have a bright glare - and sunglasses kind of makes them worse.


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## BIGGUS (Feb 26, 2008)

*Garmin Colorado 400t*

Check Garmin's website. They've got a totally new unit $$$ coming out in a few weeks. It's got all the topo maps  already loaded in it and with 3-D views! They've got one for lakes, another for offshore too!


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## critterbait (Apr 9, 2008)

Lowrance Ifinder H20C is a great unit.


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## bow_hunter125 (Apr 26, 2008)

Garmin 60 CSX.  I just got one and it is awesome!  Just as KYbobwhite said, it connects to satellites very fast.  It has many features that you will find beneficial on land and water.  I got mine to put in my truck, take out once I get to the lake and put on the boat, and to also help me hike way back into the woods during the early morning hours during deer/duck season.  A hunting/fishing buddy of mine has one and loves it.  I haven't been able to load any software on it yet, but from what I have seen just playing with it, it is an awesome unit.  I got mine off of walmart's website(cheapest I found) for $270.  You can order it offline and it will be shipped to the store for pickup.  No shipping charges, just taxes.  I have talked to many people who have this unit and absolutely love it!


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## allen926 (Jul 9, 2008)

Garmin 60csx you will always have satellites even in a dense canopy of trees.


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## joefishin (Jul 11, 2008)

I have a Garmin GPSMAP60CS with North American City Navigator. It's great for hunting, fishing traveling or marking places on Google Earth.


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## Capt Gary (Jul 18, 2008)

I have the Garmin 76CSX and think it's a great all around unit.


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## 01Foreman400 (Jul 21, 2008)

I just got a Garmin 60 CSX.  It's a great unit.


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## Davexx1 (Aug 2, 2008)

I have a Garmin GPSMAP76CSX.  It is a very nice color unit, has a easily readable screen, many features, works very well, very accurate, etc.  I use it in the woods to learn new areas, find certain terrain features, etc.  It will do much more than I know how to do.

Dave1


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## huntone (Aug 14, 2008)

*Summit*

Garmin e-trex Summit, just upgraded and reintroduced. Compass, barometer, altitude, bundles for maping, etc. $300. or less. Got a little more stuff than the vistas. Had an older one, got stolen, will have another soon.


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## huntnboy (Aug 25, 2008)

Where is the best place to get maps for the garmin gps?


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## tree daddy 7 (Aug 27, 2008)

k4deez said:


> garmin etrex, inexpensive and the most simple one i have ever used.


I also use the etrex never got me lost in the woods. $100.00 and your set.


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## StikR (Sep 15, 2008)

Garmin 60csx


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## NOYDB (Sep 26, 2008)

Well just couldn't resist. The prices have come down on the Garmin Rinos and Garmin has a $50 rebate promotion till the end of the month. Lowest I culd find (for now) http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=GRR530HCX

So I pulled the trigger and got a 530hcx. So far so good. It's pulling in satellites inside the house, and not next to a window. Better than any of the other units I've tried. So it should do well in the woods. Pretty easy to use and if you are a Palm pilot'er the menus are almost the same and makes it really quick to pick up. 

Compared to my Lowrance Expedition? 

It has a smaller screen but still readable. I think the menus are easier to use and so are the buttons. However the Expedition is slimmer and fits in a pocket easier. I like the Expedition and it is accurate. I was fooling around with some straps on a treestand, had the unit in my pocket. I was walking back and forth from my UTV, about 10ft and when I looked at the track it clearly showed me going back and forth between the two points 10ft apart. So the Expedition works great, I just wanted the radio functions and other features on the Rino.

Of course you can do just fine with out all the bells and whistles. But they are nice to have. The boogers are fun to play with.


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