# Handheld GPS for hunting & fishing



## turbogt (Jan 21, 2009)

I'm looking to get a handheld GPS unit to use primarily for hunting, but also for use on my boat to find fishing spots. My primary requirements are good battery life, ease of use (i.e. user friendly) and programming and upgradeability with updated maps/software/cards.
My budget is pretty generous & I've been reading about these two Garmin units which are fairly close in price and features:
http://www.thegpsstore.com/Garmin-Or...S-P1900C2.aspx
http://www.thegpsstore.com/Garmin-Co...S-P1728C2.aspx
The Oregon unit has a touch screen which streamlines it a bit - however, I've found with my iPhone that touchscreens often don't respond to gloved hands. For that reason the Colorado seems like it might be more suitable for hunting with cold, gloved fingers while still being pretty simple to use after looking at the online manual. The battery life looks good (my first generation yellow Garmin etrex chewed up batteries nonstop), and the 3" color screen on both of these look like they would help my not-so-young eyes.
I'd appreciate any opinion, or better yet - personal experience with either of these or similar units.
Thanks,
Tim


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## marknga (Jan 21, 2009)

I think that you would be happy with either one of these. I have heard that some folks have that same trouble with the Garmin Touch Screen, either hard to use with gloves or they "accidently" touch it.

I have the GPSMAP 60CSx and really like it. 
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=310

Again either one should more than suit your needs.


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## turbogt (Jan 22, 2009)

Thanks for the reply.  How is the actual battery life on your 60CSx compared with what they advertise?  The advertised life on my old one was 22hrs and I know I never got that much out of a set of batteries.
I'm leaning more towards the "Colorado" series but am a little concerned about battery consumption in actual use.


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## marknga (Jan 22, 2009)

Well I bought a brick of the Bass Pro Brand AA's and they stink. I would get 4-6 hours out of them. After putting some Duracell's in there (and forgetting that I had it on) they were going on12 hours.

This is my first GPS and it seems that the settings have a lot to do with battery consumption; screen contrast and brightness in particular. 


Check out this forum:

http://forums.gpsreview.net/

The Colorado looks like a great unit.


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## turbogt (Jan 23, 2009)

Ordered the Colorado 400t.  Should get it tomorrow or Monday.  Will post up some first impressions.


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## turbogt (Feb 4, 2009)

Have taken the Colorado into the field and after some initial frustrations have begun to take a liking to it.  It took a couple of calls to customer service to clarify some issues not covered in the owners manual.  
Having the entire TopoUSA pre-loaded on the unit without having to carry a miniSD card is a big convenience & you never have to worry about losing the card.  The included MapSource software makes moving coordinates back & forth between PC & GPS very easy.  The Colorado itself is small, making it easy to get in & out of your pocket.  I also bought a handlebar mount so I can use it while on the ATV or on my mountain bike without having to hold it in my hand or lap.
The screen is a little tough to see in bright sunlight, but that seems to be the price to pay for a higher number of pixels & better screen resolution which is apparent in normal and low light.
My only remaining beef with it is the battery consumption.  Fortunately it uses AA batteries which are relatively cheap & readily available.  The couple times I've used it so far it has been very cold and I'm sure the battery life decreases dramatically when the batteries are exposed to cold temps as when riding with the unit attached to handlebars.  I'm also going to try some NiMH rechargeables & will see what kind of service they give.
So far, I'd say the Colorado is overkill and pretty spendy for most people that intend to just use it for hunting.  There are lots of bells & whistles that most of us (myself included) will seldom use.  However, the expansion capabilities allow the unit to work pretty well in the boat or car as well.
So the jury is still out, but I'm thinking I will learn to like it and rely on it more come summer on the boat and next hunting season.  One thing is for sure - no GPS will ever take the place of, or be as reliable as a good compass and topo map!


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## NOYDB (Feb 5, 2009)

http://www.24hrbatteries.com/shop/vinnic-alkaline-battery-p-74.html


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## 1776Flintlock (Feb 11, 2009)

Check out the product ratings at Cabelas and Bass Pro online to see other users comments.

I have an older Magellan Gold and it works great.

If costs is an issue you may want to surf eBay for a bit to see if there is something there of value (nowadays that seems to be less and less as companies move into ebay and push out you regular sellers).

I have Garmin 350 Nuvis in all my vehicles and I find that brand is good too.

Before I got the Nuvis I used my Magellan in my vehicle and it worked wel too.

Just go for the features you like.

For batteries I got the Energizer unit with the 15 minute rechargable batteries. It has a wall plug recharger as well as a car plug recharger. My Magellan only needs 2 AA at a time.


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## gatorbob (Feb 11, 2009)

*Gps*

I have the Colorado and use rechargables. Get about 15 hrs and carry a spare set with me while in the woods. Theres not much this unit doesnt have and I will probably never utilize all the fuctions. Expensive but works great once you learn. You can probably step down to a cheaper model if your just gonna use for hunting


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## huntingonthefly (Feb 11, 2009)

marknga said:


> I think that you would be happy with either one of these. I have heard that some folks have that same trouble with the Garmin Touch Screen, either hard to use with gloves or they "accidently" touch it.
> 
> I have the GPSMAP 60CSx and really like it.
> https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=310
> ...



Just got that model a few weeks ago after I read you and another forum user mention it, THANKS- AWESOME! Had a Garmin Rino for years. I figgered it was time to update and glad I did. Works standing still- ready for use in thick cover in seconds even if just turned on. Regular batteries lasted me for days- left it on for several hours at the time.


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## marknga (Feb 11, 2009)

Your welcome. I hope that you enjoy it. I got the SE Topo card and it is pretty cool. The neat thing about this forum is getting opinions based on other folk's experiences. I've gained alot of info from these boards.

Mark


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## turbogt (Feb 12, 2009)

Glad this thread generated some comments & hope it helped someone else besides me.
I've decided to keep the Colorado - after spending a little more time learning about it and figuring out how to interface with Google Earth and other mapping sites I honestly think I could take this thing anywhere and find my way in the woods.  I'm spending my time this winter scouting and mapping stand sites for next year.  No more "bright eyes" and flagging tape.


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## huntingonthefly (Feb 13, 2009)

marknga said:


> Your welcome. I hope that you enjoy it. I got the SE Topo card and it is pretty cool. The neat thing about this forum is getting opinions based on other folk's experiences. I've gained alot of info from these boards.
> 
> Mark


Where did u get your SE Topo card and how much?


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## ben300win (Feb 16, 2009)

Mine eats batteries as well. Something you may not have thought of, is you can use the SD card slot to look at pictures from your camera or trail cam. I broke the screen on my digital camera while in route to colorado. I did not know if the camera would still work, so I snapped a picture and moved the SD card to my GPS, and it worked. I was too far from a Walmart to go pick up a new digital camera. The 400t is great, although it did lock up on me once. I had to take the batteries out of it to get it to shut off. Good luck.


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## marknga (Feb 16, 2009)

huntingonthefly said:


> Where did u get your SE Topo card and how much?




I ordered it from Cabela's

Region 11 
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true


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