Best Gps Outdoors

Garmin recommendations?

My wife has decided that she wants a Garmin for her birthday. I totally agree that this is the right choice for GPS. However, I am frustrated with what version to get. For those who have some background, I want to ask what version is right for us. The requirements we have are:

1. Outdoors. We want to be able to use the device while camping and/or hiking. Long battery life and weather-proof goes a long way.
2. Driving. We want to use the device when driving and get turn by turn directions to wherever we are going when we use it in the car (I don’t mind loading maps onto a SD card, but I want to hear where to turn, not watch a screen).
3. Price. Bang for the buck, which Garmin is the best?

I tried to decipher the products on the Garmin site, and walked away needing an asprin. Anyone with experience with the Garmins, please help me choose which they would prefer if it was their money.

The fact that you want an outdoor unit is the determining factor here because you need something rugged. That eliminates the iQue and most of the car-oriented units.

The new eTrex Legend HCx fulfills all of your needs in terms of outdoor usage and costs about $250. It is a handheld unit with a color screen, good receiver sensitivity, and has long battery life from 2 AAs (upwards of 30hrs). If you need a barometer and electronic compass (not GPS signal-derived), you can step up to the similar Vista HCx.

The Legend HCx will autoroute but it does not provide spoken directions. Before a turn it will beep and display a message on the screen. There are no handhelds that provide spoken directions. The other issue with the color eTrex HCx units is that the buttons are on the sides. That may make operation difficult if you mount it in the car. The GPSmap 60Cx/CSx and 76 Cx/CSx have the buttons on the front, but they are larger and cost a bit more than the eTrex HCx series. They are good units too and deserve a look. At the moment, I think the 60Cx and CSx have a $50 rebate right now, putting the price of the Cx below $300.

I can also direct you to a couple of the Garmin Quest models that are handheld size. They are more toward the automotive end of design, but they are durable enough for outdoor use. The only issue is that they might be discontinued and I’m not 100% sure they offer voice prompts.

My knowledge mostly covers handhelds, so I can’t give you too much info about the car models. The thing for you to decide is where are you going to use the GPS receiver the most? You could always get a nice car unit like the StreetPilot C320 (voice prompts, but no text-to-speech so it can’t say street names) and then get a cheaper handheld.

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