Best GPS

[thegamegtr]

I have three Garmin Rhino GPS Units. Problem is they are all pretty basic. All I ever used it for was to mark glassing pts., trails, wallows ect. After last elk season, I want a GPS that has a color screen and that I could download topo maps with property ownership. I spent 4 days looking at 60 head of elk that were "pretty much" land locked last season. They were standing on public land!! There was a small strip of land that could have lead me to the end of the the rainbow, but I did not feel confident navigating through the private land with the GPS units I had. I will continue to look through prior posts on this topic. Thanks

 

[Baerman]

There has been a lot of talk in here about the Garmin Oregon 450 and huntinggpsmaps.com combo. I need to look into the newer garmin rhino's with color screen to see if they can show property lines. I think there is a download on huntinggpsmaps for those units. I really like the feature of knowing where my hunting partner is with the rhino's.

 

[Danvet]

I'm glad that you asked this question. I'm about ready to take that step and, being technologically handicapped, I am having problems deciphering the info. I have indeed reviewed other posts on hunttalk and they were helpful but I'm not quite there yet. I can only afford the 300-400 dollar range and I hope that this will suffice for a good user friendly model. Any input will be appreciated.

 

[pointingdogsrule]

As stated in previous posts I have the Oregon 450 (without maps) and it is "INCREDIBLY" user friendly. The touch screen is really nice. I have not decided which maps to upload. The "huntinggpsmaps" seem very nice. You can download them on to the computer at home, look them over and then upload the maps to the gps. Others have talked about other types of maps that you can "make" or "paste" together, however, I am not that computer literate for that type of job.

One drawback of the Oregon is that it uses a lot of batteries........ make sure you get the rechargable batteries as they last longer.

good luck to all
the dog

 

[174in]

I like my oregon 450t it is one of the best things I own for hunting very easy to and it seems built very well I dont think you could go wrong with the garmin oregon.

 

[thegamegtr]

Thanks! The Oregon 450 sounds like a great choice. Has there been any problems with the touch screen? I have tried to use my sons phone (touch screen) and I can hardly dial a number Also, does the screen show any wear after a lot of use. I really appreciate the imput

 

[pointingdogsrule]

Thanks! The Oregon 450 sounds like a great choice. Has there been any problems with the touch screen? I have tried to use my sons phone (touch screen) and I can hardly dial a number Also, does the screen show any wear after a lot of use. I really appreciate the imput

touch screen has always worked well for me. I have big fingers and I have never had a problem. I've only had it since March so I can not comment on the screen wear.

good luck to all
the dog

 

[cityhunter]

i own the dakota 20 the reason i got this garmin was its smaller and better batt life I have the gpsmaps sd card installed for landownership they are unreal , louis

 

[174in]

Like points dog said my touch screen works great the screen buttons are big.I have found the lithium batteries hold up great in the unit but alkalines wont last nearly as long.

 

[Let The Carbon Fly]

I have the Oregon 550. Very intuitive menu’s and I like the touch screen. The camera is really handy when marking waypoints and when you upload the waypoints / imagines into the Garmin mapping software. I agree that Lithium batteries are the way to go. If you turn on the battery save function and turn your screen brightness down to 85% it really help on the battery life. Huntinggpsmaps are the way to go. No more guessing where you are. They also have a new product called Digital hunter that is an addon for Google Earth it's great for scouting.

 

[thegamegtr]

I've heard enough! Looks like I will be purchasing an Oregon model. Thanks!!

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

Im thinkin of a oregon model also,I curently have the e-trex vista cx ,its nice,batterys last,coler screen is nice,takes the same sd card{gpsmaps.com} are awesome,small,,lots of features,easy to use,,,do you guys think forkin for the oregon 450 or 550 is worth it?my coler screen is a bit small,but ive heard the oregon screens are hard to see? anybody?

 

[npaden]

The Oregon 550T is on sale at Cabelas for $439.99, it shows a list price of $599.99.

I've decided that I need a new GPS as well, my old Garmin Etrex still works fine, but my iPhone got a better gps signal than it did when I was hiking this past week. It is one of the old models before the HC feature and it really struggles in thick tree cover.

The Garmin 60CSx is on sale there too for $249.99 down from a list price of $499.99.

One question, do you have to take gloves off to use the touch screen on the oregon models?

 

[Danvet]

How do you experienced GPS shoppers/owners feel about refurbished units?

 

[Big Fin]

Many good units with different features, based on what you are looking for. I have used the Garmin GPSMap 62 st. It is the best unit I have ever used, for the applications I need. Very durable, great display, and more mapping capabilities than I want to learn.

I know Pointer and WT in MT are both intensive GPS users in their fields of work. They are big fans of the DeLorme products. I had one and struggled to get familiar with it for my applications.

I would first look at what your most common application is, then chose from there. For a hunter who downloads from the popular map services or who gets the map chips, I think you would be hard pressed to beat the 62st. Especially if durability, satellite acquisition, and battery life are high on your priority list. If you want one with a camera, radio, etc. Look for a different unit.

Garmin gave me an Oregon to use. After about three hunts, I sent it back. Just not best for my application. Might be great for other people and their application.

Garmin then sent me the 62st to try. They are not getting it back .

 

[WapitiBob]

Do any of them have decent topo maps? The Garmin maps I have seen look terrible.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

when you add the gps maps.com sd card they are pretty good i think,especially on property boundrys.better than the garmin factory mapping.

 

[174in]

Many good units with different features, based on what you are looking for. I have used the Garmin GPSMap 62 st. It is the best unit I have ever used, for the applications I need. Very durable, great display, and more mapping capabilities than I want to learn.

I know Pointer and WT in MT are both intensive GPS users in their fields of work. They are big fans of the DeLorme products. I had one and struggled to get familiar with it for my applications.

I would first look at what your most common application is, then chose from there. For a hunter who downloads from the popular map services or who gets the map chips, I think you would be hard pressed to beat the 62st. Especially if durability, satellite acquisition, and battery life are high on your priority list. If you want one with a camera, radio, etc. Look for a different unit.

Garmin gave me an Oregon to use. After about three hunts, I sent it back. Just not best for my application. Might be great for other people and their application.

Fin I would be interested what you favored the 62 over the oregon,never know I may decide to switch gps's.I like the ease of use on the oregon models.Does the 62 seem user friendly? I am not a gps novice I once had an extrex and had a hard time trying to use it with only 2 buttons. Also to answer the question pretty sure the oregon needs a gloveless finger to use.

 

[Big Fin]

Fin I would be interested what you favored the 62 over the oregon,never know I may decide to switch gps's.I like the ease of use on the oregon models.Does the 62 seem user friendly? I am not a gps novice I once had an extrex and had a hard time trying to use it with only 2 buttons. Also to answer the question pretty sure the oregon needs a gloveless finger to use.

Battery life when using backlight for walking out in the dark, mapping capability, and satellite acquisition. And probably my bias of using the 60CSX, which is very similar to the 62,

And, after the first trip through rocks and brush, the display screen was toast. Just seemed to be less bombproof than the 62, which is a device you can beat the hell out of.

 

[174in]

Thanks Fin I may have to check it out next time I get to cabelas.So far I have not had any complaints with my oregon after 1 year of use since I started using lithium batteries but my dad is in need of a gps unit so I would like to check out this 62 garmin and mabee give him my oregon if I decide to purchase the 62sx.