I'm just now getting into the GPS craze... I've been researching all night but there's a flood of information out there.

I've been browsing http://gpsinformation.net/ for a little bit now.

I've looked up multiple FAQ's and have determined that not all GPS are created equal and some are better for hiking/outdoor navigation, while others are more specialized for road/automobile travel.

Useage will be for standard outdoor situations like hiking (automobile navigation is a plus, but not absolutely needed). .

After looking at some "What to look for" FAQ's, I've made up a little list summarizing many of the features they consider important for a hiking/geocache capable unit.

-The ability to simultaniously display MGRS and Lon/Lat coordinates in addition to GPS coordinates.
-Color display not a must, but backlight is important for night use. If color display is perferred, a TransReflective color screen is a plus as it allows you to see the screen even in bright daylight where traditional colorscreens may be hard to read.
-Must have Map screen (not just data) and base maps (I assume these are already installed from the manufacturer)
-12 Parallel Channels
-External Antenna Jack option perferred
-Must be able to interface with computer, so it must have both in/out data ports, and be NMEA Compatable
-As such, it should be able to download maps and waypoints from a computer. (useful for updating maps and geocaching instructions). Not just american maps either; I'd like to be able to get my hands on some quality foreign maps if I ever vacation or get deployed if I join the military, so the thing will still be useful.
-8 MB memory minimum. Ability to accept memory expansion cards a plus.
-Water Resistant
-Rocker Keypad (or some equivlant)
-Must be able to accept an external power source to preserve batteries. AC adapter and car adapter a plus.
-20-50 Route Capability
-500+ Waypoints
-Multiple Datums
-Must be able to provide and display a bearing to next waypoint (apparently some models don't? I thought this would be a standard..)


Obviously compactness, accuracy, and battery life are important considerations, but if a unit is a little more bulky to get the features, I don't mind as much.

Is this a pretty good requirement list, or is it asking for way too much? Some units have more features that aren't needed, some units only lack one or two of the above... but I'm trying to do my homework before actually buying one. Price range isn't an absolute consideration right now, but if only the high end $800-1000+ models fulfill the requirements, I might need to consider altering the specifications a little!

As always, a user friendly interface is also a great plus. I know even less about the good software than I do about GPS's at this point!

On a side note, I've even thought of getting a GPS watch, cutting off the arm-bands, and just having that as an ultra small pocket GPS. Probably nowhere near the features listed above, but very compact means I can EDC it, and it's something at least. What do you think of the idea? Or are these too limited to bother with?
Casio: http://www.equipped.org/casio_gps.htm
Suunto: http://www.suuntowatches.com/x9.htm

Lastly, what GPS do you use (if any)? Do you like it?

You list of things you want is impressive. I dont need all the things you need, so I use the Garmin Rhino 120. I wrote a review of it here earlier.

Here is the info from the Garmin webapge for you as well. I can tell you that it is the best GPS i have ever used, plus it does have a built in FRS radio for talking to my dad or others.

Data from the webpage:
WAAS-enabled GPS receiver
22 communication channels: 1-14 FRS, 15-22 GMRS
38 sub-audible squelch codes per transmission channel for semi-private radio communications
Transmit distance: up to 2 miles using FRS, up to 5 miles with GMRS
External voice activation (VOX)
Ergonomic design for one-handed operation, with Call, Press-To-Talk (PTT), and Page mode buttons on the side, Power/Backlighting button on top, and Volume and Zoom buttons in front
Unique 5-way cursor for channel selection and volume adjustment in FRS/GMRS mode, and quick map panning, entering, and selecting functions in GPS mode
Voice scrambler and vibration mode for silent calls
Built in basemap consisting of American road and highway detail, along with 8 MB of internal memory for additional road, lake, marine, and points-of-interest data that can be downloaded from MapSource MetroGuide®, Fishing Hot Spots®, Topo, or BlueChart CDs


It is a great piece of gear and I recommend it to anyone who asks. The only draw backs are:

Battery consumption is high, carry lots of extras.
The screen scrathes very easily, so you will need to tape it or use a PDA screen protector.
The earbud jack is not good in the rain. It will mess up the radio and cause it to be in a constant transmit mode, or at least mine did.

Take a looka t it. I have had mine for alomst two years I think, and it has never let me down in the woods, the desert or in Japan.

Garrett

Hello.
There are 2 sides those that love Garmin and those that love
Magellan Both have strong points and weak points the website you have been looking at is the site to go to for info on gps devices, Do not get a wrist watch Gps You'll go through batteries fast and the screen is to small..That said I have 2 Gps units magellans Map330 and Meridian green with a 64 meg SD card and mapsend topoo on it love them both.

Lee

I'm rather partial to Garmin. My flying club has Garmin 430's in two of our planes, I have a Garmin 296 handheld for flying and driving, and a Garmin eTrex Vista for hiking and geocaching. I used to own a GPS Pilot III but that was replaced by the 296. They all have a consistent "feel" to the interface. Usually, I'm able to guess where something should be, so I don't have to memorize the menu system. This is especially important when setting up instrument approaches.

I have a Magellan and am quite pleased with it. I have also used a couple models of Garmin on many trips witha friend of mine. Im not partial to either brand. I just have the Magellan cause thats what I happened to receive as a gift a couple years ago. It has served me well both on an off road. If I could change anything it would be, more memory, more battery life, smaller, lighter.

That pretty much sums up anything technological, doesn't it? As well as people. I'd like to have more memory and battery life, and be smaller and lighter. And don't forget cheaper and faster.

IMHO some of your criteria are a bit higher than necessary for your stated use.

As a data point, I've got an old Garmin III+ and it is very useful for hiking because it was designed to be waterproof and rugged. It meets many of your criteria, such as support for an external antenna, computer-interface, base map, backlight, etc. Even at only 1.4 MB RAM memory it does fine. You can probably get a used one for a song. The 12-channel-parallel electronics are very good, although newer equipment can get sub-20-foot accuracy with the newer WAAS technology.

A step up is the still-old Garmin GPS V, which adds street-based routing, more memory, and a higher-resolution screen.

Or you can spring for the newest Garmin Quest, my object of GPS lust^H^H^H^Hdesire, which is tiny, has a color screen, and over 100 MB RAM.

One benefit of the older GPS III+ and V units is they use AA batteries while the Quest uses a nonremovable rechargable battery.

The Garmin site has a nifty utility to compare their units feature-for-feature:

http://www.garmin.com/outdoor/compare.jsp

Steve

P.S. It should be obvious I'm partial to Garmin.

Thanks!

I really like the look of the GPS III and GPS V. The horizontal hold, rather than vertical, although that aspect takes a second seat to features of course. I like this comparison chart!

So far, the majority of suggestions I've gotten seem to be for Garmin products, so I think I'll dig through the comparison chart and start looking for the cost/feature ratios to finalize a selection.

The 60 CS looks very impressive, but at the cost I guess it should! I'll check out that Rhino, it looks useful to have a radio and GPS all in one.

I appreciate it guys, thanks again <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

- This is the one with the reflective color screen
- Very small and light
- Great for hiking/geocaching
- Will autoroute for car navigation (this will be handier than you think)
- Add another $100-250 for topo and/or highway maps and software.
- You can jump up to the eTrex Vista C model at $400 if you want the electronic compass and altimiter features. The compass might be handy for geocaching. Otherwise you can use a regular compass.

Have fun.

You might want to think about bluetooth, if you already carry a bluetooth capable smartphone. The idea is that the GPS has no user interface; instead it just tells the phone where it is and the phone does all the clever stuff. This means the GPS can be very basic and small, and you can keep it in a ruck sack. You don't have to get it out to use it, you use the phone instead. Obviously the phone needs to be high spec and with the right software.

This isn't a recommendation, it's just something to consider. Last time I researched it, the products weren't quite there yet but that was 6 months ago.