Does anyone know of a GPS with hand crank power as an option?

Most of the hand cranked gear out there are just novelty stuff, they are cheap toys that you don't really want to rely on. Instead of trying to find hand cranked stuff, buy a decent GPS and some kind of solar/hand crack.etc battery charger. yes, its one more thing to carry but then standardize all your electronic gear as much as possible to the same type of battery or input voltage so you can share power sources.

I would not trust one if it did exist. The hand-crank stuff is made from a pile of plastic gears -- a bunch of moving parts. With constant use, those things would probably die after a year or two. Then, you have to repair or discard an expensive GPS after a gear breaks. I would not buy one.

As posted above, a hand-crank battery charger is a much better solution.

Hand crank for the real time power supply, or to charge a battery/capacitor?

In the later case, a solar or cranked battery charger is a better bet, and more versatile.

In the former, I wouldn't run erratic power levels through electronics that delicate. LEDs are tough, but the guts a GPS, not so much.

There are backpacks available that have solar charging panels built in which can keep a fairly constant charge on batts in the unit which can then charge your gear - probably directly charge too.

I've been toying with the idea myself, it seems like they have enough juice to keep a cell phone or GPS or PDA topped off, but not much more than that. Plus you have to rely on the solar factor and that may be a non-starter.

They do make those instant charge (looks like a lighter) packs for cell phones, so perhaps one could be modified for use with your GPS as an emergency backup, but spare batteries are probably just as easy and far cheaper. Going with Lithium batteries or a Li-Ion rechargeable battery pack will help some with longevity. Running with a dim screen (if an option) helps a lot too.

If you are going with hand cranked, you should look into scientific supply companies that have equipment for physics experiments and try to get one that has no plastic parts. As mentioned, you probably want to charge a battery pack and use that to charge any electronic equipment. Either way, this is going to be a bulky solution. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I can't wait for fuel cells, so I can carry a can of butane or ethanol to fill up my GPS, Cellphone, Flashlight, Lighter, 2-way, PDA, and my Laptop. The best part is that's really getting close to reality now....

I remembered this article and thought I would post it... http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.02/baylis.html?pg=3

I'm not sure how easy it is to find an insert or shoe with these (maybe U.K.?), but it seems like a reasonable option for charging a GPS/Cell/2-way and keeping it charged. The problem comes if you can no longer walk, I suppose, but this:
Voltaic Solar Panel Backpack


or this:
Brunton Solarport 4.4 Watt Foldable Solar Charger with Battery Charger


should fit the bill and probably give you enough for an emergency charge even on semi-overcast days.

I haven't found any shoes that you can buy with that technology, but perhaps someone else can locate an insert for my boots!

Here is an option, although I can't be sure what units it will fit.

http://members.shaw.ca/sidewindercharger/

There is NO handcrank GPSr. Most GPSr do not have the circurity to charge the GPSr, although you can run the GPSr off of external power it woll not charge it. You could use a amall solar power unit to charge a set of NiMH batteries so you would just be rotating the batteries. This would be the best option. Also you do not have to keep your GPSr turned on 24/7 so just using it periodically your save batteries. But the solar battery charter would be your best bet.
cheers