GPS Help

[jrebel]

I know this topic has been beaten to death....and I have researched previous post concerning the topic, but I still need help.

Long story short;  my Magellan Triton 500 finally stopped working  .  I absolutely loved this unit due to the ease of use.  Now I need to buy a new gps and it seems that Magellan has gone in the toilet...and Garmin is hands down the way to go. 

So!!!!  this is what my new unit has to have, and why I am asking for help. 

1.  Ability to pick up a strong signal in heavy canopy / forested land. (I have read that the external antennas work well and in the next article that they are nothing more than a gimmick....what do you think based on real life experience?)

2.  Durability......(weight is not an issue, nor is bulk)  I want something that will stand up to harsh hunting conditions / weather.

3.  Ease of use.....This is why I stayed away from Garmin back when I bought my Magellan.  The old etrex series were stupid hard to use and not very intuitive.  I am a pretty smart guy but those old garmins sucked for this very reason.

Money is not an issue....I am willing to pay as much or as little as needed to buy a great unit.  I have learned in the past not to skimp on certain items....and this is one of those items.

What fetures are gimmicky and not useful.  I will by my own maps so the topo versions are not for me.  Are the cameras fun and or practical??  Touchscreen vs. non touchscreen??  etc. etc. etc. 

Lastly....is Garmin the way to go, or should I look at a new Magellan or ??  other units?

Thanks for any input

Johnny

[hughjorgan]

I never noticed a difference verse a internal or external high sensitivity reciever in the garmin units my dad or I use. They pick up signals in heavy timber and have never had them lose satellite coverage. One unit is the older etrex and the other is a garmin colorado 400t.

As far as ease of use garmin units are pretty straight forward, they don't take long to figure out.

Durability has been good on both the garmin units we run, have dropped them while hunting and on asphalt while loading gear and they are still working like the day I bought them.

Neither of the garmin units are touch screen, but garmin probably has worked out any bugs they might of had any earlier generation touch screens.

Cameras seem kind of gimmicky to me, since most people are already carrying one anyways and pictures will eat up memory and possibly effect performance of the unit.

[jrebel]

Anyone use the Garmin Montana 650?  Any thoughts?

[woodman]

I like many others like the Garmin Rino for many reasons. A big one for me is the ability to find it when I lose it. I have done this about four or five times. This last spring bear season I was working my way out of the woods at dark. My Rino somehow got away from me in the dark. I went back the next morning looking for it with another Rino and that one drew me a map right to the one that I lost. I would never have found it with out the other Rino. It had fallen into a hole when I climbed over a log and was not visible. The second Rino insisted that I was right by it and when I looked in the hole it was there. They have many other uses, but this particular reason has saved me hundreds of dollars and lost marked way points.

[Lungbuster]

I have a Garmin 62St and so far am happy with it. Only thing is it's preloaded with the 100k maps. Ordered the 24k and its much better in detail. Really easy to use

[KenPCPilot]

Anyone use the Garmin Montana 650?  Any thoughts?

I have one and love it.  I like the wide screen view and mount it on my hunting/scouting motorcycle.  I like the Hunting GPS card.  I can easily tell when I am on private or public lands.  I even found a few places passing by that I did not know were public use areas.  The price is pretty steep but for auto navigation, boat and geochasing it really works well.  I bought it for an upgrade from my Garmin Oregon 400t.  The 400t is a good unit in itself.  I mounted it on my son's motocross bike so he can navigate trails in the ORV parks.  I can't imagine scouting without on now.  I come back home and upload my gpx files that i saved of my scouting to Google Earth and can see the birdseye view.  I also have uploaded waypoints I have flagged from Google Earth to my gps.  last year i uploaded any waterhole near our elk hunting area.  we found out that the dry summer kept animals closer to water.  my buddies have rhinos and always hunt together.  they have a feature to track the other linked rhinos and have 2 way radios.  If you group hunt they are nice.  IMO the navigation features of the Montana or Oregon are better suited for my uses. 

[huntnnw]

I have a Oregon 450t..I like it,easy to use it and lots of upgradeable features

[turkeyfeather]

I also have the Oregom 450t. Picked it up recently at Cabela's for 1/2 price. I havent really gotten to use it much yet but it seems pretty nice so far for what I have been able to do. I am really wanting to get a rino, but I am gonna wait till next year when the new Garmin satellite deal goes into affect and all the current models become outdated and then you can pick them up for a substantial savings.

[Alchase]

Cabelas flyer had the Oregon on sale for really good prices!

[pianoman9701]

655T all the way.

[grundy53]

I also have the Oregom 450t. Picked it up recently at Cabela's for 1/2 price. I havent really gotten to use it much yet but it seems pretty nice so far for what I have been able to do. I am really wanting to get a rino, but I am gonna wait till next year when the new Garmin satellite deal goes into affect and all the current models become outdated and then you can pick them up for a substantial savings.

Same here.

sent from my typewriter