skiptothefuture

It's interesting to note that I just recently visited stores in the Miami area, 5 of them, trying to find a knowledgeable person to talk about, show and demonstrate any of the handheld garmin's, like 62, 78's or the oregon 550. Most stores had these models in stock; however, none of the sales persons were knowledgeable or able to help in any way other then what they could read out of their book. I guess my fallback plan will be this. The latter part of June I will be traveling to Michigan then to Vermont for a couple of months. While in Vermont I will visit some of the backpacking stores and start my search there plus I will have time to fool around with the unit. By chance does anyone have a link or contact person in the Vermont area that I could contact. I will be spending time in the Windsor/Ascutney Vermont area and then move on to Burlington, Vermont. Thanks again for all the information. All is welcomed and appreciated

I am reading your replies and have started my research and actually trying to find a unit to hold in my hand. Please keep your replies rolling in because I will be in research mode until mid-June. (I'll be out-of-country for May) thanks again

thanks so far for you thoughts and replies; however, I would really appreciate your suggestions on specific make and model GPS's which would meet my needs. I don't plan on going back to Delorme GPS's, simply because of my bad experience. Everyone should realize the problem may be me and not the PN-20 but it's just my time to try another mfg.

Good Morning: I am planning on spending time in the Boundry Water Canoe Area in northern Minnesota this summer. Here is the issue that I will need to overcome. For my first trip I purchased a Delorme PN20 and just could not get this unit to work. I am sure a great part of the problem was me however, it now sits on the shelve. My only purpose of purchasing a GPS is for use in backpacking and wilderness canoe trips. The use in the BWCA will be to pre-mark portage's and campsites. For those not familiar with this area, portages and campsites are not marked at all. Campsites are located away from the water and in many cases not easy to locate. More so with many portages. What i would like to purchase is a handheld GPS that is capable of holding a few maps with Portages and campsites being advanced marked my me. Also a unit that has easy instructions for setting up by a non-technical user. Also hopefully one that is not full of bugs. My Delorme PN20 was dead on arrival and it took me some time to figure out the problem was not me, but the unit software.(also me) The only other use I can think of is the ability to mark a campsite where I stayed for future return. Price range I am thinking of,at this point is, $200-$300 and I don't know if a touch screen is necessary or not. Again, consider that I know how to use a compass but am not a techie. I figure a GPS in my shirt pocket will be useful while paddling solo in windy conditions. Open to any and all suggestion and thoughts, even why I should consider purchasing out of my price range. Also suggestions on how difficult to setup and use. thank you Skip