Again, thanks very to everyone that has chimed in. You input has been real helpful.
Couple things. I am leaning toward the Explorist 500LE for the price. Having color isn't mandatory for me but it will be nice.
-I have been getting conflicting info on this. I think the 500 LE has an internal compass. The Magellan web site says it has several screens and one of those it lists is the compass screen. That means I can look at it to see which way is north, right?
From the web page: "Four navigation screens - Map, Compass, Locator and Satellite Status deliver easy-to-use information"
-The one from Costco comes with Topo for free but I will probably buy the DirectRoute software myself as well. This might be a silly question but can you have both on one GPS unit? It's not like an operating system on a computer is it? I would imagine you can use both and they will be separate in the menus, correct?
Again, the driving directions thing would be cool, but I don't plan on using that feature much. It isn't a priority. However it would be nice to have the ability to look up a map of where I am at the time. Sort of a hand-held Mapquest.
$200 is what I would like to cap out what my family will be spending on this. I will handle the maps or whatever myself.
MtSpaz - Thanks for the Costco link. If I get it, that is where it will come from.
irchriscdk & geognerd - I think it might use the "proprietary" battery but it also has an adapter that will take AAA batteries.
gpsblake, media601, irchriscdk - We are pretty good with electronics on the canoe. It will stay around my neck, in a float bag or be caribeaner-ed to the seat on a lanyard.
embra & Red90 - The $200 is for the unit someone else will be buying for me. I will handle getting the extra software. Also, I have a few SD cards kicking around.
avpas - What do you like better about that Garmin?
Glrii – I called Magellan tech support and got through to some in about 5 minutes. However that someone was in India and hard as hell to understand. I called Garmin and a recording told me the wait time would be over 30 minutes.
Vagabond – Thanks for the battery test.
Everyone—thanks so much for your help, insight and kindness. I really appreciate it and will keep you updated on what I get!