Best Waterproof GPS

[+drdcpa20]

Guys,

 

Not trying to start a war about who is better, but I'm needing a waterproof GPS for those times when I'm kayaking. In addition, I want to use it in deep cover woods as well.

 

I was looking at the Etrex 30, Garmin GPSMAP 62S, and the explorist 610. Does anyone recommend any of these? Are there any others I should be looking at instead?

 

Thanks!

[+mpilchfamily]

Most if not all recent hand held units are water resistant. None are truly water proof. They all have one common factor that leaves them open for water damage, human error. If the port or battery covers are not secured right then water will get in.

[+Woodstramp]

One(not on your list) is the Delorme. I know for a fact that the PN-20 I have is water tite. Had a spill on a Seadoo a while back.

[+t4e]

oregon 450 or 550

[+GeoPig77]

I had my Oregon 400T fully submerged for about 10 minutes once. No problems. It was never more than a couple of feet deep though. I have taken it kayaking many times and it gets wet just about every trip.

 

XPD77

Seymour, IN

[+Cacheoholic]

Most, if not every handheld GPS is IPX7 rated. This is defined as ingress of water in harmful quantity shall not be possible when the enclosure is immersed in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Cacheoholic

[+kwcahart]

I have a Garmin 76Cx that I keep for kayaking because it is waterproof and FLOATS!!

[+baloo&bd]

There are many tests like

on youtube.

[+sabresfan13]

FWIW my DeLorme PN-60 went through a complete wash, spin and rinse cycle this week and came out bone dry, functioning perfectly fine!

[+BAMBOOZLE]

A lot of the units mentioned do not float. For canoeing I like my Magellan Meridian Platinum ( Ebay ).....they are waterproof and float and work great under canopy

[team tisri]

Some units will float (I think the Garmin 76 and 78 series float). Others won't float but have greater or lesser degrees of water resistance.

 

I've used a 60CSx in torrential rain, frequently pausing to wipe the water off it. When it got muddy I washed it under the tap.

 

So far my Montana hasn't seen any particularly nasty weather although I have dripped sweat on it numerous times when I've been cycling.

 

There was a thread a while back (I think in the UK forums) about a cacher who recovered his GPS from Poole Harbour. I forget the details but the gist of it was that he dropped his GPS overboard and managed to recover it from the harbour a few days later, to find it still worked. I think that was an Oregon but can't be 100% sure.

[seldom_sn]

My 62s has a water resistance of IEC 529-IPX-7. A little web surfing will tell you that IPX7 means "Protected against water immersion. Immersion for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter." If it floats like a 76 or 78, that should be OK kayaking, but I'm not so sure if I had to get my 62s off the bottom of a 6' deep stream.

[+Chrysalides]

I recall reading a thread where someone complained that his Oregon 550 was not waterproof. He damaged it using it as an underwater camera. So don't do that

 

I don't think anyone has done a test to see which one is more waterproof. If the unit you are interested in does not float, and that's a feature you need, tie something that floats to the lanyard.

[+Lil Devil]

Note that the Garmin 60 and 62 series, while water-resistant, don't really float when loaded with NiMh or Alkaline batteries because said batteries are heavy. But if you use lightweight Lithium batteries, the unit will float quite well.

[+a2n]

Delorme is very waterproof !

[+Cacheoholic]

I recall reading a thread where someone complained that his Oregon 550 was not waterproof. He damaged it using it as an underwater camera. So don't do that

 

I don't think anyone has done a test to see which one is more waterproof. If the unit you are interested in does not float, and that's a feature you need, tie something that floats to the lanyard.

 

I recall that also. That person went way beyond the IPX7 rating. I think it was a couple meters under water for several hours.

[+coggins]

attach a float to any gps and you should be good to go