team thunder bear Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hi again guys, Still looking for that gps, Ive narrowed it down to a few but I dont have enough experience with these to really know which is the best. One big feature that I would like is to be able to load free maps onto it (barely have enough money for the unit let alone the crazy prices they want for maps). Our budge is $200 tops w/ shipping, would honestly prefer to keep it closer to $150 if at all possible. So far the units Im looking at are: Lowrance Endura Out&Back - Great price, looking at the specs its quite impressive but some have said its not a good unit, why? Also can you add your own maps to it? I tried contacting Lowrance about it but never heard back, not impressed. Magellan Explorist 310 - Can get it for a bit under $200 though Im not sure how it differs from the 110 or GC, only difference I can see is the ability to add maps, but do they have to be magellan's maps? Also lacks electronic compass which is a big negative. Garmin etrex 20 - Looks like a solid gps but again lacks electronic compass, the 30 has the compass but costs $100 more, wish I could find it on sale. Thoes are the 3 Ive found so far that look decent, any other suggestions? any thoughts on which of thoes is best? Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 eTrex20 is your best bet. Very nice unit. I have an out&back and though I have found a lot of caches and it is generally reliable - it is a quirky unit and maps are very pricey. Quote Link to comment
team thunder bear Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hi Starbrand, thanks for the reply, the etrex 20 looks good I just hate that it doesnt have the compass, friends of ours have a unit without the compass and its a pain trying to get your bearing sometimes since it wont tell you your direction unless your walking. Have you updated your Endura to the latest firmware version and all that? Also, do you have to buy the Lowrance maps or can you load other maps oonto it? Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hi Starbrand, thanks for the reply, the etrex 20 looks good I just hate that it doesnt have the compass, friends of ours have a unit without the compass and its a pain trying to get your bearing sometimes since it wont tell you your direction unless your walking. Have you updated your Endura to the latest firmware version and all that? Also, do you have to buy the Lowrance maps or can you load other maps oonto it? Yes my Endura is up to date. Still don't turn to it first or second or third (I own 10 different units). Only Lowrance maps - no free ones. Only 2 of my units have the compass feature - I turned it off on both of them - too jittery and needs frequent calibration. Some folks can't stand that feature --- others can't stand to be without it. Quote Link to comment
team thunder bear Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hmm, does the etrex 20 support free maps? Or the Magellan Explorist 310? Are you looking to sell one of your 10 unites? lol Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hmm, does the etrex 20 support free maps? Or the Magellan Explorist 310? Are you looking to sell one of your 10 unites? lol gpsfiledepot.com for garmin maps Quote Link to comment
team thunder bear Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 (edited) Very interesting, any recomended maps I should look out for on there? Doesnt look like theres a whole lot for Canada. Edited July 25, 2012 by team thunder bear Quote Link to comment
team thunder bear Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Thinking Magellan might have a better Canadian map with Magic Maps, no? Quote Link to comment
+popokiiti Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 (edited) I use a Magellan GC and it is nice to go paperless with it. My caching partner uses a Garmin 60 CSx which seems more accurate. I don't know if that has to do with the external antenna, or me! If you are currently using a smartphone, could I suggest you cache or a bit longer with that and save a bit more towards a better unit? Also it gives you more time to decide if you're going to continue with the sport, or hobby, or addicton of caching! My GC was $150 at Wal-Mart. edit - my typing fingers can't spell. Edited July 25, 2012 by popokiiti Quote Link to comment
team thunder bear Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 We dont have data on our smart phone so cant use it for that, even so I wouldnt want to as it will inevitably get broken if you use it for that, plus where we want to go I doubt there will be much of a signal. The other thing is wer're going camping in a couple weeks and want to do some caching while were up there so really need to get one soon. Quote Link to comment
HalfSpinUpQuark Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Can you get the GPSMAP 60 CSx used for that price? If so it'd be a great buy and has massive spec/functionality. Quote Link to comment
+Mr. Wilson & a Mt. Goat Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Very interesting, any recomended maps I should look out for on there? Doesnt look like theres a whole lot for Canada. If you're looking for a good (and free) Topo map of Canada, then you can download Ibycus. Check out the some of the posts in this thread. Specificaly this one: #1108(torrent file link) There's also a non-topo road map available for free here: http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ Both are maps that I use, I think both are very good. Quote Link to comment
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