New Garmin Handheld GPS, buttons or Touchscreen?

[RecoilRob]

I'm a hunter but thought this would be a great place to ask this question. Time to replace my 1996 Garmin 45 with something that has preloaded maps. I'd like to hear pros and cons of buttons vs. touchscreen on new Garmins.

 

thanks,

Rob

 

 

[+Red90]

It is a personal preference.  It is completely up to what YOU like.

[MtnHermit]

17 hours ago, RecoilRob said:

Time to replace my 1996 Garmin 45 with something that has preloaded maps.

Forget the preloaded maps, they're 100,000:1 resolution vs the 24,000:1 resolution of paper topos. So instead of 40' contours you'll get 200' contours. 

 

As to button or touch, they both work well. I've had touch on my last two and that's my choice. The latest Oregon adds capacitive like a smartphone. I went with the larger/heavier resistive Montana. 

[+Red90]

12 minutes ago, MtnHermit said:

Forget the preloaded maps, they're 100,000:1 resolution vs the 24,000:1 resolution of paper topos.

 

This answer is only applicable to the USA.....  Let's not assume that everyone lives in your fabulous country.

[+kunarion]

18 hours ago, RecoilRob said:

I'm a hunter but thought this would be a great place to ask this question. Time to replace my 1996 Garmin 45 with something that has preloaded maps. I'd like to hear pros and cons of buttons vs. touchscreen on new Garmins.

 

As mentioned, try whatever seems best for you. I can't stand scrolling numbers up and down nor typing words that way. So it's touchscreen for me. But there's still a fat-finger issue.

 

If you wear gloves, if you may have a bandage on your typing finger, if you may be adept at clicking a joystick without even having to look at the screen, joystick/button style may be for you. Remember that even the touchscreen GPSs have some hard-buttons.

 

If you tend to be very wordy in cache log drafts and notes, touchscreen may be more suitable.  Beware that the modern capacitive touchscreens are super sensitive. You have to take preventative measures, both software and hardware, to prevent false “taps” happening to the screen. I have the clamshell hard case for my Garmin 650T, mainly to keep it from getting scratched, but also to allow me to leave the screen “unlocked” yet hang it on my pack.

 

I once cached in a downpour. Trails became rivers. Huge raindrops hit the GPS screen so it would not react to my inputs. A joystick/button style input would have been suitable then. Or don't cache in a downpour.

[MtnHermit]

37 minutes ago, Red90 said:

This answer is only applicable to the USA

So what is the resolution in the Great North?

[+cerberus1]

21 hours ago, RecoilRob said:

I'm a hunter but thought this would be a great place to ask this question. Time to replace my 1996 Garmin 45 with something that has preloaded maps. I'd like to hear pros and cons of buttons vs. touchscreen on new Garmins.

 

I won one of those as a prize once.   Gave it to a relative in '04, at the time we were using those high-tech blue legends. 

No hides/finds , so guessing this isn't for caching. 

Since you're probably not looking at PQs, lists and such for caches, pretty-much any newer GPSr will be fine, so preference is on you.  

Most either have maps already in it, or easily loaded through gpsfiledepot.com or similar.

"T" versions in models mean  topo maps installed ( I prefer to load my own).

Like kunarion,  we had too many issues with gloves, weather and touchscreens.  Rain with the speed up on a bike messed things up too.

We both prefer buttons, and really like Garmin's 60 series. I still cache with a long-discontinued 60csx.

I'd think the 64s might be right up your alley if buttons preferred.

There is a brand-new model (66), that seems to do everything but carry you there and make coffee,  but for hunting, I wouldn't think you'd need the bells n whistles.

[+Red90]

3 hours ago, MtnHermit said:

So what is the resolution in the Great North?

 

100% of the topographic information comes from the Federal Government's maps, so all maps use the same contours.  The government stopped maintianing the maps 10+ years ago and released it for free to the public.  The majority of the country is done in 1:50000 from aerial photographs.  The Garmin preloaded maps are the same as the Topo Canada maps that they sell.

[capt caper]

Key pad gps's will work good in all weather. Extreme cold. gloves and rain. 

[+Mineral2]

On 11/8/2018 at 7:25 AM, MtnHermit said:

Forget the preloaded maps, they're 100,000:1 resolution vs the 24,000:1 resolution of paper topos. So instead of 40' contours you'll get 200' contours. 

Eh, that's not entirely true. The Topo US 100k maps have contours better than 200 feet in some (most?) areas, and it's certainly a useable map for having major landmarks and decent detail in a contiguous map of the country.

But, I would say forget the preloaded maps on the grounds that you can download for free or buy better maps. There are 3rd party maps for Garmin GPS that cater to hunters, giving you information such as land use and ownership.

[+USN-Ret]

On ‎11‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 1:37 PM, cerberus1 said:

 

 

There is a brand-new model (66), that seems to do everything but carry you there and make coffee,  but for hunting, I wouldn't think you'd need the bells n whistles.

 

Wait, is there an upgrade that WILL make the coffee??

[+Flynn230103]

I personally prefer buttons over touchscreen, it just makes the GPS harder to use for me. It depends on what you feel like, maybe borrow some to see the differences for yourself. I also like a minimalist GPS, too many features makes it harder to use. As such, I've settled with a Garmin Etrex 10 but nobody else on the forums seems to like it :/.

 

Try both types of GPSs out to see what you think

[+Mineral2]

8 hours ago, Flynn230103 said:

As such, I've settled with a Garmin Etrex 10 but nobody else on the forums seems to like it :/.

Most of us don't like the 10 because it is too limited. It doesn't do maps, the number of geocaches and waypoints is limited. When it first came out, it was limited to holding 500 geocaches. Garmin has since upped that limit via firmware updates, acknowledging that the hardware is more capable than the limits it first set. For the casual geocacher, and for casual navigation in general, the eTrex 10 is fine. But for those who take up any GPS related hobbies and keep going, the eTrex 10 soon becomes too simplistic and the eTrex 20 or 30 might be a better fit. And sure, the gpsMap and the Oregon lines might be more "advanced" with way more features, but it's actually easy to ignore the features you don't want to use and just enjoy the faster hardware and larger screen.

[+Red90]

You can usually get a 20x or 30x quite cheap if you wait for the right sale or a refurbished Oregon.  They just do so much more than the 10, that it is hard to justify, especially for a Geocacher.

[jakewa]

Something else to pay attention to:

 

1) The Garmin button models have the bulky external antenna that doesn't offer any proven extra advantage.

2) The button models are larger and weigh more (because of the buttons + external antenna).  The touch models are more compact, and offer the same hardware capabilities.

 

 

[+noncentric]

16 hours ago, jakewa said:

Something else to pay attention to:

 

1) The Garmin button models have the bulky external antenna that doesn't offer any proven extra advantage.

2) The button models are larger and weigh more (because of the buttons + external antenna).  The touch models are more compact, and offer the same hardware capabilities.

Depends on which models.

 

Not all button models have an external antenna. For example, the eTrex series does not have an external antenna, either button or touchscreen models.

 

Not all touchscreen models lack an external antenna. For example, the Rino 755t is a touchscreen and has external antennas.