Help Me Choose A Gps

[+suzylou]

Hi all....just found out my brother will be heading to the US in a couple of weeks. Seems like a good opportunity to get him to pick me up a new GPS unit for a reasonably good price, but I don't know what to go for.

 

At the moment I'm using a standard yellow etrex. I love it, however, in my perfect world I would like mapping, and possibly to be able to use it for in-car navigation.

 

I'm quite in love with the Garmin 60-C, however, I can't find much out about the maps available for it e.g. cost and detail...would I be able to stop carrying all these OS maps around with me?

 

How does it compare to the Magellan SporTrak which appears to be its equivalent?

 

And, getting more sensible on price, should I just get an Etrex Legend with maps? In which case, the same question comes up about the quality of the maps available.

 

I do a reasonable amount of my caching in Cornwall away from major roads and out in the wilds, so the maps are important to me

 

Thanks for your help!

[+derrylynne]

The eu mapping with the garmin gps range is very good, I use it myself. As for choice of gps. Make sure it has a colour screen, as it stands out much better. If you want to use the garmin for navigation, here it depends on how good you want your navigation to be. I used to use a vista for navigation, however, there are no voice commands, and the screen is quite small. The navigation also is mostly done by watching for arrow on the screen. I myself decided to go for a compromise between mapping, navigation, and geocaching. The first decision of course is the unit has to be of the same waterproof standard as the etrex, but with a larger screen, and it helps with voice navigation. For this reason I went for the Garmin Quest. It is faultless in navigation, the screen is chrystal clear, and the instructions excellent. It is also a good gps and seems to be better in steep valleys and under tree cover then many other garmin's. However, if you look for my topic on this site about the garmin quest, the manual when it comes to geocaching is lacking. So you wlll need to read that and any comments from others. It is quite expensive, but cheaper in the states. But, if bought in the states, don't know if you can by it with the europeon mapping. The unit also has a massive memory, in fact the EU version has about twice the memory of the us version to hold more maps. For instance, the EU version holds the whole of the uk, with lots to spare. All in all, you get what you pay for. Sorry to ramble, hope my input helps a bit.

[+Birders]

Our ancient Garmin still works fantastically well so we have no hesitation in recommending that make. Also, the Garmin after sales service is legendary so keep that in mind..

[+suzylou]

Useful so far, thanks

 

I guess my main worry is how detailed the maps are, and how much extra I would have to pay to load a UK basemap into a US unit (if indeed I can).

 

Can't find anything about the Quest on garmin's website...am I being dim??

 

I'm now starting to think about sticking with my little yellow fella and upgrading my PDA so that I can put map software on it...

 

All too confusing!

[+ttTom]

Might be wrong but I don't think you can load an EU basemap onto a US one.

 

BUT

 

You'll need to buy detailed mapping (Eg city select Europe) for navigation so you wouldn't need the basemap.

[+ttTom]

I use a Garmin Legend Colour with City Select Europe.

The screen is a little small but once you are used to it its fine. When you approach a junction it autozooms in.

I use it for navigating all the time and never have problems. (mind you this is in Wales mainly so I don't know how good it would do in a city)

[+suzylou]

Okay...so now I'm looking at City Select Europe and it's in the region of £150...so I'm looking at however much for the GPS PLUS that for the mapping?

 

The idea of getting a GPS "on the cheap" might not work out after all I'd be looknig at around £400 for the full setup I guess?

 

I dunno....am I being too pessimistic here? For that money would I be better just to get a PDA and decent map software?? Could I make THAT navigate if I somehow connected it to the Etrex?

 

Thanks for the help so far....you're saving me from a potentially very expensive mistake

[+derrylynne]

The quest can be had for around £350 and that includes all the mapping. You would be able to load the eu city select in the usa version, but the eu quest carries a lot more memory. Myself if you want to use a gps for mapping as well as caching, you will be better getting one from a uk supplier. For those that just want a basic one for caching, the usa is cheaper.

[+Pharisee]

Have a think about Garmin's iQue M5. It's a PDA with built in GPS... It runs Pocket PC so will accept MemoryMap if you want it. It has voice navigation and comes complete with City Select software. About £450 in this country.

[+Morton]

I have a Quest and I love it, but going back to a comment in the original post, it is definitely NOT a replacment for OS maps. Rather, it's a replacement for a road atlas. You get roads (even the most minor ones) and some major features like public parks and rivers, but no more detail than that.

 

I've no experience of the other products that have been mentioned, but I'd expect a similar caution to apply to anything primarily intended for automotive use. Don't get me wrong - I'd recommend it any day - it's so liberating to never have to worry about navigating while you're driving. But the mapping is quite limited once you're out of the car.

[+derrylynne]

Yes a good point Morton. The states have topical maps, but none for the uk. Will be handy to have those in the uk as they will give ground features for caching. But have to agree the quest when on the road, or getting to the trail, is really good.

[+Kitty Hawk]

Might be wrong but I don't think you can load an EU basemap onto a US one.

 

BUT

 

You'll need to buy detailed mapping (Eg city select Europe) for navigation so you wouldn't need the basemap.

Hi, I err, know someone who bought a new Vista on ebay for £120 from USA + a bit of duty and metroguide Europe for £20 on ebay. TTtom is correct, the basemap remains but you never see it, metroguide is all you see.

 

The road detail is very good indeed. It can do sat nav, but I haven't asked it to. I have sat nav in my current car, when that goes, this month, I will buy a PDA with TomTom. I don't think you could drive and use the sat nav at the same time on the Vista.

 

Hope that helps.