I want to buy a hand held GPS unit for this summer. I will be using it primarily for back country canoe trips and camping. I am really looking forward to getting back into those hidden lakes and bodies of waters in Ontario to do some fishing. With this in mind, I would feel alot more at ease with GPS unit. I have never used one of these things and I have no idea what I should be looking for. If any of you fellow Fish hawkers have advice to offer, I would greatly appreciate it. What brands are best? What is a resonable price one should expect to pay for a decent rig? What options should I look for, or want on the unit? This is the sort of info that I am looking for. Oh...and if anyone has a unit they no longer want and are interested in selling it, well drop me a line and tell me about it as well. Thanks again for any help you can provide.
Abraxus
Hand held GPS Question?
GPS
Your timing is near perfect for getting one of these devices at a decent price.
The spring shows are just the ticket for finding what you are looking for.
Two good points to consider when buying a handheld GPS
1) You will be fishing in Canada and many of your choices will be pre-loaded with primarily US based maps. So be sure that your choice has Canadian maps.
2) What are your basic needs. Is this something you are looking for to aid you in finding structure under the water or is this something to help you from getting lost and therefore lake structure isn't as important. The more detail you want the more expensive they get.
My choice if I was going to buy one of these handheld would be the following two choices. One has lake detail and one doesn't.
Choice with lake detail
Garmin GPSMap 60
http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap60/index.jsp
Choice without lake detail
Rino 120 - my favorite
http://www.garmin.com/products/rino120/
Good comparision page.... lots of detail but handy reference.
http://www.gpscentral.ca/products/handh ... arison.htm
So do some homework... go to the show.... ask questions you don't have answers to.... stick to your gameplan... don't let the salesmen wow you off of your idea... and buy smart.... know what you are willing to pay for it.
Good luck
The spring shows are just the ticket for finding what you are looking for.
Two good points to consider when buying a handheld GPS
1) You will be fishing in Canada and many of your choices will be pre-loaded with primarily US based maps. So be sure that your choice has Canadian maps.
2) What are your basic needs. Is this something you are looking for to aid you in finding structure under the water or is this something to help you from getting lost and therefore lake structure isn't as important. The more detail you want the more expensive they get.
My choice if I was going to buy one of these handheld would be the following two choices. One has lake detail and one doesn't.
Choice with lake detail
Garmin GPSMap 60
http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap60/index.jsp
Choice without lake detail
Rino 120 - my favorite
http://www.garmin.com/products/rino120/
Good comparision page.... lots of detail but handy reference.
http://www.gpscentral.ca/products/handh ... arison.htm
So do some homework... go to the show.... ask questions you don't have answers to.... stick to your gameplan... don't let the salesmen wow you off of your idea... and buy smart.... know what you are willing to pay for it.
Good luck
I have had one in my past life when I had a boat, and went out with my old man alot....
One thing, don't skimp, get what you want. If you sit there debating if that one feature is worth the extra $30, it probably is.
These are great devices, which I can confidently say saved my life a few times on the great lakes, and especially in the back country in the very north, of northern ontario.
These "can" be more important than any cell phone, or life jacket ever will.
Having said that...my preferences are....
Color screen not really worth the money (very personal opinion)
Battery life is major concern
I prefer SD cards
How durable is it. After all, if you drop it in a puddle or on a rock (within reason) and it breaks, it doesn't do you much good.
You said you will be hiking the backcountry alot....well ponder this...
Your walking through riggeded terrain, with equipment, so you probably loaded, hands full. Now use your GPS. Do you need two hands to operate it, or can you hold it and operate it with one hand like your TV remote? I like the ones that have the buttons on the side, cause the are one-hand friendly (you can hold them and add waypoints with one hand). But your opinion on this. Take the time to hold it, not just look through the the glass at them.
One thing, don't skimp, get what you want. If you sit there debating if that one feature is worth the extra $30, it probably is.
These are great devices, which I can confidently say saved my life a few times on the great lakes, and especially in the back country in the very north, of northern ontario.
These "can" be more important than any cell phone, or life jacket ever will.
Having said that...my preferences are....
Color screen not really worth the money (very personal opinion)
Battery life is major concern
I prefer SD cards
How durable is it. After all, if you drop it in a puddle or on a rock (within reason) and it breaks, it doesn't do you much good.
You said you will be hiking the backcountry alot....well ponder this...
Your walking through riggeded terrain, with equipment, so you probably loaded, hands full. Now use your GPS. Do you need two hands to operate it, or can you hold it and operate it with one hand like your TV remote? I like the ones that have the buttons on the side, cause the are one-hand friendly (you can hold them and add waypoints with one hand). But your opinion on this. Take the time to hold it, not just look through the the glass at them.
I did a tons off reserche.........and for me.what i want to do wit it....
i got myslef a garmin 60cx.
i love that unit.......
i got all canada topo map.
i use it for fishing./canoeing/geocaching/hiking/etc.
there is a lot off good unit on the market........it depend what you do wit it...and after look for what you want etc..
joco
i got myslef a garmin 60cx.
i love that unit.......
i got all canada topo map.
i use it for fishing./canoeing/geocaching/hiking/etc.
there is a lot off good unit on the market........it depend what you do wit it...and after look for what you want etc..
joco
Thanks!
Hey guys,
Thanks for the info thus far. As I have said, What I really want it for is deep country back packing and canoeing. I have always enjoyed getting off the beaten path. Road access lakes and waterways generally lack the success for good bites the way the above mentioned lakes do. I do not know the Ontario countryside quite the way I have known other provinces and so, this summer will be the year for exploration. How do these things work with regards to maps? Say I want to do alot of the interior of Kawarthas/Highlands, or the Algonquin region....How do I get the maps for those areas? When I use a GPS unit, do I just hit way points all the way in and then just follow them to get my butt out of there?
I know...sounds like dumb questions, but if ya don't know, ya dont know! lol
With the above being said, I guess I don't need a lot of sophistication in the unit I am buying, but more reliability, water resistance, durability and easy to use functions with indepth coverage of the areas I want to explore. Okay wait...I guess that just might be sophisticated!
Oh...and one more question, is there ever a chance, or a risk that if you buy a cheaper unit, you may find yourself out of range like you would with a cell phone? Wouldnt want that!
Abraxus
Thanks for the info thus far. As I have said, What I really want it for is deep country back packing and canoeing. I have always enjoyed getting off the beaten path. Road access lakes and waterways generally lack the success for good bites the way the above mentioned lakes do. I do not know the Ontario countryside quite the way I have known other provinces and so, this summer will be the year for exploration. How do these things work with regards to maps? Say I want to do alot of the interior of Kawarthas/Highlands, or the Algonquin region....How do I get the maps for those areas? When I use a GPS unit, do I just hit way points all the way in and then just follow them to get my butt out of there?
I know...sounds like dumb questions, but if ya don't know, ya dont know! lol
With the above being said, I guess I don't need a lot of sophistication in the unit I am buying, but more reliability, water resistance, durability and easy to use functions with indepth coverage of the areas I want to explore. Okay wait...I guess that just might be sophisticated!
Oh...and one more question, is there ever a chance, or a risk that if you buy a cheaper unit, you may find yourself out of range like you would with a cell phone? Wouldnt want that!
Abraxus
GPS units
I have owned a quite a collection of hand held GPS's -
I found that the Garmin 60CX to be one of the best on the market..
The biggest thing I would look at is memory as you put maps into it... it eats up memory and if you are going on a couple trips... you might have to stop and reload maps half way through your trip...
The 60CX has upgradeable micro SD cards.. so you can load it with 1 gig card - which will hold all of canada and most of the US.
The Topo - canada is good.. from garmin.. however I would look at a new product.. from a compnay called GPS quebec.... they have topo's of ontario and quebec that are downloadable to Garmin GPS's. This product is amazing and the quality of the maps is atleast 10X the quality from garmin's Topo canada... There is no comparison.. really...
http://www.gpsquebec.ca/
You would be happy with some of the other units out there but..... The 60CX will take you a long time to out grow.. so in the long run.. it would be cheaper
Good luck.. any questions PM me..
I found that the Garmin 60CX to be one of the best on the market..
The biggest thing I would look at is memory as you put maps into it... it eats up memory and if you are going on a couple trips... you might have to stop and reload maps half way through your trip...
The 60CX has upgradeable micro SD cards.. so you can load it with 1 gig card - which will hold all of canada and most of the US.
The Topo - canada is good.. from garmin.. however I would look at a new product.. from a compnay called GPS quebec.... they have topo's of ontario and quebec that are downloadable to Garmin GPS's. This product is amazing and the quality of the maps is atleast 10X the quality from garmin's Topo canada... There is no comparison.. really...
http://www.gpsquebec.ca/
You would be happy with some of the other units out there but..... The 60CX will take you a long time to out grow.. so in the long run.. it would be cheaper
Good luck.. any questions PM me..
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Corey Gaffney
- Participant
- Posts: 23
- Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:15 pm
Handheld Gps
Hi I have had the experience of using a wide range of different units and by far if you'll looking for a unit for fishing there is none that beats the lowrance hand held units. For the price these units are awesome. Software is at a great price and there Topo comes with the streets where as the Garmin you have to buy the 2 sepratley running you another 100$ the shoreline contour on the software is great and the units run on standard SD/MMC chips. The h20/hunt both come in colour and the new expedition which i have not had the pleasure of trying. I don't head to the ramp before a tourney without my unit even though we have a 332c built in. Worth the $ twice over. you'll love it.
Corey
Corey
just go take a look at those geocaching site.......and go see those guys that guives course(gps course)(specialist)....all those people use gps.....hundreds off time s a year...
they will guive you the best answer.
they are all good unit................its depend your budget and the fonction you need.
take everything in acount........you will use it for what.just fishing..or some hunthing..or in your truck travelling...etc.
seriousely geocaching site are the best to see what is good or not.,,there towsend people on those that talk only gps.
joco
they will guive you the best answer.
they are all good unit................its depend your budget and the fonction you need.
take everything in acount........you will use it for what.just fishing..or some hunthing..or in your truck travelling...etc.
seriousely geocaching site are the best to see what is good or not.,,there towsend people on those that talk only gps.
joco
Last edited by joco on Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Forget Garmin...too expensive for what you get.
Lowerance b/w ifinder - waterproof with maps down to the stream level(1:50000) and also indicating all roads down to the street level with names(including dirt roads) and other important info. All that for under $300...this at my local fishing store. This is a proven company and the unit is excellent. The chip in that unit can also be used at a later date for a motor/fishing boat gps...most of which are Lowerance. The chip can also be transfered to the iway for cars.
Best of all you don't need a computer to use any of the units mentioned. Simply put the chip in and turn it on. It's fully functional. My map covers 1/3 of Canada..from Manitoba over Newfoundland and further north then Lake Nipigon across that area of land. It also has incredible memory for waypoints.
Lowerance b/w ifinder - waterproof with maps down to the stream level(1:50000) and also indicating all roads down to the street level with names(including dirt roads) and other important info. All that for under $300...this at my local fishing store. This is a proven company and the unit is excellent. The chip in that unit can also be used at a later date for a motor/fishing boat gps...most of which are Lowerance. The chip can also be transfered to the iway for cars.
Best of all you don't need a computer to use any of the units mentioned. Simply put the chip in and turn it on. It's fully functional. My map covers 1/3 of Canada..from Manitoba over Newfoundland and further north then Lake Nipigon across that area of land. It also has incredible memory for waypoints.