I had an I-finder and it was very accurate (within a foot or 2). Somehow it got lost with some great info. :(

What's a good unit? Been awhile since I looked into GPS units.

Best and cheapest hardly belong used in the same sentence. Best depends to much on user desires of functions. And an accuracy of 1-2 feet is probably an overstatement except in expensive survey units, most common accuracy is expressed in CEP (circular error probable) of 3-10 meters.
What are you looking for in GPS functions first, then price expected?

butthead

1'-2' is a stretch. Put me back on this (after I ordered a #300 pull magnet) after a weird malfunction from a super stretched bolt.

You should have seen our faces as I was holding just the head and the bit went bye bye.

Armin etrex is decent bang for your buck gaps.Get one with x in name for expandability. You can add a chip with sites and or portages. I like my vista hcx. H is for high sensitivity. C is for color. Small handheld. There is one on the bottom of the temperance river if you can find it ;)

"1'-2' is a stretch ?" Yes it is, as a general statement. Do some research, don't take my word for that.
GPS accuracy also depends on frequency of samples and total number of samples over time, referred to as averaging and indicated as such on all the gps units I have handled..
Can it get within 1 to 2 feet? yes, occasionally, more often 3 meters is more likely. I have done a bunch of geocaching and have had the rare "right on top" reading, rare it is and way more often it's a 15 foot circular area with multiple brands of units.

butthead

Assuming you already own a smartphone the cheapest would be that, and they are certainly accurate enough for canoeing. Download the maps before you go and cell services are not required.

redoleary: "Assuming you already own a smartphone the cheapest would be that, and they are certainly accurate enough for canoeing. Download the maps before you go and cell services are not required. "

I've had several odd occasions recently where using the gps function on my phone drained it in less than 30 min when it was in airplane mode. I've never run into it before, but was glad that I wasn't relying on it for navigation.

I will be using my Iphone and the Gaia GPS app on my upcoming trip. I also have HuntStand downloaded on the phone. Map and compass is my main way of navigating but interested in trying the apps.

pswith5: "Armin etrex is decent bang for your buck gaps.Get one with x in name for expandability. You can add a chip with sites and or portages. I like my vista hcx. H is for high sensitivity. C is for color. Small handheld. There is one on the bottom of the temperance river if you can find it ;)"

The G fell off. Meant to be Garmin.

Get a Garmin, sounds like a sales advertisement. Usually best and cheapest do not go together, so pick one. The best.

I used points at work to buy my last Garmin Montana 655T, great unit. I don’t like buttons on a GPS unit, because they will fail. A touch screen GPS works just like your phone, no buttons to fail. It was a $500 unit I got for free with the points. My friend works at Garmin and said I can get 40% discount off any Garmin product, nice. I will be getting some mapping chips and another unit.

For you I would suggest a Garmin Etrex 20, it is about $200 and has mapping software in it.

I prefer the Garmin 78 series. You can get a refurbished (brand new in box, most likely) for about $150. You can put the BWCA/Quetico chip in it, or a topo chip. Store all the tracks and waypoints you would ever need. Has real buttons instead of a touch screen, which is critical in my mind. Pretty waterproof, long battery life, floats...

Joe

I recently had to replace an ifinder and got a Garmin 20x. I'm very happy with it as it has outstanding battery life and is light and compact, perfect for canoe country. Screen size is a bit small but sufficient. Look in to Red Pine mapping cards for BWCA/Quetico (55.00) They are pretty neat, but not perfect, especially in Quetico.

thanks everyone ! great info as usual , i think my choice is Garmin ;)

NOT CHEAP, but I just ordered the new Garmin 66i. It should arrive today. I have three Garmins from purchases over the years...two eTrex and one very old GPSMap...maybe their first one...it is stuffed away in a drawer somewhere.

Anyway, I am getting the 66i for the SMS ability and will allow my wife to track me while I am wondering in the wilderness. It touts improved accuracy, so I am also going to try to use it for some ¨rough¨surveying on my acreage.

I have always loved Garmin products.

mgraber: "I recently had to replace an ifinder and got a Garmin 20x. I'm very happy with it as it has outstanding battery life and is light and compact, perfect for canoe country. Screen size is a bit small but sufficient. Look in to Red Pine mapping cards for BWCA/Quetico (55.00) They are pretty neat, but not perfect, especially in Quetico."

Quite a bit cheaper than the Garmin TOPO Boundary Waters card!


Joe

Also cheaper would be to get a unit compatible with Birds Eye imagery & getting a 1 year subscription to the US Topos. Download as many of the USGS quads you like and after the year they're yours to keep.

GSMAP 66i Initial impressions
I received this yesterday so have had just a bit of time to play with it.
1) Boots up pretty fast relative to my old eTrex
2) Acquires satellites very quickly and while INSIDE my house (eTrex would not do this)
3) Map that shipped with the unit has BWCAW lakes AND portages marked.
4) User interface is nice--I like buttons rather than touch screen so am happy with the 66i
5) The screen is nice even for my old eyes

haha, discussion of the 66i doesn't belong in a thread called "best and cheapest!"

I sprung for an InReach just a bit too fast. It cannot replace a good gps because it has limited storage for waypoints and routes, and does not have a microsSd card slot. It is incompatable with the maps that Garmin sells on the microSd cards like Topo-Boundary Waters and g2 Bluewater marine charts.

SO, is the 66 a fully capable GPS unit (as described above) as well as a 2-way messenger?

Joe