Thinking of finally pulling the trigger on a new GPS and in reach combo for next year. Does anyone have first hand experience with either of these two devices and can comment on them?

86i is a boating and or offshore balanced for marine application. 66i has predominately terrain/land oriented utilities.

Very close related units, cost, specs, performance, all nearly the same. Installed maps the largest difference, the 86i weighs a bit more. Optional maps should work in either.

butthead

butthead: "86i is a boating and or offshore balanced for marine application. 66i has predominately terrain/land oriented utilities.


Very close related units, cost, specs, performance, all nearly the same. Installed maps the largest difference, the 86i weighs a bit more. Optional maps should work in either.


butthead"

I mainly brought up the 86i in the hopes that I could use it for inland (BWCA) lakes via Navionics, on top of the land functions of the 66i. It sounds like it's more based around the coastal maps rather than being useful for lakes like BWCA lakes, with that said I would probably be best with the 66i and trying to get Navionics on it or something?

Having moved from the 62st to the 64st, I was excited about getting a 66st. Then the 66i quickly followed and I pondered dumping my inReach for that as a full-upgrade-all-in-one... Right on its heels, along came the 86 series, and I thought, "Hmm, another newer, higher number... must be the one..."

I looked at those two rather closely a while back and came to the same conclusions at butthead. Identical display and storage specs but the 86 series is a bit heavier, perhaps more rugged, more focused on the marine user. So, nope. I'm back to a decision between one of the 66 series models.

And, then, I suppose I'll also "need" to upgrade to the LakeVü g3 US lake map chip... :-o

schweady: "Having moved from the 62st to the 64st, I was excited about getting a 66st. Then the 66i quickly followed and I pondered dumping my inReach for that as a full-upgrade-all-in-one... Right on its heels, along came the 86 series, and I thought, "Hmm, another newer, higher number... must be the one..."


I looked at those two rather closely a while back and came to the same conclusions at butthead. Identical display and storage specs but the 86 series is a bit heavier, perhaps more rugged, more focused on the marine user. So, nope. I'm back to a decision between one of the 66 series models.


And, then, I suppose I'll also "need" to upgrade to the LakeVü g3 US lake map chip... :-o
"

So just learning about all this... can I get those lake vu maps as well as land topo that are shown on the 66i, on the 66i? If so I might make a purchase this week lol

Uh, boy... I just now see that REI's 'Gear Up Get Out' sale (Nov 15-25) will offer $75.00 off of the 66i. That's the first discount on any of the new models that I have seen to date. Merry Christmas to me ??

GearGuy: "So just learning about all this... can I get those lake vu maps as well as land topo that are shown on the 66i, on the 66i? If so I might make a purchase this week lol"

The 66i comes with the 100K topo mapping installed. The LakeVü chip (or download) is a $149 add-on.

Either unit will take all sorts of maps from either line. My favorite is neither chip based set of maps but the Birdseye subscription service and selected area downloads. I had full offshore charts for a previous Delorme PN60 but found little use for them even traveling the US/Canadian border. If I had to choose new it would be between 66st GPSR or the 66i depending mainly on the communication needs. I my case I always carry a PLB so that is already covered.

I have had a Navionics chip but find a large portion of the BWCA maps in the USGS mapset ()Birdseye), have lake contours. And are a much less costly solution.

butthead

schweady: "Uh, boy... I just now see that REI's 'Gear Up Get Out' sale (Nov 15-25) will offer $75.00 off of the 66i. That's the first discount on any of the new models that I have seen to date. Merry Christmas to me ??
"

Well, that caught my attention. Been eyeing the 66i too. Birdseye's would be a really cool feature and I could eliminate SPOT. My Oregon 450 is misbehaving and leaves me distrusting its reliability. Won't recalculate the compass 3-axis anymore. :( Not too shocked, however, since it was a discontinued model for some time now.

If there is no objection, and if the OP is familiar with the Additional Group Forums, perhaps this thread could be moved to the GPS Forum ?? Mods ??

schweady: "If there is no objection, and if the OP is familiar with the Additional Group Forums, perhaps this thread could be moved to the GPS Forum ?? Mods ??
"

additional forums on this website, the places where good convo go to die lol

GearGuy: "

schweady: "If there is no objection, and if the OP is familiar with the Additional Group Forums, perhaps this thread could be moved to the GPS Forum ?? Mods ??
"

additional forums on this website, the places where good convo go to die lol"

Hardly! You may have something to learn.

butthead

butthead: "

GearGuy: "

schweady: "If there is no objection, and if the OP is familiar with the Additional Group Forums, perhaps this thread could be moved to the GPS Forum ?? Mods ?? "

Additional forums on this website, the places where good convo go to die lol"

Hardly! You may have something to learn.

butthead"

Move it if you must! I think you've added Aa -Ab - Ac - Ad - Ae - Af - Ag/Ba-Bb-Bc-Bd type organization to a website that only needs A-F, G-K, but I haven't used this website for years I have no idea what I'm talking about lol. Anyways, thanks for the info on the Garmin! Will def be buying one here soon.

I would encourage you all to keep the conversation going right here in the Gear Forum. This is all good information to share for anyone researching these products.

I bought the 66i recently, shortly after posting this. I couldn't be happier with the few sessions I've played with it. The platform to install maps to the GPS itself, however, is terrible. I fought with it all weekend before it finally correctly installed the LakeVu maps that I bought from Garmin.

On the other hand, I freaking LOVE having LakeVu on my GPS. I don't really bother with a fish sonar, but having depth maps is invaluable for me. I love having the ability to install maps to my GPS, and they overlay on top of the default map.

I'm still debating getting the Red Pine BWCA maps, but the guy who said that they were last updated in 2009 or so....yea, I don't know if I want to pay $70 for a map that may or may not be right. But having even old sites marked out on my GPS might be an awesome thing... we'll see. Does anyone have those Red Pine maps that can comment on how useful they are?

I do, and find RedPine quite useful, but also have made custom maps with the waypoints and routes added in Basecamp. Better in BWCA than Quetico but still useful.
Any map based on USGS survey will be 10 years old and more.
Beyond lake charts which are added as charted and satellite imagery I'd like to know where newer updated commercial maps are to be found. The biggest change with Forset Service maps was 2016 mostly a colored version of the 2013 which gets most of the data from older USGS maps.

butthead