I am considering a factory refurbished garmin. Seems to have the same warranty as a new one. With the savings I can purchase the regional 24k topos.

Anyone have any experience to share about these units?

Most of these units I’ve read had nothing wrong with them. People use and return them after a trip, don’t understand how they work, and just want their money back. I would not have any problem buying one personally. It has a factory warranty so all good.

I have that Topo map chip that you talked about, upper Midwest. I really like it, shows just like a regular topo map.

I bought a Garmin dezl 760LMT refurb in 2013 for my motorhome. Never a problem and still works great. Looked like it had never been used when I received it.

Of course a sample of one doesn't mean much. Hopefully others will chime in, but I'd buy another refurb without hesitation.

Have bought a few, 2 Garmin GPS62st's, Delorme PN60, And some Garmin Etrex 20,s that I added maps to for friends. Both second hand and refurbished. I have had excellent service and use from this used sources. My current for the last 4 years is an Ebay used 62st.

Depending on the age and model you can add lots of maps, my favorite since Garmin bought out Delorme, is a late model Garmin combined with Basecamp program for a home computer and Birdseye subscription to USGS mapping. A year subscription available for $30, downloads are then your to use. Add to that a pile of waypoints collected over time and customized maps can be transferred to the GPS and also printed at home for hard copies.

butthead