I have a rewards program at work that needs to be cashed out and I have about $800.00 to spend. One of the categories available in the catalog is navigation and GPS units. I have a Garmin 12XL that I got in 1996, a Garmin 76, both handheld greyscale old units, and a Garmin Nuvi for my truck. I would like one of the newer units that hold a lot of maps, topo and lake depths, color high resolution big screen, good battery life, and the ability to add new maps as I travel to a new state. They have changed so much over the years and I feel like a total newbie. Some units are dedicated to Geocachers, memory slots for cards, wifi camera, walketalke radio, weather band and so on. I like to hunt/fish, but would primarily using it for BWCA/Quetico travel. Also for any maps that need to be installed, I have a MacBook Pro, not sure if the map software will work on my Mac. So here is my question to all of you., what GPS would you buy and why, any brand GPS I would look at. Thanks in advance for your help.

I'll be following this one closely as I lost my GPS yesterday.

I too want something that's Mac compatible and it's time I put on my big boy pants and learn to load my own maps.

I had a Garmin 60CSx and I loved the GPS reception of the unit. I most often just plugged in waypoints and looked at the Trip Data screen. I would use it to import the waypoints and tracks into Google Earth - that was always fun.

I'm tempted to try a touchscreen unit this time around as I hated "typing" in way point names by using the "arrow" keys to navigate to the letter I wanted and then pressing the enter button. Very time consuming to enter a waypoint with a good name. I checked a review of one of Garmin's touchscreen units and it doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard. That too would frustrate me.

Looking forward to hearing suggestions :-)

My oregon 550T is a pretty sweet unit. A little complicated for my limited mind at first, but with a little practice it is a great unit.

Garmin 62st
Delorme PN60
2 units I have owned and used, both similar and very functional. Would not hesitate to buy again.
For use as you describe, a mapping GPS with expandable (chip), memory, color hi-res screen (I found the smaller screens of the models I have to be no trouble in field use). The ability to add custom maps and sat-imaging. The expandable chip memory opens up the ability to purchase specialized maps as RedPine, Navionics, and such. By keeping the bells and whistles down to what you need, battery life will be in the area of 24 hours, on and tracking.
BaseCamp is the Garmin mapping program and is Mac compatible.
I did sell the 62st and kept the PN60 because I have a LOT of map downloads for the Delorme, and like the Delorme mapping program better. Still I have and use BaseCamp, particularly with my Nuvi 2557LMT.
My experiences with touch screen GPS was unsatisfactory (personal choice), try one in store before you decide on one.
By the way Geocaching is probably the best way to get used to, and learn your new unit.
I got my 62st in the same way as you mentioned, if buying or spending reward points I'd be very happy with a 64st GLONASS and multiple battery option are good improvements over the 62st.

butthead

PS: Hanz, BaseCamp is a free download, with that and other easily downloaded files you will never have to manually enter another EP or campsite co-ordinate. bh

Thank you so much for the detailed reply including links, butthead!

I'm not sure where I can try some units out. REI maybe?

quote Hanz: "Thank you so much for the detailed reply including links, butthead!


I'm not sure where I can try some units out. REI maybe?


"

Yes...REI

Thanks for the help.

Being my impatient self I ordered a Garmin Oregon 600 without looking at them. I decided to give the touchscreen a try. I read a bunch of reviews and it seems people feel quite strongly about this unit - it's either love or hate.

It's smaller and lighter than the GPSMAP 62 and 64. It has GLONASS. It has a higher resolution screen than the GPSMAP 62 and 64. That's what lead me to make the jump.

I hope I like it and I'll be sure to report my review in this sub forum once I have used it a bit.

Thanks again

Hanz, did you get the Oregon 600, 1.7 gb internal memory, and no preloaded topo map?
Personally I'd have gone with more memory and the preloaded topo which is very good (nice feature on the 62st I had).

butthead

Yes, no basemap. If I understand things correctly I can load maps onto a microSD card and use them from there. I've read in reviews that the 100 scale topo maps that come on the 600T aren't ideal. I will load my own 24 scale topos. Trying to save a bit of money. I hope I'm not being penny wise dollar foolish.

I think you will like the size of the screen...but maybe not after you carry it around all day. If I remember right those are BIG units?
Edit: MY bad...not the one I was thinking of.

Here is the one I got. The Montana 650T meet the things I wanted. A large screen for my bad eyes, camera, and sorry butthead a touchscreen. Thanks for your help.

I'll help spend more, Ram Mount Holder and Strap Mount. I use similar and leave the GPS in the canoe till trips over.

butthead

I've been using the Garmin Montana for several years now and it's great. I use 3 Ultimate Lithium batteries instead of the rechargable battery that comes with the unit. I use the PaddleNav map from Red Pine Mapping because I like the high-contrast of the blue water and yellow land. batteries

Wow. I see the Garmin 64 series is readily available. I have been out of the loop, I guess. This should make the models in the 62 series very affordable.

As I recall, my initial comparisons led me to conclude that there was no real compelling reason to upgrade to the 64st ... must... resist... Oh, but hey... look at the size of that REI dividend...