hand held gps

[Rixster]

Most of the group I ride with have garmin rinos, From the 110 to the 530. It is VERY nice to be able to see someones location on your map when you lost them in the trees. Depending on what you want you can spend just abot what you want on them. THe 110 are pretty cheap but have no memory so you cant load maps on it. I use the 130, have loaded the intire state of utah topo maps on it and still have some memory left. It is nice to have your gps and your radio in one unit.

 

[FurryCURT]

I have a garmin ForeTrex. Its a wrist worn unit that is prett light and compact. It doesn't have the programmable map feature, but will track and save waypoints. i use it for fishing ( on the lake to save a hot spot) and for sledding. its waterproof and mine has a rechargeable battery. If you ride overnight or away from a power source, get the one that has replaceable batteries. I paid less than 200 for it. Easy to use, and you can program the diaplay to your liking. Its can show a large single data field, or 2 medium or 4 small fields at once. Been really happy with it. Curt

 

[dragon800ak]

I've got the Garmin 76CS (color) and it's awesome. Purchased RAM mount, wired to small drycell battery with rectifier kit from Polaris to keep it charged. Don't have to worry about spare batteries. One other very cool thing with the Garmin is it comes with Mapsource software that will allow you to download the day's track and automatically view it in Google Earth! Very, very cool!

 

[BlgsRX-1mtn]

I bought Rhino 130s for the wife a me. The "peer find" feature is nice for when the Mrs. gets lost. It has weather radio, two-way radio, altimeter, many different speed options(max, avg current etc..) clock with alarm and alot of other features I haven't played with yet.

I got the set from www.gpscity.com.

Jim

 

[Skitool]

My eTrex vista does and so does my rhino 530...

Do you use a ram mount for your 530? I just bought a 530hcx with a ram mount and there is no way to secure it in the holder. It fits in the holder fine but when i start to hit bumps that thing will fly outta there. Any ideas? Maybe mine came with a missing part?

 

[CascadeXP]

Put in my vote for the Garmin 120, good price, good features. Use it snowmobiling, quadding, and the base maps it has make it good for just driving around in the rig.

 

[R J]

Garmin is the undisputed leader when it comes to anything GPS. It's no joke, they are that good.

I have the 60csx. I love it. Color screen, all the highway stuff loaded into it (had to go to a 2gb micro card for that) altitude accent rates, electonic compass for when you are not moving and so on.

It's sweet!

 

[Powder Addiction]

Garmin Rhino 530Hcx

I like the Garmin Rhino 530Hcx. They work great as a GPS and the radio is nice to especially to track your riding buddies and find everyone when you get seperated.

Best price online at the moment.

$357.49 including shipping. HECK OF A DEAL http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=GRR530HCX

 

[Dam Dave]

Garmin is the undisputed leader when it comes to anything GPS. It's no joke, they are that good.

I have the 60csx. I love it. Color screen, all the highway stuff loaded into it (had to go to a 2gb micro card for that) altitude accent rates, electonic compass for when you are not moving and so on.

It's sweet!

doesn't get any better in a hand help unit, with a gb card I loaded topo maps for all the western states with room to spare for all the tracks I will ever save. I have used 3 or 4 Garmins, this one is the best so far. GET A COLOR SCREEN no matter what you do, helps a lot. Dave

 

[Skitool]

I like the Garmin Rhino 530Hcx. They work great as a GPS and the radio is nice to especially to track your riding buddies and find everyone when you get seperated.

Best price online at the moment.

$357.49 including shipping. HECK OF A DEAL http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=GRR530HCX

Do you use a ram mount for your 530? I just bought a 530hcx with a ram mount and there is no way to secure it in the holder. It fits in the holder fine but when i start to hit bumps that thing will fly outta there. Any ideas? Maybe mine came with a missing part

 

[2mileshigh]

I have taught many GPS classes and have had many occasion to use most all brands out there. here is my take on them

Garmin - easiest most user friendly to figure out and use
biggest complaint you can only use Mapsource background maps
newer ones use a chip with mapsource already on it, plug and play background maps

Magellan - not too bad not as easy as a Garmin but not bad

Lowrance - way to many bells and whistles, get too complicated

Eagle - not bad but not as easy as the others

Brunton - POS don't waste your money If anyone ever brings one to one of my classes again I will personally throw it in the corner and let them use my own GPS

Trimble - haven't dealt with any new ones in years havent even seen them anymore

If you are going to spend extra money on anything spend it on a color screen. They make it easier to read and quickly identify between water and vegetation and distinguish between other items much faster.

Don't spend the money on an electronic compass. They are battery eaters. They use battery power to establish a magnetic field to orient themselves. The magellans I just got done playing with for the Boyscouts would go haywire because of the electronic compass in my work Jeep.
Any GPS can be used as a compass, you just have move 15 or 20 feet to let it orient itself to the direction of travel.

I have to agree, garmin is the best cust service i have had. My old 12 went down, sent it in and they sent me a brand new one. I had that unit for over 14 years. Thats crazy service.

 

[senorjeem]

I have 2 of the rhinos. 1 of them the radio crapped out on, so now with one, I can't find the other one if the person with it gets lost in the weeds, so, I gues for the money, a $100 dollar etrex, and 2 new FRS is going to do it for me. I don't think the rhinos are tough enough (moisture resistant) to last any better than a set of FRS radios that in all likelyhood have better range. Just my .02

 

[jtrain151]

Does anyone know the major difference(s) between the Garmin 60csx and the 76csx??

I have looked at both and they seem very similar except the 76 floats and can take more memory. They also seem to be about the same price, at least at Amazon.com......around $300.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Paulyester]

I have taught many GPS classes and have had many occasion to use most all brands out there. here is my take on them

Garmin - easiest most user friendly to figure out and use
biggest complaint you can only use Mapsource background maps
newer ones use a chip with mapsource already on it, plug and play background maps

Magellan - not too bad not as easy as a Garmin but not bad

Lowrance - way to many bells and whistles, get too complicated

Eagle - not bad but not as easy as the others

Brunton - POS don't waste your money If anyone ever brings one to one of my classes again I will personally throw it in the corner and let them use my own GPS

Trimble - haven't dealt with any new ones in years havent even seen them anymore

If you are going to spend extra money on anything spend it on a color screen. They make it easier to read and quickly identify between water and vegetation and distinguish between other items much faster.

Don't spend the money on an electronic compass. They are battery eaters. They use battery power to establish a magnetic field to orient themselves. The magellans I just got done playing with for the Boyscouts would go haywire because of the electronic compass in my work Jeep.
Any GPS can be used as a compass, you just have move 15 or 20 feet to let it orient itself to the direction of travel.

Do any of the newer GPS units let you turn off the screen to save battery power, but continue tracking? I have an older Magellan Meridian that is great, but for detailed tracks, I want it to stay on so I can upload my track later, but if I keep it on very long, there goes the battery.

 

[Hammertime]

Rhino 120 or better!

Get the Rhino 120 model or better. I bought two since then everyone we ride with got them for the GPS position transmit. If you get separated you can send your position to each other. We all got em now we know where everyone is. My .02

Rhino 120 starts around 180 each.
www.gpsonline.com

 

[Timber700RMK]

Does anyone know the major difference(s) between the Garmin 60csx and the 76csx??

I have looked at both and they seem very similar except the 76 floats and can take more memory. They also seem to be about the same price, at least at Amazon.com......around $300.

Thanks for the feedback.

I believe the 70 series floats (marine) the 60 series is just waterproof but sinks!