Thinking about getting a GPS for this up coming CO DIY Elk hunt. Owned many for my cars and boat but never one with topographical maps for hunting.
Normally I would recommend the Garmin series GPS and more specifically I would look at the 62 series and the 62s in particular. I currently own the 60csx and it has been performing great for a few years. I don't believe you can go wrong with a Garmin unit. I have also owned a DeLorme PN20 for the same time frame as the Garmin and functionally the Garmin was easier and more advanced. The one thing the Garmin lacked that the PN20 had was quality topo maps on the unit itself. In my opinion DeLorme makes the absolute best mapping software especially with their downloadable topos (1:24000), aerials and satellite layers. ( Although you have to pay for these downloadable features you can get a year long subscription for less than $30 that will allow you unlimited downloads. Totally worth it. ) All of these can go on their handheld units but, until the PN60, that was the only good thing I found about their HH units. Recently I found a GPS "bundle" that has the PN60, Topo 9.0, $40 worth of downloads and some extra mapping discs all for $249.95. I have been watching this GPS for a couple years and that is an insane price for that bundle. Essentially, you are paying $149.95 for the GPS itself if you count the cost of the mapping software and the download certificate. I bought that bundle and have been testing out the GPS. They have made some great improvements, power consumption and compass being the best. Topo 9.0 is as great as the earlier versions and "improved". If you use maps a lot, like maps a lot, use a GPS alot and like the maps to be on the GPS then this is the absolute best bang for the buck out there. You will NOT find a better deal than this. http://www.thegpsstore.com/DeLorme-PN-60-Outdoor-GPS-P2402.aspx
Thanks Bruce, I bought about 6 GPS's from thegpsstore.com over the years Nice people. Thanks I'll look into it more. I wish you could test drive these things. I've had issues in the past with GPS's not working with Mac computers.
I like the Garmin's as well. If you will be hunting with other guys that will have GPS's too, I'd recommend the Rino's. I have the 530hcx which has been replaced with a newer more current touch screen unit, but mine is awesome. We have 10-15 guys in the woods at my camp up north on a 1500 acre patch of woods and I can see where everyone is and talk to all of them on the Rino, it's really an awesome piece of equipment.
Andrew - sounds like we might get to swap stories in Elk camp this Sept...looking forward to it. First time I ventured west in 2010, I asked Will what gps he used and I bought a used one on ebay for $30 (Magellan 310 I believe). Very basic and worked great...basically just wanted to know elevation, mark key sign, and find truck at end of day. Just couple months ago was looking for something with topo just for the reason of exploring new territory and having an idea what the topo looked like (typically I just used maps before the hunt for this), but there were times that seeing the topo on the hand held could have saved some steps. Being a penny pincher, I waited for a Sale at Cabelas and used gift cards I had there to get the Garmin Etrex 20, not as high tech as the 60 series...but so far very impressed with it. I have already loaded free topo maps of all areas I hunt and used it a lot with family for geocaching...very accurate and quick to find satellites...should do me well this Sept. Good luck with your search...
I bought a Garmin 62SC for a turkey hunt in Nebraska and was extremely pleased in its capabilities. Although nice, I would shy away from the touchscreen GPSs as that touchscreen can be a real pain with cold, wet fingers. I would not pay the extra money to get a Garmin GPS with the preloaded topos as they are pretty poor topos. I use a website called huntigngpsmaps.com and order maps from them. THey are pricey, but for Colorado you can get their statewide maps that have detailed topos, detailed roads and best of all, they lay out all the boundaries between private and public land right on your GPS map. In Nebraska I was able to follow the public/private boundaries on my GPS map and they followed the forest service signs exactly. And if you want you can get the maps to display landowner names and contact information of the private land you are bordering. Next to amazing if you ask me.
So what are the top 10 things to look for in a GPS for hunting? I own many Garmin GPS's for auto and boats but have never been impressed with their maps, the Rino one mentioned above sounds cool to keep track of other hunters your with. I also don't mind older ones but with all the new technology out today I'd like to be caught up with it if I'm going to buy a new one. Thanks
The number one feature/item I look for is battery life. I can't speak for the newer garmins, 62 series, but my 60csx got excellent battery life. The PN60 has claimed to make theirs better but I have not been able to test that out yet. The next thing is an electronic compass, 3 axis. I use the compass a lot and I need to be able to rely on it. Ease of use. How easy is it to add WP's, name them, edit them. Same with tracks. How easy is it to work with tracks. Garmin has been best here but the new PN60 has some promise. Onboard maps. It may be an anal thing but I like the maps on my GPS to look like the maps in my hand. Garmin sucked. Delorme smokes everyone. Integration with mapping software. Garmin/Delorme do this equally well. Garmin mapping software sucks. DeLorme smokes everyone. Battery life 3 axis electronic compass Ease of use Maps Map software integration, Map software I could think of 5 more but it would probably be a matter of preference and, right now, if I had to pick just one GPS I would likely go with Garmin.
Interesting Thanks. I plan on having topo maps with me but you'd think these gsp's would be as good or better.
The best thing about a GPS that no map can ever match is that it gets me from the van to the stand site, anywhere from .5 to 1 mile, in the dark, very fast. And then from the stand site back to the van in the dark.
Have the Garmin Rino 530HCX and installed the plat map SD card. Gives you the name of land owners. Love it for out west !!!!!
With my expierience in the army with all of the schools iv been to and training and deployment the topo one's are not that good if you plan to navigate with. Once you hit tree's with them they will push you out on a wrong azmith until you clear the tree's and back into open land and you stop moving so it retracks it self. Honestly if I was you I would get a good topo map for the area you plan to hunt and a Garmin foretrex 401. You can load routes and points off your computer to it and it tracks damn near everywere. Only gps that was worth a damn in RSLC, Sniper School, and all the train ups and the deployments iv done. Its small and you wear it on your wrist. Has a barometer and compas in it. You can find one on amazon for 160 ish. Mine was stolen here in afghanistan and im buying another one because it is so worth it. If you ultimately want one with topo. buy a cheapo and get the 401 for navigation. Im a sniper in the army so all I do is recon missions and overwatch missions and in all the places iv been it has never let me or anyone else down. Well worth the money in my opinion and has many uses.
I have a Garmin Colorado, which is no longer made and was replaced by a touch screen model. I have used it on week long wilderness canoe trips in the boundary waters to help with navigation and just to keep a piece of mind that I am not lost. Here is a great resource for free maps you can upload to your Garmin. I have used a few of these and found them to be a pretty good addition. http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/
