THE BEST HANDHELD GPS

cpditty

cpditty

Member
Oct 5, 2006
122
Rogers, Minnesota
Boat Info
200 Sundeck
Engines
4.3 Alpha 1
I know there have been other posts regarding GPS units but I am looking for the best handheld GPS. My friend swears by lowrance and he is a big fisherman but most pleasure boat owners I see with Garman. Has anyone heard of the "best thing out there"? I want something that I am not going to want to trade up next year.
What do you have?

Thanks for your help
 
Garmin is recommended. I have the 276C. Has never let me down, although I'll be upgrading soon to another larger Garmin unit...
 
I love this one: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=310 I use it in the field for geology, use it in the car for nav, and keep forgetting to bring it on the boat (but will do soon). It has all the great features you would need including being waterproof!!! All you need is the gps, the data cds, and a $30 1 or 2 gb SD card off ebay and you are set.

Graham
 
I have had a Magellan Meridian for 5 years now. Water proof, hand held and small screen. I works well but I have noticed the Magellan is no longer manufacturing them. I am not impressed with the looks of their upgrade.

Garmin is the Chevy of hand helds out there. Lots of them with lots of features and price range from $99.00 to $500.00.
 
Garmin 60CSX, the X model gives you the option of additional memory. Its is very accurate, I own 2 garmin GPS.
 
Yea, the extra few dollars for the ability to add extra memory is worth it!!

I forgot to mention in my previous post that the place to get gps units is here http://www.gpsnow.com/ I have purchased 3 from them, all garmin, have had NO problems, good communication, excellent prices, and fast shipping. Would use them again in a heartebeat.

Graham
 
I would suggest Garmin too. The 60CSX is nice but you can do without the "S" part of it. Just get the 60CX. The S just adds a compass and barometer for hiking. Lowrance is nice, and honestly more bang for the buck, but not the quality of Garmin, and certainly not as easy to use. For Lowrance check out the iFinder H2OC.

I don't want to step on gpsnow's toes :grin: but here are some links to what you should be looking at:

http://www.byownerelectronics.com/store/product.php?productid=19897&cat=2614&page=3

http://www.byownerelectronics.com/store/product.php?productid=19839&cat=0&page=3

The iFinder is much cheaper in the chart dept too. For $66 you can get the Nauticpath chip which includes the whole coastline of the US. Garmin charts are $129 and seperated into regions.
 
admin said:
I would suggest Garmin too. The 60CSX is nice but you can do without the "S" part of it. Just get the 60CX. The S just adds a compass and barometer for hiking. Lowrance is nice, and honestly more bang for the buck, but not the quality of Garmin, and certainly not as easy to use. For Lowrance check out the iFinder H2OC.
Click to expand...

Good points on the "S" portion of the 60csx. The others still have a compass on it but require you to be in motion to give you a heading where as this one as a stationary compass. In my case I use it for field geology/masters thesis/etc and it comes in very handy!! If you don't need these addons then you can knock some $$ off the unit.

Goodluck searching

Graham
 
manjo said:
Garmin 60CSX, the X model gives you the option of additional memory. Its is very accurate, I own 2 garmin GPS.
Click to expand...

I got this one too ... more importantly the 60CSx also gives you a SiRF chip set that is much more sensitive ... you'll keep a signal in many more places and under canopy
 
I haven't purchased from them, but I've always liked looking at all the GPS's at www.GPSCity.com

-Garth
 
I started out with the Garmin GPS V and used it for several years (now out of production) upgraded to the GPSMAP 276c which is the best of both worlds (street & marine). Just purchased a fixed mount GPSMAP 535s to dedicate to the boat (I’ll be installing it this weekend).

I have purchased all of them from http://www.getfeetwet.com Shop around and find your best deals. Note, I am not associated with GFW.com just a happy customer.
 
Ok, I've narrowed it down to a few with lots of questions...
garmin 60csx or 76csx or a nuvi? (which one?)

I like the idea of being able to take it with me, whether I'm on the road, hiking, on my bicycle, or in my boat. I like the elevation for the biking/hiking side of things. But, I'd like the ability to have mapping/gps info for when I'm on the lake. When I travel it's handy to have voice info for street turning (preferably with the street names). I've looked thru the garmin site for these, and it seems like you can't have 1 device that does it all. the 76csx is the closest I've seen to what I'm looking for, but it doesn't do voice output that I know of, and it floats! But, there's the 276c ... argh.

Is it possible to pull info from the 76csx to your pc?
What goes on the microSD memory? I know you can purchase maps that are on microSD memory sticks to load in.

What else should I know about GPS's? Ram Mounts - Probably get a window sticky for use in the car/boat.

-Garth
 
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I bought a Garmin street pilot 2 months ago and just bought a nuvi the other day. I will buy a Garmin marine unit when my current GPS craps out
 
I have a Garmin GPSMAP76 that I have had for about 5 years. I also have Garmin's Maptech software which uploads/downloads to the unit.

Being submersible and floating is a good feature for a handheld unit used on a boat.

I don't care for Garmin's software pricing and their unlock code system, but it does work as advertised, so I can't really complain about it.

Before I upgraded the GPS, I used Garmin's beanbag mount. It worked very well on a 225WE.

In my opinion, you should think about how you want to use the GPS before you buy a handheld. The biggest drawback to them is the screen size. I found the 76 to be difficult to read when the boat was moving - a small screen on a bouncing boat does not work all that well.

If you are going to use it to navigate, consider getting one with the largest screen that you can reasonably install on your boat. I bought a 492 (I think that is the model) and the difference is very noticable. Still not as good as a paper chart for seeing the big picture, but okay for normal use.
 
I have paper charts that I've used for 8 yrs on my other boat, and they're handy, but sometimes, it's difficult correlating your current location with the map. It's easy to be off by quite a ways, and not know it. Even with a depth gauge and using that to help correlate the map to the real world with basic triangulation. I figure with a gps, I'll be able to locate more accurately where I am. I usually slow down or stop when reading the map since if it's that questionable, I'm possibly not in a good spot (shallows). There's a few ledges /reefs(?) that come right out of the water during low water periods and hang just under during high water that you have to watch out for on Lake Champlain.

Those Colorado units look nice, but are expensive. The Nuvi 650's on sale at Costco for 300 right now I think, but they're not waterproof... decisions, decisions. This is why I've yet to get a gps... if they'd put all the features in one. I'd pay the extra 1-200 more for it. argh! I don't want to pay the base 2-300 for each one to get the features I want for all.

-Garth
 
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For boating the 176C GPSMAP can't be beat.. sadly I included it in the sale of my last boat. I had also purchased the cards (fishing hotspots) and Lake Erie. The fishing hot spots has all the charts for the inland lakes and it works great. I'll probablly end up with the 276c as a replacement just as soon as I get my "stimulous" check from the Feds............ Damn that's right, they've decided to give my hrd earned money to someone who needs it more. Gotta love Socialism:smt013
 
The Nuvi's are not meant to be used on the water at all. It is the absolute worst unit to get if you want one for the water. Any of the Garmin 60 series or 76 series are good for the water. The Colorado is the best for the water coming preloaded with coastal bluecharts.
 
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