[Sharron]

I’m thinking of investing in a GPS. Prefer one that is idiot proof/easy to use (in case an idiot wants to borrow it ok!). Any recommendations?

[pete g]

Hi Sharron,

the last time I looked at this (start of the year), the Garmin Etrex20 came out on top for most things.

Cheers

Pete

[marie]

I have a etrek 30 from a guy down SI who loaded the free maps on for me. The etrek30 has the magnetic compass and barometric altimeter (NOT). But I don’t think they are worth it and the etrek20 should do fine as long as it has the map capability. I like the unit as it is smaller, has the option of using the russian satellites too (I never bother though), and has staggeringly amazing battery life. It does have a few software flaws (like occasionally doing a 180 on the direction arrow even when moving!) but the other Garmin GPSs also have this too – just a software flaw the developers have not ironed out yet IMO. Have to keep in mind the market for these units is your mainland USA type (not that bright, often outsmarted by the local rodents and/or salesman) and not for getting about tricky places in the antipodes off-track without some skill to bring to the show. But well better than old GPS units, better than the ‘touch screen’ ones if you intend to use it in the bush/outdoors in all weathers (as they won’t work in such), and a relatively simple interface compared to their other popular model IMO (the one that resembles a brick and probably popular with the car bound or slower types or those who can afford to stand around faffing over the interface or perhaps even enjoy that – they aren’t that bad really but they are definitely bigger). The etrek works for me although it may not for lots of other people.

[MikeM]

Hi Sharron.

What Marie said. Marie, have you checked to see if a firmware update will fix the direction-arrow thing?

Many people get by with smartphones these days, but I’m a fan of Garmin’s eTrex range, and I only really know anything about Garmin’s products so this comment’s probably biased in that respect.

eTrex 20 or 30 are both fine imho, or if you’re looking at older second-hand models then an eTrex Vista HCx is very similar in features, weight and battery life to an eTrex 30. (For some reason I have both.) You could borrow my eTrex Vista HCx for a while if you want to play with it.

If you don’t care about any features beyond basics like getting a grid reference which you can compare with a map, you could also look at the very basic original eTrex model. If you do, though, make absolutely certain you’re getting an eTrex H, which has the modern high-sensitive antenna. (The old antennas are horrid and impractical as soon as there’s a small tree on the horizon.)

Barometer and electronic compass are really just up to you if you think it’s worth the money. I don’t have a separate altimeter and I like having the more accurate one available, plus I like pulling the data off afterwards and as long as it’s calibrated it means I can often get better elevation charts of where I’ve been. I don’t bother with the compass (as a compass) but it means the unit can keep maps oriented according to the way you’re facing, if you like trying to read those maps on a tiny screen.

If you prefer a bigger screen (apparently many people do) in exchange for more weight and shorter battery life, the GPSMAP62 range is very similar to the eTrex range except for those trade-offs. The GPSMAP60 range is very comparable if you’re looking second hand. Just make sure the specific model you buy has the features you want, because as with the GPSMAP62 there are several specific models. GPSMAP60 and GPSMAP62 are both very popular ranges for tramping and mountaineering and there are heaps of them out there.

Modern eTrex and GPSMAP62 are very similar in their software and have very comparable features when you step up the models… the main difference is the screen size/battery-life+weight thing. On the outside, eTrex units and GPSMAP60/62 units look very different, and this goes right back to the early days before highly sensitive antenna were available. In the 1990s when all GPS antennas sucked, the ones that were flat instead of tubular sucked even more, and there was a significant advantage with tube antennas because they didn’t have to be oriented as accurately to get and keep a satellite fix. These days I don’t think there’s any significant difference, and I suspect Garmin just puts a big grunty looking antenna on the GPSMAP62 models for visual marketing reasons. Many of their loyal customers would probably stop and think about something else if the shape changed.

Both of these Garmin ranges (which are designed for outdoor hand-held use) come with an IPX7 rating, which means they should keep running underneath up to a metre of water for up to half an hour. Make sure you tell the retailer when you purchase it that you’re planning to dunk it in the bath for a while straight after you’ve bought it, so that they won’t be too surprised if you bring it back the next day for a warranty replacement if it leaked.

[ianh]

Hi Sharron,

I have a GPSMAP62s you can borrow for a test drive if you like.

This model and I think most other Garmins can load “custom maps”. These are just Google Earth (kmz) files. http://www.topomap.co.nz/ allows downloads of the Topo50 map sheets in this format so you can view them in your gps which is really handy. However, they are restricted in that only one can be loaded at a time which is a pain in the butt when needing more than one map sheet. There are ways of getting around this but you need to use some GIS tools to do so which I’m pretty sure you wont want to bother with as it’s a hassle.

Cheers,
Ian.

[MikeG]

There was a long thread a couple of years back about GPS’s and downloading KMZ files from topomap.co.nz and the free/cheap tools to merge them.

https://www.wtmc.org.nz/phorum/read.php?2,7135

The owner of topomap.co.nz even weighed in and offered his own hints and tips!

[Author]

Posts