I'd like to get a good buyers guide started in this thread for GPS's. Tell us what you have, what software you're using, your impressions on ease of usage, and maybe a story or two.

I'm pretty much GPS ignorant and don't know too much about them. I think most who do not have them and haven't used them much are in the same boat, so putting things in basic terms will help me as well as others.

Tell us about your GPS.


1998 Frontier 4x4 seriously built
2002 Xterra 4x4 still stock

I'm a buyer looking for a guide. I am limited in my purchasing abilities due to the fact that I will be purchasing the GPS for A Handspring Visor Edge PDA.

Garmin GPS V here. I paid about $460 for it, but it can be had for about $360 now.

This GPS is pretty much top of the line in the Garmin portable GPS line.




This GPS has several features to really make it worth the extra $$:

-Auto Routing and navigation. You tell it an address, landmark, restaurant, gas station, atm (and more), and it'll take you exactly there. You can store locations for future reference, and even build a route to visit several locations in the same trip. The navigation software is "smart" and will recalculate the directions if you miss a turn. Very handy for people that get lost easily (like me).

-Accuracy. This unit uses the global positioning satellites in conjunction with WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System), which was originally developed for use in precision flight planning by the FAA. Combined with the standard GPS signals, this makes the unit extremely accurate. It will pinpoint your location on the globe to within 9 ft.

-Memory. The GPS V has 19 megs of memory for storing maps, routes, place markers, etc. You can basically load an entire state and then some into this thing. Very handy if you travel a lot.

-Built in Base Map. It has a full US base map.. meaning that it has ALL the major highways and major city streets built into it. It knows them by name, and even announces upcoming exits onscreen ("I-10 West - Los Angeles 1/4 mile") as you approach them on the highway.

-Software support. There is a lot of software available for the Garmin GPS systems. The V actually comes with very nice street map software which allows you to unlock one region for free. The region I unlocked is basically from Arizona to Utah.. all the way east to Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. This software, you load into the GPS and it gives you highly detailed street maps that you can navigate with. You can then punch in an address, or tell it to find the nearest Bank of America ATM, and it'll take you right to it. One down side to this software is that it doesnt show the smaller towns.. only large cities have all the streets and information displayed. You can mix and match when uploading maps to the GPS unit too. I can install the entire state of Arizona trail maps from my road and recreation software along with a few city maps from the City Select software, and select between them easily while out on the road.

-Portable. The V is portable too. You press and hold a button and the screen flips to a vertical display so that you can easily read it while hiking.

-Backlit. It has a nice indiglo backlighting that makes it very easy to read in the dark. The intensity is adjustable, so you can set it to match the rest of your lighting in the car, or to conserve battery power.

-Speed and altitude readouts. How many times have you wondered whether your speedometer was accurate? This thing will tell you exactly how fast you are going. I use it to set my cruise control right at the legal speed limit. There is no guesswork involved. It also will show altitude, which is a neat feature. The altitude varies between units though, as I've seen two GPS Vs side by side, reading about 20ft difference in altitude. Still not bad though. The speed reading is pretty accurate though, both units were reading within 0.2mph of eachother.

There have been a few times this GPS has proved itself for me. I can think of several times where we've been out with the group exploring some new (to us) 4x4 trails and we've come to a fork in the road. This fork wasnt shown on the paper maps, but the GPS showed exactly where we were, and by comparing the intersection & directions, you can easily see which way to go. I'm sure it saved quite a bit of time backtracking.

There also have been quite a few trails that Ive been on that didnt appear on the maps. In this case, I just turn on the tracking function, and it leaves a "virtual" breadcrumb trail on screen. This record can then be used by the GPS to automatically navigate back to the start of the trail (it has a function to do this). So there is absolutely no way to get lost out there with something like this. You will always know where you are. I was always afraid of getting lost out in the desert, but with this thing, its really reassuring to know exactly where you are, and how to get back home.

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ya what he said ^ i like my gps V
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Yeah he pretty much said everything I would have about the V. LOVE IT. Although it is not the top of the line the color map is better with voice prompts. Oh wait he said portable ones. Yeah that is right.

My friend picked up a Garmin Gpsmap 176C for about $100 more than the GPS V. It has a much bigger screen and is in color, but doesnt have the street navigation features that the V has. He really likes it, but due to the size, it pretty much has to be used in a vehicle.



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I still want to get one........ I do take donation for anyone who wants to help me get one

I got the Garmin GPS 12, Not as high tech as the Garmin V, but It will get me out of the woods and back to civilization. It doesn't have mapping features or driving directions, but you can save routes and waypoints, and it is pretty simple to use, I paid like $150 for it around january.

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If It's A Jeep Thing I Don't Want To Understand.

mike, yeah, that is more of what I need. Although what John has is very nice, I don't have a need for all the whistles and bells. I will have to look at that one....

Heres what I use:

Keep in mind that I dont use it for the street, mainly for the open desert (especially at night). As you guys know, most of the trails in OHV areas in SoCal are pretty well marked.

Garmin eTrex Venture - Handheld GPS Receiver

Built-in uploadable database Recommended for
The eTrex Venture from Garmin is made to go places! Any outdoor activity can be safer and more fun with the power of GPS technology, and knowing where you are at any time , in any weather, anywhere in the world. The eTrex Venture features a built-in Worldwide city point database and can accept up to 1 megabyte of uploadable data from Garmin's optional "Points of Interest" CD-ROM. With the optional points of interest loaded, you can make a selection and the telephone and address information for a particular point of interest will appear on the screen. The CD includes data such as restaurants, hotels, shopping, entertainment and marine data such as buoys, lights, wrecks and more. Operation of the eTrex is a snap with Garmin's legendary operating system and the display resolution is an incredible 160 x 288 pixels.The eTrex Venture has a powerful 12 parallel channel receiver for top notch tracking in any outdoor environment and you can save up to 10 track logs to retrace your path in both directions. Includes 9 pin serial PC interface cable. Size: 4.4"H x 2"W x 1.2"D. Weight 5.3oz. One year warranty.


Garmin eTrex Venture Handheld GPS

Other Key features of the Garmin eTrex Venture

1 megabyte of uploadable memory for Points of Interest from Garmin's optional CD-ROM
12 parallel channel WAAS GPS receiver provides up to 10 foot accuracy*
waterproof to IPX7 (submersible to 1 meter for 30 seconds)
High resolution 160 x 288 pixel grayscale display screen
12 parallel channel GPS receiver updates once per second
Backlit LCD display for nighttime use.
*The WAAS signal is currently available in the US only in open areas or on the water.


# Of Waypoints
# Of Routes Max battery life /
# of batteries PC Interface Capability External Antenna Plotter Type
500 20 20 Hrs./ 2 AA Yes.- Cable Included None Track Plotter
Supports - Lat/Lon, UTM, Loran TD's, MGRS
Speed limitation 999 Mph

I'm using the Garmin V and love it. For PC support I just picked up a copy of Delorme's TOPO USA with 3D



This trail runs from RT 550 near Ouray, CO to Engineer's Pass 12,900 feet.

In the pic below, is Ouray. 2 blocks off main is our campgrounds, the 4J.




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