• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Best GPS for Backpacking?

lefty

lefty

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 24, 2002
Location
Menlo Park, CA USA
Moto(s)
'05 ZRX1200
Name
Ed
I am going to the Sierras and want to purchase a GPS for backpacking (not GeoCaching).

I want something that a retarded child can use, then I want that child to teach me. Seriously.

Also, I do not want to spend over $150. I have been looking at this
http://www.amazon.com/Magellan-CX03...Hiking/dp/B004JU0E2G/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

If any of you have any feedback/opinions- please let me know.

ps- I know how to use a map and compass, but I'd rather be able to spend more time getting to the lake, than screwing around with my map and compass.

Thanks!!!
 
I've got a couple Garmin Etrex.

Not bad, pretty simple to use, less then 100 bux, and retarded children use them all the time.

I do use it for geocaching, but have also used it for hiking. Plug in a point at the top of the hill and just hike towards it, or on a lake because there is no trail to it directly.
 
Look for the ones that use AA batteries because you can get 18+ hours use without recharging.

Or you can just glue a compass on your butt plug so when the sun hit's your ass you can tell where north is.
 
Depending on how far out you're planning to go, you may want to have some sort of a backup in case your GPS craps out when you're out in the middle of nowhere.
 
Thanks Guys (Not you Ant- don't you have a Date with a Tranny?) for the great advice.

The ones I have looked at take two AA batts.
 
I've had a few different Garmins, all of them mapping units. I have a 60cs, which has been decent. A newer version than mine has a better antenna that does a lot better under tree cover and in canyons.

I had an Oregon briefly, which was stolen out of my truck about a month after I got it. It wasn't much to write home about because the screen was unusable in sunlight. This year, I got a Montana. The unit is bulky, but the screen is big and readable in direct sun. It acquires satellites fast. I generally keep the gps off, using a map and compass, but spot check my location once in a while with the gps. This makes it possible to get through a week on one set of batteries, but you won't have a record of your whole route that way.

The current crop of Garmins units make it pretty easy to plot routes on mapping software and download them to the gps. You can then view your position in relation to a planned route.
 
I have an old Garmin 76CX unit that I use both on the bike and for backpacking. It's waterproof, and takes 2 AAs. Runs for a couple-3 days straight with good batteries; always take spares.

For units that will record tracks (like, say, your secret off-trail route to the great trout lake), you usually need to buy software separately and load it onto the GPS (either on DVD or in MicroSD card format; I prefer DVD since you can load it onto your 'puter and use the software for route planning, too). For bike travel, City Navigator is pretty decent software; for backpacking, you probably want the 24k Topo series for the Western US.
 
Nemo-

Thanks for that advice. I have found that there are GPS's that record your 'tracks/footsteps', some call them 'breadcrumbs'.

That's what I need. I have become disoriented in the Sierras and I need something VERY simple that retraces my footsteps.
 
Well, I spent a lot of time researching various units. I was planning to buy a $200 unit (my upper limit), but then (as stated by Nemo), you MUST buy TOPO US for another $99!!!

So, I'm bidding on a used Garmin eTrex20 on EBay.

I did locate this sitge, that contains lots of FREE maps. http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/state/all
 
lefty, if you're not familiar with TopoFusion, it's a great PC based mapping tool that allows you to plot routes on topo maps and either print the maps locally or submit them to MyTopo.com for professional printing on waterproof paper. The software relies on web-based map data from a variety of sources (that you select) and can download a route to most Garmin GPS units so you can overlay the route on the GPS map display.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top