RE: GPS Question
Really, they all pretty much work as advertised. You get what you pay for... ALMOST. The fault I find with most of them is that their topo maps could be a whole lot better. That said, they'll all get you in and out and mark locations. Extra bucks get you extra functions.The cheapest ones are just not good enough for me. I'd stick with one of the major manufacturers if I was buying one. I like Garmin. The Etrex Legend will do for just about anyone. If you want to step up a little and have a radio too go with the Rhino. Where GPS's differ is in the add on software and memory. I changed from a Legend to a Rhino when my brother and I bought each other one last Christmas. There are better, but this suits us just fine. The topo maps are better than with the Legend in that the memory allows for a whole lot more download to the GPS. You can check prices at all the major retailers and online. The Rhino will generally run about $100 more than the Legend. I like the radio features of the Rhino. If I key my radio my location is updated on my brothers GPS. He can poll me and go to my location at anytime. They all have a problem with heavy canopy and will loose signal. Usually they'll pick it up and connect the dots, but you do have to be aware of finding a hole in the forest from time to time. They all come with a built in "base map". The topo software is extra. The base map is just that, VERY basic and without many features. The topo software adds roads, stream names, towns, places .... all sorts of things. Memory differences also determine the amount of topo software you can download, waypoints you can add, tracts etc etc etc. They all work, buy the best you can afford. I wouldn't start at anything less than the EtrexLegend.