I use a Garmin Etrex Venture and it works great for me. Sounds like we use it for the same purposes. If you get a Garmin get oneof theHC series. The antenna is much better than the older Etrex's. With the older version I would loose the signal in tree cover, the HC series has a much better reception.
I dont have any problems using the map sourcewith Vista plus I use the GPS coordinates and plug them into google earth. makes for a great resource.