akaSharkey

I was wondering about asking for a GPS unit for Christmas.
For everyone that has one would you suggest it or not. What brands are good. The game wardem where I hunt has a Garmix ETrex. He loves it. I dont really want to spend the money on a high end model if one of the basic models will do what i need them to. Thanks Sharkey

Idaho hunter 58

mine has trouble getting service in treed moutain areas. Which makes up about everywhere i hunt. So i have had trouble with mine.

kodiak41226

I have a Garmin Geko 301 and I like it a lot. Its super small so I don't mind carrying it with me. I've had it for a couple years and have only used used it in a "real" situation a couple of times, but its still really cool none the less. The thing I use it for the most is to tell me how far and at what time I'll get to the places I hunt (the closest one is an hour away and the furtherst is 8 hrs. away.)

What ever you do, IMO, do not buy a magellan. I have personally had one fail on me, and have had a couple of friends that have purchased them and not had them work properly.

ceder

My Family and I got a Magellan sports trax And we love it. We do geocaching and have a great family time. In the hunting woods there is some trouble in deep canyons and heavy timber but DO NOT use your G.P.S. alone. Follow the instructionsand always have a compose for backup . If you would like to now how I use G.P.S. in hunting Give me an E-Mail and I will tell you what I now. ( I have good advise But bad spelling LoL).

hawgdawg

I had a Etrex and just as IH58, had trouble geeting fixes in our piney wood with a lot of canopy. I bought a Magellan Sporttrak Map and it does a lot better. I would say about 85% better.They also had promotion going and got a 30.00 rebate.

silentassassin

I have a Garmin etrex and I like it. Where I hunt it's an absolute necessity. I hunt in the river bottoms and a lot of times you may have to cross a slough that is only crossable in one spot. Also, the area is notorious for being difficult to navigate . It even mentions on the game and fish website how the place is notorious for hunters getting lost. That being said, I have the etrex and one of the guys that I hunt with has one of the high end magellan's and mine seems to pick up as well as his does. I did some reading on the subject before a I bought mine and though I don't remeber the specifics, one of the branches of the military tested the Garmins and the Magellans and went with the Garmins because of better reception. That has been a few years though so that could have changed.

akaSharkey

Thanks for everyones replys. Silentassassin what model do you have? I was looking at the low end models, and they seem like a good value. I dont know if I need all the bells and whistles on the expensive ones.
I hunt on Fort Leonard Wood and you have to be careful where you are at. You dont want to wander onto the bombing range . One of the Post wardens has the eTrex Vista. He loves it. Im just trying to figure out if its worth $200 more than the base eTrex.

RIStrutStopper

I have an Etrex Legend. The few extra bells and whistles it has over the basic model are worth it IMO. I got mine for about $150, not much more than the basic. I couldnt justify the extra bucks for the Vista model though, the Legend works fine for me.

jetblast

I have the etrex Vista, but the Legend is a good one too. Someday you may want to download the topo or highway maps on it. The etrex Legend has the mapping capability.

silentassassin

I have the etrex and I like it very much but............I will probably buy a vista before too long. I like the idea of being able to download topo maps and more importantly the digital compass. If your GPS won't pick up a signal it will still give you a compass bearing with which to walk out on. With the Vista the digital compass will keep you on that specific bearing so you don't have to have a compass in your other hand. The digital compass alone makes it a much nicer unit. JMO