Garmin has a "purchase assistant" on-line. http://www.garmin.com/purchaseAssistant/

the cheap GPS w/o maps will do find getting you back to a waypoint you've marked. Maps and topo stuff is just extras

I have a Magellan 310map I've had for a few years. Still works fine. I've rarely lost signal in the woods under tree cover.

I'm looking at a set of Rinos now for me and my hunting buds. I'll prob get those and a new Garmin Quest for driving.


now, where to get the money from......

Cougar,
the Garmin Etrex Venture doesn't have maps, but it does allow you to save 5 different tracks and 5 different routes (some other brands only allow you to save routes, not both). It also has an acreage calculator (pretty neat feature). You can buy topo-software for your home computer (maptech) and use your gps unit with your home computer to plan routes on property you've never been on before (or have already been), project waypoints, see previous tracks you have made, and view waypoints on your (or anyone elses) property. If you can program a phone number into a cell phone, a gps is about as difficult. I teach a gps course as part of my responsibilities at work, and after 1 hour, most people can't believe how simple it really is to operate (the gps does all of the work - you just have to learn how to tell it what to do). The etrex series (Venture) is my favorite to take in the woods because of it's size and features.

I am curious as to how good the new Magellan Explorist line of units work. Even the Explorist 100 boasts of having the WAAS feature. Anyone?

I'm a GIS specialist and play in the GPS world all day, etc. WAAS isn't needed for what most people on here are going to be using it for. It will drain the battery faster and doesn't improve accuracy enough to make it worth sucking that extra juice. So the truck is 30 ft off the point vs 10 ft. I'd hope you can still find the truck!

Garmin is simply the best for the money IMO. We use them alot when we don't need our $4000 mapping grade units and they fit the bill nicely. Just remember to get a 12 channel receiver and don't worry about WAAS. Maps are up to you, but if it's just to get back to the truck, look into the $100 original eTrex. Will work just fine and dandy. If you use the personal radios alot, the Rinos are very handy. Especially if you hunt with others and seperate alot (assuming each of you have one). They are pricey though, but worth it if you hunt that way.

GPS's are all going to do basically the same thing for what us hunters want them to do. You can buy the 100 dollar garmin and be very happy. The bottom line is, which ever one you buy become familar with it months before you plan to use it while hunting. They all are fairly simple to use and can be figured out in an hour or two. Being in the military I have had the oppurtunity to use several models. the best I have used and let me say it's not that it works better, I just like the way it is set up, it's the Magellan sport trac map. This is the one I am using currently here in Iraq. I have used the Garmins and they two work well. it all comes down to personal prefrence