Hand Held GPS
10-21-2009, 02:53 AM
#3
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Maine
Posts: 12,563
LMBO ... 
Get an Earthmate by DeLorme.. Either the pn-20 or the PN 40 and you can't go wrong.. Some love the garmins and some love the McGellans as well. They are all good for your own personal reasons.. So Check all of them out to see what you like the best.. I enjoy all the fly overs you can get with Earthmates and the mapping programs as well.. But check all the features on them before deciding..
Get an Earthmate by DeLorme.. Either the pn-20 or the PN 40 and you can't go wrong.. Some love the garmins and some love the McGellans as well. They are all good for your own personal reasons.. So Check all of them out to see what you like the best.. I enjoy all the fly overs you can get with Earthmates and the mapping programs as well.. But check all the features on them before deciding..
10-21-2009, 06:18 AM
#4
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Carbondale IL USA
Posts: 194
I would recommend my GPS, Garmin 60CSX, it will do all but the weather and the aerial overlays. The reason I would recommend it is for the fact of the great reception in dense canopy. The fact you can get both land ownership and 24k topo maps for free from non-garmin sources. It also will do auto routing such as the car style GPS units minus the voice turn by turn directions, it just beeps. I personally think it has been the best purchase I have ever made for hunting public or private land.
~Jeff
~Jeff
10-23-2009, 06:47 PM
#6
Spike
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: BIG BUCK ILLINOIS
Posts: 61
I agree with the Garmin 530...The best thing is that if you and your buddy have any garmin rhino with 2 way radio...you can key up the mic and get his or her location in the woods if someone gets hurt. They don't even need to respond it updates location upon key up and can get you within 8 feet of them.
10-24-2009, 05:46 AM
#7
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: va USA
Posts: 201
Your question is a frequent one and a good one. I have spent far too much time working on this topic and for whats it's worth I offer this.
There are really only two units out there that consistently top the ratings chart. Garmin 60 CSx and Delorme PN40. If you are going to use it primarily for hunting I submit signal reception is paramount. No Signal = worthless! Both units do a great job at holding fixes. I just finished a week in the mts here in Va with plenty of deep valleys and leaves still on the trees and both units were repeatedly compared side by side. Neither had problems. There were numerous other lesser units on hands most of which failed if in deep cover or under canopy.
Pro and cons of each
Get them both in your hand first. There are differences in feel and displays. I loved the detail of the Delorme but did not like the plastic feel and smaller fonts. As far as the free 24k maps for the garmins, yes they are available however I have found many of the maps are not accurate regarding roads and trails and resolution is lacking when compared to Delorme. Plus the Delorme software which comes with the unit cannot be beat for desk top applications. I know you think you will not need the desktop function but most folks find later they were wrong. It is super handy when reviewing your hunts or planning future hunts. The Garmin (Mapsource) software is average at best. I hear Garmin is working on putting out 24k for the remainder of the US in the near future but a release date has not been announced. If they do this the Garmin 60 series is going to be hard to beat.
Cons... The Delorme battery life is about half of the Garmin.. Not bad but you will need to carry spare batteries. The Garmin has a much bigger screen but not as much detail. I prefer the font and screen images of the Garmin over the Delorme but thats just me. Again, get them in your hand first on this one.
Cost? Straight out they are about the same but remember you have to buy additional software for the Garmin which pushes it above the Delorme by roughly $75.00. You can find the Delorme PN40 on line at the Nations biggest retailer "W World" for $279.00 and BS will often price match.
Customer Service? Both are good, however I must say Delorme is amazing when it comes to fixing any problems or concerns you may have with their product.
So? Which unit of the two would I suggest, darn tuff call. I lean toward the Garmin but really couldn't turn down the Delorme either.
Other units or brands? Each has it's place and you can go to GPSreviews.com or Groundspeak.com for more. There are ok or decent units other than the two above but most have issues with either performance under cover, battery life or do not have the features of the above.
If you have the cash for the full feature unit consider one of the two. If you do not want to spend that much go with which ever Garmin is within your price range.
Whatever you buy follow-up with installing an invisibleshield by zagg to protect your screen. There are numerous other brands of screen protectors out there but none touch the zagg. They have a lifetime warranty (which they honor) and you will breath much easier with the unit bouncing around in your pack. Had one save a 60CSX screen just two weeks ago.
Let us know what you end up with and if you get the 60 drop me a PM for a simple mod and some software functions that help out..
There are really only two units out there that consistently top the ratings chart. Garmin 60 CSx and Delorme PN40. If you are going to use it primarily for hunting I submit signal reception is paramount. No Signal = worthless! Both units do a great job at holding fixes. I just finished a week in the mts here in Va with plenty of deep valleys and leaves still on the trees and both units were repeatedly compared side by side. Neither had problems. There were numerous other lesser units on hands most of which failed if in deep cover or under canopy.
Pro and cons of each
Get them both in your hand first. There are differences in feel and displays. I loved the detail of the Delorme but did not like the plastic feel and smaller fonts. As far as the free 24k maps for the garmins, yes they are available however I have found many of the maps are not accurate regarding roads and trails and resolution is lacking when compared to Delorme. Plus the Delorme software which comes with the unit cannot be beat for desk top applications. I know you think you will not need the desktop function but most folks find later they were wrong. It is super handy when reviewing your hunts or planning future hunts. The Garmin (Mapsource) software is average at best. I hear Garmin is working on putting out 24k for the remainder of the US in the near future but a release date has not been announced. If they do this the Garmin 60 series is going to be hard to beat.
Cons... The Delorme battery life is about half of the Garmin.. Not bad but you will need to carry spare batteries. The Garmin has a much bigger screen but not as much detail. I prefer the font and screen images of the Garmin over the Delorme but thats just me. Again, get them in your hand first on this one.
Cost? Straight out they are about the same but remember you have to buy additional software for the Garmin which pushes it above the Delorme by roughly $75.00. You can find the Delorme PN40 on line at the Nations biggest retailer "W World" for $279.00 and BS will often price match.
Customer Service? Both are good, however I must say Delorme is amazing when it comes to fixing any problems or concerns you may have with their product.
So? Which unit of the two would I suggest, darn tuff call. I lean toward the Garmin but really couldn't turn down the Delorme either.
Other units or brands? Each has it's place and you can go to GPSreviews.com or Groundspeak.com for more. There are ok or decent units other than the two above but most have issues with either performance under cover, battery life or do not have the features of the above.
If you have the cash for the full feature unit consider one of the two. If you do not want to spend that much go with which ever Garmin is within your price range.
Whatever you buy follow-up with installing an invisibleshield by zagg to protect your screen. There are numerous other brands of screen protectors out there but none touch the zagg. They have a lifetime warranty (which they honor) and you will breath much easier with the unit bouncing around in your pack. Had one save a 60CSX screen just two weeks ago.
Let us know what you end up with and if you get the 60 drop me a PM for a simple mod and some software functions that help out..
Last edited by buckwild41; 10-24-2009 at 05:52 AM.
