Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting What handheld GPS are you using?

+1. I had a touchscreen with camera and sold it. The screen was almost impossible to read in sunlight and the touch screen is not fun to use in winter, when you need to take your gloves off to use it. Buttons for me.

Very convenient Flave. My elk hunting partner has been using his old Etrex for about 10 years now and has been eyeballing my 550 since I bought it about 4 years ago. As far as the touch screen goes, I have not had a problem seeing it in any kind of day light. I've also used it in sub zero temps with the snow blowing on it. That's about the only time I didn't care for it. Wipe the snow off and it moves the screen view. Not a big deal, but something to think about nonetheless.. I don't think I'd give mine up because of it though..

Hand held I use a Garmin 64s and my wife uses a Garmin Montana. I have the Colorado Land Owners chip as well but it lives in the Nuvi in my truck. Wouldn't be without it. I don't need it in the hand held as we scope out the area before setting out.

I am the non-conformist of the group, as I use a DeLorme PN-60. I wanted buttons instead of a touch screen, and at the time that I bought it, it had a much better mapping program. When my buddy an I went to Montana hunting last year he had a Garmin with the Montana state map. Mine showed detail better, but the state map was nice. There were a couple of places where our units showed a difference in public/private parcels, so we always went with the more conservative and erred on the side of caution.

I would buy another DeLorme in a heartbeat because I think it is more versatile, but being able to use the landowner info. from the Hunt x maps would be nice.

My Garmin 64s is also a button machine and I much prefer it. When we are not hunting the GPS's get used for Geocaching and in that mode the Garmins are far ahead of the pack. Just Saying.

Looks like Cabelas has both the Oregon 600 and 650 on sale now for 219.99.

My choice/rationale as well.

What Boise said. I use a pay app for my phone and like it. I shot my eTrex with a .40 SW.

Just make sure you carry extra batteries for that smart phone. We had to drive a lost elk hunter back to his camp because his smart phone battery died and he didn't have a gps..

Nice thing about my Etrex - it uses 2 AA's. They're cheap and readily available. Battery failure isn't a worry.

Etrex Vista. Always gets me home

I put my phone on airplane mode and it gets great battery life -- that or simply turn it off till I need it. But my eTrex got better battery life, however, comparing my old eTrex to my phone is like comparing a go-cart to an F150.

None. Map and compass. It really works, weigh's next to nothing, and doesn't need batteries or good weather.

Garmin 64 is on sale at SW for $180.

That's a really good price. Hmm.. I wonder if I could take the chip out of my 62 and stick it in a 64. I love my maps.

Not just backpacking. Currently using an Oregon 450 with free topos and also this year used onX Hunt app subscription on an Android phone (which was glitchy at times but invaluable info). Being able to have satellite images, land ownership, maps with topography is super handy, especially in new areas. When practical, I leave the tracking on selectively. Most handily I use it to save portions of a track showing a road that is not on the base map - so it'll showup etc. Especially helpful with missing two-tracks or you're in an area that spans several 24Ks. Next one I get will have a bigger screen, not tablet big but 4"+, definitely AA batteries, and thinking a camera would eliminate gadget. As an aside, it's uber techy but have not heard much regarding building custom layers and chit but the potential is endless. Kinda think the next generation of devices will allow better flow between devices and selectivity of what's on the display. Being able to more readily blend some of what is on the 'chips' with what is available from other sources (without having to be a GIS nerd) would be cool. Always will like to have the 'where the hell is the rig' solution, not because it keeps me from getting frickin lost but it has been shown to dramatically reduce how bad I'm lost and how much work it is to get found!

Marble. The brass pin on model. 1947 mfg date gift from Dad that year.

Can't agree with the no GPS. Agree you have to have map and compass and know how to use them.

But, I've been in new locations with my friends and they have been so far off in where they thought we were it would have been bad in an emergency.

The GPS is always right. I never thought I would need anything more complicated than a location from a gps. BUT the ability to add to intelligence wheCan't agree with the no GPS. Agree you have to have map and compass and know how to use them.

But, I've been in new locations with my friends and they have been so far off in where they thought we were it would have been bad in an emergency.

The GPS is always right. I never thought I would need anything more complicated than a location from a gps to verify on my map. BUT the ability to add to intelligence when hunting and orienteering is changing the game. And they are only getting better!

Lewis and Clark used a compass to make a pretty good map. But they took every opportunity to use a sextant to fix their location according to celestial elements because they were more accurate.

Same concepts, just 200 years of technolgy advancing.

I agree... I know what a cubit is too, but that doesn't mean I'm going to use it over a tape measure or laser range finder... I saw a little compass watch the other day and thought of Brad...

GPS in your chest pack, compass around your neck, map in a ziplock in your pocket. They all have a role. A map/compass is handy for making sure you are heading in the right direction especially when you can see landmarks. But GPS can save you a lot of screwing around, and you don't have to leave ribbon trails like the old timers did in trough country where taking a slight wrong turn can mean going down the wrong drainage and a lot of extra hiking and effort. I find old ribbon trails all over the place coming off of mountains, but I'm not into marking up the landscape like that.