Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Best Garmin GPS for use With Mapping.

A couple of years ago I bought a Garmin 62st GPS. I generally only use it when I am hunting near private property and wish to avoid getting on posted property in error.

I find the screen pretty small to use with maps to identify private property lines and so forth.

What Garmin model(s) perform better than the 62st? Is one a better value than the other?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Gary

Most of the local SAR teams use Garmin rino's. I have a 64S which is basically the same thing without a radio. The key is to also buy either the SD card or download for areas where you use it.

I have used a bunch of different garmins and the newer touchscreen ones are the easiest to use yet. If you have been using the 62 you will be delighted with how much easier the touchscreen is to use. I just bought a 700 for work, and its pretty good. The best garmin yet. Dont waste your money on the models with a camera or topo preloaded. Something like the oregon 700 is what i would recommend, or maybe a used oregon 600. Whatever you buy, you'll have to spend another 100 to get the state specific sd card (onXhunt, dont waste your time with the garmin maps, they suck)

If you have a smartphone, seriously look at the huntX app. it does everything the garmin does and more. the only time i use the garmin anymore is if im out for many days and cant charge my phone.

You might want to consider the Oregon 600 that will be on sale at Cabela's on Wednesday. They will be $199.99.....

I've been running an Oregon 600 for the past 2 years. It works well and is very intuitive. I'm looking at the 700 series.

The only thing I don't like about the 600 is that it eats batteries. Alkaline will get you 1 day; lithium 2-3 days.

A good solution to that is to carry an extra set of batteries with you. I use rechargeables in my 550. I'd be all over the deal at Cabela's on Wednesday, if I didn't have the 550. However, I like the camera on my 550. It's not the best camera, but it's one less thing I have to throw in the pack.

I'm in the market too. I suppose the more "stuff" these units can do, the faster they will use up batteries. I doubt that will reverse anytime soon.

Solar powered GPS baby... Bring it on...

The only negative on the Oregon is the internal antennae. In heavy canopy situations it won't pick up satellites quite as well as the ones with an external antennae.

I get about 12-14 hours on a set of alkaline batteries. I use AA'a in a bunch of stuff and buy them in bulk anyway. If I need to conserve battery life then I just turn the device on and off when needed. Otherwise I leave it on all the time and track my days hunt or scouting.

I download the tracks onto Garmin Basecamp and then Google Earth. I almost never really need the thing to find my way back, but it is kinda cool to track where I've been at the end of a hunt or scouting trip. I've used the info in the past to locate good areas for future hunts.

I've never had a single issue with not being able to get locked on to satellites. My elk hunting partner often cusses his Garmin e-trex for not locking on too well. His is a lot slower to lock on and looses reception, much like my really old Lowrance model. I'm wondering if you are thinking of those models, instead of the Oregon???? They seem to be pretty damn good these days..

I will look at the 600. I see they have 64st at around $250 as well. I need to spend some time leaning on the counter fiddling I guess.

I didn't mention it earlier but I use a Foretrex 401 more than anything else. It does most of what I need except for mapping. Small, lightweight, compass, altimeter, quick sattelite pickup, etc. Uses AAA batteries and gives good battery life. It is too bad so much of that goes away when you add features.

I do because it makes prudent sense - but if you're doing a 5-7 day backpack trip you need to plan accordingly.

I'm not saying that would keep me from buying but I'd want to know that if I was contemplating a purchase. The 600 is solid and close to bullet proof. Mine has seen some rough use in the past 2 years and has more than a few beauty marks.

My Etrex 20 always locks on in under a minute and I've never had it lose reception. Admittedly, southern ID is much more open than western OR. A heavy canopy usually isn't an issue.

I've never had a problem with the Oregon series. As far as I can tell there is no difference between the internal and external antenna. Technology has improved I suppose. If you are in heavy cover it may take a while to acquire the satellites the first time you turn it on.

If you are going to be in the backcountry, I found the extra bucks for lithium batteries to be worth it. I can easily hunt for 5 days on 1 set of 2 AAs. I just turn it on every now and then to mark a point or set a bearing.

All of them will absolutely suck compared to a large touchscreen phone like an iPhone 6plus or 7plus. I keep waiting for Garmin to pull their heads out and come out with a new unit with a large touchscreen that doesn't suck, but they've proven unwilling or incapable so far. Just get the app on a good phone and scrap the GPS.

Garmin Sux

I keep hearing the phone option is better, but after sinking a bunch of money into trying to make one work as a stand alone GPS, I happily went back to my Garmins.

Just curios, what did you try that went so wrong? Was there a certain type of phone that the app didnt work with? What app were you using?

I bought the rechargable Garmin battery pack for my Oregon and like it. Fits nice in a Maxpedition pouch too.

the whole thing was a CF, but does 'work', just not nearly as well as the dedicated GPS unit. I bought the Trimble Outdoor Navigatior, the Trimble Off the Grid maps, and a Samsung S6 note large enough to hold the mapset of Montana.

come to find out this ap won't work with 'direction of travel is up' on the screen. only 'north is up' Trimble seemed receptive to a software change that would allow 'direction of travel is up', but promptly ceased support for this mapset/ap. so I have found other aps to try, but nothing that will work work with the mapset I already have. I need off the grid maps because much of my stomping grounds is out of cell service.

there are lots of aps that will work with cell service, or maps that were loaded before leaving, but for this to work, I have to have the mapset of the state in my phone, so I don't have to dick with it before each trip.

again, what I have does kind of work, but not as well as a dedicated GPS.