Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Rate This Handheld GPS Unit For Me , Please.

Joe, some of the pre WAAS units actually did process the waas signal. I had the same experience as you and when talked to garmin they told me the waas signal was used in those non waas units but was not advertised.

Question for you that are up to date on the etrex units. I have an older etrex summit-not the newer summit hc-that I have had for a good while. Works but it has been banged around a bit and the screen is pretty scratched up. Sometimes satellite acquisition is slow. What garmin model would you suggest that has the best satellite reception along with good battery life? I just use it like a point and shoot camera along with compass backup. Also can the screen be replaced eaisly or are there sealing issues?

Thanks,

If you are going to buy a GPS buy Garmin, there is a reason aviation and the US military depend on Garmn units.

In a handheld for serious cover/mountains there is none better than the GPSMAP 60CSx the other 60 series units will work too. I know it's not $100 but how much is not being lost worth?

Bwinters: Yes. I've poured over the maps and already have a couple new hunts entered into my unit for next year. It's a wonderful time saver to head out into unknown, level, timbered terrain, and get right to an isloated clearing with out having to wander around. I'll usually hit my spots to within about 5 to 10 yards when inputting waypoints from a map.

There are also several free ware map reading programs out there that one can use to cruise topos and aerial photos to identify and record coordinates for unknown secret spots. One that I use is called Global Mapper. USGS also supplies a viewing program that also displays coordinates for opened images. The only reminder I would pass along is to become familiar with map datums and be sure you enter your coordinates with the same datum your map viewer is employing. Otherwise, one may end up a quarter mile or so away from his desired destination.

I've never had issues with satellite acquisition unless I was in a tight canyon with only about 30% of the sky visible. In those instances though, even my high dollar units will not perform. Timber, weather, or clouds have never been an issue with any of my Etrex units. I have a wood shingled home, and my units will work in the center of my living room. Again, happy trails.

"It all comes down to how well the unit stays locked onto the satellites. All the other stuff is meaningless if a unit can't perform when you need it to. My older ETrex unit worked fine when out in the open and with nice clear skys. But, it would lose signal in heavy timber, heavy rain/snow/sleet, and in the pocket."

Exactly. The eTrex is a good, basic unit. Newer GPS units have more sensitive chips which allow themto perform better in situations where there is not an open sky. For example, I have a 60Cx unit that will pick up satellite signals in a house or even a store (not that I hunt there, mind you!) If you're hunting in deep forest canopy or canyons, you might appreciate the more sensitive units. If you're planning to use your unit in situations where there is a good view of the sky, the eTrex unit will work fine for basic navigation.

When I first came to Alaska, the coast guard had me go through survival training. We had to spend the night in the woods in miserable cold weather as part of the training. It sucked so bad that I've been determined to not get lost for the last 9 years.

The 60CSX is the way to go...

I bought the basic eTrex when they first came out what 8 years ago? Never had a reason to upgrade and never probably will. It is the simplest unit to use, straight forward and still has the options I need in a unit (like changing map coordinate systems).

I live/hunt in MI which doesn't require any intensive survival skills. However, just came back from CO 3rd season, self guided hunt for elk. I hunted by myself most of the time and this unit worked great. Heavy canopy did limit the unit, but taking a 10 yard jaunt here in there was no problem in the dark timber.

Was using it one night coming back to the truck, pitch black, raining hard and couldn't see 20' in front of me. With the one hand operation, easy to carry and supremely easy to use, I was confident I wouldn't be spending the night on some mountain.

I was fortunate to take a nice bull, and w/o this unit, topo map and compass, would have never ventured that far from camp. Another guy in our group had a proto Garmin unit that had all the background plots on it, bells & whistles, sweet unit, very sensitive.

But with this unit, you will not be handicapped and prefer it over higher priced units.

Having been to SERE and various other "got you purposely lost" Army schools I carry a GPSMAP 60CSx, 2x extra batteries, a mil spec lensiatic compass and a transverse mercator projection map for the location. The 60 CSx has one hand operation it's on a page format, backtrails, a ton of way points and tracks, color screen, altimiter/barometer, electronic compass and takes SD cards. It'll even double as a vehicle nav unit with the cityserach downloads for detailed street maps and POI. Oh yeah solunar tables in it too. with sunrise ans sunset to the minute for that locale. It's a personal hunting and navigation assistant not just a gps. Did I mention it's waterproof in the rain or puddles?

FYI the street price (if you shop around) for a new 60CSx is around $280-$300. It is worth the difference, in my opinion.

Receiver sensitivity--

I used the blue eTrex for years. As mentioned, you did have to be outside, and not under a canopy of trees in order to acquire satellites. I recently upgraded to the HCx, and the receiver is much better. The new basic eTrex says "high sensitivity" on it, so I'd bet it has the same receiver as mine. You should be just fine under the trees. That's a big improvement.

Why the HCx---

Without the compass and the altimeter, I'd be just as happy. So I probably shouldn't have spent the extra money to get those features.

Having the ability to add memory chips is a big deal. With a couple of gigs, you should be able to hold the topo maps of the entire US.

Scratched Screen--

The screen itself is on the circuit board, sealed inside the waterproof case. You should be able to gently buff the scratches out of the window in the case.