help GPS

[ckmehl]

i need some help on choosing a GPS. i have a few requirements.

#1. it has to track where i drive.
#2. i have to put mulitple GPS Corordanates in it for map points, such as point A, point B. and so on.
#3. traffic updates would be nice but not a nesseity.

any help here would be great.

[ZBoater]

Do you want a portable one or something to install into the Jeep? I am a BIG fan of the Garmin line of products. Any of the nuvi line would be good, and the Kenwood DNX series fits nicely into the Jeep console, if you want to spend that kind of money...

[MFX]

I've only had experience with 3 of the different brands on the portable GPS market. One being a Magellan the other was a Pioneer and lastly was a Garmin Nuvi 750 with 4.3" widescreen.

The Magellan was a big bulky unit that had a terrible battery life. It took forever to acquire satellite reception whenever it was powered on. The display was too small for the size of the unit and the resolution was horrible. On a trip from Florida back home to Montreal I lost complete satellite reception for nearly two hours and by this point I started beating the unit until I got so frustrated I had to stop and buy a map.
My suggestion....stay away from Magellan!

The pioneer was a very small and sleek unit with very good battery life. Same as the Magellan though, it took forever to acquire satellites whenever it was first powered on. The screen was a decent size and resolution was great. It was a decent little unit, although it was over priced and too fragile. One drop and it went dead on me.

The Garmin Nuvi was by far the best of the best. Everything about the unit was absolutely perfect. Even on the brightest of days the screen was easily visible. The wide screen was a very nice feature as well. Battery life was very decent at around 3-4 hours and charging time was pretty quick. There were lots of extra features with the unit like voice prompts, picture viewer, world clock, currency converter, mp3 player and some others. The one and only dislike I had was the way the wire charger had to attach to the mounting bracket in order to charge the unit. Unfortunately someone stole my work bag out of the Jeep this past Friday which had my Nuvi and a couple of hundred bucks in it :hot:
I'm on the hunt for a new unit also and I'll be sticking with the Garmin for sure.
I've got it narrowed down to either this

costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10328481&whse=BCCA&Ne=4000000&eCat=BCCA|79|21133&N=4009765&Mo=16&No=0&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&cat=21133&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-CA&Sp=C&topnav=

or this

bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10112874&catid=27359[/url]

[ckmehl]

i have the NUVI 205 now. and it does not do what i want. so it has to be portable. i do alittle bit of hiking but do not want a hand held. it has to be able to be moved from one vehicle to another.

[qzing01]

I am kind of partial to Garmin as well. I went with the Kenwood 8120 that utilizes Garmin's mapping and interface. You can also load Topo mapping on to a standard sd card and place it in the unit for all your off road adventures. Not to mention all the additional goodies you can add on to the unit. I have lots of pics in my album you can check out.

[ZBoater]

i have the NUVI 205 now. and it does not do what i want. so it has to be portable. i do alittle bit of hiking but do not want a hand held. it has to be able to be moved from one vehicle to another.

I am not understanding you. The nuvi 205 does NOT do what you want, so it has to be portable but you do not want a hand held? I'm confused. :thinking:

What does the Nuvi 205 NOT do that you are wanting a GPS to do?

If you want it to be moved from vehicle to vehicle, it HAS to be portable. So do you want it portable or not?

[MFX]

So let me get this straight you have a Nuvi205 which works fine except for the times you go hiking, so you want another portable GPS which can serve both as a hiking and vehicle GPS? Why not just buy a hand held then :thinking:

[hig561]

Nuvi 500 and 550, both can be used on your vehicle or portable plus they are waterproof!

[ckmehl]

Sorry for the cunfusion. ok by way of portable. i mean it has to be able to fit in my hand as well as go in my Jeep for those trips where i make my own trail. i like the in car GPS's that go on the Windsheild. I have been looking at the NUVI 500's. but i can not find out if they will trace your path that you drive or hike. this is my biggest must have. The Garmin Website does not tell you if it does this one feature that i must have.

the 205 that i currently have will be going into my wifes car for every day driveing.

[B-MAN]

I've had a couple nuvi's now and have had no luck,...The first was the 670 which was great until it gets warm, then it drops all satellite signal. I thought this was just a problem with the one unit ($h1t happens) so I'm in the process of sending it off to be repaired,...for the meantime I bought a nuvi 5000 to fill in but it had the same damn problem (something fishy), I took it back to the shop I bought it from after talking to the 1800 Garmin tech, they exchanged it but the new one does the same (BS), I'm taking it back to get my money....I don't think I'll ever buy another GARMIN product ....I justed posted a video of the failure on Youtube, poor quality as I was using my phone... youtube garmin nuvi satellite signal failure (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G33c2uicYx4)


First = whatever, $h1t happens
Second = something fishy
Third = BS

[rwamf]

Tracks are the most important feature in any Off_Road GPS IMO, But not only record your track but will allow you to save it, Share it, download it etc.
It is fun to share tracks, some great Track Files can be downloaded from many GPS shared track sites.
Garmin 60cx and 76cx are good units that do tracks. but in the Garmin line stay away from the NUVI, Quest( also sold as the JEEP unit) , and Street Pilots as they do not do tracks the way a 60/76 series will do. The new Oregon and Colorado will do tracks also.
The Lowrance XOG, H20c, Expedition and the new Endura line will do tracks, both saved and imported
The Magellan line has some that do tracks also, but I have not played with them, so I do not know if they are any good.
Just stay away from the STREET Orientated GPS's

[YellowToy]

I've got the Magellan Crossover. It does everything you've asked about, track, road, & great battery life ( a real 8 hours).

I also use it on my boat & bike.

Its route choices on road are not as good as the Nuvi, but most Nuvis don't leave tracks.

[ckmehl]

This has been alot of help fella's. now i know what models to look at. if anyone else has any input of the Units that do tracks.:thumbsup:

[ckmehl]

now the Lowrance Baja is one bad ass GPS.

[Gravel Gertie]

This thread has been very interesting to me as I'm considering asking my DH for a GPS for Christmas. I was thinking of a Nuvi but now I'm not sure. Of course I want it to track as we do lots of exploring in the mountains and I want to be able to find my way back out. I also would like to know the altitude. A larger easy to read screen for my "mature" eyes would be nice. Please advise me so I too can make a wise choice. I would like a portable unit to move from vehicle to vehicle. I don't do a lot of serious hiking so that isn't an issue for me.

Thank you all for your help.