Which GPS....

[onlyblue]

Ok guys, i am considering adding a GPS to my electronic inventory.... i would want it for the sled and auto, so it would have to be portable with mounting options....

Couple things i am hoping i can have....

1. Ability to download detailed maps, this would include both highways/roads and possibly the Snowmobile trail system here in MI

2. Battery life/usage in cold weather

3. Ease of use, dont want anything too complicated to try and figure out.

4. I dont want to pay Big Bucks for something i may not use as often as i think.

5. would love the display to have a large compass setting that i co.uld
glance down and see as we are riding.


HELP~!~1

Thanks for the help..

 

[craze1cars]

Not exactly sure about the compass thing...but I THINK it can be set to do something like that in the advanced settings. Otherwise I feel my Garmin Etrex Legend CX pretty much fits your bill.

Color screen (but a bit small), plenty of downloadable maps available for Garmin. As an alternative to your compass thing I'll mention that I can glance down at any moment to see general direction by just looking at the indicator arrow on the map screen. $299 after rebate at Dicks Sporting goods and includes cig lighter adapter, belt clip/protective sleeve, plus a highly detailed Topographical map CD set...all the forest roads, creeks, lakes, and hills, cemetaries, and all the finest details are on there with great accuracy, but the forest roads are NOT numbered on the screen as they are on the paper USFS maps (it just says "road") which is a mild irritation. Battery life is largely a non-issue if you just use the cig lighter adapter and plug it into the accessory outlet of your Apex...it only runs off batteries when you have the sled shut down. I can get a full 4 days of riding out of a pair of AA alkalines. I really, really like their "marine mount" for my sled...it's through-bolted to the top panel and has been 100% secure through some VERY serious pounding and hard bottoming. And you can get dash mount for the car. Very very quick to lock into satellites. Some of the other brands my friends use can be very slow to find you.

A larger screen would make it easier to read, but harder to pocket when leaving the sled unattended. Screen has no problem handling quite extreme cold temps if you leave the backlight on high to help generate a little internal heat. I do some creek crossing that brings water flowing over my hood...my hood/dash/body/gps come home completely encrusted in ice after those crossings...and the GPS just charges ahead no problem, seems very water (and ice!) resistant. I do not keep it in the protective sleeve (I found it makes it a little harder to read and use), so it's left unprotected and exposed to every extreme, still looks and works like new.

Also easy to use IMO, but that's a subjective thing. I'm quite happy with it.

 

[yamaha1]

I am in the same boat as you C1c, looking for a good general purpose GPS mainly for snowmobiling and driving.

The three I have narrowed it down to are:

Garmin Vista Cx

Magellen Explorist 500LE

Lowrance Expedition C

All have color screens, expandable memory, compas, barometer and much more. The one thing I haven't been able to find out is how well the Magellen or the Lowrance would be for turn-by-turn driving directions (or if they even have that feature).

By the sounds of it if you want detailed maps for either snowmobiling or driving you will want to purchase the mapsend software for any of them. One kind of nice feature with the Lowrance is that you can also buy preloaded SD cards for certain types of activities instead of having to go onto the computer and download different maps from mapsend. Such as more detailed lake maps for fishing.

All of the above mentioned models are in the $250-300 range.

I personally like the screen and ergonomics of the Magellen or the Lowrance, but from reviews on the net it sounds like the Garmin is maybe a little more user friendly.

I haven't made my mind up yet either, but I hope this helps you out a little bit.

Y1

 

[onlyblue]

the other thing, being that we boat as well, would be nice to be able to download lake info as well....

 

[BVER FEVER]

I am very happy with the Garmin 60c. I have loaded the topo maps, road maps & water ways. It transfers from my truck to boat to sled. I have heard of some units freezing up in the cold, but I have not had that problem. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Mikecam]

Have a Garmin Etrex legend Cx. Is on the small side for glancing down while riding but I found it to be dangerous. I mounted mine on my bar pad and cut a hole for the cig lighter power cord. Water proof to one meter. Easy to use on the computer and upload and download maps. Never had a problem with cold either. Ram mount thats bolted to the riser. Magellen was bought out and has a new owner and I've heard some negative things about the new owners. At least thats what I was told by the dealer that I bought the Garmin from and they sell both. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[nate007]

I hold a private pilots license, and have used many different brands of GPS, but I keep going back to the quality of Garmin.
I don't know exactly which model to say would be versatile for land, snow & sea, but I have a 496 mounted in my airplane. I have never realy needed it for on-road applications, but it is an easy to use piee with a ton of features. It has XM radio and weather, color moving map with a fairly large screen. It is fairly pricy since it is an aviation piece (about $4000), but they have land versions which are very similar.
www.garmin.com

 

[yamaha1]

Well I bit the bullet this weekend and purchased a Garmin GPSmap 60CSx.

As my post above states I was looking at the Garmin Vista Cx, Magellen Explorist 500 LE and the Lowrance Expedition. I was able to find all three (plus the 60CSx) at Cabela's so I could look at all of them at once.

I went in, after researching them all on the internet, thinking that I would probably get the Lowrance or the Garmin. Going into it I knew that I didn't care for the buttons on the side of the Vista Cx and also the fact that Garmin uses the microSD chips instead of a standard SD chip that the others use.

After looking at them I was right I didn't care for the buttons on the side of the Garmin Vista Cx, but as far as the menus and functionality of the Garmin it seemed a little more user freindly than the Lowrance.

All of the units were color screens and the Lowrance screen was, I think, the sharpest and a tiny bit larger than the others. The down fall to the Lowrance was that you can not get turn-by-turn driving navigation with the Lowrance unit. If you are a big hunter or fisherman and only want it for detailed lakes and hunting areas I think the Lowrance would be a good way to go.

In the end I ended up paying a little more and decided to get the 60 CSx because I liked the "thought process" if you will, of the Garmin units. They seemed a little more user friendly for the beginner, and with the 60 CSx the buttons are on the front of the unit and labled vs. on the side like the Vista. The CSx also comes with an external antenna which I read many reviews saying that the CSx grabs signals quickly and holds on to them.

I also bought the MapSource Topo software for the US, Hawaii, and Alaska. At some point I will be buying the City Navigator software as well.

I haven't had a chance to really test it out, but I have been playing around with it some this weekend and getting routes and waypoints put into it for my snowmobiling trip out west to the Big Horns.

So far it seems like I will really like this unit!

Y1

 

[craze1cars]

Thought I'd throw another side-note on the Garmin Etrex Legend CX. Ran it in temps as cold as -10F so far, screen looks as sharp and quick as when it's warm...surprisingly no problem.

It also was held underwater for 20 minutes two days ago in a flowing creek after crashing through the ice and turing the sled upside down in the water! After extraction the GPS it was quickly frozen solid onto it's mount and fully ice encrusted for a couple days before it got into a heated shop so I could thaw it out and remove it from the sled. It was on the whole time time...I could see the screen glowing, but couldn't shut it off because the buttons were under 1/4 inch of ice!

Batteries of course finally went dead, but I thawed, dried, reloaded and tested it today. GPS looks like brand new and works fine. Took a licking and kept on ticking!

On the downside, I have had difficulty getting consistent connection with the Garmin cig lighter adapter in the Yamaha accessory outlet. Seems fickle...when I wiggle it the power comes and goes, but it usually works fine. Might need to address the fit of that adapter in the socket. But no other problems and the batteries take over instantly when the connection fails so no info is lost. I might look into hard-wiring it sometime instead of using the accessory outlet.

 

[msatow]

Lowrance H2O Color

Here is a pic. of my install using a ram mount. Drilled two holes and used self tapping screws, pluged in the Lowrance using the supplied cord and done. It might have taken 15 minutes.

 

[ger]

I have the garmin map60cx and love it . I use it in my truck or sled , my friend has the same one that he uses in his boat , I guess you can get the bluecharts for it .

Idont know if any trails you can download but I use it mainly for the breadcrumb feature ( which I imagin all gps's have ) I can usually get somewhere but it is getting home that is important.

I bought the ram mount and put it on the bars .