A Handheld GPS device for camping

Do You Need a GPS unit for your camping trips? You can accurately find your way using the old tried and true standby, a map and compass. But.. what fun is that when using the GPS (Global Positioning System) is arguably easier and less error prone. The modern units have many extras that help make camping , hunting, and living in the back-country safe and enjoyable. Finding the best one for you will depend on your preferences.

Several excellent brands are on the market now, and many optional extras are available on them. Garmin has one of the largest selections, Magellan has been around for a while, Bushnell and Lowrance are well know names. Prices generally range from about $100 to $600 with an almost overwhelming choice of options.

The Garmin handheld gps model “Oregon550t” has a srp of $599.99 and includes features like a photographic memory, touchscreen navigation, digital camera that geotags pictures, high sensitivity GPS, a barometric altimeter, 3 axis tilt compensated compass, and is sensitive enough to locate your position even in canyons and heavily forested areas.

The other end of the scale is the Garmin eTrexH handheld gps, with a srp of $99.99. It is an excellent unit, but with less features for those on a budget. Waterproof, five buttons situated for one had operation, can store 500 waypoints, and TrackBack feature to reverse your log, and get you back home.

Magellan features the eXplorist GC at a srp of $199.99 has a sunlight readable color screen, easy navigation context menus, improved 3 meter accuracy, waterproof, suspend mode to conserve batteries, 500 waypoint storage, logs distance and speed, to list a few.

The Lowrance Endura™ is a powerful and complete GPS and has three models. The Sierra is the high end and priced at about $400, the Safari is about $300, and the Out&Back is at $199 – prices can vary widely so be sure to do your homework, for the best buy. All three have mostly the same features, touch screen and button operation, preloaded maps, GPX trail data, geocaching application, trip recorder, power standby mode, waterproof, USB data port, and microSD cards. The Out&Back leaves off some features like topo contour maps, 3D compass, barometric altimeter, and video and sound capabilities, that the other two have. All three units store a whopping 4000 waypoints.

There are so many different features, the choice boils down to what your budget will allow along with what you like. All will do the basic locating chores expected of a GPS unit, the rest is preference. Look at whether you need to have base maps stored or if you just want a unit that will show you your location with references you can relate to a map. Some get better reception in the heavy woods than others, and you should consider how much memory you will need. Do you want a compass, camera, and the other bells and whistles?

One other thing – some of the manufacturers have training videos available to watch on line so anyone can get off to a good start with their new GPS, so if they are new to you, this might be a consideration.