Garmin GPS

[Rifle 223]

Do any of you guys have one I need to get one and don't know which one to get help me out.

[Rick in Oregon]

Check out the Garmin E-trex Vista C or model near it. Color screen, small, light, downloadable chips for topo maps, etc. I've got the model just piror to the 'chip' model, and it's all I could ask for in a GPS except not being able to accept their chip, but I've used it from my home location to over 5,000 miles away with perfect results/reception/location, even on the open ocean or desert, etc.

You'd be surprised who's using this unit in some really unfriendly places, it's that good. FWIW

[BabaOriley]

I got my first handheld Garmin GPS back in '04. Since then I've had a couple dash mounted versions, and a data logging bluetooth model with no screen or anything. It really depends on what you want to use it for. The turn-by-turn directions type for your vehicle don't translate very well to carrying them around in the woods or fishing. They do make models now that are adequate for several applications, but a model designed for a specific application is usually more enjoyable to use. Things to consider are the application(s) you need them for, ease of use vs features, and associated costs, like how you update the maps, or upload customized maps of your own, and what updates cost, if anything.

Maybe start here.

To tell you the truth, the turn-by-turn directions models have messed me up as much as they've made things easier. They don't account for construction and many new exit/route options. The worst was having to drive 4 miles through the worst of Gary, Indiana last fall when the GPS told me there was a detour. I could see the ramp I wanted was open, but the GPS told me to exit onto a detour, and I trusted it. It's like you forget how to read road signs as soon as you start relying on them. I don't use one anymore. For offroad, I still love the first Etrex Vista (black and white) I bought, even though there's much more advanced color models out now.

[Rifle 223]

Sorry guys I need one for driving

[BabaOriley]

Looks like the Garmin 765T is best bang for the buck right now. ~$190 plus ~$90 for lifetime updates. (Fast Internet connection recommended. The update file can be 2gb+.)

Both of the above prices can be lower if you wait for a sale or %off coupon code somewhere online. Also, don't worry about buying a refurbished unit from Garmin if it takes the price from $190 to $135. A refurbished electronic device usually has the bugs fixed in it, and I've heard good things about Garmin standing behind their product, even if it is a refurb.

Look around the slickdeals site for advice and prices and you can probably get a midrange unit from Garmin or some other brand for $100 or less.

One other option, especially if you have one of the Android cell phones from Verizon, is to get the free Google Maps Navigation app on your phone. I've heard it has great turn-by-turn driving directions, and you don't have to lug another device around with you.

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 755T and I'd probably buy another of the same if this one were stolen. It does what it's supposed to do, for the better part, but I have had a few problems.

If you turn off of your programmed route and take a short detour, like pulling off an Interstate interchange for gas, when you turn around to resume your trip it's as likely to tell you to drive up your own tailpipe as to put you back on the original course. Pulling out of a gas station, I literally had it tell me to make a right-hand turn at four consecutive corners (sending me in a complete circle) before it figured out where it was. You learn to take a bearing which way you'll need to start out when you resume driving and give the GPS a couple hundred yards to gather its wits.

If you're about to make a Z-turn on multi-lane roads, like you're turning left off one street with multiple turn lanes onto another multi-lane, to be followed shortly by another turn, it gives you no indication which turn lane to use so you'll be properly positioned for the follow-up turn.

Those two I think are just the nature of the beast. The other problem is that if I'm driving on a road with another close-by that runs parallel -- like all those service roads in Texas that run next to the Interstate -- it'll suddenly decide I'm driving on the parallel road. I have to reboot it to straighten it out. But I think this one is a flaw with my particular unit.

Gripes aside, it does a good job of navigating, even in concrete jungles, surrounded by tall buildings. It's typical for it to direct me right up to the proper doorstep even in a major metropolitan area.

[TD-Max]

I have a Nuvi as well. 255 I believe Works pretty well as a talking Nav-bitch, but as mentioned it can get messed up and is only as good as the current maps.

[glenn asher]

We took a "barking Betty" with us on the last PDog trip, from Indy to South Dakota, via WI and MN, (because of the flooding a couple of years ago). I also took my road atlases. Betty gave us fits, but DID help us find restaurants in strange locales. Most of the time, I relied on my atlases, because A) They are nice and quiet B) I trust them more than Betty.

She got upset every time we took a potty break, or got off the highway for gas. If we hadn't had to detour around Iowa that year, she'd have stayed at home, I think. We know that routing really well, and don't need her yammering.
I often read road atlases just for fun and to learn more about the area I'm heading to, or avoiding. Betty isn't much good for that. I can read an atlas sitting on the can at home, too, and that adds a much different dimension to it all.


Yeah, I know, I'm a fossil. I like things I can get my hands on, especially if they DON'T get me lost.

[OldTurtle]

I bought a Garmin 265-T a couple of years ago to keep me from getting lost in the St Louis area when we moved...and I've used in on a few trips to unfamiliar cities/states....

I've experienced a couple of minor problems, usually involving previously completed construction on interstates, or major roadways, where the maps have not been updated and there is a conflict between highway signage and the GPS unit and it will show you driving "Off Road"....I've sent in a couple of map/route updates and the errors are still present..

I particularly like the fact that mine has the Blue Tooth capability and it indicates the direction your next turn should be and the distance to the turn, so at least I can be prepared to be in the correct lane. Mine drives my wife a little crazy when I change the voice to the Australian female and she has a hard time understanding the pronunciation...

[BabaOriley]

+1 on the Australian female voice. What did you name yours?

[otter]

We have a Garmin Nuvi 205 (the wife won it at a National Symposium of some type last year). I've been in the vehicle one time when we used it regularly. We traveled to Mpls-St Paul area in Jan to see our kids and new grandson. Seemed to work well for us. Got us around KC, MO and Des Moines, IA as well as around Mpls. Didn't get lost once. Wife named the Nuvi "Thelma" . . . It is funny to hear the voice sigh and then say "recalculating" when you deviate from the prescribed route, though. Well worth the price we paid for it .

[Glen]

We've got nothing more than a $100 TomTom & it does what we ask it to do. I also have a handheld Garmin eTrex HC series I use to mark the truck when I hunt public land around here. One place is only a couple thousand acres but it's all high walled strip land & getting around in there can get you lost. I like both of my systems. Especially for the money we've spent on them.

[Rifle 223]

Thanks to all