Which (Canadian, hiking) GPS? Criteria inside

December 26, 2008 1:56 PM

Hi there, I'm looking for advice on the right GPS unit. This would be my first purchase but I have used a few in the past and I know what didn't work for me and what did. I've read a bit but to be honest I still don't have a clue about manufacturers, specific models, chipsets and everything else. I was wondering if y'all could help?

I would like to get something:

With a decent battery life:
I need some way to get about 48 hours+ of use in between charges - I know that's a lot.

That has Canadian Topo maps:
Or has the option to purchase them

That's built for hiking:
I.e. Waterproof, handheld, the usual.

That isn't too expensive:
yeah I know, this is going to hurt.


Any GPS experts out there?

posted by fingerbang to shopping (5 comments total)

Strong recommendation for Garmin 60CSx which does appear to have some topo maps available. I don't think it'll pass your "not too expensive" test, though, starting at ~$300 USD. Batteries are a pair of AA's - with rechargeable 2700 mAh batteries, I can use it for at least 20 hours. I've never tried past that since I've never needed to. It is fairly ruggedized and definitely waterproof, provided you don't try to use it underwater.

What you want is something with a SIRFstar III chipset. The 60CSx has one, but there are also cheaper units that do as well.
posted by saeculorum at 2:48 PM on December 26, 2008

I've been looking at handheld GPS units for backwoods use. I have not found one that will do 48 hours continuous runtime. Most of them are in the 20-25 hour range.

However, you don't really need nearly as much battery time as you think you do (or as I thought I did).

Instead of thinking that you'll keep this on the whole time that you're hiking, you should be using it like you would a compass. Start out finding a heading. Turn off the GPS. Then, walk along that heading for thirty minutes or an hour or whatever (this depends mostly on terrain, obviously). Stop, take another reading, get another heading. Turn off the unit, and walk. Repeat.

You wouldn't walk along with your nose stuck in a map, holding a compass, trying to orienteer en route. You shouldn't try to do that with GPS either.

My plan is to get one of the Garmin eTrex HCx series. The HCx refers to the SIRFstar III chipset that saeculorum mentioned.
posted by Netzapper at 2:56 PM on December 26, 2008

Have you looked through GPS Review? This is how I find my Garmin 350, which I love.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 9:56 PM on December 26, 2008

I have a Garmin Venture Cx, which we use extensively, particularly for geocaching. It's quite robust, practically waterproof (handles rain fine, wouldn't dunk it), and can do turn-by-turn directions w/o voice. Battery life is so-so, but you'll do better if you remember to turn it off when you're not using it, as it can re-gain signal in less than a minute usually. In my experience, bringing a few extra AA's with us is just easier than charging it.

The Garmin handhelds don't usually come with maps. Keep that in mind. You'll have to get them separately and they can be expensive. You'll hook it up to your computer via USB to download them, so don't forget a micro SD card. (Don't worry, those are cheap these days.)

To sum, I would definitely buy another Garmin.
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 10:05 PM on December 26, 2008

Thanks All, thanks Saeculorum in particular.

Looks like I'm going to go with your suggestion of the Garmin 60csx. It's more than I wanted to spend but I'm hoping I can pick one up as an unwanted Christmas present.


Thanks again.
posted by fingerbang at 12:51 PM on December 29, 2008