GPS Recommendations

Hiking GPS Receivers

The GPS is not necessary to be used with traces from this site.  One can just download and print these traces  using Topo! or other programs and then do the hike following the printed trace.  Having a GPS receiver is obviously better, because it tells the hiker his current position, speed, sunrise and sunset, direction, etc.  It helps not to get lost by matching the waypoints uploaded to it with the ones on the printed maps or shown on the GPS screen. 

What GPS to buy?

Two features that are the most important in the GPS are the quality of reception and the battery life.  The first feature consists of a good antenna (quadrifilar helix) and a sensitive highly parallel receiver chip (usually made by SiRF, though some other companies are starting to emerge with similar products), which can process a lot of signals at the same time, making locking faster, and interruptions rarer.  Unfortunately, with SiRF receivers available, most companies are sacrificing on antennas (Garmin's Dakota, Oregon and Colorado fall into this category - what a shame).  Battery life should be 15 hours or more.  That will typically mean 12 hours on a brand new HiMH rechargeable battery set, and 8-10 hours on a set not so new, which is just what we need.  The third feature which I shouldn't be mentioning, but unfortunately have to, is firmware without bugs.  Magellan Triton is a good example of a great concept buried because of bugs (this is the only model which supports Topo! State Series).

With these features in mind, only 4 models are worth buying: Garmin GPSMAP 76Cx, Garmin GPSMAP 76CSx (built-in barometric altimeter), Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx or Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx (built-in barometric altimeter). "x" on Garmin models represents a high sensitivity receiver.  Prices at Amazon.com are between $250.00 and $300.00 and much higher at REI which will allow an unconditional return should you start hating your unit or if it breaks.

Total Cost of Ownership or GPS in Only Part of the Purchase:

You bought a GPS.  It comes with no maps, case of battery, which makes it pretty useless.

Case:  GPS Outfitters makes the only case rugged enough for the bushwhacking and it also has a few extra pockets.

Batteries:  gps usually takes 2 AA batteries.  To record the trace, GPS should be on all the time although some people only turn it on when they are lost, in which case any batteries will do.  Regular alkaline batteries will only last 3-5 hours, which is why HiMH rechargeable which go 8-12h are much better.  Duracell which is sold in any store is cheap and decent enough.  Do not buy its charger.  Li batteries will last you ~24 hours and they are light, but they are expensive and not rechargeable.

Battery Charger:  Battery chargers that cost very little are only good with the brand new batteries.  Since batteries deteriorate differently and the charger chares them in parallel, charging is not complete for some of them if the batteries are different.  Good battery chargers charge each battery separately and have a charging indicator.  Since I have a camera that uses AA batteries as well, and since I like to charge a few spares, I bought an 8 battery charger.   It's called Maha MH-C800S.  I've used it for a year and am very happy with it.  It has very good reviews as well.

Mapping Software: I will not discuss the mapping software here (see the Mapping Requirements page).  I will just list what is worth buying and why.  Prices range from $50.00 to $120.00:

Garmin's Software - the only software which allows maps to be uploaded to the unit.  Not very good software.  Vector Maps:

1) TOPO U.S. 24K - doesn't cover the East yet.

2) TOPO - covers the whole country, but has 100,000 scale

3) U.S. TOPO 24K National Parks - covers AT and some major Nat. Parks (no C&O Canal).

4) City Navigator - shows the road names, while other programs don't.  The only program with current information.

National Geographic Topo! State Series and Topo! Back Roads Explorer - the best product out there still, but not for long.  NG doesn't update it and pretty much buried the whole project.  Allows to upload only waypoints to the GPS.  Raster Maps:

1) Topo! Mid Atlantic - covers VA, MD, DC, DE, WV with  24,000 scale.   (about $70-$80)

2) Topo! Pennsylvania - same for PA.

3) Topo! Backroads Explorer - covers the whole US with 50,000 scale.  Same management software as above. (about $50 for a dozen plus CDs)

Memory Card:  MicroSD Cards.  I believe, the maximum size is either 2 or 4 GBytes.  These cards are used to store Garmin Maps.  Kingston and Sandisk brands are good and inexpensive (less than $15.00).

Sony Digital Voice Recorder:  Voice recorder is used to describe waypoints.  Later at home this description can be put into a text file.  It's much better then creating a long abbreviations with the waypoints which are easy to forget and which block the map.  Sony makes the best ones and they only cost $40 - $50.

If you pay more, you'll get an option of saving the voice files to computers.

Driving GPS Receivers

How do car GPS Units differ?  Mainly in one thing.  When you tell it where to go, the best unit will give you the best direction and the worst - the worst.  Plain and simple.  Nuvi Series by Garmin is the best out there in that regard.  The units should have at least 4.3'' screen, and be able to speak names.  There are two types: with and without MP3 player.  Without are inexpensive ($100 - $250), with are pricier ($200 - $500).

Inexpensive:  Nuvi 255W ($120 at Amazon.com) and up; Nuvi 1300 ($200.00 at Amazon.com) and up.

With MP3 players: Nuvi 755T ($270 and up from Amazon.com) and up, but older models like Nuvi 750 are less expensive.   Mp3 players are good when you drive a long way, and they allow the GPS to be connected to the car's stereo system if the car has a 3.5mm audio input.

Other features that are worth considering and why some of them are not as nice as advertised:

Multipoint routing - if you want to follow a special route (scenic byway for instance) without stopping after reaching a waypoint to ask the unit to go to the next waypoint.

Voice activated navigation - it only allows you to call waypoints that are already in the unit, not give voice driving directions.

Lane Assist - shows you what lane you are in and what lane you should be in.  Nice feature, but very few highways exit which have it.

3D - building view - very few buildings have this feature.

Bluetooth - gps has to be pretty close to be able to talk and hear, which is not the case, so I think it's a useless feature.

Garmin nuLink Services and/or MSN Direct compatible - both a similar to wireless internet - you can see traffic, stocks, games, etc.  Requires monthly fee which kills it for me.

FM Traffic - only buy the unit with the Lifetime FM traffic, otherwise, monthly fees make it too expensive.  It is not updated as well as it should and only works for some streets.

XM Navtraffic and Radio - worth it for those who like XM radio.  This way you don't need to buy a separate radio and a separate GPS.  For the rest of us it's monthly fees again.

Speed Limit - nice feature, but only works on some highways.

Keyboard Layout - great feature.  Most units have ABC layout which I don't care for, but these have an option of QWERTY.

FM Transmitter - transmits audio to the car's FM radio channel.  This feature simply doesn't work well for Nuvi - the transmitter is too weak.

Included Map of Europe and/or Canada - one can buy and install these maps separately, but having them in the GPS already saves time and money.

Battery - some Nuvis don't have a battery.  Don't buy them.  You need battery to walk in the city, to program the points and routes at home, etc.

The rest of the features don't strike me as very important.
 

Combo Units (Hiking and Driving)

Short answer - as far as I know they don't make them .

Long answer: GPSMAP 60 and 76 Cx and CSx all have a capability to give you driving directions if you install City Navigator software on them.  I tried to use mine once and the directions were horrible.  Plus the screen is too small, plus no voice commands.

I am not sure, but I believe I could put topo software on my Nuvi 750 car GPS.  Unfortunately, this unit is not waterproof or even water resistant.  Furthermore, its batteries are not replaceable and can only last 3-5 hours.

What about the units specifically designed for both hiking and driving?  For instance, Nuvi 500 and 550 ($260.00 at Amazon.com).  They are waterproof, have a longer lasting battery (up to 8 hours), the battery is replaceable.   What I don't like about them:  small screen for driving, no good antenna for hiking.  Battery life is too short for hiking (realistically 5 hours of hiking).  Only the absolutely basic features for driving.  Need to buy non-driving software (same holds true for hiking gps units, so that's a general problem), replacement battery is $31.00 at Amazon.com.  No solid case to attach to the backpack.  This solution is not bad only for occasional use or when people hike a short time.  It may be a good solution for multi-sport enthusiasts - bikers, boaters, motorcyclists, hikers, etc. - just buy one gps and keep changing the brackets and mounts.