gps users

[dragon1]

well im sitting here and figured i would try and update my handheld gps and maybe try and find some decent maps and such. I own a garmin etrex legend that is maybe 1.5 years old and use it mostly for navigating my way back to our campsite after trail riding for hours on end.( dont want to get the wife and kiddo lost way back there as i would feel the wrath of mamma for weeks)
So long story short, the etrex legend gps i have seems to be discontinued, and cant really find much for canadian trail maps, or real good topo maps for it. I was wondering what all you guys use, and how well they work in deep cover like heavy bush. Im not really literate on gps, or all their advanced features , but i would like to find something that can keep me finding my way back to camp, and able to mark landmarks ect on our jouneys. I tried the flagging tape thing for a while, but in the end all it does is litter the trees with plastic. Anyone have a great gps suggestion that is affordable and very reliable, that shows trails backroads that sort of thing?

[Ishpah]

Do you have Topo Canada? And your ETReX, does it have a card slot or internal memory?
Sounds like you need TC.

[Deercove]

I have the same GPS and the same issue. Picked up the Legend in 2005 and have used it a little. This last week I downloaded two Ibycus topo maps for Alberta (due to the limited ram memory I could not install more), uploaded them to the Legend and computer along with Google Earth. Since then I have copied the waypoints from the Legend to the Ibycus maps on the pc and viewed the waypoints in Google Earth. Doing so has allowed me to deleted unnecessary waypoints on the Legend, and place new ones. From what I have seen so far, I will continue to use the Legend to find my way around and record waypoints of new areas but not without a compass and a 1:50000 Sustainable Resource Development Provincial Bass Map (20007 edition) on hand.

[sheephunter]

Bush Maps offers some very detailed trail mapping for Alberta. I think it only works with the Garmin 60 though. Best I've seen.

[Treefarmer]

GPS works by black magic. But last I read, (few years ago) the improvements for hand held ones were mostly in acquisition speed, and battery life. All of them have issues with more than a thin layer of vegetation in the way. All of them have issues with reflections in the mountains, although the newer ones are better that way.

I have one of the etrex's and never bothered to use the map features. Map was total B.S. as it parked me in the North Sask river when it didn't show me on the other side of it. The school had a Garmin C60 which had a nicer display, and was easier to use to set up my orienteering contests, but it had the same crummy maps. You just can't see enough on a tiny screen to navigate intelligently.



Use it WITH a paper map. Use the bread crumb feature to find your way back. I now carry two sets of spare batteries with me even for a day trip.

Make sure that the GPS is set to the same coordinate system as the map. If you are using WGS, (Default) and your paper map is (as most Canuck topo maps) NAD 27 you will be out by about 230 meters. That's enough to get you in trouble.

[dragon1]

thanks for all your input guys, and yes the one i do have now the etrex is ok, but as you stated it takes forever to load up, and unless im riding holding the thing above my head towards the sky its a pain in the %&^^. i would really like to find a newer one which shows current elevations ect without having to navigate through five screens to get it, as well maybe one that has a little more give and go when it comes to overhead cover, hell i find this one is terrible on cloudy days and thats putting it mildly. Any OHV peeps out there that use a certain model that works very well for this type of thing?