Anyone have a suggestions for off road use of a GPS

Would like to be able to sync it with my computer (macbook)
Also would like to be able to use it on the street, possible hiking as well, but
not a requirement however.

Lemme know. Thanks.
Merry Christmas!

 

garmin all the way.

i use a garmin map60cx, but another good one is garmin colorado, garmin map76...

just do some basic research, you want one that can save more than 10 tracks as my map60 is limited but the newer map60s will save more.

i bought a high end magellan and returned it a week later, the language wasn't compatible with the maps i was trading, and i couldn't get it to save a track if it was the only thing it could do.

 

Garmin for sure we have it in both spray planes

 

I use a Garmin Zumo 550, and I love it!
I use it on my motorcycle, and in the cars.
It is water resistant, bluetooth, and plays MP3's that I load onto an SD card.
Garmin's customer service is also quite excellent.

 

I use a Garmin Map60cxi I think it is. It's pretty decent for street use (though i don't have anything setup to tell me when to turn, etc...) and I use it successfully for geocaching.

Isn't there some decent free apps for the iPhone and/or android to access the built in GPS?

 

another vote for garmin, ive had the

Etrex legend - good affordable base model, got stolen.
Rino 110 - base model walkie takie GPS, maps not upgradable so sold it.
Rino 120 - great unit, upgradable maps, forgot a set of cheap batteries in it over the winter, they exploded and screwed it up
Rino 130 - same as the 120 but a few more options [discontinued]

been debating getting a Nuvi for in my car and jeep as they have dropped a lot in price for a slightly used unit but i have a pretty good sense of direction and dont think i would actually need it.

 

for wheeling, get a good quality hand held unit.
for street nav, get a cheap nuvi.

you can't get a good unit that does both, really. they sacrifice one or the other.

i have a nuvi for street, map60 for wheeling, and an etrex for biking the trails. all garmin.
you can find topo maps for free online. and easy to link your garmin to a laptop for wheeling.

 

I use a Garmin Nuvi 1490T for the streets and and Garmin Dakota 20 with Garmin topo maps for trials and geocaching. The Nuvi has B/T and a good sized screen and the Dakota is just the size for a handheld.

 

I have a Garmin Nuvi and a E-trex Legend. Neither is that great of a wheeling GPS.

Nuvi really degrades in accuracy when you get too far away from the road. I also geocache with it. It works.. but it makes 'off-the beaten path'' caches more challenging. You can get close, but you end up having to use 'cache-fu' at times to make the find.

The E-trex legend is fine for slower pursuits, BUT it has issues with tree cover. If you wheel in an area with dense tree cover, you will see your accuracy jumping all over the place.

 

this post brings up an important note that i forgot to mention and that is the external antenna, lower end hand held units will have an internal but ones such as the 60series and rinos all have external and deal with tree cover and such a lot better, keep in mind if your running this from inside the vehicle without a clear veiw of the sky none of the handhelds are going to work that great cause signal doesnt cut through the roof that great, when i use my RINO in the jeep i have it on the dash so that it has an open view of the sky

 

^x2
good point. i use an external antenna and never lose a signal.

 

Thanks for all you help i did some more research on my own ended up going with a Garmin GPSMAP® 62st.

 

Personally, I have a Garmin Nuvi 1200 in the car/jeep and recently picked up one of the new Garmin Etrex 30's. The etrex is a good handheld that uses GPS and Glonass. It even knows which direction I'm facing in the house. I use it for trails and geocaching. Works great and fairly cheap for the functionality.
And you can upload tracks to Basecamp or Mapsource programs for PC or Mac.

Just my pennies.

 

the gpsmap is a great little handheld. you'll enjoy that one.
you should get the external antenna for your jeep.

 

Don't have one. Don't know why I do. In 35 years of outdoor adventures I have used topo maps, compass, pencil and paper. Never been lost and once got my group unlost after the guy who insisted on being the tracker got us lost.