I want a gps that i can use to navigate off road, something that has a bradcrumb type feature, the ability to save off road routes, as well as on road capabilities. I spoke to garmin and they told me that the only gps they offer that does what i want is the nuvi 500. There has to be others out there. Anyone know of any? I got a macked out nuvi 3790 for christmas, but i returned it becuase it didnt have off road capbilties.
Whats the best OFF ROAD GPS?
STUPIDFACE
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Guys, what are your thoughts on the lowrance endura sierra?
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To answer your question about updated software, it's easy to update to the latest, so don't worry much about that, just make sure you DO update.
As for the lowrence, I know nothing about that particular unit, but lowrence are good units. Very few people I know have them though because they are expensive and you can better units cheaper.
Also, if you do go with Garmin, never buy the SD card maps. Either download from a torrent, or buy the DVD. The new units can take a 16gig microSD card, which will hold all the maps you could want both topo and city navigator.
As for the lowrence, I know nothing about that particular unit, but lowrence are good units. Very few people I know have them though because they are expensive and you can better units cheaper.
Also, if you do go with Garmin, never buy the SD card maps. Either download from a torrent, or buy the DVD. The new units can take a 16gig microSD card, which will hold all the maps you could want both topo and city navigator.
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I haven't used Lowrance either, but I've never heard anything bad other than the price.
Personally, I'd stick with Garmin or Delorme as software (adding different maps and different types of maps) is readily available and the prices aren't too crazy.
For what it's worth, it seems to me many more people on the trail are running Garmins. The file type for Garmin is .gpx and it's not compatible with Delorme units unless convertered so this makes sharing tracks and waypoints a bit more difficult. Also, the Oregons have a wireless transfer ability with other Oregons and Colorados which is nice for sharing files, but obviously no good unless they have one of those two units.
Personally, I'd stick with Garmin or Delorme as software (adding different maps and different types of maps) is readily available and the prices aren't too crazy.
For what it's worth, it seems to me many more people on the trail are running Garmins. The file type for Garmin is .gpx and it's not compatible with Delorme units unless convertered so this makes sharing tracks and waypoints a bit more difficult. Also, the Oregons have a wireless transfer ability with other Oregons and Colorados which is nice for sharing files, but obviously no good unless they have one of those two units.
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started out with the Etrex Yellow back when there where intentional programmed random positioning errors of over 300 feet in the Sat signal (try to find a Geocache in the woods with that), then an Etrex legend which I lost somehow, then a GPSMap76CSx which was a fabulous unit with a super sensitive antenna but that one got stolen on my transfer to Mex (Grrrm@@&%%#$, doubly so due to the map unlocks assigned to the unit that are not transferable to another). Now I have the Oregon 300 for Geocaching, Hiking and biking, the Zumo660 for Car,Jeep,Motorcycle navigation and sometimes my Netbook&BT GPS receiver with Garmin NRoute since I hate small screens especially when trying to see elevation lines on topo maps (maybe just my eyes going bad but lets not talk about that).
With all the toys I do prefer the Zumo when driving for it's big paw touch screen controls and bigger screen than the Oregon while still being compact enough to be carried around for short on foot navigation. For Geocaching, hiking, bicycling the Oregon is the better one due to caching features that the Zumo lacks and it's longer battery life. In the end each toy has its use
.Hmmm GPX is a standardized data Exchange format and you should be able to open Garmin created GPX files with Delorme software and the other way around.
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Garmin 60 CSX is the best trail mapping unit I have used. You can do anything with Topos, they are rugged as hell, small enough to take anywhere, and priced right. I do all of my trail mapping with this unit. Nothing else I have tried at even 3 times the cost is better.
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???? I have some friends with Delorme and we've tried to share data and it couldn't just be opened. It had to be converted. At least the Delorme stuff had to be to open in my MapSource. I don't know about going the other way. I'm no expert with that stuff though so maybe I'm missing something?
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And its easy to read while mounted on the dash?
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Easier to read than a cell application, but not as easy as the dedicated car units - but the car units lack good topo features. Ive never had problems. Hard to make a wrong turn when your driving 10MPH on the trail
.If you need to convert from or to GPX or KML or ??? formats, check this site out:
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/
Great for compatability issues.
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/
Great for compatability issues.
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Man, i dont know. I will probably end up getting a garmin oregon, garmin gpsmap 60 csx, or i will blow it out and get the lowrance hds 5 baja. Im going to get one this month some time.Easier to read than a cell application, but not as easy as the dedicated car units - but the car units lack good topo features. Ive never had problems. Hard to make a wrong turn when your driving 10MPH on the trail
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Having used many different GPS units (and even LORAN before GPS) in my trail rigs, I have finally settled on the GPS/Netbook/Software route.
The GPS is a Globalsat BU353 USB puck that plugs into the netbook. I have both Delorme TOPO 7.0 and Delorme Street Atlas USA 2010 on the netbook. I had to install Franson GPSGate 2.6 to clean up the data from the Globalsat unit so the Asus Eee PC wouldn't crash. But everything works beautifully now and my GPS display is 9 inches diagonal.
Adding waypoints is easy because the netbook has a real keyboard. Its form factor is small enough to mount in front of the radio on a custom mount. I can add custom routes or even area boundaries that come in handy during our club's annual forest trash cleanup event. TOPO displays great looking maps and since the netbook is a touch screen, zooming and program operation is a breeze. This Eee PC has a solid state drive so I don't need to worry about head crash like on a hard drive.
I also carry a parts manual and factory service manual on the PC for those electrical gremlins that all JK owners learn to deal with.
As long as I save Garmin log files in a .gpx format, I can read and display them too. In the TOPO software I can turn GPS tracks into routable roads for navigation purposes.
The only downside to this is you have to wait for the usual Windoze 7 boot up and it will not fit into your pocket.
The GPS is a Globalsat BU353 USB puck that plugs into the netbook. I have both Delorme TOPO 7.0 and Delorme Street Atlas USA 2010 on the netbook. I had to install Franson GPSGate 2.6 to clean up the data from the Globalsat unit so the Asus Eee PC wouldn't crash. But everything works beautifully now and my GPS display is 9 inches diagonal.
Adding waypoints is easy because the netbook has a real keyboard. Its form factor is small enough to mount in front of the radio on a custom mount. I can add custom routes or even area boundaries that come in handy during our club's annual forest trash cleanup event. TOPO displays great looking maps and since the netbook is a touch screen, zooming and program operation is a breeze. This Eee PC has a solid state drive so I don't need to worry about head crash like on a hard drive.
I also carry a parts manual and factory service manual on the PC for those electrical gremlins that all JK owners learn to deal with.
As long as I save Garmin log files in a .gpx format, I can read and display them too. In the TOPO software I can turn GPS tracks into routable roads for navigation purposes.
The only downside to this is you have to wait for the usual Windoze 7 boot up and it will not fit into your pocket.
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From what I hear similar with Delorme by transferring the GPX file to the unit via their mapping software. I know there is also plenty of third party software for data transfer (also free ones) for Garmin but Delorme doesn't seem to be as well supported in that area.
With Garmin ( at least the units I know of ) you can also transfer the GPX file to a specific location on the unit and from there it can be used/displayed.
LOL Yeah it's easier to watch where you going and look at the GPS when driving slow. I'm a bit curious by what you mean with "good topo features" since I can't recall anything that is topo specific with the units I own(ed)?but the car units lack good topo features.Ive never had problems. Hard to make a wrong turn when your driving 10MPH on the trail
The GPSMAP series has software features the Oregon series doesn't have and vice verca. Surely they could program the software to have all the features in each but that would be boring
. From my experience with the GPSMap76CSx and the Oregon I have to say that the GPSMap had the better receiver antenna and it would be locked onto Sats in areas where the Oregon couldn't get or keep a lock. Battery life on the GPSMap was also much better than the Oregon. The Oregon on the other hand has the bigger/higher resolution screen and it's overall more compact. With the touch screen I got a a love hate relationship and IMO a combo out of buttons and touchscreen would be perfect but that would mean a bigger unit or smaller screen - just can't win.
Would appreciate a pic of your custom mount for ideas. Getting tired of picking my netbook out of the foot space or having the Bichon Frise bounce onto the netbook Keyboard when the going gets rough :bounce:
Tablet netbooks development seems to have gotten into overdrive since the iPad and some of those thin large screens would make a perfect in Jeep GPS display :drool:
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I have a Lowrance XOG. It was their crossover GPS that does street and trail. You can add topo maps via their online interface. It does cost money though.
The XOG is discontinued.
One thing to look at is how many points per trail you can have. Most of the Lowrance is ~10K points per trail. A lot of the other manus are 2K/trail. Its helpful for precise trail mapping. If you're just interested on where you were and if I need to trace your steps back then either one is fine.
There are many apps that convert any GPS data to any other GPS data. I use GPSBabel. Its free and works like a charm.
The XOG is discontinued.
One thing to look at is how many points per trail you can have. Most of the Lowrance is ~10K points per trail. A lot of the other manus are 2K/trail. Its helpful for precise trail mapping. If you're just interested on where you were and if I need to trace your steps back then either one is fine.
There are many apps that convert any GPS data to any other GPS data. I use GPSBabel. Its free and works like a charm.
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That's exactly my plan. I already have the Delorme LT-20, but don't have a netbook yet (laptop is too big). Can you post up some pics of your custom mount? I have some ideas on how to do it, but haven't implemented anything yet.
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I run a Garmin 376c that I've added the topo maps and the XM weather which is a REALLY nice option. It's not too big and fits on my dash nicely.
Ben
Ben
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These are also very nice units.
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I rock a garmin oregon 450 IMO u can't go wrong its good for hiking, geocaching, and trail riding. I also have a garmin 205w that I use in my big rig and I love that one too! It comes with forrest roads and such, but u can also set it to show where i've been (trail of breadcrumbs)
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