Good GPS deal, and need help

[Cruiserdrew]

I've been GPS shopping recently and am lost, so to speak. All I want is on road directions and offroad mapping, and a big screen. No Blue tooth, no MP3 playing, no movies.

So Costco has the Garmin Nuvi 650 for $299. The original MSRP on that unit was over $700.

To me it looks optimized for road driving. It does take SD cards though, so does that mean you can load and read Topo maps? Could I set up a route, and then follow the route on the topo? Could this unit do the things I want? Has anyone used this particular unit offroad?

Plus other suggestions for a decent on and off road GPS would be appreciated. There are so many models, that picking the right one is impossible. I may go over to Expedition Portal and ask the same question.

Thanks!!!

 

[Brentbba]

Andy,

Unit Alvaro and I use - Garmin Streetpilot 2720/2730 are good. The 2730 has XM and is now discontinued. Had sold for around $900 and I've seen them in the $400 range. Don't know if they've killed the 27xx series completely or not. The 2720 is just the GPS w/o xm. Alvaro is much more of an expert on it's use as you probably well know. Complete offroad area maps are available on cd's for around $80.

 

[Doug_S]

I have a Garmin 60cxs and love it. You can get a topo map memory chip for it which works great. I have both the memory chip (topo)and the regular map source software. I think Cabela's is selling the memory chips and Map Source software at a discount off of the retail price. Good luck in your quest. I even have a mount for my motorcycle. Oh yeah one other benifit...it runs off of two AA batteries meaning that you can get a new power source almost everywhere. There is also a jack on the back for a power cable which I use while in my LandCruiser.

 

[chet]

the NUVI does not do Topo and from what I have read does not do off road very well at all. The ZUMO does what you want. I am looking at the Magellan crossover as it does both as well.

 

[Brindleboxer]

Andrew,

Good questions, but I think you will have to compromise slightly to get a unit that does well both on and off road.

For example I run various GPS units (I have an affliction, the wife calls it an obsession, for buying any GPS when I think it is a good price). I utilize some for strictly off pavement, some for hiking/camping, and some for pavement/in vehicle use.

Here is what I would suggest --- all are suggested units are based off your price listed in your original post.
***Let me preface this by saying I am partial to Garmin***

Vehicle, on pavement --- Garmin C3 or C5 series units, stay in the low range and you can aviod paying for features you do not need (traffic, MP3 capability, etc.). These are very user friendly and have fairly large screens and they are in color. You can save either to the unit or an external card and some you can establish a route on your home pc and then just save it to the external card and then upload it for travel. Battery life is good but nothing to writ ehome about.

Vehicle, off-road and hiking/camping --- Garmin 60csx, Rhino series, and even the Etrex series. These are good units and the variance is comparable to more expensive units. They enable you to bread crumb (if desired) and save routes/waypoints for future reference. The battery life is normal usage and like previously stated take AA batteries which enable you to buy batteries just about anywhere.
I have even used the Rhino series in my vehicle but the screen is fairly small and unless you place it just right it is hard to read, unless you use the backlight continously but then you severly drain the batteries. The other advantage is the Rhinos have built in radios so you can communicate with other vehicles or party members without having a radio to worry about.

Sorry for the winded response but I could pretty much go on for a very long time about the pros and cons of GPS units. If you have any other questions, shoot me an e-mail and I can try and help you out as much as possible.

Glen

 

[wob]

I'm a fan of the Garmin 76C(s)(x)

 

[LandCruisers4Life]

For both street and trail, the mentioned Garmin 60CSx, and 76CSx models should fit the bill for you. However, they ARE hand held units. Still, you can get external antennas etc for them and mounts for the vehicle.

 

[IBCRUSN]

I've had a Garmin Street Pilot 2720 (w/o XM) for nearly three years and works very well. The topo is pretty good but not as accurate as other gps/topo packages. Garmin has finally come out with a 2008 update for City Navigator.

I haven't checked ebay recently but the prices should be coming down since the Street Pilot series has been discontinued.

Try the following link with your eBay username and pw:

completed Street Pilot auctions

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Nuvi does not have tracks (where you have been) a minumin requirement for an offroad GPS.

I went with a 2610 series ...holds 2012 maps, uses cheap CF cards, touch screen, and remote.
Extra CF cards hold topo's for the entire US and Baja.

 

[hoser]

The Nuvi 700 series now has bread crumbs and automatically sets a waypoint where you left your car/camp last. Not sure how well the bread crumb feature works off-road though.

 

[Brindleboxer]

One major point that I thought of while discussing this topic with another local Mud member is that a big drawback for most models is they are not water resistent let alone water proof.

This will be a factor for someone wanting a dual use unit. With this in mind you would essentially be relegated to using one of the hand-held units with the vehicle accesories or pony up some serious money for some of the higher end models.

I know Garmin has recently issued a model targeted for motorcycle riders but it has a lot of desirable features and is water resistant but the price is around $850 - $900.

Glen

 

[Cruiserdrew]

One major point that I thought of while discussing this topic with another local Mud member is that a big drawback for most models is they are not water resistent let alone water proof.

This will be a factor for someone wanting a dual use unit. With this in mind you would essentially be relegated to using one of the hand-held units with the vehicle accesories or pony up some serious money for some of the higher end models.

I know Garmin has recently issued a model targeted for motorcycle riders but it has a lot of desirable features and is water resistant but the price is around $850 - $900.

Glen

Thanks-That's the Zumo model. It's currently at the top of the list. There is a guy on Expedition Portal with a very good write up of this exact model and it looks like it would come close to doing what I want.

In an ideal world, I'd have a Lowrance 540c that would do street routing.

 

[spressomon]

Thanks-That's the Zumo model. It's currently at the top of the list. There is a guy on Expedition Portal with a very good write up of this exact model and it looks like it would come close to doing what I want.

In an ideal world, I'd have a Lowrance 540c that would do street routing.

For the price of the Zumo you can buy the 540C and a Nuvi 600 from Costco for street use...http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11237450&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US&s=1

The 540C as a dedicated off-road vehicle mounted GPS is as good as it gets. The 60XX is also a very good choice but you're back to 1:100,000 and smallish screen for real off-road nav'ing.

I have the 2720...it's just OK for real off-road use. The 1:100,000 scales sucks, it locks up/goes into "spin" mode once in awhile...it's getting replaced one of these days.

Sandy has the Nuvi 600 which we bought at Costco and it works really, really well for it's intended use: Street. Unfortunately no real Topo/off-roadability.


I looked seriously at the Zumo but without 1:24,000 scale (WTF Garmin???!!!) it's just too expensive IMO.

You might check here: http://www.gpspassion.com/fr/default.asp?_SetCurrentVersion=EN

Welcome to the GPS world; the GPS industry is still really behind the times IMO... .

 

[olazul]

I just bought the Lowrance Baja 540c for this elk season and put it in my taco. Prior to this I used a garmin etrex vista for 5yrs or so.

The Baja plus's are waterproof/resistant, big color screen (3.5 x 3.5), and map detail to 1:24,000 compared to the garmin which is 1:100,000.

the big screen is a "must", as is color. It makes distinguishing between elevation lines/streams/roads easy.

I am still learning alot about it but it is nice to have different waypoint symbols as well. The screen is very custom, I have the elevation superimposed on it while hunting. On the road I have the speed and time also superimposed on the corner of the map.

It does not talk to you. This was a plus in my book. So for around the city it is probably OK, it does shine offroad however.

Looking at these things will definitely make your head spin.

Good luck

Olazul

 

[mkfour]

For in car, expedition use, nothing beats a laptop with GPS and topo software. More features and versatility than any $1000 GPS unit could offer. Take notes, make routes, 3D maps, store travel routes, city and topo, big display, no fuss with memory or maps, etc...

Plus it's only $20-$30, if you already have a laptop.

For the price of some of the higher level units, you could buy a cheap laptop and use it as a dedicated in car unit.

I use Delorme LT-20 GPS unit ($25) and Delorme Topo USA 5.0. ($100)



The GPS units some guys have are ridiculously worthless. $800, Voice activated, turn by turn directions, location of nearest Pizza Hut, etc..

 

[i4c4lo]

Andy,

Which one did you end up getting? I have an older Garmin 2610, I really like it but I am starting to think of getting a new one. I like the Garmin 376c (Alvaro had one - Drexx has one, Roberto has one) I am not sure if the non-Gucci version is still available (no XM and no rice cooker).

 

[pismojim]

I ended up going with a laptop computer and my old Garmin Legend.

There are lot's of great options for mapping with the laptop and the screen is big enough to look like a real map. I use OziExplorer with USGS Topos or Delorme's Topo USA mostly. I also have Delorme's Streets but don't use it much, in fact I didn't even bother to load it on my new laptop.

For the most part, I don't use the laptop. Heck, I don't even use the GPS that often. Don't need them, don't need someone braking my window to get them.

The GPS is very handy. It's portable, standalone and easy to move between vehicles or even hiking. If I want to find an address, believe it or not the build in Mapsource maps on the little old Garmin work fine. It actually looks up addresses, and gives a line of sight bearing and distance. Not street routing but it "points" me in the right direction and tells me when I passed it. But being the manly man I am, I prefer to drive around for hours rather than ask someone, including a silly GPS, for directions.

Bottom line, I know were I'm going most of the time. When exploring new areas the laptop works great. It starts with planning trips in the house, downloading maps, setting up waypoints, etc. Then just carry the laptop out to the car and put it in the RAM mount. When I'm not using it the RAM mount is hardly noticeable.

Plus, mp3s, HAM radio frequencies spreadsheets, service manaul PDFs, cruiserhead contact lists, digital picture downloads, DVD movies, engine diagnostics (wife's TDI Jetta), etc. Not to mention hitting wireless internet hotspots for a quick 'Mud fix.

But the biggest advantage... I already had the laptop.

I guess in the long run a built in (ie; hidden) "car computer" would be my preferred solution. But still it's hard to beat the comfortable "human interface" the laptop provides ie; full size keyboard and screen. Plus, I can use it all the time, like typing this right now. Try that with a NUVI...

 

[Cruiserdrew]

The current plan is to see if I get a Zumo for Christmas. If not, I'm going to wait for the new Sony micro to drop a bit in price, then use that with the hockey puck style GPS receiver and run TOPO! on the mini-laptop.

I skipped the Nuvi, though the one listed is a good deal for a street GPS.

 

[Ducks]

I really like using the laptop with a hockey puck antenna.

 

[lathamb]

I might consider using the memory map software if you're going to go the laptop route. I've decided to use that with my pocket pc for offroad mapping. Romer wrote a good review of the product. You can use a number of different map formats rather than being teathered to the TOPO! maps which are pricey.

Memory-Map: GPS Mapping Software for PC and Pocket PC