hand held GPS

[Simplicity]

We have a Garmin GPS unit on the boat and it does the job. We're thinking of a back up portable unit but don't know much about them. Is there one out there that would work on the boat + in the woods hiking?Any info is appreciated. Thanks. Alan & Linda

[lloyds]

I have stuck with Garmin for my boats, but at work my crews use Magellan. They have some real nice software to navigate or find particular features. Either make some really nice units for not much money.

[thataway]

One of the better buys is the Lowrance i Finder. One of the big box sporting good stores had the i finder H20 for $169 last week. These take the excellent Lowrance topo maps, as well as navioncis and nautipath maps. Small, but good units. If you want bigger, consider the X 76 series of Garmin--from the older 176 to the latest 476 and 478--which have weather etc--topos are available for these also and they have much larger screens. The Garmin are easy to use--but I find their charts a bit mroe expensive.

[volsman]

Try this link. I believe you will like the Garmin 76 series. I use it as our backup for water and driving. Also works in the woods with topo. See link for different models. http://gpsworldsupply.com/gps_world_supply.php?PHPSESSID=2ebee683b76f1c326cf426a048de8fe0&step=family&familyNum=52 You want the C models for color.

[Simplicity]

Thanks for the info.We'll probably go with the garmin hand held.

[Capn Jack]

I've been using Garmin's Hand held units for years, 45, 45XL, 48, plugged into a Laptop, using Capn's charting program. I'm currentlyrunning a "48" on the dash of Pocket Yacht with a roof antenna and we watch movies, or e-mail on the Laptop. Jack