Recommendations for a GPS for car navigation and hiking use?

Hi all,

I am in the market for a GPS receiver that can be used for car navigation and since I am hoping to try out geocaching later this year I was hoping to get a single unit that can be used for hiking / geocaching as well. Do they exist? Or are the handheld hiking / geocaching units not usable for car navigation and vice versa? I am hoping to keep it in the ~$300 range (maybe a bit more if the recommended unit is really worth the added $$$). Things I would like to see are:

• Runs on AA or AAA batteries; support for NiMH rechargeables (i.e. the battery meter can be configured to accurately report amount of battery power remaining for either primary or rechargeable batteries) would be even nicer.
• Expandable memory using a SD / microSD / other commonly available card format
• USB connector for easy uploads / updates of map data

Does a unit that does all this exist? Or is this all just wishful thinking? :candle:

I have a Garmin 60csx its great for outdoors and it meets all of your requierements, BUT, I also have a nuvi200 for my car because its more practical for car driving.

Hope it helps


Pablo

my Garmin V does both, it's older, search your local craigslist
Russ

Been reading up on GPS devices and I wanted to add some additional info that might help narrow the choices down:

• I only plan to use the device in the United States. Maybe several years from now I might venture outside of the US to Canada or Mexico but not anytime in the near future so support for areas outside of the US is not important.
• I do not want or need an mp3 player, calculator, world clock, picture viewer and other stuff cluttering the GPS unit. If they are unavoidable then so be it but I prefer they not be there.
• I do not need any sort of real-time updating.

I was at REI yesterday checking out their available units and the person I talked to said that most of the available hybrid or crossover GPS units really do not do either task really well and recommended that I just get two separate units, a basic car navigation GPS and a basic handheld unit, or wait a bit longer until the manufacturers come up with a better hybrid unit that will actually work well for both tasks. What do you guys think? Should I just get two separate units?

Also, I checked out Costco on the way home and they had the following GPS devices available. Any opinions on these:

• Garmin Nüvi 260w
• Magellan RoadMate 1212

Thanks to everyone for their responses so far.

I also have a Garmin 60CSx. It of course is a great handheld for outdoor use. Great for caching and hiking. Thats its primary purpose for me. But I also do have road maps on it and use it frequently for driving.

The 60CSx even does have the option to change what battery you are using, as PEU confirmed your requirements.

Great unit, lots of features. Very accurate and fast to boot. I am uber happy with mine in all respects.

As far as that Nuvi goes, it kind of goes against some of your own requirements. That being the battery and when camping or caching, thats can be VERY important to me. Only 5 hour battery life can be a killer if you are out in the woods.

This is strictly my opinion and likes: I dont like a strictly touchscreen GPS. In the car I am cool with it, but for caching or camping, Ney Ney. I like the buttons. It is just a comfort ideal to me.
The screen isn't going to be nearly as useful in the sunlight. The 60 series and 76 series will have the transflective screen which is so nice.
Also, to me, a touchscreen is going to need a lot more protection. Seems it would be more delicate. They very well may be just as tough as a traditional screen, but it just seems like you have to be more careful not to scratch or harm in some way.

I would have to agree with what REI told you. There are fantastic handheld units that do their job so well, and there are fantastic car units that do their job so well. I have used a Garmin Nuvi 500 IIRC that was considered a hybrid and never got the feeling that it was really meant for hiking. Its like the simply slapped a few more features like paperless Geocaching, and "walk" mode. In the long run, throw some maps on a handheld and it will do roads. Not as fancy as there is only beeps, and no talking, but gets the job done.

-Cameron

[edit]Mind you, I also have a touchscreen Garmin Streetpilot 2720, "Gina" which I love so much, but its strictly a car navigational GPS having no internal battery. [/edit]

Thanks for the reply. I think I will probably move towards getting two separate units now.

I did some reading up on the Garmin 60CSx and the reviews and articles I read mentioned having to purchase road maps separately if I wanted to use it for car navigation. Are these available for purchase and download online? How much would it cost? How often are they updated?

Given that I will probably get two separate units, how would you recommend the Nüvi as a car navigation unit? Does it also require the purchase of additional maps for it to be usable? I would like to keep the total cost for a decent car navigation unit at ~$300 and just purchase the handheld unit in a few months once I have set aside more. I am open to all suggestions for a simple car navigation unit that works well for that purpose and does not have those extra bells and whistles (mp3 player, picture viewer, etc.) that I do not expect to ever use.

Yeah, you will have to get maps for the 60CSx if you want it for car navigation.

You can get a Nuvi for under $300 no problem. It won't have the newest features, but it will still have all the POI and maps. You will not have to buy road maps for a Nuvi. It will be included. A good source to look at reviews and such is Newegg. Just search "Nuvi" and sort by reviews. Their top results, all with 4 or 5 eggs (out of 5) are all under $300. Check out what others said about each one and see what features they come with and you like most. So many are throwing in the MP3 player and what not for "free" as it just takes a little extra programming.

What you may want to look at doing if you are going to go the two seperate GPS route is get your Nuvi, or whatever you end up liking the most for auto navigation. Then once you have the money and get your 60CSx (or other handheld), get some topography maps for it, rather than road maps. If you are going to primarily use it for caching, hiking or camping, the topography maps may be the better place to spend the money. You can get the entire US for $80. Makes planning to get to a geocache easier. Many areas will even have paths or trails in the topo maps. Great for state parks and the like,

-C

I am looking at the nuvi 205. It can be found for around $130. The nuvi 200 can sometimes be found for around $100. They both get good reviews and I will probably get one of them in the near future for my car, as soon as I can find the money. Both of them are pretty similar and come with up to date maps. Which is kinda strange in a sense because the maps that you buy from garmin cost almost as much as the nuvi units. And like bobisculous said you have to buy them if you get a more portable unit.

Definitely consider getting two. I use a eTrex Venture CX for hiking/geocaching, and currently have a TomTom Go 510 for the car. I am actually selling the TomTom right now and soon getting a Garmin Nuvi for the car.

It just seemed silly to me to use a car unit in the woods (and loose a lot of the needed functionality), or pay over $100 for the maps to add to my outdoor unit so that it can TRY to act a little like a car unit.

You can seriously get a decent outdoor unit and car unit for under $100 each. For under $250 each you can get VERY nice units for either task.

I'd suggest getting a nice one for your primary use, and then get a cheaper one for the secondary.

For me, I use fairly cheap ones for both and they work very well.

Incidentally, the 60CSx recommended here has been the top pick for geocaching for a LONG time and is a very nice unit.

If you look at Garmin Nuvi's, the newer models end in a 5. So the 205, 255, 265 are newer than the respective 200, 250, and 260.

I mention this because you can almost always find the 2x5 units for almost exactly the same prices as the 2x0 units and they include a few new features that I think are useful (Where am I, location based lock, geotagged photos)

Good luck in your search,

me too have a Garmin 60csx, i think its a great dual purpose GPS. i do wished that i can view it in landscape layout while i am driving.

my wife has a Nuvi 770. though its great for driving, i actually prefer the UI and feature on my 60csx than the 770