Hand Held GPS...which one?

[LC/in/OH]

I've seen the post below for the 'permanent' mount type of GPS, but I'd like to get a hand held so I can take it with me. Anyone got any experience with the Garmin's, Magellans or Loawance?

Thanks
LC

[Wall-nut]

Having owned a Garmin GPS III for about a year and a half I can offer this advice: It took about two months to figure out how to use it (i.e. which functions were useful for fishing and which functions were geared more toward keeping someone from getting lost in the forest). However, once mastered, this unit becomes an invaluable tool and really not that difficult to use. It picks up satellites in a fairly quick manner, it is functional on the dashboard of my truck, which tells me that it locks on through the windshield and I love the mapping feature which locates major routes in cities throughout North America. I have easily located what I thought were obscure lakes in Northern Quebec! The add-ons could be useful but as a weekend warrior I've found the basic unit to be more than enough. We fish the 1000 Islands region of the St. Lawrence River and the Garmin GPS III has been a great aide in locating the (literally) thousands of shoals on this body of water. That being said, my fishing buddy owns the low end Garmin hand held unit and is enthusiastic about it, as well. Have fun shopping!

[Trophy19]

I have a Garmin GPS 12 that is very inexpensive and very easy to use. No mapping software here, just a basic unit to store lat/long coordinates.

I get out on Mille Lacs, power up my GPS, press the "GOTO" button, select my secret honey hole and press "ENTER". The GPS unit tells me which direction to go and the time it will take me to get to that location at the current speed.

My opinion, get a GPS that will get you to your location, then use the electronics on your boat to locate the structure.

Hope this helps.

[The Great Guide]

I vote for the Garmin 12. Paid $150 with case, dash mount and power point connection. Use it for fishing, hunting and snowmobiling. Easy to use. This unit was recommeded by the folks here on the WC page...TGG

[River_eye]

If you don't want anything fancy, check out the Garmin etrex. It's extremely small, so it will fit in your pocket. It's also extremely easy to use. It doesn't have the mapping feature, but you can link it up to your PC. My dad just got one a month ago and I've been playing around with it. It's just as accurate as any other GPS.

Like I said, the best thing about it is that it's extremely small and lightweight. It's definately worth the money.

River eye

[LC/in/OH]

Thanks for the feedback.