Help with GPS present for brother

J

jspike1

New member
Hi guys my mother wants to buy a GPS for my brother for Christmas. He is a diehard skier who moved to Alta in Utah. He does alot of backcountry stuff and she is afraid of him getting lost. Can you guys give any recommendations for a handheld around the $150-300 range. I know that I can look in all of the magazines but I am looking for your opinions becuase I'm not sure what features are needed and which one aren't.
 
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Dickssportinggoods.com Garmin Etrex Legend Bundle pack. Works great. Good battery life. comes with topo map software, dc adapter, case, and dash mount. $199.00 after $30.00 rebate.
 
Or Check out gpscity.com they have the best price I could find. I ordered the Etrx Vista C. It has all the bels and whistles. Altimieter, Color maps, step by step directions for travel. You can down load color topo maps etc. You will need to purchase the software separate for good topo maps, but that $80(I have an alternate soucre hint hint). From my research the Vista C ahs the most features and at GPS City is well priced. You might be paying extra for shipping this late in the game.
 
I would suggest the Garmin GPS Map 76s over the etrex but only because of its bigger screen, you might check that one out, I just dont like the etrex button lay out and I have used both extensively
 
One step up from the Legend is the Vista. Vista costs about a $100 more, but has electronic compass and 3 times the memory (24M compared to the 8M Legend).j

If you want to save a lot of maps, you'll need the extra memory.
 
Sounds as if he may benefit with two-way communication. I use a Garmin Rino 120 and love it. Garmin has higher end models of the Rino as well. Whatever is decided, be sure and get mapping software to load on it, such as MapSource TOPO.
 
For skiing up at Alta, or anything in the outdoors, any of the Garmin units mentioned above will work great. I have used Garmin for years and have the Quest in my truck now. It replaced the Emap I had in there for a long time.

Garmin's fast lock times and continual transmission speeds are the best in my experience with regards to other GPS units.
 
Figgure out what size you want, which looks like a eTrex sized unit based on his activity, and then determine which features you need. The 76s mentioned earlier is a great unit, but it is a bit large for x-country skiing.
 
Hard to beat the Legend for the money. Easy to use too. Most people need a starting place to see if they will even use one. When you see what they are all about you can always upgrade...
 
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