Does anyone have a GPS?

[clairea]

I want to get my husband a GPS for father's day, but I have no idea where to start figuring these out:o He has almost completely lost his sense of direction as the result of an injury, so it definitely needs to be one that has a good mapping function. He will use it for driving, but he also runs and bikes a lot so would like to have something portable enough to take with him so he can find his way home without having to stick to one of the few pre-defined routes we have mapped out together. I have seen this one (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000CFYCH/ref=pd_ts_e_1/102-9323732-7490559?v=glance&s=electronics&n=172526) on Amazon, but it looks like it may be more of a fitness monitor than an actual mapping thing. Does anyone have a GPS unit that they like (or don't like)?

Thanks,
Claire

[acginkc]

Don't personally own one, but a good friend will let us borrow his whenever we take road trips (just used the latest model this past weekend, it was nice). The ones I have used have all been made by Garmin. I know they are a bit pricey, but they seem to be very accurate and help with directions with very minimal programming.

[badunnin]

Another vote for Garmin. We don't have a model that would meet your needs, but we do have 2 GPS units by Garmin (one handheld that dad uses for hunting, and one for the boat) and are very happy with both.

[Krystal]

We have one that we use on road trips. I'm not sure what the brand is, but we bought it at Costco. It's a pretty neat gadget.

[Robyncz]

I have this one and I really like it. But beware, the "PC cable" that comes with it is a serial cable. If you want to download coordinates from the computer and you have a laptop, you'll need a USB cable. So far I've input everything by hand, which is actually quite simple!

garmin etrex vista (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000058BCR/104-3903377-5055953?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance)

[knunes]

I, along with DH's family, bought DH a Garmin GPS three years ago. He loves it. I'm sure there are newer versions now, so I would go to their website. If you google search, you might find a site I found back when looking for that GPS which was a guy telling you everything you might possibly want to know about GPSs.

[clairea]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will definitely look at the Garmin ones and see which one will work best for him.

Claire

[Lrimerman]

We have one integrated into our car, so I can't really help there. However, my parents (my mom really, after driving my car a lot while I was on bedrest) had to get one. They bought the one at Costco, I am not sure which brand it is, but it can sit on your dashboard or has a mount for the window. I would imagine that you could just take the unit with you on a bike, but I am not sure if it needs to be plugged in.

If you have a Costco, I would go check it out, as they have really good prices and if it doesn't meet your needs, you can take it back.

Lisa

[EsteemSamurai]

Didn't even know this thread was here until Gil gave me a yell. :) Thanks Gil!

My husband and I use a GPS unit for geocaching, which is basically an organized treasure hunting game. We've been using a Magellan Meridian Platinum GPS (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005OLYD/qid=1115982551/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-1470179-4870517?v=glance&s=sporting-goods&n=507846), and we love it because it's water proof, has an easy to read screen, long battery life, and lots of mapping options.

Having said that, I don't necessarily think our unit is the one for you, not knowing what you're really focused on in terms of needs. A car GPS, a running GPS, a geocaching/hiking GPS - these are all different because you're looking for different sizes, weights, and features. The GPS unit you pictured (the forerunner) would be fine for running or biking - it's designed for athlete use. It'll let you trace your route and then follow it back.

But it doesn't have a large enough screen to have a useable map or enough accuracy to infallably get you from point A to point B the way a larger, more fully-featured GPS would. When we first started geocaching, we compared my husband's Magellan to my Forerunner just to see how the accuracy compared. The Magellan got within 9 feet of the coordinates we entered. The Forerunner got within 60 feet.

A permanent-car unit, like the one they sell with the 'Neverlost' service, is going to be the 'best' choice for car use, because it'll be the most accurate, it'll automatically update with the service provider to know how roads/traffic change, etc. But it'll be completely useless for running because it'll be permanently (or semi-permanently) affixed to your dash board.

If it were me, and I wanted what you described, I'd go with a Garmin eTrex Venture (which is pretty light weight at 5.3 oz, not too huge at 4.4 x 2.0 x 1.2, and decent battery life at 20 hours). It's gray scale, which for me is easier to read in bright sunlight than the new, color models, and it has a decent screen resolution - 288 x 160. It's got WAAS capability, which means its more accurate than one without, and its got a built in compass to fall back on in the event you're totally turned around, which the Forerunner does not. Oh, and it has a built in antennae, which to me makes more sense because it's less awkward.

There are a LOT of options out there - I would do a little research to confirm, but that'd be my choice given the information you've provided. You can read forums on this stuff here (http://www.gpsinformation.net/) .

Good luck and if you have questions, let me know. :)

~Sarah

[AZLorena]

Okay....we have a couple of GPS units.....I have the one that you are looking at on Amazon. I would not recommend it for driving. It is great for fitness....but for driving you want one that has a larger display. We have had a few garmin ones and have been quite happy with them. My FIL gives us his every time he upgrades. The last one we had for the car was a black and white display. I never used it....hubby used it a couple of times then it just stayed in the house. We now have one with a larger color display .....and it actually talks to you. I find this one much more useful. You don't have to look at it to figure out where to go. It talks you through the directions as well as shows you the street maps. Of course, it is not very portable....for exercise or anything, but those are two vastly different needs. I would suggest you get both. I wouldn't be happy using my foretrex in the car....and I definitely would not lug our car gps out hiking.

Lorena

edited to say.....I just checked and we have the Garmin StreetPilot III. We have been very happy with it. Unfortunately it is pretty expensive, but I think that it is worth it.

[ChristieinMB]

I have one built into my car so I can't recommend mine. But, I do like a big enough screen, I love the talking, it beeps at the exact corner, so it is brainless when I am driving. As mentioned, get one that gives the right distance for you, I've heard that is a problem for some. Mine goes to 700 feet, I like that for driving. I now can't live without one. Wouldn't buy a car without it.

[clairea]

Thanks for all the additional information. I *think* I am going to go with one of the Garmin etrex models, as it will give him that basic functions he needs both ways and I can't manage 2 units right now. I am sure next time we get a car for him (which will be a while) we will try to get one with the integrated GPS, but on my minivan I opted for the DVD player to keep the kids entertained on long drives instead! For working out he will probably mostly use it on long runs or rides so could probably carry it in a waist pack or something along with energy gel, etc., and for driving he will at least be able to get directions before leaving and check himself if necessary on the route. I don't think he will use it for day-to-day driving since he has memorized the routes he usually drives (like to work and back, to the grocery store, etc.). I just don't want him to get stuck in the situation he was in the other day -- he had to get to from the soccer field, to the kids' school, and then to the baseball field. He know how to get to each of these places from home but without some sort of "mental map" of how things are related couldn't get from one to the other and wound up coming back home and starting fresh before each stop! (I was out of cell phone range so couldn't help him). He is good-natured about it but I know it is very frustrating for him.

Thanks again,
Claire

[Robyncz]

Claire,
If you're looking at the etrex models, be sure and get one with enough memory to handle mapping programs. I think the 8 meg model (the etrex legend, I think) won't give you enough memory.

We haven't used the mapping function yet, so I really have no idea what I'm talking about, but I remember that being one of the big issues on the reviews I read.

Robyn