Thread: gps units
View Single Post
Old 08-29-05, 02:06 PM
  #4  
hujev
I'm one of the freaks.
 
hujev's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Lake Superior country, Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Periodically leaves/returns to Alaska for good.
Posts: 121

Bikes: Woodrup: '85 Giro Touring & '16 custom touring. Stanforth: '17 Kibo & '19 Skyelander. '93 Longstaff trike. Trek: '84 830 & '89 420. '83 cannondale ST-500. Stumpjumpers: '82 tig'd, '82 lug'd, '84. '83 Univega Gran Turismo. etc.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 9 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
i would advise against any etrex units - they are all gimmick and little substance... just trying to display your coordinates is difficult (impossible on the one i tried), including updating moving coordinates...

i think the best use for gps on a bike tour would be to find your coordinates (lat/long or whetever), distances (say to the next peak, the next town, etc.), etc - not to try to follow a map on a screen - a paper map will always be better, and a hell of a lot easier to use! and the *real* landscape can tell you more. also, anywhere for which a gps map is available should have better paper maps available (and in remote countries the gps maps are likely digitized from paper copies).

but i am *very* pleased with my garmin 12xl that i bought back in 1997! they *still* sell the same model, and it's still about $200 (maybe less on ebay or somewhere). i really can't think of any other electronic item that has lasted so long! makes sense, actually, since th technology in GPS is 20 years old. planning to bring it on this winter's long south american tour!

the thing's tough as nails - mine once fell of fthe top of a truck in south america going 100kph, right onto asphalt, rolled for a while, and still works as good as new with nary a scratch! they really don't make them like that anymore! (at least the new models). no pretty color maps, no games (!), but the functionality is great for real geographic navigation and positioning, and i've used mine extensively for travel worldwide and work (navigating in the alaskan backcountry).

or, you could go with a $4000 trimble like the ones i use at work, but they're kinda big...

Last edited by hujev; 08-29-05 at 02:14 PM.
hujev is offline