DrD

Off to the states in week and i want to buy a GPS for kayaking, Scottish winter walking and playing around with!! Anyone had any experience with either a Garmin 12 (being discontinued??) or Etrex?
which is the best one to go for (12 is 99quid over there, Etrex 85 quid)

gareth

I got an ETrex last week and used it at the weekend for the first time. Really useful on a couple of occasions to find exact map location (mountain biking in peak district). Seems robust etc. Apparently short on advanced features but so far excellent for my needs. Also very light (150g inc batteries). Got it off a UK website: £110 inc VAT and postage. If you want to pay the difference for a UK guarantee, you can email me and I'll dig out the URL.

Cheers,
Gareth

Paul Wilson

I've got a garmin 12 and its very good , although "old tech" these days, robust, waterproof to 20 feet or something like that. I abuse equipment so if mine is still working after 2 1/2 yrs it must be OK

A friend of mine uses it as his main navigation system on his boat, he bought it as a back up but it is more user friendly than the main system on the boat.

PeteC

Get the Garmin 12 - it's a brilliant bit of kit. I've had one for a couple of years now, and it's invaluable for checking your location when you're out in the wilds.

I've been caught out a couple of times when thick mist has come down when I've been on a mountain top with visibility reduced to a few yards, and it's very easy then to get disorientated. In those circumstances, a map and a compass are useless if you can't locate your position, and that of course is where GPS comes in.

Can't recommend it highly enough.

Pete

Dave Kinloch

I've been using a Garmin 12 on the hills for 18 months and it is excellent. It is a bit heavy on batteries though, specially in the cold, so the eTrex might be better as lasts longer on only two AAs not four.

The blurb also says it has an altimeter and barometer. If the altimeter is anything like as good as the one on the Suunto watches you might find it more useful than the GPS!

If you are planning on entering routes it's much better to download them from your PC rather than struggle with the fiddly buttons. I'm using Gpsy which is for the Mac but there are similar PC packages.

Dave Kinloch

Just noticed it's the eTrex Summit which has the altimeter, barometer and compass and goes for about £200.

DrD

do GPS units work in pockets - will it track where i've been in my gore-tex or fleece pocket??

Dougiem

If it works in my car you should have no problems with it in your packet.