Handheld GPS Unit

[REMINGTON JIM]

I am looking to purchase a handheld GPS unit that has color - a large screen and be able to intergrade with google earth to make and or view maps . What are you guys using :confused: RJ

[Buck]

Two guys i know have the Garmin Montana 600 very big screen.Almost getting a little to big but the screen is exceptional and does google earth and birds eye.

[Singleshotneeded]

Get the Garmin 62 series, buttons aren't affected by extreme cold like touch screens...

[todbartell]

the Montana is the way to go if you need a big screen

[Trophyslayer]

Got the Montana 650 it's a bit bulky but worth it once you put the google earth images on the device and it's nice that it has a rechargeable battery and also takes AA

[mikeboehm]

Garmin 62s. I had the montana and sold it to buy the 62s. Touch screen sucks in the cold and when its raining

[REMINGTON JIM]

Garmin 62s. I had the montana and sold it to buy the 62s. Touch screen sucks in the cold and when its raining

Thats Good to know - i will use it in the Cold and the Rain lots ! Thks :-D RJ

[RiverOtter]

Along the same lines, exept is floats and has marine stuff added, but the 76CSx is a tough unit to top as well. I've heard the 78 series is not as user friendly though....

[Slinky Pickle]

I lost my 76CSx last fall and was just about ready to pull the trigger on a new Montana. Then, on Easter weekend this year, my son brought me a snowy, muddy lump. Apparently the GPS fell out of the back of my truck in the driveway last fall and got plowed into a snow bank. It resided there all winter and spring until the snow finally melted back enough to reveal it in April. I pushed the button and it turned on!

Now I can't part with the old girl. To come through that without any damage was incredible. Garmin 76CSx all the way!

[Ry151]

Go with the 62, I have a Oregon and the size is perfect but the screen is hard to see when the sun hits it. The ggoogle earth option is nice bit it takes for ever to download the images.

[nwalter]

I got the Garmin 62s just recently for my birthday, topped with BC Backroads maps and I love it

[laredo318]

Another vote for the Montana 650. The screen is such, I am not always fumbling for my reading glasses. I have used it in temeratures down to -20C, and am very happy with it. The added bonus of a very good camera is nice as well.

[shottyshooter]

I've been ogling the 655T with two way radio and a camera built in- seems like a great (almost) all in one device. If you could use it like a "spot" or cell phone as well I think I could justify the price.

[Jagermeister]

I lost my 76CSx last fall and was just about ready to pull the trigger on a new Montana. Then, on Easter weekend this year, my son brought me a snowy, muddy lump. Apparently the GPS fell out of the back of my truck in the driveway last fall and got plowed into a snow bank. It resided there all winter and spring until the snow finally melted back enough to reveal it in April. I pushed the button and it turned on!

Now I can't part with the old girl. To come through that without any damage was incredible. Garmin 76CSx all the way!That is one helluva testimonial. I own an older version of the 76C and the 60CSx.
I don't know if Garmin have improved the 76 series antenna over the older versions. The reason that I bring this up is as I sit here in the house with limited window exposure, I turned both my units on. The 60CSx acquired some satellites, the 76C did not receive . The 76C satellite reception was superior to the Etrex, but is inferior to the 60CSx. I would imagine that it would hold true for the 62CSx as well.
The Montana is an interesting unit. Larger screen for us old pharts with short arms would make it easier to read, no doubt about that. The applications are about the same as most of the CSx units with a couple of extras. The downside could be the antenna coil. Not having one to compare it to the two I have does not allow to definitively say that the antenna would be a problem. Mike Boehm's assessment of the touch screen is a pretty valid point. (I am a button and nipple man myself.) An inadvertent touch of the screen can really piss me off, like it does on my iPhone.
I would go with the 62CSx if I were purchasing for the first time. I would load it with TOPO CANADA Mapsource which may not be the choice of all. Reason being, Garmin will support it whereas they will not try to problem solve with other mapping programs.
And that folk's, is my 2¢ worth.