Can anyone recommend me a good GPS for outdoor use? I looking for one to do some geocaching and taking in the back country on fire roads, trails, etc. It needs to be rugged and waterproof, so I don't think any of the car only units would suffice. I'd also like to be able to run topographic maps, too. My price range is up to $500, which would get me just about any normal consumer GPS, but I'm looking for specific recommendations. I'm shying away from the Garmin Oregons and other touchscreen type units because they don't seem durable enough for tough, extended outdoor use. I've also read of screen brightness and readability problems with the Oregon. Also, that it's not as accurate as Garmin's older 60CS series and the battery life is poor. Yet everyone seems to rave about them, but I doubt they are "hardcore" users.
500 bucks is a good budget for the gps, one thing i can add though is you dont need ultra water proof unbreakable , i have a older sporttrack that a generous member here let me have for very little, and i am pretty rough with all my gear and it chugs along fine, accurate enough for me to get back to a truck or stand, just keep it in a nice padded pouch or pocket, your cell phone will probably be more likely to break
But, I want it. It will be used in hot, dusty AND wet environments. Everything from on foot, dirt motorcycle, mountain bike, kayak, etc. It WILL get dunked and dropped. Probably, but I won't be using or relying on my cell phone much in the "outback at all. It might come along, but it very likely would never see the light of day outside of my kit bag, backpack, Camelback, etc. No cell coverage anyway a lot of the time, so it's turned off as to not kill the battery with constant searching for a network. And, I wouldn't be holding a cell phone in my hand or have it mounted to handlebars, etc while exposed to the elements and, quite possibly, dropped/crashed in a rough, bumpy environment like I would do with a much more rugged GPS unit.
Whatever GPS you decide on I highly recommend a crush-proof, waterproof case called an "Otterbox". They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. When I'm in the outdoors I use them for my phone, GPS, and Cannon Digital Elf camera. http://www.otterbox.com/
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=145&pID=310 I carried this guy through the woods of Kentucky, the boonies of Louisiana, and logged way to many miles by foot, HMMWV, and bird in Iraq on it. It was always reliable and I had no issues referring to it when needed.
Thanks, but didn't see any GPS/Garmin cases. I don't want an outdoor, huge, generic type suitcase where I can't even use the unit while it's in the case...
