Comments on: My New GPS http://www.pnwadventures.com/outdoor-gear/my-new-gps/ Vehicle Dependent Overland Touring, Backroad Explorations and Outdoor Adventures in the Pacific Northwest Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:24:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: C. Alexander Leigh http://www.pnwadventures.com/outdoor-gear/my-new-gps/#comment-49 C. Alexander Leigh Thu, 03 May 2007 08:48:01 +0000 http://www.pnwadventures.com/outdoor-gear/my-new-gps/#comment-49 I have to say, the couple of times I've felt a handheld GPS would really have been an asset - Lost trying to find the track up to Mt. Eolus, or trying to keep to the "trail" before the snows had melted up to Spider Meadows - my hand-held GPS, a garmin unit, was completly worthless. Whether it's trees, ridges, batteries that can't take the cold, topo maps that are unusable because of the screen tradeoffs on a handheld unit, a cracked screen, one that's flakey due to a weakened LCD connection, or one that trips off with no warning every 30 minutes due to a bad voltage regulator (ask me how I know) there's always something about these consumer-grade units that tries to get me killed. Having a paper map and a compass, and most importantly a sense of orienteering, is the ticket for the back country. Conversely I love vehicle units, particularly for navigation; First a StreetPilot 2620 (until it succumbed to some of the above problems), now a TomTom910, they can make everyday chores of driving very easy and straightforward. It took me until the last time I got back from a road-trip to California to realize that I had not even taken a paper map with me, either, and if the unit had gone out I could have been in a bad spot. Luckily that was just a pavement based scenic tour - but GPS units build complacency in users, fast! I have to say, the couple of times I’ve felt a handheld GPS would really have been an asset - Lost trying to find the track up to Mt. Eolus, or trying to keep to the “trail” before the snows had melted up to Spider Meadows - my hand-held GPS, a garmin unit, was completly worthless.

Whether it’s trees, ridges, batteries that can’t take the cold, topo maps that are unusable because of the screen tradeoffs on a handheld unit, a cracked screen, one that’s flakey due to a weakened LCD connection, or one that trips off with no warning every 30 minutes due to a bad voltage regulator (ask me how I know) there’s always something about these consumer-grade units that tries to get me killed.

Having a paper map and a compass, and most importantly a sense of orienteering, is the ticket for the back country. Conversely I love vehicle units, particularly for navigation; First a StreetPilot 2620 (until it succumbed to some of the above problems), now a TomTom910, they can make everyday chores of driving very easy and straightforward.

It took me until the last time I got back from a road-trip to California to realize that I had not even taken a paper map with me, either, and if the unit had gone out I could have been in a bad spot. Luckily that was just a pavement based scenic tour - but GPS units build complacency in users, fast!

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