GPS Units - Advice Needed

[guermo]

Looking to buy a GPS unit for being geeky on BC trips -
Lots to choose from , wondering what works well for you BC skiers / riders?
Want to find the car easier after Shasta , Have info on routes i've never taken before , check out my route afterwards on my PC.
thanks!

[mtcham]

You may want to take a look at this one.
I've got a Garmin etrex vista that does most of what you're after. You can flag your route ahead of time on the computer then follow it in or flag points on the way in to get back to later without following the exact route. Routes or tracks can then be viewed and stored on the computer. It works better if you have all the topo maps stored on the unit where you'll be skiing.
Other cool features are you can see your speed if you like to ski fast, total vertical for the day and a bunch of other neat features.
I also download city maps when I travel, especially in Europe. The maps can be pricey, best to find a friend that has them or check ebay.
This unit also eats up batteries fast so I always carry extras, and in steeper canyons reception may be impossible
http://www.garmin.com/products/etrexVista/

[Snow Dog]

If you search for GPS* then you'll find a ton of threads (as if threads have weight) on the subject.

If you have the money get a colour screen and a SiRF III chipset, like a Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx.

You'll also need maps and NiMh batteries and a charger.

[Jonathan S.]

I started with the original and very basic yellow eTrex when it first came out, but I've been very happy with my Garmin eTrex Legend C over the past year: long battery life (~30 hrs at warm temps, shorter at colder temps), relatively small & light yet screen shows a decent amount of info, great map detail where Garmin 24k series has coverage and still useful detail elsewhere. No digital compass or barometic altimeter, but I like to keep those separate.

I'll probably be selling it soon though for a cheap price, since I just got a free Garmin eTrex Legend Cx (promotion with Subaru Legacy bought via NSP/PSIA pricing), which I think is exactly the same except for the expandable memory. (I've never needed more memory for topo maps, but I was thinking I could buy a 2 gig chip for the Cx and download the entire eastern city navigator map series too for non-bc navigation.)