I have used a Garmin handheld for inshore fishing for years, and I love it. I bought a CD of maps from them, called "MapSource." Interestingly, the one on "Roads & Recreation" had the best inshore detail; if you don't care that they call the St. Mark's River "St. Mary's." It purported to show the oyster bar or sandbar in Alligator Harbor!
I forget the model of my Garmin, but it is something like 72cs... It is the second "GPSMap" I have gotten from them... It loads fast and I can find my points perfectly....
Handheld GPS recommendations?
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FUTCHCAIRO
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Re: Handheld GPS recommendations?
Contrarian here. The best antenna I ever had on a handheld was an old Magellan. It would lock on inside a 747 and you could watch your progress over the ground. My garmins will not do that.
The only thing I need/want a gps to do is for me to put a spot in and have it take me back to the spot that I inputted, reliably and every time. To me, the maps are just clutter. I turn off as much of that as I can. The maps just take up screen space. Plus, the preloaded spots are not accurate. It will show a spot for a buoy/pole and when you get to that spot, the pole is 100 yards away. Then you input the real spot and you end up with 2 dots for the same place. More clutter. And you have to remember which one is the "good" number. If you go by the preloads, you are liable to get hurt. That's why they say not for use in navigation. Too much sugar for a dime, in my opinion. I'm not even sure you can get them without maps anymore though.
The only thing I need/want a gps to do is for me to put a spot in and have it take me back to the spot that I inputted, reliably and every time. To me, the maps are just clutter. I turn off as much of that as I can. The maps just take up screen space. Plus, the preloaded spots are not accurate. It will show a spot for a buoy/pole and when you get to that spot, the pole is 100 yards away. Then you input the real spot and you end up with 2 dots for the same place. More clutter. And you have to remember which one is the "good" number. If you go by the preloads, you are liable to get hurt. That's why they say not for use in navigation. Too much sugar for a dime, in my opinion. I'm not even sure you can get them without maps anymore though.