New GPSr Recommendations

[Traveller128]

New to the forum, and had a question. Wife and I have used GPS for various things over the years, mostly older stuff (Lowrance Avmap, Loran, older Garmins). Got into using the phone with apps some time ago, but we're leaning towards a handheld for offroad ATV use and general hiking/exploring in remote areas. Mainly we need something rugged for old mining country and bouncing around on the ATV. We've been looking at everything from a Garmin 62 to 67. At issue, is I've used the 60 and 62 before, but I'm on the fence as to whether we can get by with the 65s or need to step up to the 67.

Used prices are stupid locally, so we're going to buy new. But, I'm unsure if Garmin might be releasing a new replacement for something that would work better than the existing lineup.

The 65s just went on sales for $299, and I'm trying to decide if it's worth it, or should we just get the newer device.

This will be something we use for trail systems in USFS and BLM areas, we'll be dropping pins while exploring, old housing sites, old mining sites, points of geological interest (prospecting) and the like. We aren't planning on geocaching. We like to look at old sites of human activity (wife is a history buff and loves old buildings) and we love old mining country for hiking around. Also will use it for a back country navigator while Jeep exploring (trails and old access roads). We'd like a handheld portable we can mount on handlebars and then throw in a pack for hiking on foot.

Good suggestions are appreciated, and any knowledge of upcoming releases would be awesome.

I've been through a fair bit of the forum the last few weeks after I kept bumping into it from internet searches. Thanks!

[JungleJim]

Welcome to the forum!

Unfortunately we don't have a crystal ball here so it's difficult if not impossible to predict when Garmin will release new models.

Another thread discussed to possibility of a successor of the GPSMAP 67 (unlikely since it was released only last year) had an interesting stat on release dates:

• The GPSMAP 60 series was announced in November 2003.
• The GPSMAP 62 series was announced in June 2010, 7 years after the 60 series, which it replaced.
• The GPSMAP 64 series was announced in January 2014, 4 years after the 62 series, which it replaced.
• The GPSMAP 65 series was announced in September 2020, 6 years after the 64, which it replaced.
• The GPSMAP 66 series was announced in September 2018, 4 years after the 64 series, which it did not replace.
• The GPSMAP 67 series was announced in March 2023, 5 years after the 66, which it replaced.

So the GPSMAP 65 is about 3,5 years old now. The 65 replaced the 64 after 6 years so it looks like we could be half way the life cycle. Also the outdoor handheld market is much smaller than the smart watch market (which is where the money is made for Garmin) and combined with the fact that many people are just using their phone with apps like Gaia GPS, makes it even more difficult to predict what Garmin will do...

As for choosing, the GPSMAP 65 series is the more cheaper model with less features (smaller screen, less connected features) but good accuracy. The GPSMAP 67 is Garmin's "flagship" model: bigger screen, more features and of course higher price. So it's up to what you consider important for your use cases.

Or you could look into a second hand GPSMAP 66 series device (since they're not being sold new by Garmin anymore except for 66i), which is also a capable device comparable to the 67 but with much less battery life, no USB-C and less accuracy in case of 66s or 66st. Also the 66s and 66st work with AA batteries instead of a built-in battery, which some people find very important (I don't personally). The 66sr has comparable accuracy to the 67 and in some cases seems to perform a bit better.

[GPSrChive]

Hard to beat the Montana 700 display, and it is great for off roading and works fine for hiking as well.

[Traveller128]

Montana is something that we'd consider for ATV use only, or in the Jeep, but at nearly a pound I don't consider it a handheld anymore. I've played with them at Cabelas, and it's big and blocky for portable. I do like the larger display, but not a fan of touch screen with gloves and the high levels of dirt we get into. Buttons are a better idea for our use I believe. The Montana is the defacto GPS for the Adventure riding crowd, so I've considered it.

I'm going to play with a 60csx this weekend. Coworker had one years ago that fell off a motorcycle, and he bought a used one last year. He's been unable to get it updated, so handed it to me and said the equivalent of "go nuts." So I forced a chipset update, then the firmware update to 4.0, then figured out how to update map updater on my computer and found a 1:24,000 map of Idaho dated 2016 on the GPX file site. Loaded most of that, and now it has contour lines, most of the named roads in the state, and very decent detail except the thing I need which is USFS and BLM trail numbers and trails. But, he's happy as heck with the maps and the fact that it works now, and told me to use it until he needs it in a month. He's going to get a 2GB card so we can load the rest of Idaho as well as parts of adjoining states.

Pretty impressed with the 60csx for how well it finds satellites. It gets into WAAS and less than 20 ft pretty quick. Seems to end up around 15-17' calculated and stays there. Pretty sure a 62, 64 or 65s would be a good option, but i like the added features of the 65s.

Looked at the 66 series, but the cost for them is awfully close to 67 territory right now, so we'd be just going with a 67 if we decide we want the bigger/denser screen. We don't need inreach. Me, my wife and the dog are the only ones we'd be talking to, and we'll all be on the quad or in the Jeep at the same time! We have a PLB for real emergencies, which we've avoided so far.

We'll be ordering soon, just wish I knew if Garmin was going to drop a new Etrex with a better screen and multi-band. A souped up 30 series would probably work for us also.

Thanks all! I appreciate the input.

[skinnie]

Depending on your needs on connectivity I would say to go 65s.
I toyed around with 60csx (a bit like you did, updates, and updated maps) and it is a nice device, but once you put a more updated map with more data it struggles a bit.
Also played with gpsmap64s and maybe I got a lemon but didn't found it particulary accurate, after that I got a 65s and found it accurate, reliable and "fast" .
Compared to my previous etrex 30x it was way faster to render maps.
Etrex 32x doesn't seem to get more powerful/quick than the 30x, just more internal memory.

[Przekątny]

We like to look at old sites of human activity (wife is a history buff and loves old buildings) and we love old mining country for hiking around. Also will use it for a back country navigator while Jeep exploring (trails and old access roads). We'd like a handheld portable we can mount on handlebars and then throw in a pack for hiking on foot.

If you and your wife are interested in the history of the areas you want to visit, newer receivers offer an option that is not available in Gpsmap 60 csx, newer receivers can use raster maps (in digital graphic files) after processing to a kmz or jnx file.
You can prepare a map in a kmz file using archived maps available on the Internet, or you can prepare it yourself after scanning a paper map.
Having an archive map allows you to compare what changes have occurred and make it easier to find the location of objects that may no longer exist.
You will find a lot of information related to this topic on the forums, and ready-made maps of some areas are also available in kmz and jnx files.

[GPSrChive]

See GPSrChive > How To... > Maps > Custom Maps for details!

[Traveller128]

We actually have a number of old maps (reprints mostly, couple originals) showing old trail data from the 1860s-1890s. We use those to go find stage stations (remnants) and old trails. Also, there's a lot of names that get changed. We live on a road called "Souls Rest Creek" and on the older maps, it's marked "Souls Rest Creek". After researching it, we found it was an unknown massacre (Indian attack on a wagon train) site. Wagon trains moving through marked the area and buried the bodies, then named it. Later it was changed so that people wouldn't associate it with a massacre site. The bodies were mostly skeletons when they were found, so no real investigation was done into which tribe or if it was a raid, or what. Very little info on it now. Lot of that on the Oregon trail route.

We're near several tracks of the Oregon trail here, and there are many burial sites being found with GPR that were previously unknown, military and civilian.

We're looking at the larger offroad devices now also, like the Zumo XT2 or Tread. The 5.5 or 6" Zumo could serve double duty in the Jeep.

[GPSrChive]

Those devices are designed for user in a powered mount only, will not last more than a few minutes out of the mount. They work very well for their intended purpose.

[Traveller128]

Went to Cabelas and REI today, then a local Sporting goods place. Tried the Garmins at Cabelas (on the powered display), then REI (which had nothing but a some 67i's and a whole bunch of smart watches. The local stored had a Montana and 67i that I could actually put in my hand.

No one had a Zumo XT, XT2 or Tread. Best Buy had some street GPS stuff, several brands, and Garmin GPS watches, but no handhelds.

From handling and going through menu items, I've decided that a small display is not going to work for us mounted on the quad. Need a larger screen for bar mounted, and still would like an offroad navigator handheld. That leaves the Montana, which I really liked, 14 oz. is not that big of a deal (the testers make it out to be heavy, yeah, it's not). The 700 model fits in my hand (I have long fingers) and it's kind of a non-event.

Just need to figure out if I can get MVUM maps to work on it, and we'll go that route.