Hi sc/out/s, looking for some advice on what GPS unit I should get. Right now I have been looking at the Garmin GPSmap 66 series, but I can't decide between the 66s or the 66i. The main difference is that the 66s runs on AA batteries, while the 66i runs on a non-removable lithium battery and can support Inreach. I will be doing a fair bit of camping, hiking, and hunting, to give you an idea of what I will be using it for. I will also likely be using it in wilderness/backcountry areas that are relatively far away from any major towns.
I'm also open to other makes and models if you have any suggestions.
Delete this, PrepHole seethes whenever GPS threads are had.
If you need more than a grid from your gps you suck at life. The seethers are the celltards that can't read a map yet tell others how to navigate.
>three posts in, the seething has already begun
I told you to delete this, OP.
>t. seething celltard
Priceless. Yes, indeed you are. Continue.
Low effort bait. Do better.
66 series is decent. Inreach capability is up to you - there is a monthly/annual service cost for that feature. I think you can "shut it down" for months you're not using it.
I ran a 60- and 76-Cx for many years. "Upgraded" to an eTrex, pretty basic but I don't use it for much more than a datalogger anymore, and I carry a PLB (and phone, and radio(s)) for emergencies.
Between the GPS and CalTopo Pro on the phone, along with Google Earth and CalTopo for trip planning, i'm pretty well set.
The Inreach feature sounds like it could be useful, especially if you are going to remote areas frequently. On the other hand, the non-removable battery gives me some pause. What happens if it fails in the field? There's nothing you can do to fix it in the wild if that happens.
How will you fix a battery even if it was removable, out field?
You could put them into your ass to warm them up. This WILL work.
You can swap the batteries. You can't do that with a built-in lithium battery, at least not in the field.
where do they sell batteries in the middle of the wilderness?
only matters in thru hiker situations where you're periodically stopping through towns.
You can carry one moron
>Carry extra in your pack
>Carry rechargeable batteries, and have a portable solar panel to charge them anywhere
This can't be real
Sadly, it is. Welcome to nu-out.
Yeah, id definitely get something with removable batteries, especially for longer hikes. At least you can supply yourself for redundancy.
>Ah yes I sure do enjoy walking straight lines, counting paces and taking notes on papers. What a relaxing and stress free hike, it's so authentic!
>t. average PrepHoleist after a few compass navigation youtube tutorials
Stop lying you use your phone all the time to navigate. I bet you even need cell reception because you suck at life
>paying attention to where I'm going is stressful
Don't go outside.
>counting paces
>taking notes
Just map it out so you hit landmarks like large ponds/hills/mountains, most reliable way to do it
How much does the lithium battery pack cost? You need the bare minimum redundancy of one back-up battery.
I encountered a malfunction on my GPSMAP64s when I took it for a hike last January (same as GeoWizard here https://youtu.be/2_5jjUmlh6I?t=1504). The batteries lasted about 90-120 minutes. I had dropped the GPS in the snow once and it was very cold that day.
In subsequent use my device has always lasted 12-14+ hours on a pair of rechargeable AA batteries.
And what are the advantages from using this vs a mobile phone with GPS and an app?
I don´t get why people pay 500$ to get one of this is a mobile device can do the same (with an even larger screen).
battery lasts way more.
Cellphones are delicate AF compared to dedicated gps systems.
AA batteries are better in every way in the back country.
If you need anything more than a grid from a gps you should never ever go off trail... (in rhe western usa)
1. GPS units are more durable than phones
2. The battery lasts longer
3. They have more features for navigation
4. Not everywhere has mobile phone reception.
Cells do gps without signal but most cellphones have absolute garbage accuracy without towers.
They are delicate af and the batteries shit out in cold weather.
having your gps on a separate battery and not running all the battery draining bulk a phone OS and phone screen entails.
Ruggedness and battery life. That's it.
Those are extremely important things. If your navigation unit breaks or runs out of power in the field, you are SOL.
if only there were a navigation system, that weighs basically nothing, and does not require batteries.
I have asked similar questions, but have never gotten a comprehensive answer. It may be possible that the GPS receivers in these dedicated devices are better than those in most/all smartphones, which means better accuracy and signal strength/reliability.
It is a well known fact that the US military uses exclusive GPS chips which provide them will greater reliability/accuracy than what is available on the civilian market.
A phone can grab almanac/ephemeris data over high-speed network (wifi, lte) instead of waiting 12.5mins for that data to come in over the GPS constellation. That's why the high-accuracy (GPS) location is quick when you've got connectivity.
AGPS through cell towers comes with a host of issues. It's somewhat useful for 911 calls, but with modern E911 features on cellphones AGPS isn't used/trusted that often anymore. Some devices that don't have a dedicated GNSS receiver still use this, and it's wildly inaccurate for navigation. Wasn't designed for that.
Civilians get L1 C/A signals. 10m accuracy.
Precision applications get P-code keys. Sub-cm accuracy. Surveying equipment gets this stuff.
Military has M-codes with SA correction (unnecessary now) and anti-spoofing/anti-jamming capabilities.
>2NARWAL
I have the 66st and I love it. I wouldn't go for the one with built in battery. Inreach is good thing but I rather buy a separate inreach device than have built in battery.
My instinct would be to get the 66s and a separate PLB.
>dying in the woods because you decided to watch shrek 2 in your tent the night before and you downloaded a phone game with an indian bitcoin miner
Go for the 66s. I don't trust those non-removable batteries for handheld GPS units.
Any recommendations for a cheap/reliable gps? Never had problems with my phone and carried a compass with me anyways, but I'd still like another backup
Also, NEWS FLASH moronS: Phone gps works fine out of reception, I don't want to see that mentioned again on this board, ok?!
My cellphones far from city has atrocious gps accuracy.
Last time I tried because I went out with only compass and map that time and got unsure on a turn I turned it on and it showed my location like 10 miles wrong. It told me I was at the foot of a mountain when I was near the summit.
Everyone elses phones in the group did the same with varying positions all across the whole mountain.
Clearly they are designed to be used in conjunction with cell towers since it is very accurate in a city/suburban scenario.
Cell phone battery also stops working at freezing on all phones I've ever had.
I'd never rely on a cell phone on a hike far from cell towers, I've tried and map and compass is 100x better every time.
I've an eTrex 30x and it's accurate and stable but painfully slow and tedious with just a joystick and no touch screen.
The upside of that is less things that can break, super low power usage and with AA batteries super reliable.
It's also really small if you like that.
I just carry 4 extra AA's and I'm safely good for over a week.
Once I upgrade I want something with faster chipset and touch screen for ease of use but I heard most garmins suffer this slowness.
It can give fricked up readings if you're just turning it on, but it's always found me after a few minutes, maybe I wasn't as far away from towers as you, but I definitely didn't have service. As for batteries, mine did fine down to 0'f on a few different occasions, but I was only turning it on to check my position once in a while. What kind of phone do you have that breaks at just freezing temp?
It was a remote place in swedish wilderness, nobodys phones gps ever showed anything usable and we tried for quite a while.
I've had nokia and samsungs, they do work fine while keeping warm in pocket but any real exposure shuts them down warning of cold temp and low current regardless charge%.
Seems like a safety feature kicking in.
I remember the oldest nokia I had 10 years ago it just shut down when dropped in snow until warmed up again.
Phones I've left in car at cold temps also shuts down and don't start up until warmed up while a cold GPS unit works just fine, it just shows battery as low current but they start up.
I just wouldn't rely on phones in cold for that reason.
I've been using Motorola for a while, but I also haven't dropped it in snow or left it exposed in the really cold stuff. Still, would like to get a cheap gps just to have something besides my compass in case my phone ate shit
I'm pretty new to the outdoors thing but I was looking at the GPS series wondering the same things as OP and just decided to save money and get an etrex 22x. Should be fine for what I'm doing.