Recommend me a handheld GPS

Dusty

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Hi Folks

Im planning a trip to the Balkans next year to visit some of the old Un and NATO sites that I served on... some of these locations are oop in the mountains. I have a normal Satnav lumo 390 which will cover me for tarmac (on the way down) but alot of the tracks to varios site are not or are unlikely to be marked for satnavs perse...

So Im after a decent colour screen hand held GPS that I can rely on for the more out the beatin track navigation. In doing some training in the next few mo ths in Scotland so any recommendations would be gratefully rx'd.


I will have paper maps too..


Cheers in Advance..

Ps Im also interested in any info in regards to emergency beacons/ trackers if you know any....
 
how flash do you want to gpo?

A Magellan meridian gps handheld can be picked up quite cheaply not the most highest of tech but is a handheld gps nevertheless
 
Garmin, without a doubt.

Which one? Like gloves and helmets, they are a personal thing. What size screen do you want? My suggestion would be to go to a decent outdoors store and see which one you like best. Or, if you are locked-up and them closed, run through all the websites that tell you which ones are ‘best’ and perm the one or two that get mentioned most often. Cynics will say that will depend on which company paid the reviewer the most in advertising revenue. Me? I don’t think the reviewers are all that rich but they might well be very nerdy.

Emergency beacons? Decide what flavour of device you’d like... https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/personal-locator-beacons.html You can always spend big bucks on a satellite phone. I think Borelord spent hours, days or weeks looking into stuff like this, after (or before) he slid off into a rut and none of his very rich friends were there to laugh or pick him up.

PS. You mobile phone will probably do you, depending on the phone signal.
 
Thanks all . Some great info here... obs thought about mobile but some of the site are fairly remote oop mountains so not entirely sure how effective mobile signal will be. Will post up whateva I go for..

Cheers again

Aye

Dusty
 
I use a Garmin Inreach mini as a satellite communicator. Better than a sat phone for me because you can switch the airtime plan on and off, has a decent website tracker facility so folk can keep track of where you are, if you wish, also a reasonable smart phone app to pair with it
 
I have a Garmin GPS Map 64, which takes sd cards with mapping on them. When I bought it it had GB with it, but at my request came also with Germany on a separate card. Colour screen, small, with carabiner type belt clip. Great little device, I've used it for walking in UK and Germany.
 
Thanks all . Some great info here... obs thought about mobile but some of the site are fairly remote oop mountains so not entirely sure how effective mobile signal will be. Will post up whateva I go for..

Cheers again

Aye

Dusty

Why do you need a mobile signal? If you use an Apple product the Pocket Earth app allows you to load the whole of Europe including topo maps in memory. You will only need an internet connection to create or modify a route

btw the above app will display footpaths and tracks etc

There ar probably equivalents for Android
 
I use a Garmin Oregon 700 series for GPS, great for trekking and cycling with full OS maps on. I had a Montana before but found it a bit bulky. The Garmin InReach mini is a good 'emergency' device but luckily never had to use it. The subscription can be expensive though
 
I have used various satnavs, but now only use my Samsung S9 with Locus maps. You can map /route on line, or download the maps and route plan off line. You get three free maps when you sign up, after that the prices vary. I just bought the OS map for my area, it was £2.49.
Get a power lead and a quad lock mount and you are sorted.
 
Why do you need a mobile signal? If you use an Apple product the Pocket Earth app allows you to load the whole of Europe including topo maps in memory. You will only need an internet connection to create or modify a route

btw the above app will display footpaths and tracks etc

There ar probably equivalents for Android

For emergency contact, not mapping
 
I use a Garmin Oregon 700 series for GPS, great for trekking and cycling with full OS maps on. I had a Montana before but found it a bit bulky. The Garmin InReach mini is a good 'emergency' device but luckily never had to use it. The subscription can be expensive though

It’s about £30 a month including tracking and a decent number of text messages, which I use to let family know where I am and when I’m starting or finishing the day. A basic service is about half that, and it can be paused when not used
 
I have a Garmin etrex touch 35 which I used on the KTM in Iceland, on my pushbike at home, and for the occasional hike. It has OS mapping for Europe and has proved to be very reliable. The detail is quite impressive at maximum zoom, but it does make it slow to catch up if you are moving faster than a handheld should! :D
Mark
 
Good price

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For emergency contact I have a Garmin Inreach, it includes moving map display but the main thing is the ability to send a message from anywhere on the planet. I pay about £12 per month. For that I can send as many preset messages as I like then I have an allowance of I think 10 other messages, in or out or weather forecast for where I am.

You have 3 preset messages, you do the text and the recipients online and they are loaded. They go as email or text to whoever you have selected and include a link which shows your location. My first preset just says "all well". I can send it as often as I like which leaves a breadcrumb trail for the recipient.

Great piece of kit.
 
Cheap android phone and a few navigation apps. Locus Map pro for your walking, Kurviger for riding interesting roads, Google maps for simple straightforward, navigation with ability to find sites of interest.
 


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