Need help choosing......

[Explorer 1]

OK all you tech heads out there, I need your help.
I'm not really sure I know the terms but there goes....

If money wasn't a concern and you wanted a GPS Mapping tool you could use while off-roading what would you purchase, Mind you I don't want to have to have a laptop next to me driving. The trails I take and the amount I dust I collect would not work with a laptop next to me.

I've had too often when leading a group and coming to an intersection end up with someone I'm leading telling me which way to turn becasue they have some sort of Garmin or some other device that even in rather remote areas indicates which route to take.

I would like a large screen ( my eyes aren't what they used to be) and topo type elevation lines.

What would you purchase.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Fred
Explorer 1

 

[Bullseye240]

I know you said you dont want a laptop, however a Panisonic Toughbook would meet your needs pretty well. It is vibration,dust and water resistant and can be had with a touch screen and DVD drive. You can find them at circutcity.com for around 350-400 dollars off lease(meaning used but mostly not abused) by govt agencies and companies.

You could also go with a Nuvi but I havent tried to upload any topo maps to mine yet as I use it mostly to get around on highways and city streets right now. It works great and has Bluetooth so my phone now becomes hands free. The battery life isn't too bad considering the overall size of the unit. But you can always just use the supplied DC cord with it. It seems to get pretty good reception up high on my windshield. I have noticed that it defaults to the closest road in the database. Where I am now some side roads/streets arent in the map, but thats in Europe and I haven't used it in the U.S. A. yet.

 

[nwoods]

The new 5" Lowrance units are pretty nice!
http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Automotive/HDS-5-Baja/

 

[dms1]

I wish Garmin would make a GPSMAP 276C with a display twice the size of the current display (or even a little bigger) and use SD cards and accept POIs