Best GPS for the Woods

Thinking I want a new handheld GPS for grouse hunting. Don’t need a lot of bells and whistles, just good satellite tracking in the woods.

And recommendations?

Most anything from Garmin will do the job. They are intuitive and easy to use. More features equals more money. I’ve got a 12 year old Garmin that still works like a champ.

Something like this would be pretty handy Grouse hunting.
I still just use my compass but that doesnt always cut it for me.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/621802

I’ve got like a 15-20 yr old Garmin, e-trex Vista. Works OK, but takes a long time to lock onto satellites and not very good in cover (in the woods).

suzuki wrote:

Something like this would be pretty handy Grouse hunting.
I still just use my compass but that doesnt always cut it for me.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/621802

I looked this unit up and saw this:

Built in 3 axis compass and barometric altimeter, plus multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo) support helps track in more challenging environments than GPS alone

So perhaps this would be really good for use in the woods and heavy cover. Or perhaps most all of the Garmins would be better than my old one. I just would like something reliable. Have to admit – fear of getting lost in the woods holds me back from really exploring.

I’ve got an a couple year old Etrex 20 that served me well in the mountains of Colorado hiking through some thick stuff and used in the north woods of MN without any issues. Never lost satelitte signal.

I’ve always been a big fan of the Garmin Astro units to keep you and your dog from getting lost. They aren’t cheap, but very good insurance your dog always makes it back home with you.

Most (all?) of the current Garmin handhelds will list “High-sensitivity receiver” in the specs. That’s not just marketing speak, it is actually something better than what they had 10-15 years ago. I remember reading reviews and tests of the “new” high sensitivity models long ago. If yours is that old it most likely doesn’t have that and will contribute to the difficulty with maintaining a lock in the woods. Probably any newer one will perform a lot better and it just comes down to what features you want.

For reference I have an Alpha 100 (the GPS/ecollar combo) and go off-trail with it through the woods and have never noticed it losing the signal even with heavy tree cover. It probably gets less accurate, I haven’t really checked, but I don’t notice anything odd about the trails it records like gaps or crazy outlier points in the trail.

edit: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/pn/010-11022-10 These clips are handy if you have somewhere on your vest to keep it out in the open. I have a backpack style “vest” and clip mine to the left strap so it’s right roughly next to my left armpit. It keeps it out in the open for better signal and convenient to grab and look at. It locks in just by sliding it in and then there is a button on the top of the clip to release it, you can do it all one handed.

lindyrig:

If you have a smart phone why not try out one of the many apps available to do just what you want and for free??? I have been using US Topo Maps on my android phone and for the most part love it!!! My only two true beefs with the darn thing is that it will suck juice on ya and there isn’t or at least I have figured out a good way yet, to save my trails off my phone… I solved the battery issue with a backup charger (have considered a solar charger for in the woods) and at times before those were available, I would turn the tracking feature on, then turn it off to save juice. Then on my return trip I could turn it on to get my bearings, then off again until I got back to the vehicle. I live in the big woods of northern WI and have been extremely impressed. I run it on the google maps platform, but there are many options for background and even it you lose the background in the woods, it continues to lay a trail that is usable with the N pointer. And I still always carry the compass.

Having an IPhone for work, I set that phone up as well with something close, called Topo Maps US… don’t use it as often, but it seems to work pretty well for the limited use I tried in the car traveling… I actually use them to calibrate my speed over ground vs. my speedometer and distance traveled, then just delete those trails.

Mark

I actually prefer to carry a dedicated GPS unit. Yes a phone can be used as a backup. Think belt and suspenders concept. Mine is an older Garmin Etrex and serves me well when tracking my progress along an unfamiliar trout stream. Mine resides on a clip attached to the left shoulder strap on my fishing vest. This puts the unit near the upper front of my torso.
I power it with rechargeable AA’s and have never needed a second set for a day’s use. I do though, carry two spare sets just in case.

All good information, thanks guys. I think I will do both actually. I downloaded the Topo Maps US for my iPhone. I am not overly confident with it and would prefer not to pull my phone out of my pocket all the time, weather, etc. So I think I will buy a new GPS also to clip to my vest. The watch would be super slick to glance at frequently, but it’s expensive.

I see you have a dog. Maybe concider the GPS that can track your dogs too.

I’ve switch to cell phone. I loved my Garmin and their still the best but there is so much more you can do on a phone. To combat the worry of using up your battery, I’ve purchased a small compact cell phone charger that will charge my phone 2.5 times over.

Dumb question. Does it take data to use these GPS apps with your cell phone?

lindyrig79 wrote:

Dumb question. Does it take data to use these GPS apps with your cell phone?

GPS alone doesn’t, it is just passively receiving the GPS signals. Getting the actual map will unless you have it saved on your phone already. I use https://www.onxmaps.com/ on my phone and there is an option to download areas.

The US Topo Map program others have mentioned says “Download of map tiles for OFFLINE USAGE (PRO-VERSION ONLY !)”

Reef W wrote:

GPS alone doesn’t, it is just passively receiving the GPS signals. Getting the actual map will unless you have it saved on your phone already. I use https://www.onxmaps.com/ on my phone and there is an option to download areas.

I just downloaded that app also for my iPhone. It says Free Trial or Login to start. Is it like a monthly or yearly subscription?

lindyrig79 wrote:

I just downloaded that app also for my iPhone. It says Free Trial or Login to start. Is it like a monthly or yearly subscription?

It’s $30/yr. Kind of expensive but it has a web version also that you can work with to add waypoints and stuff and they will sync to your phone. Also has additional information like high-res satellite views, fire areas, and timber cut areas.

I do use my Garmin for actual in the woods navigation but I use this for research or just navigating to general areas like timber cuts.

This is what the web app looks like. I put an arrow to show what I have marked and a square around what it shows for that. I can also confidently tell you there are no grouse in that one and you will regret walking there

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   onXmaps_Web_App.png
   

Reef- thanks for the info. Not sure if I want to do a subscription deal, but might almost be worth it if it showed all the logging roads and trails in my area.

I’ve been messing around with the Topo Maps US app a little bit, and it is cool (especially for free) but doesn’t really seem to show all the logging-type roads that I have been using. Guess if it will mark my trail and allow waypoints then that’s all I really need anyway

Use onx on the phone and have a garmin 62s with a mn map card in it. Lots of codes to get a discount on onx. Went with the whole country for like $79.99 annually, imo worth every penny.

Carry both, and both have pro’s and cons. Over all both great tools to work with.

You can turn your phone on to airplane mode and the gps will still work, yet the phone conserves battery life not searching for cell service.

The mapping and aerial photos are great tools for hunting.

Huntindave wrote:

I actually prefer to carry a dedicated GPS unit. Yes a phone can be used as a backup. Think belt and suspenders concept. Mine is an older Garmin Etrex and serves me well when tracking my progress along an unfamiliar trout stream. Mine resides on a clip attached to the left shoulder strap on my fishing vest. This puts the unit near the upper front of my torso.
I power it with rechargeable AA’s and have never needed a second set for a day’s use. I do though, carry two spare sets just in case.

Belt and suspenders, great analogy!

I have been using handheld GPS since the late nineties. I used them on my small boat before buying dedicated marine units.

I was riding my ATV in some very remote areas of Wisconsin, twice in the last month. No cell signal most of the time, so the smartphone was out.

I have a Lowrance 5300iGPS (I think that is the model) that I bought around 2006 for my boat. It is mounted on the ATV. It is WAAS enabled. Takes a long time to acquire a signal compared to the newer units. In my first trip in September, I lost the signal often in a wooded area.

I picked up a Garmin 64ST before my second trip to the same area. NIGHT and DAY Difference. Had both units going and never lost the signal with the Garmin. The topo maps were great and the satellite photos (which are a bit of a pain to load) were awesome. Signal acquired in seconds compared to near 5 minutes with the older unit, and accuracy was awesome.

You can get this unit around $200. Very happy with this little unit.

I have had Magellan, Garmin, Humminbird, and Lowrance GPS units….the Garmin, Humminbird, and Lowrance were marine units aside from my recent purchase.

So, very pleased with this unit. The new technology is very impressive.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/140024#overview

I use the phone fairly often for gps,but also own the garmin 64,which has been the best handheld I have ever owned,fast lock stays locked on,easy to navigate with good battery life.I also have the onx hunt premium for ND,gives the most imformation available for a smaller area,including landowner names,current plot sites,ect.
100$ initial bite for the sd card,30$ a year to update to current info.
Works great in the badlands of ND where BLM land and private are intermingled.
Once you get past the intial costs 30$ a yr to avoid arguements and ass chewings is cheap!!

It’s sad how little woodsman-ship still exists. Myself included

Finnish Minnow wrote:

I have been using handheld GPS since the late nineties. I used them on my small boat before buying dedicated marine units.

I was riding my ATV in some very remote areas of Wisconsin, twice in the last month. No cell signal most of the time, so the smartphone was out.

This post is not directed at you, but you point out that cell coverage is lost and it is not necessary. My topo maps will work with a checked background and get me back is there is no mapping to be seen if I haven’t downloaded mapping for the area I am in.

Remember… download mapping before you leave to the areas that you want to go, then there is no need for a cell signal, the gps will lay a track into the medium onto the downloaded map.

If you’re using the navionics mapping and going to Canada where there is no coverage, so in order to use it in areas of the US or Canada the mapping needs to be downloaded first for the app to work well. The gps and tracking features will work and again always have backup in areas where you have never been or for that matter anywhere in any big country!!!

Mark

Agreed, thereis widespread loss of woodsmanship skills. The flip side is GPS is a huge time saver for things like locating trail cams put up while it is still the jungle before the leaves fall. Put a waypoint on your trail cam and you pretty much walk right to it to grab the chip. I had one on a trail near a stand used for more than a decade. Put it up in September, come October I could not find the darn thing. Found it during deer season but frustrating. The next year I marked each trail cam and had no difficulty locating any of them. I then spent more time chasing grouse, less time chasing cameras.

Good points. I never go into the woods without a compass and have some basic skills.

My cell phone is a Galaxy S4, and does not receive satellites, so this unit, like many car GPS units, relies on cell coverage. It was not a matter of a few or no bars it was a zero with a slash…no service. I had some topos stored on the phone. Also had a printed copy.

I wanted to share how the GPS technology has changed and my experience with it. My Lowrance has the most recent software….which I believe is 2007. If I wanted to shell out the cash, I could get an HDS unit like the two I have on my boat and would get greater performance, but I am not shelling out that kind of $

I have a compass on my boat and won’t go on the water without it (Great Lakes). Always good to have a back-up. Electronics can fail.

In the late 80’s, I went several hundred miles up a few glacial rivers in Alaska. No cell phones back then, no GPS for civilian use, and if we needed help, we carried a handheld VHF radios with air traffic frequencies and even that was no guarantee. Navigation was by Map and compass and it was a lot of work, and a mistake got you in trouble with limited fuel and supplies. If GPS was available then, we would have got it.

GPS technology is great. The ability to store and use way points, set up routes, and leave an electronic trail of bread crumbs is awesome. On the water, it is an absolute time saver when you are trying to find a small rock pile at the bottom of a lake or anything else.

Just wanted to share the great experience I recently had with the new handheld unit and compare it with the performance of an older unit used at the same time. Also wanted to share how much the technology has improved.

So much depends on what you need, where you are going to be, what you are doing, and what you can afford.

Great discussion!