Don’t head out on your adventure without one
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The Rundown
- Best Overall: Garmin GPSMAP 64st at Amazon, “A pinnacle-notch, rugged and full-featured hand-held GPS that excels in all the right places.”
- Best Budget: Garmin eTrex 30x at Amazon, “One of the primary client-grade hand held GPS trackers that operates on both GPS and GLONASS satellites.”
- Better Splurge: Garmin Montana 680 at Amazon, “Offers some of the nice reception to be had on today’s hand held GPS gadgets.”
- Runner-up, Best Overall: Garmin Oregon 650t at Amazon, “The touchscreen is ideally fitted for more than one environments and might also be used with gloves in freezing or moist factors.”
- Best Battery Life: DeLorme’s inReach Explorer at Amazon, “Its a hundred hours of battery existence make for an first rate unit.”
- Better for Versatility: Magellan eXplorist 310 Summit Series at Amazon, “You’ll get specific avenue work, water capabilities, and even insanely far flung rural mapping.”
- Best Display: Garmin Oregon 600t at Amazon, “It’s multi-contact enabled, so you can pinch and slide to locate the precise region you’re seeking out.”
- Best for Water Conditions: Garmin eTrex 10 Worldwide at Amazon, “Meets IPX7 requirements of waterproofing and can be immersed in a single meter of water for half-hour.”
Our Top Picks
Handheld Best Overall: Garmin GPSMAP 64st
Garmin’s 64st is a top-notch, rugged and complete-featured hand-held GPS that excels in all the proper locations.
The 2.6-inch coloration screen could be very fluid in relation to zooming inside and out, which makes navigating path easy and painless.
The excellent helix antenna functions each GPS and GLONASS technology and allows for a further sign increase in difficult environments.
The 64st can locate your position quickly and might maintain your signal even in heavy cowl or deep canyons.
With sixteen hours of battery existence, there’s sufficient juice to power thru a whole day’s really worth of journeying with room to spare.
When it involves navigation, the 64st features 250,000 pre-loaded caching and one hundred,000 topographical maps, plus a one-yr subscription to BirdsEye satellite tv for pc imagery.
Adding additional maps is straightforward, thanks to 8GB of onboard reminiscence that allows for even extra topographical and targeted navigation records.
Handheld Additionally, the Garmin functions a three-axis tilt-compensated digital compass.
Handheld Best Budget: Garmin eTrex 30x
The Garmin eTrex 30x is a standout hand-held GPS entry with a 2.2-inch, 240 x 320-pixel display (positive, it isn’t drastically massive, but it fares very well in direct sunlight).
Included with the eTrex 30x is a integrated basemap with shaded comfort, plus a further three.7GB of onboard reminiscence and an expandable memory microSD slot for brought maps.
To make navigating and region figuring out less complicated, the eTrex 30x helps a built-in three-axis tilt that works as an digital compass and barometric altimeter to tune changes in pressure and pinpoint particular altitude.
Speaking of figuring out your vicinity, the GPS receiver and HotFix satellite prediction facilitates hold a sign even in case you’re in heavy cowl or deep canyons.
As one of the first consumer-grade hand-held GPS trackers that operates on both GPS and GLONASS satellites, the eTrex 30x identifies or “locks on” for your place about 20 percent quicker than simply widespread GPS.
And planning your subsequent ride is a breeze, way to unfastened experience-planning software program that allows you to connect with other pals or own family that utilize Garmin GPS gadgets to share your plans and itinerary with Garmin Adventures.
Beyond journey planning, the eTrex can save up to 200 routes and a couple of,000 waypoints to make your subsequent ride even less difficult to plan earlier than you head out on the trail or over the water.
Handheld, Running on AA batteries, the eTrex runs up to 25 hours on a unmarried fee. With an IPX7 rating, the tool is water resistant and can be submerged up to one meter for round half-hour.
Handheld Best Splurge: Garmin Montana 680
If it’s bells and whistles you need, the Garmin Montana 680 is the satisfactory manner to spend your cash on a hand-held GPS that’s constructed for all varieties of hobby.
Capable of choosing up both GPS and GLONASS networks. The Montana gives some of the great reception available on these days’s hand-held GPS gadgets.
Handheld, At 10.2-ounces, it’s barely heavier than most of its competition. However, with a big 4-inch twin-orientation and glove-pleasant touchscreen show, it gives a massive view of the arena round you.
There’s just one button at the side for energy. Even as the relaxation of the capability is all dealt with on the display itself. (Although it lacks multi-contact, because of this operating the show requires just one finger).
In addition to an eight-megapixel digicam, Garmin pre-loads more than 100,000 topographical maps. 250,000 international geocaches, as well as consists of a one-12 months subscription to Birdseye satellite imagery.
Add in a three-axis compass, barometric altimeter and automated geotagging of photos. And you’ve were given a bevy of options beyond just the usual GPS tracking.
Additionally, Garmin provides extras like trip pre-planning with their basecamp software. So that you can proportion it with buddies or circle of relatives. Battery lifestyles is round 16 hours.
Runner-Up, Best Overall: Garmin Oregon 650t
If you’re seeking out a hand held GPS that’s full of functions, the Garmin Oregon 650t is asking your name.
At just 7.4-oz, the 650t capabilities a 3-inch 400 x 240-pixel touchscreen display with multi-touch functionality and a LED backlight.
The touchscreen is perfectly suited for multiple environment. And may even be used with gloves in freezing or moist factors that aren’t perfect for direct finger contact.
Handheld Additionally, the show itself adjusts for both brilliant daylight. And colour in order that it allows the same accuracy in each forms of lighting conditions.
Powering the show and the relaxation of the IPX7 water-proof frame are one by one purchased. AA batteries or an protected NiMH battery p.c. That offers sixteen hours of lifestyles on one price.
The 650t excels at pinpointing your exact vicinity making use of both GPS. And GLONASS satellite positioning at the side of a 3-axis compass. Accelerometer and barometric altimeter for added sensor records.
The inclusion of 100,000 pre-loaded topographical maps with shaded comfort pairs nicely with the multi-contact interaction capability.
Alongside the pre-loaded maps is 3.7GB of onboard reminiscence. As well as expandable reminiscence via a microSD card for a slew of extra maps. Together with topographical information or flip-by means of-flip routing on roads.
Handheld, Add in an 8-megapixel camera for taking pictures the wild. And Bluetooth for sharing maps with pals and the Oregon 650t is nicely worth the price of admission.
Best Battery Life: DeLorme inReach Explorer
While Garmin generally dominates the hand held GPS enterprise. DeLorme’s inReach Explorer and its one hundred hours of battery lifestyles make for an wonderful unit.
Unlike Garmin’s traditional GPS units, DeLorme offers a bunch of capabilities past regular GPS navigation. Consisting of -way satellite messaging and SOS monitoring talents that connect to a seek and rescue middle.
Additionally, the DeLorme acts as a GPS tracker and gives 10-minute to 4-hour intervals for area transmission.
If there’s one restricting aspect at the DeLorme, it’s the display. Which at 1.8-inches, is surprisingly small for these days’s GPS.
Handheld But, it’s worth overlooking for the longest-jogging battery existence in this listing.
At simply seven oz., the DeLorme doesn’t add or eliminate whatever that could alarm a hand held GPS consumer.
Beyond the battery, the same old fare of GPS navigation is all here. Which include creating and viewing routes, dropping waypoints and navigating with an on-display map.
Additionally, you’ll locate direction info which include distance and bearing for your vicinity.
DeLorme additionally offers Bluetooth pairing together with your telephone for the Earthmate cellular app. Which offers extra facts, as well as limitless topographic and US NOAA chart downloads in your telephone.
DeLorme also includes a digital compass, barometric altimeter and accelerometer for extra navigation aid.
Best for Versatility: Magellan eXplorist 310 Summit Series
Tthe 310 Summit Series caught our eye as it brings to the table a spread of expanded maps. And functionality which you shouldn’t ignore. When you’re inside the marketplace for a dedicated trekking GPS.
Handheld, What are the ones functions? Well, the flagship inclusion on this p.C. Is the bundled-up topographic map set that Magellan calls their Summit Series maps.
This offers you a detailed set of topography at some stage in a selection of famous hiking mountains during the arena. Which is higher than a covered, one-size-suits-all topography technique.
In addition, you’ll get distinct street work, water features and even insanely faraway rural mapping.
The great, daylight-readable 2.2-inch show is on-par with most of the Garmins. And there’s even a paperless Geocaching alternative that helps you to pull maps for use. And reference while now not linked to the outdoor global.
The user-friendliness isn’t quite as attempted and real as Garmin, however that’s to be predicted. It’s the bundled up topographical maps that set this GPS apart from the relaxation of the Magellan line.
Handheld Best Display: Garmin Oregon 600t
The Oregon line is fairly known for its screen first-class as all of them feature full. Terrific-vibrant (as in fully sunlight readable) shows which can be all three inches.
And the Garmin Oregon 600t isn’t any different. It’s also multi-touch enabled, so that you can pinch and slide to locate the precise vicinity you’re searching out.
The 600t comes with ANT and Bluetooth functionality for some additional connectivity. And there are topographical maps to go along with your location-based totally scouting to make sure that your climbs move to devise.
Handheld Now, there’s a 650t, however as exceptional as we can inform. The best most important difference here was the inclusion of an 8MP digital camera inside the 650t.
If you’re hiking, chances are you’re bringing your telephone with you which of them almost genuinely has a better cam. So that you need your trekking GPS to focus on doing what it does best: positioning you on a map.
So, going with the 600t, due to the fact you’ll get into Garmin’s suitable Oregon line. For a decrease rate factor than the 650t with out the arguably unnecessary virtual camera.
Best for Water Conditions: Garmin eTrex 10 Worldwide Handheld GPS
The rugged Garmin eTrex 10 Worldwide Handheld GPS meets IPX7 standards of waterproofing. And can be immersed in one meter of water for half-hour.
So you comprehend it won’t be harmed by way of either rainfall or heavy splashing. That you would possibly revel in while roughing it within the first rate outdoors.
The Garmin eTrex 10 Worldwide Handheled GPS weighs 9.1 oz and measures 1.4 x 1.7 x 2.2 inches with a 2.2-inch monochrome show face.
It functions 50 routes (two hundred with its eTrex 30x model) and has a 20-hour battery life with AA batteries.
Users can save over 10,000 points and two hundred saved tracks in its logging gadget, letting them re-visit old websites.
Its GPS receiver is WAAS-enabled with HotFix and GLONASS assist. So that you’ll always have rapid positioning and a dependable signal within the middle of nowhere.
It comes with a one-12 months client confined guarantee.