What kind of map would be best for a garmin handheld gps for hiking?

Question

I just bought a Garmin eTrex Venture HC and the basemap is horrible. I live next to a National Park and it isnt even on the map for some reason. This device has 24mb of memory with no expansion slot so im not sure what will fit and what wont. How much memory does a typical map require?

Can someone tell me which company to look at and where to download a buy a good topo map on places like national parks?

Thanks

Answer 1

DO NOT buy the National Geographic maps for your etrex. They cannot load into the unit. You can create routes and waypoints on the computer that you can transfer and can transfer your tracks to the computer and print them on the maps but the maps will not be useful to you when you are using the GPS.

I don't know what MountainMan's agenda is but the etrexs are waterproof and mine remained waterproof after an incident that had it bouncing down a paved road at about 12 mph. If he had received a non-working unit from garmin, he could have had it replaced immediately.



The basemap is intentionally minimal. It takes up part of the program memory and includes the entire US. They don't know what types of maps you want (road, topo, water) and some of the detailed information would be out of date immediately.



The main source of maps in the US is Garmin. They make general topos and some more detailed topos of the national parks. go to https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=145&pID=8707 to see the maps that they have available (you can even see samples of them) and then go online to see who has a good price on them.



There are also some free maps for use but I have never tried them.



Go to the etrex group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/etrex/ or the map author group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/map_authors/ to find out about the non-garmin maps that are out there. I seem to remember that someone has high resolution topos of Colorado.



The 24 meg of memory will only hold part of a state. The x models can use up to 2 gig of memory.

Answer 2

The best maps are National Geographic, which show the standard Forest Service trails on good quality topographical maps. Unfortunately, Garmin is not compatible. You need to download Mapquest. I gave away my Mapquest software after my eTrex drowned. You should be able to load an entire state easily. The cost should be about $100 at your nearest outdoor recreation store or go to the Garmin link on-line. Be careful with your eTrex. I had one a few years ago. It drowned on Mount Harvard. The screen filled like a rain guage. Garmin charged me for a warranty replacement unit that did not work. So, I bought a Magellan that has a much larger screen, which I can actually read at night. The Magellan also is waterproof, unlike the Garmin eTrex, and has double the battery capacity. If I bought a new GPS, I think that it would be the new Active 10 Trek GPS, $370, sold on the National Geographic store with SD cards for $100 per state. "America's Greatest National Parks" SD card is $99.99 on-line at the National Geographic store.

Answer 3

Fun Skater is correct. GPS like this aren't made for topo map navigation. They are meant to give you your location in coordinates and to track waypoints. You need to program the waypoints in depending on your route. You still need to carry a traditional topographic map and compass.



The eTrex series don't have the capability to download topo maps anyway, I believe. Some higher-end GPS do have topo maps loaded into them, like some made by Magellan that have the National Geographic Topo maps installed (note that the GPS unit I am referring to has gotten terrible reviews!). I have used a basic Garmin eTrex on many trips in the mountains and it has worked fine. It would be good to invest in the National Geographic TOPO computer program for the state you will be hiking in, so you can map routes and determine waypoints and important features to put into GPS before you go out.

Answer 4

Best Garmin For Hiking

Answer 5

People are telling you to ditch the GPS because you should firstly know how to navigate with map and compass. I won't even try to explain how to use a map and compass on here in detail because there is just too much information and you need to be in the field to properly learn it all. In my experience a GOOD compass and map are more accurate and reliable than a GPS. Keep in mind my experience comes with training in Marine Corps Infantry. People that go into the bush should know how to properly use a map and compass. It isn't hard to learn and if you keep your skills up it can be pretty fun. Once you have good map and compass skills then you can bring in the GPS units if you want. I don't use one but I have nothing against them. You should just know how to use what doesn't rely on batteries. GPS units can be handy and fun to use just be safe and know what you are doing.

Answer 6

depends on what state you live in. there is some excellent free map software for garmin gps. http://www.miscjunk.org/ the scale is up to 1:24000 topos. you can load a lot of quads on 24 mb. i have used this product for colorado, arizona and utah and it is great. it loads into your gps via the mapsource interface. you can plot your route, tracks and waypoints and either up or download. check it out. my gps is an etrex vista c.



and to clarify what cody is saying in the following post. yes you can download maps into the etrex series of gps's using the mapsource interface. i have done it many times.