Handheld GPS

Has anyone tried out these small handheld GPS? I was thinking of buying one for occasional use on a boat.

Replies:

1. "I use an IPAQ PDA - running Memory-Map software with a Bluetooth GPS ... is great for land and sea.

The Memory-Map software is very impressive ... great for taking marks at sea, and when on foot hiking, cycling, driving ..."

2. "I use a Garmin GPS 12 on my boat. The window is small but it is easy to read and I am more than happy with it. I have used far more expensive and complicated units but I still prefer the one I have. "

3. "Use a Garmin eTrex, very basic no maps, but gets me to the chosen mark and back , plan my route the night before using a set of digital maps which I keep on the laptop."

4. "I used to run a hand held Garmin along side a fixed set with own arial and both showed exactly the same numbers."

5. "I have an Etrex Legend and the map feature. Works great for wrecks. Also has a WGPS option (where it works). "

6. "I have a Garmin chartplotter/fishfinder. I also have a garmin GPS 11 Plus which has all the wrecks, other marks I fish loaded on. Also all the ports I'm liable to use are on it. Its used as a backup and is nearly as accurate as the plotter.
I could get home from anywhere with it and if it were to fail still have a chart and compass.

If you are buying one make sure it has track back, similar to an on screen snail trail which you can track straight back to the mark you've been drifting over."

7. "I've had a hand-held Garmin GPS 12 for years, with a shelf-mount for it on the dash. I upgraded to a fixed unit but keep the old one as a back-up. The only disadvantage of the handheld units is the small screen, which compared to a fixed unit is seriously tiny, and my old one did not have trackback or the degree of zoom you have on a bigger screen - both useful for finding that mark again once you have gone over it."