I went a little different route with my GPS. I got a PDA phone that had a GPS receiver built in. It was $160 with my cingular contract so it was hard to turn down.

It runs windows mobile and that lets a few different GPS apps have a spot on there.
I loaded TOMTOM onto it. It's a good program for streets and getting around town. Each state has it's own map, so if you are traveling out of state you need to load those onto the device. It snaps you to the road line, so your GPS unit doesn't have to have the greatest accuracy. It's got voice and tells you when to turn so you don't have to have your eye on the map all the time. Also comes with pre-loaded locations( resturants, hospitals, etc).
This is really simple to use.

As far as off road or trail maps, it's hard to beat ArcPad.
Now before you even look into this, keep in mind this software has quite a learning curve.
Arcpad is GIS (Geographic info system) software so GPS is just one part of it. That is what makes this so great for trails. Data layers can be overlaid with other data layers at the same time. Think google earth, but you have the GPS so it shows you moving across the map realtime. You can load Aieral/sat images, roads, elevation (many different formats), Topo maps, even points/lines/polygons you created or data someone else created. Local gov't loves to create data BTW. Here in my county in FL, the county flies new images EVERY YEAR at 6" pixel resolution. The data is there, you might have to make a few phone calls or emails along with the web searches to get what you need. You just have to filter through and find what you want. It's a little more cumbersome than the out of the box software like tomtom, but you can get ANYTHING as far as data was concerned. I did a quick google search of CO GIS data, and came up with LOTS of info so you should be ok there.
Co GIS data(Check out the DRGs, they are the topo maps)
More GIS data
The software was made for a PDA type device but will run on a laptop or PC just fine. So if you have a GPS already and it will plug into the laptop you can use this software. Best part is that the trial version runs for 20 mins then asks if you want to save before it shuts down. So you can just restart the program and your right where you left off for another 20 mins. I use GIS software all the time so if this doesn't make sense or you get halfway into it and get stuck, post up and I'll walk you through it.

Chris,
The Legend has an 8Mb limit on upload/download, so you should have no problem with storage of local topo maps. And you can upload/download new ones any time.
You WILL need the Garmin maps, which do cost extra. The gps will come with a reasonable basemap showing all the local hiways and some mainroads, the lakes, rivers, railways, etc (though the map is a bit rough).

For my needs, I wanted all the room I could get inside the small etrex package, so I went Vista.
As Ray notes, not all maps work with all gps brands, so most serious types choose the maps first, then the gps unit that they need. And if the maps run on a laptop, then forget the gps, all you need is a small receiver unit to attach to the laptop. With laptop prices sooo cheap now, you can often get a better package just by adding a receiver to a cheap laptop. It can be hard to find a gps unit with a color screen at 1024x768 pixels and a high speed processor that will also do: wireless internet, spreadsheets, play dvd movies, mp3 files, download and hold a ton of dig camera images, burn cds and dvds, use cheap memory, and run all of microsoft's crap!

With the more expensive gps units, the unit itself becomes the "value", whereas with a cheap laptop, it's only the data and maps the now have "value". You can easily make a backup copy of the whole laptop to an external harddrive, and if the laptop dies/fails/gets lost/etc, you would only need to copy all the backup data to another cheap laptop.

That makes sense. I was just looking at this Garmin GPS 5

That's a great deal on that unit. I looked at those, but they discontinued it right before I bought mine. Once again, I fell in love with, and am glad I got, the color screen.

Don brings up some very good points. It sounds like the etrex may work for you. If it's "free", even better. Remember also, ANY GPS is better than NO GPS. Just keep in mind the rebate offer ends in 4 days. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

That rebate is only good on the "Legend CX" model(color screen). It costs about a hundered dollars more than the base model "legend". The kicker is that the nice one with the great rebate has a battery life of one hour. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> That wont do at all. I'm getting the basic
E-trex Legend with crappy screen but 18 hour battery life.

I found the "Legend" at Wal-Mart for $110. If Best Buy price matches that, I'll still get it for free. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I'm so cheap! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Go for it dude! That's not cheap, it's smart. The BEST GPS is FREE GPS!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

OK. I'm looking at a brand new "Legend". What now? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />


What else should we talk about?.....and then go buy. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Good post! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

REI's Used Gear Sale is in 2 days. I think I may be in for some trouble...

It's easy for me to tell you to spend yours, but mine, on the other hand, is not quite so simple...

Congrats on the new toy!

Post deleted by cmonty72

Post deleted by cmonty72