The Wirecutter’ssingular goal is to settle which contrivance to buy or not to buy . Today , it take a hard look at a portable GPS for vagabond the wilderness .
The Garmin GPSMAP 62s is a great GPS for an outdoorsman / woman . Selling for around $ 373 , it ’s a piece of appurtenance that offers a balance of toll and feature .
When I was nine years old , I got lost in the woods for a dark . To make up for it , I terminate up spending over a decade as an ground forces cadet and reservist , pick up some solid former - schooltime orienteering skills along the fashion . I never got lost again . Not everyone who encamp , tramp or works in the wild is emotionally scarred into learning how to survive outdoors like I was . For most masses , owning a hand-held GPS machine is the good way to get from tip A to point B. Which one should you buy ? Up until last week , I could n’t have tell you . I ’ve never had much use for GPS . To school myself on the issue , I started by talking to Tyler Barrass at theMountain Equipment Co - Opin Victoria , British Columbia . I asked him a simple enquiry : What should an medium joe count for when he ’s shopping for a hand-held GPS twist ?
“ You want to have an outside feeler , ” Barrass explained . “ With the old - mode modeling with the feeler in the face , you pretty much had to hold it even out . You ’d never get a signaling in the city where there ’s a lot of tall buildings , in canyons or thick foliage - you’re not really run to get a signal at all . An outside feeler fixes a pot of those problem . You do n’t have to hold it absolutely mat and you get a much good signaling in spread over field ” . He also made it clean that I should reckon for a handheld that has both internal and external remembering . This provides the selection to install maps and data downloaded from your information processing system at abode , as well as the ability to slap a micro SD bill into your GPS gadget that arrest extra data like area - specific topographical maps , charts or city navigational data .
Outdoor Gear Labechoed much of what Barrass had to say , and went on to urge that if you ’re serious about finding your path anywhere , you ’ll also want to pony up the scratch for features like a digital range , a button push button interface ( because touchscreen - based GPS devices are slower to load , use more big businessman and are harder to see in direct sun ) , and insure that it ’s built to survive the environment you ’ll be using it in .
TheGarmin GPSmap 62shas everything Barrass and Outdoor Gear Lab mentioned and more . count in at 9.2 troy ounce it ’s got enough heft that it feels solid when you hold it , but it ’s still light enough that jamming it in your hip sack between U.S. is no big deal . It can incline off of twoAA batteriesfor up to 20 hours before they want to be swapped out .
With 62s ’ backlit 2.6 inch colouring material transreflective CRT screen , you ’ll have no trouble figuring out where you are night or day , even in lineal sunlight . Its rugged , waterproof case protects it from the element as well as the occasional pillowcase of the oedema .
It has a well designed eight button and directional pad port , any of the GPSmap 62s ’ functions can be access with one hand . It ’s come an external antenna , which pass on it good chance to get GPS data when you ’re voyage under thick Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree cover , heavy snowfall or walking along the bottom of a canon than a handheld fit with an internal antenna . With 1.7 GB of national computer memory and a microSD expansion slot , you ’ll be able to upload navigational information from your computer or slap a memory placard pre - loaded with single-valued function selective information into the GPSmap 62s while you ’re out and about . It even has a barometric altimeter baked into it to ensure more accurate lift indication .
The GPSmap 62s ’ on board computer software place the handheld ’s hardware to splendid use . The equipment supports topographical maps , subscription - base satellite imagery andBlueChart g2marine sailing . With the leverage of aGarmin City Navigator NT pack , the GPSmap 62s can be used for turn - by - turn piloting . Thanks to the society ’s Custom Maps software , you may even scan paper maps and upload them to the handheld . The twist ’s inner retentivity is capable of put in 2000 waypoints / locations , 200 different routes and a 10,000 gunpoint track log with up to 200 different rail . In short , it ’s got aim you in the correct direction shroud .
Garmin ’s also endure through the bother to include a few extras to make getting where you ’re going as pleasurable as possible : paperless geocaching , lunar time period tables , a hunting watch / fishing calendar , outdoor GPS - free-base games and the ability to enter customized power point of interest information are all standard features .
GPS Tracklogate the Garmin GPSmap 62s up with a spoon , saying “ The Garmin GPSMAP 62s brings a long - wait update to the fabled and much - lovedGPSMAP 60CSx , which has rule supreme as the gold standard hand-held GPS for more than four years … The 62 serial models are some of the best handheld unit available today ” . It ’s a sentiment reverberate by the New Zealand - based map merchants atMapToaster . Their review of the GPSmap 62s was faithful to two long time old , so I contacted them via e-mail to make certain they still matte up the same way about the gadget . MapToaster ’s John McCombs replied that “ The 62s is still a good pick ” , and that for heavy tariff outdoors expend , it ’s a great choice due to it ’s durability , and how well it operates under dense canopy .
Even the fussy survivalists atApocalypse Guidefelt that the 62s hit a sweet spot , say “ The cheaper Garmin GPS get over units just do n’t have enough of the necessary feature and benefits , and you end up paying for unnecessary ‘ chime and whistle ’ with the more expensive units . We found that the Garmin GPSMAP 62S Handheld GPS Navigator is the “ goldilocks ” of the Garmin GPS devices – not too picayune , not too much … just right ” !
As much as I like the Garmin GPSmap 62s , there were a few thing about it that vex me . For starters , you ’ll have to remove its battery anytime you want to trade out microSD cards . While the handheld ’s button make navigating through the machine ’s menus and options a piece of cake , they ’re a pain to role if you want to enter any text , like labelling a waypoint , for object lesson . It ’s deserving mentioning that while you may see the blind in verbatim sunlight , the GPSmap 62s ’ crummy 160×240 pixel resolution can make single-valued function look a lilliputian jagged , and normally lush orbiter imagination appear downright fugly . It ’s also a little costly , especially if you ’re not planning on go for a wage hike any more than once or twice a year .
Most smartphones these days carry a GPS pass receiver as a received lineament . iPhone users can downloadGPS Kitfor $ 10 . If you own an Android handset , you may downloadBackCountry Navigator PRO GPSfor $ 11 . Either app will let you do some pretty basic navigating off from civilization , with pathfinding must - haves like route planning , waypoints and the in - app purchase of additional maps . I ’d commend against it though . Your smartphone is n’t designed to take a beating , and it ’s in all probability not waterproof , although you could get a good case for it . What ’s more , if you plan on accept a foresighted trip , you ’ll have to bring along the agency to reload your battery . With the GPSmap ’s 62s ’ rugged physique and 20 hour ’s of employment from a solidifying of well replaceable AA bombardment , such cavil are a non - issue .
Speaking of long trips , theMagellan Explorist 710might be a salutary pick for anyone planning an adventure aside from dwelling house for an elongated full point of meter . The Magellan Explorist 710 weighs about the same as the GPSmap 62s and matches it almost feature for feature film - except for a couple of matter : the Explorist 710 has 8 GB of internal memory to the GPSmap 62s ’ 1.7 GB . That ’s more than enough room for all of the maps and datum you could ever need . Unfortunately , the Magellan only pay off 16 hours of battery life - six hour less than the Garmin French telephone . It also lacks a barometric altimeter , and costs $ 420 - a full $ 111 more than the GPSmap 62s .
Garmin pretend other stuff and nonsense too . Take theOregon 550for example . For $ 348 , you get waterproofed handheld GPS gimmick with a built in barometric altimeter just like the one in the GPSmap 62s . It ’s got a larger , higher resolve show than the 62s has , which makes map face great , and easier to see when you ’re using the handheld in the car as a round - by - turn navigator . If you ’re not thrilled with the GPSmap 62s ’ release driven user interface , you ’ll probably love the Oregon 550 ’s touch screen but touch screens do n’t like wet hands , generally . Unfortunately , more screen real estate means more drain on the battery . The Oregon 550 only gets a uttermost of 16 60 minutes of battery life . If that ’s not enough to dissuade you , the Oregon 550 also has an internal feeler , which means it ’s response wo n’t be as with child the GPSmap 62s .
If your travels will will take you far out of cellphone range of mountains , you might also need to regard theDeLorme Pn-60W. When paired with one of the company’sinReach Satellite Communicators , you ’ll not only be able to find your means through the bush , you ’ll also be able to send text substance via planet from anywhere in the existence , render your accurate location and signal for emergency assistance should the penury arise . Unfortunately , being able-bodied to do so does n’t come tawdry . First , you ’ll have to pay $ 337 for the DeLorme Pn-60W. Then , you ’ll need to fork over an additional $ 250 for the inReach Satellite Communicator , as well as a communicator subscription package which will set you back between $ 10 and $ 50 per calendar month ( plus a one time energizing fee ) . When you look at that the Pn-60W feels kind of inapt in your hand , only stick 13 hours of use out of two AA batteries , makes changing batteries a chore and has a screen that ’s even smaller that the one on the GPSmap 62s , it ’s not really all that attractive … Unless you want to send a text message from the cusp of the Angolan highlands that is .
If you like the look and feel of the GPSmap 62s , you could also go up or down a modeling in the GPSmap 62 logical argument , but I would n’t . TheGarmin GPSmap 62is just as sturdy as the 62s , but cost roughly $ 73 less . That excess $ 73 buys you the GPSmap 62s ’ built - in 3 - axis grasp , which makes it easier to get an accurate reading material of your geographic location . At the price closing of the Garmin line up is theGPSmap 62stc . It ’s got all of the same features as the GPSmap 62s , along with preloaded 100 K topographic maps . They offer a mass more item than the 62s ’ introductory maps do . It also packs a 5 megapixel photographic camera . That ’s a great feature for geocachers looking to preserve a record of their cache locations or take a ocular trophy of their uncovering . But at $ 480 , it costs over $ 100 more than the GPSmap 62s . No one needs another equipment with another photographic camera build up into it , and especially not when it ’ll be you over $ 100 more for the perquisite .
My advice is pick up theGarmin 62sand adjudicate it ’s canonical map functionality on for sizing . Why buy more than you really need ?
Last Year ’s Model
The Garmin GPSmap 62 series is the updated iteration of their GPSmap 60 production line of handheld devices . For reasons eff only to those selling it , the 62s ’ elderly , less functional predecessor , theGPSMAP 60CSx , can be had for $ 590 . Not worth it .
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