This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. Find out more about how to manage cookies, or dismiss this message and continue to use cookies.
Closest thing to the old Garmin etrex Vista HCx? Is it the etrex 20?
crazyfingers
106 Points
In the Garmin handheld forum I've got a topic going on my etrex Vista HCx that appears to be no longer able to read the microSD card where my maps are. In the situation that the unit will never read a microSD card again, I correct that etrex 20 is the least expensive handheld that will display a downloaded topo map? I don't need or want many features. I just want it to be able to show me where I am on the topo for hiking and biking. I have the CD version of United States Topo 100K and would want to be able to load map area for Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and maybe some upstate NY. If I ever go canoe camping again I'll probably also want to load sections of Quebec from Topo Canada which I also have on CD.
Is the etrex 20 probably a good choice if I need a new unit?
Is the etrex 20 probably a good choice if I need a new unit?
Comments
Regardless. that old US Topo map is terrible, I had three different versions of it over the years. It was based on the roads from the US Census Bureau and they were wildly inaccurate. Anything you get with a smartphone app will be better than that. Or if you decide to stick with Garmin, have a look at the free user-contributed maps at gpsfiledepot, they should be a big improvement.
But generally I don't like to use up battery for non-phone uses on the phone and I prefer to have a dedicated GPS especially for bike rides and have it displaying all the time. I just need to remember to have a spare set of AA's which I'm getting better doing.
I understand that my old USA Topo is old. However it's been good enough for my purposes. The roads are not the main requirement for this purpose. It's the mountain tops and the trails and carriage roads where I mainly use the device, Acadia National Park, the trails are pretty good and of course the mountain contours don't change.
I am mainly concerned whether Basecamp is even compatible with my old USA Topo on CD. Or can I still use Mapsource to load the map segments I want onto the etrex 20 should I decide to get it?
I can always get better maps in the future if I need to but for the moment the old map has been good enough.
Anyway, we all have our own standards, so use whatever works best for you.