Question on memory requirements

[johnsl0502]

I am planning on purchasing a GPS for my daughter and her boyfriend; they do a lot of hiking and bike riding. I have pretty much settled on either the eTrex 20 or the Dakota 10, fairly equal price points on Amazon. The major difference seems to be Touchscreen on the Dakota vs expandable memory via an sd card on the eTrex. I have an Oregon450 and really like the touchscreen but I have some concerns about the 850MB limit on this unit. If I look at some maps I dl'd from this site, the *.img files can be as high as 600-700MB (eg, Northeast Topo Part 1) which seems to be getting seriously close to the Dakota limit.

Am I estimating the space on device correctly here? and what advice can you offer to help differentiate between the two units? Is 850MB sufficient for general recreational use?

Thanks so much for any advice!

John

[Seldom]

I've got about 1.5 GB of maps on the 8 GB card in my Etrex 30.  Memory's cheap, and I'm not wild about the touch screen on my OR 300. I find it harder to type on the OR than on the Etrex.

Much happier with the touchscreen on my iPad.

[Boyd]

I would not buy a Dakota 10, it is too crippled by the lack of a card slot. If you ever want to use Birdseye imagery you will be severly limited. I'm surprised it hasn't been discontinued since other devices of that age are long gone from Garmin's lineup.

If you like the Oregon 450, you can get a factory refurb from Garmin's eBay store with the same warranty as new for $200: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Garmin-Oregon-450-GPS-rugged-outdoor-handheld-compass-Worldwide-Refurbished-/251177277144?pt=GPS_Devices&hash=item3a7b5516d8

[johnsl0502]

Appreciate the advice from both Boyd and Seldom...I had decided on the Dakota 10 even with the memory constraints. But when I went to Amazon to make my purchase, there was the Dakota 10 for $100.49!! Couldn't believe it! It is not refurbished (or at least I have a description of New). I don't have it in hand yet, but supposedly it has shipped.

Once again, thank you both for your insight.