pre-loaded maps - advice for newbi

[DK]

Hi folks,

Happy New Year!  I'm trying to pick out a GPS for hiking.  I live in the Smokies and hike a lot around there.  I'm also going to Alaska this summer and thought it would be a good time to get a unit.

How important are preloaded maps?  With Garmin, the hardware seems nice, but you have to fork over a lot of cash to get the units with maps.  With similarly priced Magellan units, you get the "World Edition Pre-Loaded Map" but fewer hardware features.

Namely, to try to keep it under $300, I was comparing the Garmin Etrex 30, Garmin Oregon 450, and Magellan eXplorist 510.  Unlike the Garmin, the Magellan has no compass or altimeter, but it does have the maps.

Could I get by ok using free maps from this site with the Garmin, or do I really need to fork over the extra $150 or so to get their maps?

Thanks!
DK

[Seldom]

Garmin's City Navigator is the best routable road map you can get your hands on.
Garmin's 100k topos, provided w/ their "T" series GPSrs are much coarser than most of the 24k maps you can download from this site.  The one advantage they have is their DEM elevation grid data.  It would be nice to have that, but so far I've been living without it.  I'd want to see Magellan's map before I paid for it.  If it's a topo for the whole world, and it fits on a GPSr, it's likely pretty coarse.

[babj615]

Hi folks,

Happy New Year!  I'm trying to pick out a GPS for hiking.  I live in the Smokies and hike a lot around there.  I'm also going to Alaska this summer and thought it would be a good time to get a unit.

How important are preloaded maps?  With Garmin, the hardware seems nice, but you have to fork over a lot of cash to get the units with maps.  With similarly priced Magellan units, you get the "World Edition Pre-Loaded Map" but fewer hardware features.

Namely, to try to keep it under $300, I was comparing the Garmin Etrex 30, Garmin Oregon 450, and Magellan eXplorist 510.  Unlike the Garmin, the Magellan has no compass or altimeter, but it does have the maps.

Could I get by ok using free maps from this site with the Garmin, or do I really need to fork over the extra $150 or so to get their maps?

Thanks!
DK

Garmins preloaded TOPO maps are not worth a single dollar.

Most of the maps here are far superior to anything Garmin produces.

Get the Garmin Oregon 450, and load it with maps you find here, and you will be in very good shape!

If you want to buy online, here is the best deal at the moment on the Oregon 450:

http://bestgpsdeals.net/garmin-oregon-450-for-253-with-free-shipping/1495/