New GPS for dad

[Jeremy K]

So with fathers day coming up ,i usually get my dad something hunting/outdoors related that i know he wants but would never buy it for himself. This year i decided he needs a new GPS ,his old magellan is way over due for an upgrade , he likes to tinker with that kind of stuff and finds it neat that he can waypoint his trail cameras /rubs/scrapes/treestand locations. Any of you guys got a suggestion on which ones to look at ? I'd probably keep it under 300 bucks but could go a bit higher if i needed to . I've done the typical google search and depending on who sponsored the websites " testing" you get different reviews.

 

Thanks ! 

[NFA-ADK]

Personally I like Garmin but the new models have a bunch of thing not really needed and can be complicated if you are not familiar with them.  After about 15 years the contact broke in the old one.  If you get just the GPS he should be happy.  (Not sure but you use to have to purchase the maps), just a FYI in case you do not have them and they still require you  to purchase them.

[nyslowhand]

I had a Garmin 60csx until recently and absolutely loved it. Believe the offspring might be their 64s model. Mine was super accurate, very repeatable and didn't have a lot of the bell 'n' whistles the newer models offer. As a disclaimer, was only working with a 60ac parcel & would connect to satellites in same open area every time I turned the handheld unit on!! Yeah, had to buy the regional topo map extra! Things mine did that I used most were the waypoints to locate treestands, trail cams or points of interest and the routing option to show ATV paths or stand access routes. Problem with handheld GPS units is the screen size and what you actually see &/or lose when zooming in & out. I didn't find the color option to be that beneficial, to each his/her own! Being able to download maps, waypoints, routes, etc to/from a PC and work with the mfger's mapping software is a great option. On a PC's monitor the big view looks much less cluttered with points & their names. It was a little tricky, but could cut/paste maps of specific areas & create a jpg file. I'd printout these, laminate them and use push pins or magnets to follow my annual relocation of stands, trail cams or sightings. If you have guests hunting with you, being able to attach these jpg files to a text/email made the guest's experience much less daunting. Never looked into or used these. but there are some ($$) applications you can interface aerial maps with your own GPS maps, points, etc. I've seen tax maps done this way & they are not that accurate. Probably get some accumulated inaccuracies from the unit & the aerial map when merging the two...!?!