Hi Guys, just wondering does anybody know of a good handheld GPS for going on long trials, This may seem a daft question but due to the extreme off road capabilities of these brilliant machines, when one decides to have a change of scenery from jumping over things, and given his surroundings sets off on a quest to conquer every mountain around him, and these are mostly over 2,600ft! with the added attraction of cliffs on either side one can get a little bit cought out by Mr. Fog! it would be nice to have the comfort of having some kind of GPS, as the smart phone apps and stuff like that dont seem to work without good phone signal.

I was looking into the (satmap active 10) gps so far.

Has anyone else come accross this issue?

Garmin Foretrex 401, straps on the handlebar and uses 2 aaa batteries. Get Garmin Basecamp for yr computer and google maps. Look at where you want to go on the sat photo (good for finding trails and paths if you find a clear high res view). Then make waypoints and a route in google earth, open it in Basecamp and plug in yr gps and move it to that. Also you can download maps of your area and put them in yr gps....

I use the Garmin etrex30 for hiking, biking etc. Ive had to use it to get down a mountain in thick fog. Works for me.

If you get one, also try get a gizmovest for it......adds tons of protection.

Keep in mind, touch screens dont like gloves.....the reason I got the etrex.....easy to navigate with the joystick.

What I use. Spelt Gizzmovest.

Thanks for the replys so far, these to gps look good and the prices are a lot less than the satmap!

Mokwepa does the garmin etrex30 come with maps or do you have to buy them separate?

Unfortunately the etrex doesnt come with maps, it does show main roads etc but not topography.

What I did is copy satellite images off google earth and overlay them onto the existing map. I only did the areas I hunt ride etc. Satellite images are cool if you looking for rock areas or rivers.

ok thanks for that info mokwepa, very helpfull

I used a Garmin Montana (big screen). Mounted right between the bars with the rugged mount. Worked Excellent. Put up with lots of abuse.

BTW if you have a smart phone with built in GPS, it should work without any requirement for cell connection at all.

The Garmin Montana looks a nice unit, just watched a review on it, looks to be touch screen wonder how that works if it gets wet? is it the 650 just checked price,expensive pice of kit!......... yeah I used my smart phone a few times on the hills but its not very accurate and loses signal all the time, this can be a pain when heavy fog comes down and you close to dangerous cliffs, Even the phones built in sat nav lets me down all the time when I drive in the cities so maybe its the phone! darn samsung s2

Yes the 650 is expensive - no doubt about that. The Oregon is the same but smaller and a bit cheaper. Since I do a lot of mapping, I prefer a dedicated GPS for the job.

I have hundreds of hours using my Montana in extremely rough conditions (hare scramble races) and pouring down rain. Works very well. Works with gloves on too.

Samsung S2 has a built in GPS. It does not need any cell service for the GPS to work - if you have the right GPS app. It might be that your GPS app needs to be online for its maps. There are a number of GPS apps you can get which allow you to download offline maps ahead of time, then you will not need any cell service. A few of the apps are:

Backcountry navigator

ViewRanger

Trimble Outdoors

Outdoor Navigation

And there are others.

Ok guys thanks for all the suggestions and info on your GPS units, I bought the Satmap 10 handheld gps, as it came with maps for my area where I live, it came in the post yesterday and I have tryed it out today....... really nice pice of kit and very eazy to use!