Handheld GPS Reviews Catered to Outdoor Enthusiasts

 Stacking portable GPS devices together side-by-side is a good way to quickly glean which unit shines brightest for the activities you like to do. But since it’s such a popular and fast-growing hobby that entire families can enjoy together, perhaps right off the bat you’d like to go straight to the reviews of the best geocaching GPS units. That article is part of a series which explains what makes for the top rated handheld GPS stand out, and also provides mid-range and low budget options as well.

When considering which handheld GPS to buy, there are many questions to ask yourself. For instance, do you want a touch screen, an electric compass, an altimeter, or 3D map-viewing capabilities built in to the unit? What are your budget constraints? Would you like your unit to announce to you when it’s time to make a turn on a trail by chirping? How easy is it to upload new maps, expand memory, and how many waypoints do you need to plan and record your routes. We considered all these factors and put together handheld GPS comparisons of 5 of the most popular models that score high with outdoor enthusiasts. Among the units compared in that article with concise pro and con bullets are the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx, Garmin Colorado 400T,Garmin eTrex Vista HCX, DeLorme Earthmate PN-40, and the Garmin Oregon 400t Handheld GPS. We will link you to handheld GPS reviews of each of those models below too.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

 This unit made it onto the all-important list of user-friendly handheld GPS units, which is what novices to the world of portable GPS technology really want to hear. The Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx has made it onto so many of the lists compiled by our experts and enthusiasts as a "best handheld GPS" for a multitude of categories - from fishing to geocaching. Plus, for the budget conscious, it's also been recognized as one of the top five budget handheld GPS devices, because it's loaded with great features (like a compass, altimeter, and tons of memory with the 64 MB microSD card that you can put even more maps on) while remaining at a competitive price.

Although Garmin has come out with more advanced and feature-laden models than the GPSMAP 60CSx (such as some of the models in the Colorado, Oregon, and eTrex series), the 60CSx is still an extremely popular device that seems to generate a certain amount of dogged loyalty from customers. It's extremely accurate due to a high sensitivity Sirf set. It's a veritable workhorse among portables offering versatility that is well-suited for geocaching, hiking, rafting, and just about anything else you can do outside. Its weatherproof design, long battery life, and high-sensitivity GPS receiver are a few of the traits pointed out in this review touting the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx as a stellar handheld GPS recommendation for use in whatever fields you like to play in out there in the great outdoors.