what is the best and easiest gps with topo

[3baddoods]

im looking for a new gps with topo that will help me with the trails to all the 46 high peeks also one that is easy to use

[redhawk]

By with topo, I am assuming that you mean the capacity for a built in map?

There are many, with all kinds of features, from very simple to all sorts of bells and whistles and some with color.

I personally prefer the garmin GPS's, even though my first ever in 1995 was a magellan that worked fine.

I just went from a Garmin RINO 110, that had no map, no altimeter, and Compass that you had to be moving to read (don't get me wrong, it was a wonderful GPS and served me well). to A Garmin RINO 130 that has 24 megs to download maps into, an altimeter, electronic compass and weather radio built in. I LOve it and reccommend it highly. I personally think it's the best GPS on the market. All three RINOS have FRS/GMRS Radios built in and the ability to send your position and other waypoints to another person with a RINO. The 120 is the tweener. IT has 8 Megs to upload maps into, no weather radio or altimeter and a regular gps compass.

The other thing to know is that regardless of what brand you buy, If you want to upload maps into them, you will have to buy the manufacturers own topo software to upload the maps themself. You can upload waypooints, toutes and tracks from any other software but not the maps themselves. So add anywhere from $80.00 to $120 for the cost of the software.

The other thing to check when purchasing is if the cable required to upload and download data between the computer and the GPS is included. If not, then figure on anywhere from $20.00 to $40.00 additional for the cable. For instance, the RINO 110 did not come with a cable, I had to purchase it separately. The RINO 120 and 130 have the cable included.

Finally, if accuracy is paramount, figure on also purchasing either National Geographics Topo! or Terrain Navigator software. Although you cannot upload the maps from those programs, you can upload the waypoints, routes and tracks. Both programs are pretty much dead on accurate, do a better job with profiles and print much more detailed maps.

As far as easy to use. They all have a learning curve. I would say that within a week of "playing" with it, you will be able to enter and locate waypoints, create routes, and save tracks. There are many. many capabilities that you will master as time goes on. I would say that all GPS's are pretty equal as far as learning to operate. Oddly enough, once you know how to use one, others become more difficult because of the differences in how to get to the various features or pages.

Of course. if you do buy a RINO, you have me here to share my expertise with.