Best handheld gps?

[perch_stalker]

This year for ice fishing, I'm going to really try and get into it hardcore. In past years, I've went out, and drill tons of holes and caught plenty of fish, but if we had a hot hole, we had to try and mark it with a stick, or make a snow pile near it, or something to not make it obvious to other fishermen, but be able to find it again our next trip. It sometimes worked, but a lot of times didn't. This year, I want to try and find a deal on a handheld gps unit for ice fishing. Something small enough to have in my pocket, and if I find a key piece of structure or a hot hole, I can easily mark it without the worries of ever finding it again.

I'm wanting to hear what you guys use for handheld gps units while fishing on the ice?

What features do you tend to find the most useful or helpful?

Thanks for the input!

[stripernut]

I am a Garmin fan and any of them will work well for you. Much of it comes down to how much you want to spend, the more you spend the more features you will have. The other route is to use a smart phone and a mapping app.

[hardwater diehard]

I am a Garmin fan and any of them will work well for you. Much of it comes down to how much you want to spend, the more you spend the more features you will have. The other route is to use a smart phone and a mapping app.

X2 for Garmin as I don't have a smart phone ...you can add custom maps to Garmin ...I got my Etrex 20 w/topo map sd chip/card  last year around this time on line at Bass Pro or Cabelas ...for $149..i had just started looking into GPS handheld units and insight from member here lead me to Garmin...then price of the Etrex 20 was great as well as an added SD card and case. The Garmin Base Camp program is a  nice feature for even a bigger view . I don't have the Lake Vu chip so cant comment on its use or reliability ....but have added several custom maps of my local lakes its fairly easy and can get you there just like any other map.

http://www.garmin.com/en-US/shop/downloads/basecamp

http://garminbasecamp.wikispaces.com/Custom+Maps

[motocross269]

I really like Garmin and own quite a few that I use for Hiking, ORV, Snowmobiling and Geocaching.....but.... ... I use a Lowrance 5 HDS on the ice and for as much as it costs for a handheld Garmin with mapping capabilities if I were you I would consider looking at map/sonar unit....They are small enough to easily carry with a portable setup and it will give you a much bigger screen for setting up contour lines and all of that...
I am going to buy a Garmin Sonar/GPS combo to mount on my ORVs and Snowmobiles....I want the bigger screens for navigating and the mapping I use for off road stuff is only compatible with Garmin,...
I also use a smart phone as back up......

[perch_stalker]

Thanks for the replies so far guys. I've heard many people talk about the Navionics phone app, but I don't want to use my phone simply because of battery life. I fish a lot of places with poor cell service, so my phone battery dies quicker since it has to search for signal so hard. And if I'm using the app constantly, I'd definitely have battery issues with my phone, so I might buy the $10 app to have on my phone as a backup, but I'm wanting a handheld to have better battery life, plus I've heard there are some times when the app isn't very reliable and is off by a great distance. I'm definitely looking to go the Garmin route, and doing the custom maps. I have used several of the custom maps as an overlay on Google Earth, so I'm familiar doing that. I also am going to be mounting my dad's old Humminbird 587ci HD combo fish finder to my atv. This has the built in gps, so that will help a lot. But as far as I know, you cannot do custom maps on the Humminbird unit. And also, there are some days when we keep drilling holes, following the fish and get as far as 200-300 yards away from the atv and shack. So on days like those when I find a good hole, I don't want to have to go get the the atv and drive to every spot, when I can just take the handheld out of my pocket and mark a waypoint, which then later I can transfer the coordinates into the Humminbird and use it for future reference. I'm not looking for something with a lot of bells and whistles. I just want something that I can use custom maps with, and mark my waypoints, and has good battery life!
Thanks guys!

[Flint]

Garman 62s or 64s is pretty good. They are not touch screen so they work with gloves on. They also have three axis mag compass which is very nice. If they had an antenna like the lowrance point one then you would really have something.

[hardwater diehard]

If you go with a Garmin a rechargeable AA is a good bet... they burn up some batt life regular batteries

[fish-kabob]

 I guess I say go garmin cause I own on and there reliable I bought the venture hc bundle for 120 with cord disk of topo 100k and venture hc unit and carry case.. I add the lakes map disk it is good were ever you go even work with windows ten...  so that was a bonus not to have to buy a new one yet.. any how mine take double a batteries and I suggest you make sure yours does to cause they will sell aa every ware butt those lithium ion rechargeable batteries are  not sold at the drug store up the road from the fishing hole   in the middle of no ware.. that's when you would have to find a suitable replacement for it which now a days is not easy with camera batteries ,cell pone, and house pone  and all the electrical, electronic crap out there..... as you can see what I mean there to many different battery designs to sort threw had to help my dad when he need new batteries for his home cordless phone and boy talk about a problem..

[Arctic Addict]

Garmin or Navionics smartphone ap.

[GWK]

I have a garmin 62s which I use for ice fishing .

[Whopper Stopper]

I have a garmin 62s which I use for ice fishing .

It has sure worked well for me 

      WS

[madwelder]

I just bought a garmin Oregon 600 and love it. there is websites for free topo maps too.  I love the digital compass that doesn't need you moving to work like the e series. I also got it for a steal from bass pro on an email they sent me. havnt found free lake maps for it though so I might plurge on that

[52isntbigenough]

Garmin Montana 650

[icefishingluva]

I went with the Hummingbird 386ci.  Works great so far, plus paired with a Lakemaster chip it's pretty sweet!! it's able to mark spots and save waypoints.  Also has a slightly bigger screen, and i think is definitely easier to see if mounted on a wheeler or in your pickup.  Also, if you have a boat, works great in the boat during the summer as well!  Good luck with whatever road you decide to go on!

Luva

[shootsmcgee]

Another vote for the Garmin etrex 20. When it goes on sale (and it always seems to be on sale somewhere) it's the best bang for your buck period.

[SpitzoMT]

Garmin Montana 650T here. Lot of great units on the market these days. Find one that's within your budget & has the features you want. Good luck in your search !!

[52isntbigenough]

Garmin Montana 650T here. Lot of great units on the market these days. Find one that's within your budget & has the features you want. Good luck in your search !!

Agreed with the buy what you can afford. I used to teach GPS use to outdoor groups and Garmin was by far and away the easiest units to use. Garmin does make several units in a huge variety of price points. The point I stressed the most is that people need to be able to read the screens. If you can't see what you're doing on an Etrex, save a bit and buy a unit with a bigger screen.

[RStock521]

The Garmin 78sc is going to be on sale at West Marine from 11/26 - 11/29 for $199. Not a bad deal. You can also get the Lowrance Elite 4HDI for $199. GPS and graph all in one