stioc
Expedition Leader
I'm totally new to Topo navigation, in fact, just starting to look into it. I've had the Garmin Nuvi 360 Bluetooth for the last 6years and works fine for highway navigation but I usually just use my iPhone with either Google Maps or Waze on it. Not long ago I found myself lost in Joshua Tree (well not lost but there was no cell signal and my Garmin doesn't support Topo maps, at least from what I can tell) so I'm trying to determine what route should I take to be able to tell where I am in God's country and how to get back to civilization.
As mentioned I have an iPad 1 and an iPad 2, I understand you can get a GPS reciever for these? the battery life on them is quite good as well as the screen size. So I'm leaning towards this option but need some help getting the setup complete i.e. what 'puck' and software to get for it. Or use the iPhone as a single do-it-all device? I also have a netbook that I hardly ever use and prefer NOT to use it due to battery life and bulk.
Another option is to get an etrex 20? I have no experience with it but it looks very handy due to the size and fairly inexpensive but does it come with all the Topo maps or do I have to buy them individually from Garmin? How dummy-friendly is it? let's say I find myself lost again, can I click 'go-home' and it maps out the closest trails to get me back to the main roads or do I have to read the contour lines and such to figure out how to navigate my way out?
As mentioned I have an iPad 1 and an iPad 2, I understand you can get a GPS reciever for these? the battery life on them is quite good as well as the screen size. So I'm leaning towards this option but need some help getting the setup complete i.e. what 'puck' and software to get for it. Or use the iPhone as a single do-it-all device? I also have a netbook that I hardly ever use and prefer NOT to use it due to battery life and bulk.
Another option is to get an etrex 20? I have no experience with it but it looks very handy due to the size and fairly inexpensive but does it come with all the Topo maps or do I have to buy them individually from Garmin? How dummy-friendly is it? let's say I find myself lost again, can I click 'go-home' and it maps out the closest trails to get me back to the main roads or do I have to read the contour lines and such to figure out how to navigate my way out?