Posts Tagged ‘Portability’

Features Needed For a Deer Hunting GPS Unit

March 10th, 2010



If you’re looking for a portable GPS unit for your next deer hunting trip there are several features that you need to look for. You will also need to consider your own personal needs when out in the field and choose a unit whose features work best for your situation. So be sure to thoroughly research your choices and keep the following features in mind.

1. Long Battery Life – Whether you’re spending a weekend or a week in the woods deer hunting the last thing you need to worry about running out of power. Good portable GPS units will last between 15 to 25 hours on a set of batteries. Keep this in mind when deciding how many spare batteries to take on your hunting trip.

2. Internal Memory – GPS units keep track of specific spots as waypoints. These waypoints can be a bread crumb trail that leads to a good hunting spot or a collection of goof hunting areas. The more waypoints you store the more memory you will need so be sure to get a GPS with at least 14 to 25 megabytes of internal storage.

3. Weight and Portability – When you’re out in the wilderness you don’t want anything bulky weighing you down. A good portable GPS unit weighs less then 2 pounds and fits easily in a pocket.

4. WAAS Capability – You’ll definitely want a unit that has WAAS capability because this gives it an accuracy to within 3 meters. Pin pointing your location is important out in the woods because an inaccurate GPS position is a good way to losing your way.

5. Tough and Water/Weather Resistant – It’s a simple fact that any piece of outdoor equipment needs to be tough and able to withstand the rigors of getting banged around. It also needs to keep working in any and all weather conditions which can be bad during hunting season.

Using a portable GPS unit during your deer hunting trips is a great way to ensure that you stay safe in the woods and can easily find your way back to camp. Keep these important features in mind if you are considering buying such a unit and you’ll be sure to get one that does exactly what you need.

By: Andrew Bicknell

Garmin Nuvi 660 Rated As Consumer Reports Best Buy!

February 21st, 2010



The Garmin Nuvi 660 performs well in all categories. The price point on this unit is very affordable. It has the highest overall rated very good score of all the GPS units indicating an exceptional value by “Consumer Reports”. Ratings of excellent for entering destination, information for driver, portability and color display. Ratings of very good for use of controls, routing options, routing time and mount design. All with a retail price in the $ 350.00. A tested battery life of approximately 4.5 hours, weight of 6.7 ounces, screen size of 4.4 inches, Bluetooth hands free calls (Allows the user to make and receive telephone calls using the unit’s internal speaker, microphone and screen.) and spoken street names (Commonly referred to as “Text-to-Speech,” this feature allows the driver to confirm directions with street signs without looking at the screen) It can also dial phone numbers of point of interest locations. This feature requires a Bluetooth compatible phone as well.

These results are the most current ratings from “Consumer Reports” magazine of the GPS units that are considered portable in auto GPS navigation systems. You can remove them from one vehicle and use them in another vehicle. The most recent use that I have heard of is by delivery people, which makes a great deal of sense. I have also had some very positive comments from two different older ladies about ease of use when traveling from rural areas about two hours outside a large city via much more rural roads and back without getting lost at all. This eased their minds about traveling these roads alone and getting home safely.

By: Diana Zagouris