Which Handheld GPS to buy?

[slabbandit]

I lost my Garmin Etrex camo GPS last winter. Luckily, I had my waypoints saved on the computer.
I bought a Garmin Vista C off of E-bay but didn't like it as well as the camo Etrex. The electronic compass feature was great but the "nearest waypoint" page would not keep itself constantly updated like the cheaper camo model would. I had to manually go back to the waypoint page and hit "find nearest" every time to update the list.
This is a feature that comes in very handy when scooting across the lake at top speed and all of a sudden an old waypoint will pop up that I may have forgotten and not fished for a long time.
I wonder if there are any handheld models, of any brand, that...

1. Have an electronic compass.
and..
2. Have a nearest waypoint list that will keep itself constantly updated with the closest waypoints as I am running across the lake.

I like a handheld because I may not always be in my own boat but will be fishing the same spots.

Please chime in with any comments ,and especially, if you know of a unit that has these features.

[GCD]

You may want to look at the Lowrance H2O and H2Oc. I have the H2Oc and the only thing I don't like about it is it doesn't read speeds under 1 mph, other than that it's a very good unit.

[slabbandit]

Thanks GCD, will check 'em out this evening.

[Crestliner08]

I have a Garmin eTrex Legend Cx. Have been using it for 4 seasons now and I love it. Not sure about the "nearest waypoint" indicator though? Never had a need to use it. When the unit is on and you select (from the menu) where you want to go, a map appears and you can easily "see" where the closest waypoint is to you, so I'm not sure I'd ever need a "nearest" feature. And maybe it has one - just never checked! It does have a compass feature too.

[OkieDon]

Wish I could be of more help, but just about the time I was getting familiar with my Garmin Oregon, I got a Hbird with built in GPS and put the Garmin in the safe....loved it the few times I used it though!

[cevans]

check out delorme..at delorme.com,,they also have a handheld unit,,that attaches itself to a SPOT unit,,which is the same thing as a Eperb..and can give out your location even to your loved ones on a computer if you want them tracking your whereabouts. I use mine when I am packpacking in the mountains,,20-30 miles off nearest road,,especially in grizz country.

[Willie]

Agree with cevans. Check out the DeLorme PN-40. I have one and love it. It's a huge step up from the Etrex...i also still use my Etrex.

Check on Bass Pro's website. I believe I saw them on sale for $250 with a $50 rebate last week. They are usually around $400 or somewhere around there. I think I paid $299 last year when they were on sale...good deal even at that price. Plus you can get the upgrade version of Topo USA for free, which is really nice.

[cevans]

The pn-40 does so much, it gives you so much,,you can download all the satilette imagary and overlap it on topo soft ware,,they have everything to put into a hand held,,i downloaded over 20 states with every back road, trail,river crossing, boundary of every piece of national land, state, national parks,,you name it,,into a 32 mg card,,and you can keep adding cards swapping them out,,gives best times to hunt and fish, according to your loacation, has electric compass,,gives you alititude which you can program if you know the barometric pressure at the time, or just go of satelitte corrdinates that your at. You can buy AA rechargeable batteries,,or for 40 bucks, buy off Delorme,,every plug in for car, boat, 12v, 110, a bunch of plug ins,,and they have super Tech support. Mine went bonkers one day before I was going Backpacking and they overnited me a new one,,before I had even sent them the bad one back,,I had a electrical glitch in it,,that means alot to me. The one thing that delorme has, that most of the others don't,,is a great software package that comes with the unit,,sure you can buy navagational maps, sat. imagary,,,that is if you need it,,but for example,,If I am Glacier Nat. Park,,the sat.imagary will show rock walls, glaciers, snow on the peaks,,passes,,boulder fields,,tree lines,,parks and open meadows,,you name it,,and you can zoom in on it till its blurry,,takes time to learn the unit and its capabilites,,

My second choice of a handheld would be Garmen,,get their 400T but,,you have to spend a bunch on software,,check both out,,Stay away from Magellan hand helds in my opinion,,they are not a easy to read, use, and download stuff in them.. With delorme, and garmen tho, you can make your own trails,,download gps waypoints in them,,build anything and put in them,,and when your ready to go,,its all in your hand,,

go to bizrate.com,,and in the search bar, type in Delorme PN -40, and it will search the entire internet for the best price on this or anything your looking for,,

[zettler]

The Garmin 60csx can be had for $180 + taxes at Bass Pro with a $20 coupon right now. I have the PN-40 and have yet to figure it out or be able to download and install extras...

[zettler]

Here is the link to the $20 off a $100 Internet order - LINK