Looking for a good GPS

[brisue]

Looking for a good gps system that will let me download lake and river maps. Any suggestions?

[oldprowler]

I am no expert but from what I have been able to learn --- if you are expecting to download maps from sources other than the manufacturer of the GPS you are probably out of luck. It seems that most manufacturers of GPS units have selected one of the 3 or 4 (maybe more) map formats to use in their units. This gives them a fairly exclusive "after market" sales potential for additional more detailed maps.

That being said, Lowrance does have high detail downloadable maps available on their web site. I just checked their site and they do not have any of lakes in Missouri.

Good luck in your search and please keep us informed of what you find.

[griz]

My wife uses a megellan topo gps, it seems to be a good unit. You can go to their website and preview the maps to see if it's what you need.

[JAYNC]

As for any GPS I've ever seen, Garmin is the leader in the industry.. I have their low end gps handheld, the garmin rhino 120 and its very good, its also a 2 way radio. I also have their 178C GPS/Sonar and its AWESOME. I will never change brands now.

[bigsammy]

I have the Garmin 72 and have no complaints.Its got me through the fog,storms and dark home safely many nights:cool2:

[gofish]

Does anyone out there have any info/input on the Magellan eXplorist 400?

[blackwaterkatz]

I've been using a garmin gpsmap162 for about 4 years with no problems. It's easy to use, but you have to purchase the software for mapping. It has a built-in base map, but for really good detail, you would have to purchase additional software. If you are using it in a boat, a large screen is definitely a bonus. The small screens can be hard to read when under way, especially in choppy or rough water.
The newer color units are really neat, a little easier to read. I don't have much experience with lowrance gps, but from what I've seen, they're excellent units, too.

[trnsmsn]

I have a Garmin Rino 120 also. They work real well, I've bought many for presents recently, so now we can use the 2 way radios instead of our Nextels.