Which one of these hand held GPS units is better??

[NYH1]

I'm looking at these two Garmin GPS units, the eTrex 10 and eTrex Venture HC.  Which one would be better for hunting in warm summer months to very cold winter months, ATV and truck off road trail riding?  I've never used a hand held GPS before. . . . .but I hate getting lost!
 
Thanks in advance, NYH1!

[Siskiyou]

The ability to install mapping software to a gps that covers the area you plan on hunting is a safety enhancement.  Many years ago when I first became interested in buying a gps unit I was working forest fires in Idaho. I had an opportunity to compare a few units out in the woods.  During this time period I would talk to the wife back home about my new interest in gps units.  After returning home after sixty days on fires in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah I knew that I wanted a Mapping GPS. 

When I returned home I started researching mapping gps units and decided that I wanted to buy a Garmin Legend.  The wife seeing what I was looking at went digging into her Christmas present hiding place and came out with a non-mapping Garmin she had bought for me.  She understood where I was coming from.  The gps was returned to Wal Mart and we bought a Garmin eTrex Legend.  I have upgrade a few times since.

The eTrex Venture HC is a mapping unit, the eTrex 10 is not.  The Topo Map software is more than just a map, you can go to Points of Interest find nearby mines, campgrounds, stream names, names of mountains, and other sites.  I get a lot of use out of the mapping software I have installed on my units.

Three or four years ago I was working in an Emergency Command Center when a call from a hiker (husband) was transferred to us from the sheriff’s department.  A couple who had been hiking the Loch Leven Trail in the High Sierra’s had lost the lower trail where it crossed the railroad tracks.  A gps would have saved the day with mapping software or the TracBack function.  A user can put a cursor on the trail, create a waypoint on the trail, and navigate to the trail, campground or road.  In dispatch we could hear the wife chewing on her husband, a gps would have paid for itself that day.

[NYH1]

So of the two, you would recomend the eTrex Venture HC?

[Siskiyou]

Of the two I would select the eTrex Venture HC.

A selection with a little disclaimer.  Gps manufactures have some quality control issues over the years.  During the one year warranty period Garmin has been real good.  Quality Control on the same model varies, some seemed to be bullet proof and others failed.  I sent my eTrex Legend back to Garmin because the exterior rubber was coming lose, they sent me a replacement.  The replacement has been doing good for ten years. 

The metal battery contacts in my first 76Cx broke within the first year while under warranty.  I used that unit almost daily, and I replaced rechargeable batteries daily.  I believe that one of the issues is that as rechargeable batteries became more powerful the overall battery size increased put additional stress on the contacts.  Garmin replaced in with another unit.  I had that unit loaded with City Navigator software and Top software.  Garmin set me up with a new lock code to open City Navigator in the replacement unit.  The replacement 76Cx started having fade out issues when on battery powder.  The issue was not repeated when hook to the 12v system in the PU or the computer.  The second 76Cx had very little use because I was using my new Rino 530Cx(s)

Just after the eTrex Legend came a 76C I bought it because it floats, it has 115 MB of memory which I needed because of my on the job travelling.  This unit has been a solid performer.  I gave it to my middle brother when I up graded to the 76Cx.

I have used the 76C and the 76Cx on land and water.  When out trolling I set on the stern of the boat using the kicker to troll.  I can look forward at the fishfinder, and I mark fish on the 76C/76Cx.  They are designed for marine use and float if they go overboard.  I normally change rechargeable batteries in the afternoon.  The units are on from when I leave home until I get back.  Fifteen hours plus are normal.
The Rino 530Cx has been a real adventure, I had to return three to Garmin under warranty.  The 3^rd Rino 530Cx has worked great the last two hunting season.

Just before the 2011 hunting season I contacted Garmin support because the replacement 76Cx was fading out.  It was hardly used because my focus had turned to the Rino.  Garmin said I could return it and get a replacement for $117.00+.  Knowing that I new unit would cost me much more I took the deal.  After I received the new one Garmin gave me a new unlock code to use my City Navigator software.

Garmin has come out with some new models that sound interesting but I do not plan on buying.  I have the two handheld units, two automotive units, and the fishfinder on my boat has a gps function.

[OleFreak]

You ask about Garmin but if you’re open to other makers, I’m liking my DeLorme PN-60 with Topo NA 9 mapping software, once I got beyond a bad installation disk.     

[Glanceblamm]

The one with the mapping software would be great. I do not have this and will go to the trouble of feeding the coordinate of the critical waypoints back to the PC to make sure that I did not "heavy thumb" a number that I manually entered.
 
Mine see's a lot of dual use and I used this just last weekend and in the dark to get to the home of my host for our first deer season. It worked very well but I had to pay much greater attention while on the road hitting two critical turns on the dark rural routes plus a third that marked my host's driveway. These three points were pre-set as a route but an actual map would have provided a better comfort zone. (a lot of people own an automotive unit but not me)
 
P.S. The use of the common ball cap with the three led lights and the soft glow of one of the three different light settings provided by the switch makes for an excellent little map light that surpasses the back lighting of the unit both on the road and in the field but please note that my unit does not have the color display.

[Siskiyou]

Glanceblamm  makes some very good points and he can ride with me anytime as navigator.  I believe his first unspoken point, know how to use your unit.  His post demonstrates that he has had a lot of experience with his gps.

In the past Glanceblamm has posted the software he is using on his PC to interface with his gps unit.  Like many users, I operate on a budget.  Originally I used Microsoft Streets and Trips because of its low cost, but the downside is the maps would not load on to my Garmin.  Whatever mapping gps you purchase I recommend that you get the manufacture’s mapping software.  Both units you mention have a base map and you can get by with it; the eTrex 10 will not take mapping software.  A key is to create waypoints and tracks for reference.  There was a time that you would find me speeding down the road with my laptop connected to my Garmin eTrex displaying Microsoft Streets and Maps software. 

A unit that will do it all is this http://www.tigergps.com/garmingpsmap76csx.html  this unit is going to be discontinued, but with these features the price is a bargain.
The unit offers an on board American auto routing base map, and will utilize auto routing features in other Garmin software.  It does not utilize the voice communications as a true automotive gps does, but use tones.  If you have selected a route the unit will give you a warning tone about .8 miles from a turn and two tones at your turn. 

My 76Cx paid for itself the day I took a nice 4x4 mule deer.  The auto routing feature worked as advertised.

I knew that it was going to be dark when I started my journey from home to the location where my feet hit the ground when I made a pre-season scouting trip in August.  The woods get a different look with the change of seasons, and from daylight to dark.  The old Forest Service fire road that took off from the state highway was hard to find during the bring light of summer, and next to impossible after dark.  At that time I did not have an automotive gps unit, and the 76Cx served both needs.  The 76Cx has a basemap and it is loaded with Garmin Topo, and City Navigator software which were purchased separately.  On a late summer scouting trip I generated a number of waypoints starting with the jump off point from the highway, a waypoint at each intersecting logging road, the planned parking spot, and a couple of other spots that I felt were good ground stands.  I also created waypoints at locations I felt would offer shelter if needed a couple miles from the road.
The morning of the hunt, the roads were covered with snow.  The junction of the State Highway and the National Forest road was buried in snow, and it was before daylight.  I was ready for it when the gps sounded the warning tone, and a minute or so later the tone for the turn.  I killed the buck about a mile from where I parked my vehicle and about fifty feet from where I created a waypoint for a ground blind.
I downloaded the waypoints and the track I created to Garmin’s MapSource on my PC.  The next step was to select VIEW option in the MapSource Tool Bar, select VIEW IN GOOGLE EARTH.  This only works if you have Google Earth installed on your PC.  This is the link to the free version http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/
Google Earth is a good tool, because you can study the area you plan on hunting.  Using data I collected with my gps and Google Earth I have a much better understanding of deer travel patterns, feeding, areas, and water sources.
I should note that I leave a copy of my field data with my wife with a short note on where I planned to be. 
Glanceblamm how did you generate the Lat/Long data for your waypoints on this hunting trip?  I know the Lat/Long data you have provided me in the past has been accurate.

I have not tried the hat trick; I plug my handhelds into a 12v accessory plug in my rig with the background light at the highest level.  The accessory plug saves the batteries for the hunt.

I took a break from this post this morning to go for a walk; I selected the 76Cx to go with me rather than the Rino.  While they are similar because of the same manufacture they are not the same.  I suggest getting a little field time with you gps(s) so the functions become second nature.  I have spent a life time working in the woods, starting as a smoke-chaser.   Many times I found myself going after a lightning fire in the dark.  The objective was to get the fire while it was small and before the heat of the following day would allow the fire to make run.
Bumping around in the woods at night can be interesting.  After getting a gps I intentionally stayed in the woods until after dark.  I had created a waypoint at the location I parked my vehicle, and in the symbol box I used the P>Park symbol that is provided in the Garmin symbol options.  I also created a track but did not use it on my return. 

When it came time to go back to the PU (pickup) I selected the waypoint for my PU, selected GoTo, and started back.  In this example I had the Map Page up, which displayed the waypoint with the DARK POSITION MARKER representing me.  The Position Marker looks like a black arrowhead, and points the direction the user is moving. A dark line appears on the screen between the Position Marker and the Waypoint.  The tip of the pointer is aimed at the waypoint when the user is going directly at the waypoint. I took a circle route that involved timber thickets, down logging slash, brush and young trees regenerating in a clearcut.  This was an ideal time to test out the system.  I was also using a good headlamp to light the way.  Every once and while I would hit the Power/Backlight key so I could view the screen, I did not want to keep the screen lit full time because it would draw the battery down.

I must add that a headlamp in the day pack is an important tool.  Many years ago I extended my hunt dat to get to a saddle where deer cross in the late evening.  I killed a buck and decided with the lateness of the day to hanging it after dragging it away from the location I gutted it.  I placed a jacket on it hoping my scent might discourage a bear.  I waited for the full moon to come up and found my way back to the PU
Now days there are gps units that offer flashlights, and camera’s but I am concerned that these extra items eat up battery life.  I have not seen the common ball cap with three Led lights that Glanceblamm mentions.  So I had to look them up, http://www.britebills.com/

Glanceblamm how do the lighted caps hold up, I am thinking they will make great Christmas or birthday gifts for the hunters in the family?  What is the source of your hat?

 

[Glanceblamm]

The cap was a gift from my father and a quick look under the band says it came from www.panthervision.com It holds a couple of CR2032 batterys in a decent weather proof compartment that fits under the side band. I have not had to change the batterys despite a fair amount of use.
 
The software that I used for the latest hunt comes from iTouchMap.com...it appears to be woven with google earth to an extent but the page or tab that I use is titled Latitude/Longitude of a point. I will still use my old Delorme software or even aviation software but with the high resolution maps provided by the likes of google earth, one can create a waypoint for that portable ground blind or a climbing stand with a very high degree of accuracy.
 

There was a time that you would find me speeding down the road with my laptop connected to my Garmin eTrex displaying Microsoft Streets and Maps software.

    Those were some good days and we were high tech for sure. Today people would tend to look down their nose at us until you would ask, "can you take your unit off road?"
 
The breakdown of your 4x4 hunt was very interesting and worth the read. For those who are just starting out, creating those waypoints and navigating between them does not need to be intimidating as you can practice with it around your house or your town.

[Lloyd Smale]

Ive got the older pn20. Its been a real good unit and my only complaint with it is it tends to eat batteries fast. the newer 40 and 60 models have addressed that weakness though and have much better battery life. The company support system they have is second to none!

You ask about Garmin but if you’re open to other makers, I’m liking my DeLorme PN-60 with Topo NA 9 mapping software, once I got beyond a bad installation disk.     

[Buckskins & Black Powder]

I don't use either of the GPS systems in question but i do use the Garmin 1200 Nuvi. I love the big screen on it and its real light weight and slim. I installed some software i bought from  huntinggpsmaps and holy mother! Its amazing, you see where you are on the map and where all the private,state, Ntl forest land is, amazing stuff.