I'm looking into getting one to do some late summer traveling. Any suggestions on features i should be looking for? Have a good unit to suggest?

Depends on what you want to do with it. I've got a Garman eTrex Vista, it's a handheld unit I use primarily for hiking, but also for automobile navigation on occasion. It's got a lot of memory for downloading topo's and saving tracks, and a compass built in.

It'd be nice if a GPS had an open map interface so you could buy third party mapping products, but it seems like they all have top secret interfaces, so you have to cough up a hundred bucks for their poor resolution maps. Garmin does have 24k maps of US parks, so in those area's you get decent quality maps.

If you want to use the mapping feature of the GPS, expect to pay as much for maps as you did for the unit (or more)... unless the crappy 'base' map is sufficient for your needs.

We have a cube - that any good?

I have the Garmin and a Delorme. The Garmin has a very short battery life when used in the handheld mode.
Delorme will work with various PDA's. You'd best check with Delorme to see if it will work with your PDA.
The Garmin was very pricy. The Delorme cost about $100 for the GPS and about $50 for the software. Check their site.

<font color = lightgreen>I don't believe in GPS for individuals. If you don't know where you are, you don't know how you got there, and you don't know where your're going then you deserve to be lost. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Seriously, though...most people don't need to know their current latitude/longitude to the nearest tenth of a second of arc. I suppose it could be fun, though...for a few hours until the novelty wears off.

You know, of course, that the NSA monitors all GPS locaters. That way, they know where you are at all times. [img]graemlins/firedevil.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img] </font>

I'm with Azred on this one. GPS means THE MAN can find you no matter where you are. This is provided you A: have it on, and B: have it on you. And let's be honest, if you're going to spend money on it and it's not activated and not on your person, what were you thinking in buying it?

Develop direction sense (get a survival book, they've got some good tips), get a good quality map of the area you want to visit, get a compass, and remember: if you're not an outdoors type person by nature, you probably should not be wandering off into the woods or mountains without a proper guide. I had to add the last bit because a surprising number of people think they know their way around nature just because they've read A book on it or have seen some amazing feat involving a pocket knife and pointy stick when watching a movie.

Maybe I'm just oversensitive about things like this. But I grew up in bush Alaska so I worry about people wandering into the woods. It's happened in my hometown a couple of times. Poor sods.

GPS Recievers aren't transmitters... the only way 'the man' could locate you based on a handheld GPS is if it's integrated with a cell phone (some are). Then the GPS knows where you are and the cell phone tells the man about it... otherwise you can be totally secure in your GPS'ing anonymity.

I know a LOT of hikers, and a GPS is close to standard equipment these days. It doesn't replace a map and compass but it provides a convenient way to record your hike, as well as a quick way of locating your position. I document all my long hikes/climbs, and the GPS provides a nice record of tracks/times/elevation/etc. It's not a necessary piece of equipment but rather a useful tool (like a digital camera). Certainly the hiker should know how to navigate without it, but GPS unit's aren't really responsible for wing-nuts wandering into the woods with no skills and getting in trouble (they were doing that LONG before the GPS was invented).

<font color = lightgreen>How do you know? Would you be willing to bet your life on it? [img]graemlins/beigesmilewinkgrin.gif[/img]

Most GPS locaters also have an extra chip in there that records your whereabouts. The next time you "lose" your GPS and find it a couple hours later, THEY came by to download the chip's memory into the central database. [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img] </font>

<font color = lightgreen>How do you know? Would you be willing to bet your life on it? [img]graemlins/beigesmilewinkgrin.gif[/img]

Most GPS locaters also have an extra chip in there that records your whereabouts. The next time you "lose" your GPS and find it a couple hours later, THEY came by to download the chip's memory into the central database. [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img] </font> </font>[/QUOTE]LOL... hmmm... I can't seem to find my GPS NOW...

I assumed I'd left it in the car... but...

hmmm...

A single GPS unit is so outdated, get with the cureent program. Man, FBCB2 has been around a couple years, now that is the bomb-diggity of all motherloads to carry on a hiking trip. And oh, yes, big brother always knows where you are. Who do you think controls the satallites that gives you your position?