garmin gpsmap 62s vs 62st

RamblingRuairi

Looking for some advice on the above handhelds. Is there a huge difference in relation to features or is it just the price?

Looking at the garmin comparison page (http://www.gpscentral.ca/products/garmin/gpsmap62seriescomparison.html) the only differences is that the "st" includes US/Canada maps but has a smaller internal memory (500Mb against 1.7Gb on the "s")

Both the gps are on offer on the CH Marine webpage (€310 - about €80 and 140 reduction)) and the Garmin Ireland Discovery map is available for about €70

Alternatively I found these guys in Switzerland that offer the "st" with European maps (1:50)
http://www.tramsoft.ch/gps/garmin_gpsmap62_en.html

This package is about 320 delivered to Ireland.

Any advice/recommendations welcome (Also, map and compass will always be carried but I am looking to make use of modern technology a bit more )

Alun

The only difference is the preloaded maps, US/Canada if you buy it in North America or from an NA online retailer, or European maps if you buy them from a European retailer. There's also the 62sc and 62sct models that include a 5MP camera as well.

The preloaded maps aren't actually that bad, and go down to street level, a sort of poor man's version of the maps used in Garmin satnavs (but not updateable!), but with the addition of contours and indication of forest cover etc.,but little other topographic detail i.e. not really of much use for hiking.

You can get the OSi 50k series maps for it, but I can't see where you're getting the price of €70 from. It's €169 on Garmin's website and I don't see other retailers undercutting them by that margin. You'll need approx 1.3GB available memory for the full OSi 1:50k map.

RamblingRuairi

Alun wrote: »

The only difference is the preloaded maps, US/Canada if you buy it in North America or from an NA online retailer, or European maps if you buy them from a European retailer. There's also the 62sc and 62sct models that include a 5MP camera as well.

The preloaded maps aren't actually that bad, and go down to street level, a sort of poor man's version of the maps used in Garmin satnavs (but not updateable!), but with the addition of contours and indication of forest cover etc.,but little other topographic detail i.e. not really of much use for hiking.

You can get the OSi 50k series maps for it, but I can't see where you're getting the price of €70 from. It's €169 on Garmin's website and I don't see other retailers undercutting them by that margin. You'll need approx 1.3GB available memory for the full OSi 1:50k map.

Hey Alun,

Cheers got the response - kind of what I thought.

The map is available here www.chmarine.com/acatalog/Garmin_handhelds.html (bottom of the list)

Alun

I think those maps might be the old version that they used to sell as 4 different regions. I think that has been superseded by the whole country maps.

Mac2010

is the preloaded topo really worth the extra money? I'm often against it and buy proper topo map of the country rather than garmins preloaded map. gpsmap 62s has the best antenna/reception compared to garmin oregon 600 series touch screen and performs much better in cold weather. i dont understand the idea of 5m camera on gps unit and charge you fortune just for the camera function. (may be good for low quality photos that are geotagged. )

display on bright sunny days on gpsmap 62 is superb compared to touchscreen oregon series.if the money is no issue then nothing wrong with some extra stuff such as camera preloaded topo etc.

Alun

It depends really. If you end up somewhere where topo maps either aren't available, or you just don't have them, then it's (a lot) better than nothing. Whether you consider them value for money is a personal thing I suppose.

As for the Oregon vs. Gpsmap62 argument, I have an Oregon 550t, and I have no idea what you're talking about regarding cold weather problems. I've never had a problem with mine in sub zero temps, although battery life can be compromised depending on what batteries you're using. NiMH cells don't like the cold too much, so I have a spare set of non-rechargeable Lithium batteries for when it gets really cold.

The new Oregon 600 series is supposed to be better than the 500 series regarding screen visibility, yes, but it's taking a while for them to sort out the software bugs that inevitably accompany new Garmin hardware.

Mac2010

Alun wrote: »

although battery life can be compromised depending on what batteries you're using. NiMH cells don't like the cold too much, so I have a spare set of non-rechargeable Lithium batteries for when it gets really cold.

Regarding batteries,

Have you used Duracell Ultra series Lithium batteries? What Lithium batteries have the best power and cold weather usage?
Any thoughts will be deeply appreciated.

Mac2010

Alun wrote: »

As for the Oregon vs. Gpsmap62 argument, I have an Oregon 550t, and I have no idea what you're talking about regarding cold weather problems. I've never had a problem with mine in sub zero temps,

may be it's just me but I do find touchscreen very odd under cold climate. just fell in love with big buttons on 62s over oregon 600 series.:P

Alun

Mac2010 wrote: »

Regarding batteries,

Have you used Duracell Ultra series Lithium batteries? What Lithium batteries have the best power and cold weather usage?
Any thoughts will be deeply appreciated.

The Lithium batteries I use are Energizer Ultimate Lithium. They're the only ones I've tried so can't comment on whether other makes might be better.

I have a set in my rucksack as a backup in case my NiMH rechargeables (Ansmann 2850mAh) fail or simply can't cope with the cold. I actually notice a definite drop-off in capacity even at temps around freezing, let alone below. The Lithium's have a number of advantages ... very long 'shelf' life with no noticeable self discharge, extremely light and work well even at sub-zero temperatures.

RamblingRuairi

Bought the 62s today from CH Marine. Picked up the Garmin os maps bundle as well. The map bundle referenced above is only sections of Ireland, not the complete Ireland bundle.

All in all, the 62s and the map bundle for €410 - very happy with that.
Thanks for the advice and things to look out for.
R

BarryD

I see that has an 'electronic compass' which is useful for following: if you set the map to 'auto rotate' - that is orientate itself to north as you change direction, then as you walk the unit can figure where north is from your vector of movement. The electronic compass is handy, because when you stop to look at the map and make a decision as one tends to do, this sense of north is lost.

This is when the electronic compass kicks in and reorientates the map correctly. You can usually set how long it should wait before doing so. You need to calibrate the electronic compass each time you change the batteries, at least you must on the older version. Apart from that, I can see no useful function for the feature, unless you generally want to know where north is when stopped!

Alun

I always have the map on my Oregon 550t set to "North Up", rather than "Track Up" as map rotation is generally too slow and jerky in my experience. That doesn't make the compass not useful, far from it, as it then acts just like, well, a compass Actually it's better than that as it is a 3-axis compass that means that it is completely insensitive to what angle you hold it at.

If you have a waypoint locked in, or are following a route, rather than just looking at the map, then the compass pointer will also point to the direction you want to go, using the built-in compass if stationary or moving very slowly, or using interpolation between successive positions if moving (to save power). So actually quite useful I'd say.

FWIW I rarely calibrate my compass, maybe once or twice a year if that and it doesn't seem to affect it, but then I usually use two pairs of identical batteries in it.

BarryD

Horses for courses I guess. I'm in the 'old school' that you keep your map orientated as you travel and that's what 'track up' or 'auto rotate' does. That way you read the map the way it fits the ground. With a decent map on a GPS and a dot showing where you are, you should never really have to use a compass. You just move across the hills and watch that your 'dot' is progressing on the map where you want to go.. What's simpler

Mac2010

BarryD wrote: »

Horses for courses I guess. I'm in the 'old school' that you keep your map orientated as you travel and that's what 'track up' or 'auto rotate' does. That way you read the map the way it fits the ground. With a decent map on a GPS and a dot showing where you are, you should never really have to use a compass. You just move across the hills and watch that your 'dot' is progressing on the map where you want to go.. What's simpler

I see your point sir

relaying on Electronics such as gps is a mistake when you are away from people hundred miles or even a couple of miles in harsh weather. but GPS is so simple unique item that's handy for daily stuff in the the great outdoors. I grew up using Not even compass under mostly clear sky just using the pole star ,shadows and common sense. but cloudy weather you need compass ! under clear sky the stars tell and indicate lots of things. One drop GPS unit is gone . I totally respect your opinion and point of view. Knowledge and common sense are the most accurate thing you need in any situations not only in the outdoors. it's just the way we have to simplify things to save some time by using such modern device in the outdoors

Common sense... can't beat it!

BarryD

Well, there are two main skills in mountain navigation, in my view anyway - one is mapreading and the other is routefinding. And of the two, the latter is probably more critical. Other things like compass work, distance estimation, GPS etc are just tools to assist.