My dad wants one for Christmas. Here are the guidelines he gave me. 1. He wants a handheld model 2. He would like one that works in an airplane (is that even allowed?) 3. He would like to be able to mark his current point, so that he can hike back to it. 4. He does not need one for driving directions. Anyone have any recommendations?
Unless something happened in the past five years, I don't think GPS works in a plane. You're moving too fast, and you're way above ground so the math doesn't work out correctly... If you want one just for hiking - a friend has a Garmin Forerunner 201. It rules, especially if you're a runner...
actually my old gps/pda (Garmin iQue 3600) would work on a plane in both longitude/latitude as well as elevation. (not to mention speed).... it was really cool. and yes you are allowed to turn it on once at cruising elevation. the only bad thing was that you had to hold it very close to a window at just the right angle....
I have a Garmin handheld, and it's great. I would recommend it highly. They work in planes, you just aren't allowed to use them. However, me being the rebel that I am, I've turned mine on a couple of times. It's cool to see yourself moving along at 500 mph at 35,000 feet. You have to be by the window, though.
I suggest a Garmin. I have spent a fair amount of time with my Garmin eTrex Vista doing geocaching. I really like the Garmin GPSes -- the eTrex Yellow is really popular in the geocaching community because it's so cheap, durable, and functional. Magellan GPSes are pretty good too, but I prefer the interface to the Garmins. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
