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GPS Devices for Walking and Hiking
For more information about the walking with GPS devices - see:
Hill Skills > Navigation Skills > GPS Myths and Truths Part 1
and
Hill Skills > Navigation Skills > GPS Myths and Truths Part 2
For more recent discussions and opinions on GPS see GPS Views & Discussions
In answer to N. Toulouse, Stourbridge below I got both my Garmin Etrex and Fugawi software at christmas.
Not forgetting that I needed the extra Garmin download cable (from Maplin), I was able to get the whole lot up and running quite quickly.
My walking companion and I always follow a go4awalk route and I plot it on the Fugawi map beforehand, load it to the Etrex, then set it up as my route.
What a doddle, as long as you accept the differences between the written directions and what you can identify on the 1:50,000 OS map used by Fugawi (This is due to the map scales - Fugawi is 1:50,000, go4awalk routes 1:25,000 Ed).
When we return, I transfer the recorded track to the software to see where we actually went and get a good distance and elevation plot.
For me it makes the whole thing more enjoyable and it has helped us on the walk - the GPS indicating where we should be ending up, so helping us make 'on the ground' decisions.
I got the software for my walking region (there are 4 different ones) from Amazon for around £50 and have had great enjoyment and no problems to date. Maybe not the best map scale, but my pocket would not run to 1:25,000.
Brian Grayson
I've had a base model GPS (Garmin ETREX) now for about 2 years, I am also competent at navigation with Map and Compass. During my epic walk from John O' Groats to Lands End on 2002 the GPS proved it's worth.
It was not a replacement for navigation skills but a complement to them. It certainly saved a lot of time when it was necessary to navigate obstructions such as bogs in bad weather and allowed me an extra hour or so in the bar.
I don't really use it too much for setting a route, just for indicating where a target is in relation to present position, and occasionally just to confirm the present position - to date I've always agreed with it.
With spare batteries, it's reliable and accurate - what more could you want.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to compliment you on an excellent site - it's easy to use and from what I've seen provides excellent tutorials. As a long standing Scout Leader, it's good to find clear explanations of methods I've been trying to get over to youngsters for years and being on the web means they will probably believe them!
Keep up the good work.
Phil Bean
I've just received a copy of your 1st article on GPS equipment (see Hill Skills > Navigation Skills > GPS Myths and Truths Part 1). Very well set out and I agree with everything you have said.
I have the eTrex Summit and have tried to use it on a day's walk of 8 hours or more to record exact distance, amount of ascent and descent and a profile of the elevation on the walk which could cover 20 miles or more.
With everything switched on the batteries will not last more than 4 hours so you have to be aware of this and change the batteries after 4 hours to maintain the records.
The battery life can be extended to a certain extent by using 'battery save' and by switching off the compass and altimeter.
Garmin also tell me that you will use less battery power if you walk in a straight line and keep on level ground as the computer does not need to make continuous calculations.
You may already be aware of these points but I send them in case you are not.
I look forward to your next article
Dennis Gilbert
I bought a Garmin Etrex over a year ago and I find it invaluable. Having walked for over fifty years now I consider it to be the most important item I've ever bought for safe walking. I definitely would not be without one.
I see one contributor mentioned the battery. These devices are a little hungry for battery power, but, I use some Uniross NIMH 2300 milliampere/hour rechargeable batteries which can be recharged up to 1000 times, according to the manufacturer.
When using these I can do at least three long days of walking without any problem at all - and that's with the device switched on for the entire walk. They come in a pack of four so I always carry two fully charged spare ones just in case.
Happy and safe walking in all weathers.
Brian Hill, Builth Wells
After some research I finally purchased the Garmin Etrex handheld GPS
as an 'entry level' device and fully prepared to find it was just a gadget
with no real use.
Well, I've 'road tested' it this weekend and I'm hooked! Even for those situations where you are not trying to get down off a mountain in the dark and fog (i.e. just normal daytime walking that most of us do), I can see the GPS will add a new dimension, especially to those interested in navigation per se.
I realise already that it will be better to buy the connection lead and software, in order to download routes, but that's costly and so meantime I'll enter the data the longwinded way. The go4awalk routes with GPS data are going to very helpful for this.
As a word of advice - don't try to take on board everything in the instruction book immediately. Take things a step at a time and use what you have learned in practice before moving to the next stage. That way you become very familiar with what buttons to press on the GPS when you're on the move without having to have the Get Started guide in one hand.
GPS doesn't replace the fun of "map and compass" - it enhances it!.
Chris Baker, Congleton
Some years ago I set of to walk Scafell Pike with a small group of friends. For a change I was not leading and the task was given to my sister-in-law so I decided to sit back an enjoy the ride.
The day started well with a quick trip up Lingmell before starting up Scafell Pike after which we were going across to Sca Fell.
As we approached the summit of Scafell Pike the cloud descended and by the time we got there visibility was poor.
A decision was made to scrap Sca Fell and to simply back track our way down to Wasdale. This is when things started to go wrong.
After short time we realized we had wandered off the path and were lost. I had not been navigating just following the person in the lead and as an experienced walker I should have been checking are position and not trusting the person in front, a lesson for all walkers.
With some difficulty we all got down safely, after this I decided to look at GPS. At the time GPS was still in its infancy and I felt it was not reliable enough to buy.
I look forward with great interest at your forthcoming articles to see whether GPS is now a worth while navigational aid.
Peter Walling Wirral
Here's my two penn'orth for the GPS forum.
I've just bought an Etrex GPS after the embarrassment of becoming benighted between Wasdale Head and Styhead Pass last November.
It was pouring with rain and every path had turned into a torrent.
Not wanting to become a Mountain Rescue statistic I backtracked to the Wasdale Head hotel where an extremely helpful lady booked us into Mrs Buchannan's farmhouse B&B, this was followed by a couple of beers in the Climbers Bar - no more mind as most of my money was still in Borrowdale with my car and mobile phone.
Had I had the GPS then I could have reasonably confidently continued, as it was my night-time navigation skills were found to be less than adequate.
Remember that GPS is a tool to be used carefully, not an excuse to venture beyond one's capabilities.
Oh, and as for software - I've tried OZIExplorer and found it very user friendly. You can scan the page of the OS map you're using and then plot your route. This can be downloaded to the GPS or Grid references entered manually.
Mark Dixon
GPS is an underestimated tool regarded by some as a 'gadget'. That is because they do not know how to or have never used one. To these people I would suggest they try navigating open fell top terrain at any time of day, when the cloud base has lowered and 'removed' their view.
Whilst not trying to suggest a GPS should supplement a compass, I always use a compass alongside a GPS and have (on more than two occasions) found the GPS invaluable in this type of situation.
One important point is that, on one of these occasions the ability to navigate with some accuracy by the GPS led to the rest of the group feeling far less concerned about their dilemma (which was not a dilemma at all).
Feeling safe in the knowledge that their 'leader' was about to bring them down from the mountain to civilisation without danger was very important to the morale of the group.
A GPS is as important as a Compass, Map, Suitable Clothing, Suitable Footwear and so on . . .
Len Martin
I bought a Garmin e-trex and found it astonishingly accurate when testing it out.
It will do me for why I bought it, namely :- when visibility is virtually nil I can get a grid reference (deviation or no deviation) which is a lot closer than my estimate {you know, I have been walking at roughly 4.2354 km/hour and should be here!} and then work out a compass bearing to where I want to get to.
Regards Dermot Sweeney
I must admit that until quite recently I was definitely in the sceptic’s camp. Raised on map and compass (and a lot of experience ‘reading’ the landscape) I thought GPS devices where ‘toys for boys’ and offered little to enhance you experience in the hills – if anything I thought they would somehow remove part of the point of being there.
However, having tried one I realise what a valuable navigational aid it can be. While a GPS device can never be a substitute for your map, compass and experience – it will give you a pretty accurate indication of where you are (to within 100m – and often closer). This means that your next decision, about where to go or what to do, is based on sound, accurate information about your current location - leaving you more time to enjoy and savour the scenery. And isn’t that the point of being there?
Just make sure you’ve got some spare batteries!
Mike, Editor at go4awalk.com
For more recent discussions and opinions on GPS see GPS Views & Discussions
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