Alternative to Garmin for Portable GPS?

[cathy63]

Can you put in gps coordinates into Google maps? I ask cause like you we do some hiking and the only way to find some trails is by gps coordinates

Yes, you can use lat/long coordinates with Google Maps, but I've found that for hiking I prefer apps that specifically map trails and work offline. There are a bunch of free ones in the Google Play store. You just have to remember to download them at home and then start them up so they'll grab the topo maps that you need for wherever you're going.

When we were in Joshua Tree NP in the spring we were on a trail that followed several sandy washes and the cairns to mark the trail were rather sparse, so it was really nice to be able to fire up an app and know where the actual trail was and see our little blue dot from the GPS.

 

[easysurfer]

I've had a similar experience with Garmin the last two times I tried to update. Once it seemed like it succeeded but when I started up the GPS it said my maps were out of date. The next time I let it go overnight when it was saying it would take about 8 hours to finish downloading. It was fine the next morning. According to the messages on screen, the wait time seems to be in the downloading, not the updating, so I assume it's a problem on the Garmin server side.

I do not have to format my memory card before doing the updates.

Yes, that was my experience yesterday. Several times, I'd get an update was okay screen on the computer, only to not have the maps updated when powering up the GPS.