climbant wrote:First nothing replaces a map and good compass and the skill to use it. That being said for me simpler is better.
I'll second this...
I find even the best and brightest of GPS displays to be wholly inadequate for displaying maps. They simply can't compete with the size and resolution of a good printed map. Moreover, units that attempt to do so are more expensive, and either heavier (due to extra battery capacity) or offer shorter life (with the same battery capacity).
My approach has always been to get the simplest, cheapest, lightest GPS I can find that will accurately report position relative to a coordinate system or waypoints I have loaded. I rely on a printed map for "context" and "awareness" of my surroundings.
I figure I would never not print a paper map for a trip into unfamiliar terrain. (It would be folly to rely on a battery powered device alone.) So why spend the extra dollars and extra weight chasing a display that will be inferior to that provided on the paper?
It's true, you can lose the map. But at 0.1 oz each, I just print several, and give one to a friend and stash an extra one deep and dry in my pack.