GPS advice

[WOOF]

Looking to buy my first handheld GPS.
Wanting some advice on what to buy for my 16ft boat.
I dont know whether to but an el-cheapo second hand one, or spend a few hundred dollars and get a new one with more options.
It is to be used for both inshore and offshore......and possibly the odd camping trip.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks.

[stubbie]

G'day Woof, Just bought a Garmin 72 as recommended by some fellow Ausfishers. This unit is very easy to use and has all the basic necessities. It cost me around $275 and is worth every cent. Give me a yell if ya need to know something.
Cheers stubbie

[Cheech]

Woof,

I agree with Stubbie. The 72 is good as it has a bigger screen than a lot of the other small hand helds. If you want to use it for offshore, a Bigger screen will help when you are sounding around and marking spots.

I have a little ETREX that I have now replaced with a navman 500i. They are chalk and cheese. But,,,,, they both get you to your spot. If you only want to punch in a few spots (I had about 200 in mine) then the little version is fine. But would not recommend for offshore for the reasons above.

Cheech

[Pwoida]

Yeh, the 72 is very simple to use. I got the Map76, same sort of thing, very easy to use and I can download charts into it if I want. Be aware that most Garmin handhelds don't alow for extra memory storage, only whats onboard. Magellans have removable cards so you can have whole charts loaded if you want, thats if you're into Magellans. If you just want to punch in some points so you can find your way around, go the 72.

[jimmyjam]

yeah i have a 72 and seems to be awesome no troubles what so ever and very staright forward to use!

[finding_time]

I had a 72 which i filled so i got a 172c and the marks were able to be downloaded from the 72 and transfered to the 172c very very handy considering there were 300 marks on board.
Ian

[familyman]

Got a garmin 76 and had no dramas with it,only just scratched the surface of what it can do.
cheers jon