GPS

[del1949]

I have never owned or used a GPS device, All my hill walking for the last 40+ years has been by map and compass.
I admit that several hills I had to visit a second time having gone to the wrong cairn in misty conditions, usually finding out my mistake later.
I am considering buying a GPS device, is there one that just gives my position by the easting and the northing?
I don't need one that has a colour display of the ordnance survey map etc. and costs loads of money.
Any help appreciated.

[walkingpoles]

The cheapest one will do (eTrex something).
All eTrex can handle british grid reference numbers (or Swiss ones and similar, in case you go abroad).

I find the user interface dreadful (kind of reminding of arcade machines), but it serves the purpose you describe. You'll be also able to put in the grid reference of the summit while still at home (or in the train). When standing next to a cairn the GPS then will tell you how far you have to search for the correct one. The other nice feature is that you can save the grid reference of the place you happen to be for later use. This helps finding again placed bikes or backpacks, bridges, ends of paths or other waymarks. Or for checking out back home which mountain you saw from that spot when you looked 20 degrees east.

[rockhopper]

I also have a garmin etrex - not the current version, it's an older one but still does the job. It takes two AA batteries, best to use rechargeables. It's great for recording the track which can then be downloaded when back at home. Some use the gps on their phones instead and there will be apps to give grid refs - I did try this but gave up as it used up phone battery and the phone took too long to get a signal/satellites - cheers

[tweedledog]

I've had two eTrexes over the years and can echo the previous replies. However, if all you want is to locate yourself and you have an iPhone then OS themselves produce an App called, original this, OS Locate which will give you your eastings and northings, and is also a compass and altimeter. Don't know if it's available for other smart phones. There are issues about smart phone battery life on the hills of course, but if you're just going to use it on occasion to locate yourself then that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Also, it's free!

[Duggie12]

I've got a basic etrex as well but I never use it because I can't work it (and I have tried). Find it horrible to use.

I just use OS locate, nice and easy and accurate enough for me

[Cairngorm creeper]

Like ops We use OS locate on phone for checking for Map ref. At critical points and it uses minimal phone battery. Also have view ranger on phone and tablet but tend to use this for pre and post walk route planning and details. All much cheaper than buying GPS.

[simon-b]

I've used an etrex in the past and it definitely does the job. But as other posters have said, a phone app would probably be a more economical option nowadays, for anyone with a smartphone, and only wanting to check their location. Phone battery life can be maximised on the hills by using flight mode. Having said that, it's obviously worth using a waterproof device on British mountains. Garmin outdoor GPS devices are waterproof; not all smartphones are.

[del1949]

Thank you for the replies to my GPS question, which have been most helpful.

[Marty_JG]

I bought an older b&w eTrex and despise it.

I then got a Montana and I adore it. The Oregon and 64s as as-good, the Oregon is the same but smaller (smaller screen, but also lower weight) and the 64s isn't touch-screen which means it's not as intuitive to use but also easier to use with thick mittens on.

The difference between the older b&w eTrex series and the more modern GPS units is night and day, the difference between a 1908 Model T and a 2016 Fiesta Titanium.

[StevenF]

If you just want coordinates it might not be a bad idea to buy a GPS-watch. They are light, the battery lasts longer and it's fast and easy to use.

[walkingpoles]

The difference between the older b&w eTrex series and the more modern GPS units is night and day,

Care to elaborate? I'd be very interested in what makes the latter so much better. Is it user interface, functionality or something else?

[Marty_JG]

Care to elaborate? I'd be very interested in what makes the latter so much better. Is it user interface, functionality or something else?

I had a think about this, I'd say Visibility, Interface, Functionality.

VISIBILITY

The colour screen alone makes a huge difference. The old units have black-on-grey and as a result you don't get much detail.



And though it's not a "unit screenshot" my Montana basically looks exactly like that with my £10 map pack that combines Open Street Map and NASA's topography. Moreover, as you zoom-in you get more detailed contour lines.



That's vector (line drawn) but you can also get bitmap maps, e.g. the (very expensive) 1:50K and 1:25K OS maps for the units and they look exactly like the paper versions, the Bird's Eye images that look like satellite photos, the City Navigator maps which are from Nüvi driving units, even your own maps from image files which could be handy for the mega-sized conferences or festivals.


INTERFACE

I find using a touch-screen much faster and intuitive to use than click buttons, the screen is a type that can be used with gloves on (resistive, not capacitive like iPhones). Even little things like having a QWERTY keyboard on the screen. That said, G64s (basically a Montana/Oregon but uses buttons not touchscreen) has fans on this site. It's definitely a personal preference thing.


FUNCTIONALITY

The ability to remap buttons, change screen layouts, create shortcuts (not just for one app but also for a "process") is really handy to customise the unit to your way of doing things. So you can have a map with a compass on it, a compass with trip data on it, etc. I've set up my power button to double-tap into the camera function so I can quickly take snaps on the go without fiddling through the menus.

Different folks have different needs for these units, moutain bike, offroad ATV, motorcycle, hiker, geocacher, so different people will want different functions "handy" to them. You can search online for how people have been using them (e.g. autorouting, track micromanagement) but Garmin did a pretty healthy overview:

http://garmin.blogs.com/softwareupdates/2011/09/the-need-for-speed.html

This GPS blog does a pretty good overview of the functionality too

http://gpsinformation.info/penrod/Montana/Montana.html
http://gpsinformation.info/penrod/oregon650/garminoregon650.html

To me , at least, the unit is doing what I want rather me doing what the unit wants.

[StevieC]

If the original poster really literally only wants something to give them their current grid ref, then a free smartphone app (e.g. OS Locate or GridPoint GB) is the way to go, or if they don't have a smartphone then you can probably get a basic 2nd hand Garmin for a few quid on ebay.

[Marty_JG]

Fair enough, I was responding to a tangent.

UTM coordinates are on all newer Garmin units and can be added to some older units from this app:

https://apps.garmin.com/en-GB/apps/2f30fe76-c14a-46e9-a606-76ced27dd776

[Sgurr]

As RTC says, ideal for checking which particular thistle is the summit. Operates with mitts. Basic. Idiot proof (almost). I don't want something that tells me every step of the way, just something that will tell me where I am lost, and something that will give me the summit. Oh, and something that stores the reference telling me which bit of forest to get back through.