With Christmas just around the corner...

I am trying to put my wish list together, and I still need/want
( my wife tells me I have trouble between the want need thing)

to find a good, no a great GPS unit. Our family likes to hike, water ski, and travel. I have seen several comments on GPS units through many threads. I know that this will be 80% toy for me while driving but still a useful one.
So what is a good allaround unit? what are the features to look for? And what not to get?
What is a good price and where??

Thanks to all for advise in advance.

 

I have the Garmin GPS III Plus, and I love it. I use it on long distance driving all the time, and it always works great. I've looked into the Garmin GPS V, but can't justify the cost yet. Basically the only difference between the III Plus and the V is the V gives you turn-by-turn instructions on how to get where you want, and the III Plus does not (though you can program in waypoints and follow routes, etc. but that can be more of a hassle then its worth!) A few cool things I've found about the GPS III Plus, especially when driving at night across the country when you may not be able to see signs etc. very well or the map is questionable (everyone always says, why do you need a GPS if you've got a map? Well, how do you know where you are then?). A few times I've used it late at night on country roads with literally no street markings, the GPS knows what street your on... plus its great because you never have to worry about missing a turn... if you put in your waypoints and program it into a route (kinda tricky the first time you try it but once you do it its easy as hell) if you get off course or miss an exit it will alert you, it will also tell you based on your speed how long it will take you to get to your next waypoint, way cool feature .
Here it is:

 

THhanks for the reply Matt.

Couple of questions, could I use this unit hiking too?
And can I down loads lakes intot he unit as well for on the water use ? or is it for driving only?
One more ting, I really like the way you have it mounted on the steerinig wheel, I would want to do the same. My question is do you have to have an adapter antenea for the GPS mounted like this?
I would also like to know fom anyone else what not to buy.
That may be jsut as important.

Thanks again.
Matt, how long did it take you to clean truck after those cool pictures??

 

yes you could use it for hiking. In fact my dad uses it not only for hiking but when he goes hunting too. Whenever he gets out of the vehicle he marks his vehicle as a waypoint. Any time he stops any place like a campsite or he leaves some stuff behind or whatever, he marks it as a waypoint. Then when hes trying to find his way back he can follow the "cookie crumbs" it leaves on the screen and follow his exact path back to the waypoint, or if he looks at the screen and sees a quicker way back to the waypoint, he can take that way instead. I have also heard of many people using these out on boats, and even some pilots that use them.
I have a seperate antenna for the GPS which is mounted on the roof. However I have heard of people that use the stock antenna for it and still are able to get GPS coverage. I ran the cable down from the roof along the back window, through the air channel between the cab and the bed, then under the carpet up to the front. The way I mounted the GPS was I took one of there mounts that is designed as a screw down. I used the dremel to cut a little slot in the side and ran straps through it around the steering wheel, so no holes to drill! .
As for what NOT to buy, I'd say stay away from eagles. When I was doing all my research on what GPS to buy, those things are basically a rip-off. To get any street-level maps you have to buy $100 cartridges for it, thats $100 per city! With the Garmin you have to buy the CD to get street-level maps, but its $100 for the whole country. You load in counties selectively as you need them. It includes in the base map (country-wide) all the main highways and interstates, but if you want down to the private street level, gotta get the CD