![]() ![]() Infrequent hikers who don't want to take their phones out on the trail seem to be the target audience for the eTrex 20x: it's rugged, it's water resistant, and it's very reasonably priced, so basically the opposite of most smartphones, and a great value buy for those who don’t want to invest too much but still want decent functionality for their buck. While the unit only comes pre-loaded with a base map, you get the full benefit of Garmin's own functionality, including free software Basecamp which lets you plan routes and load them onto the eTrex, and tons of free downloadable topo maps. For European customers that means preloaded maps of 46 countries based on the OpenStreetMap database, with thousands of points of interests covering everything from natural features to places to get a post-hike pint. But it’s the TopoActive map that really matters here. Hardware-wise, it’s not exactly a radical upgrade. It supports both GPS and GLONASS and it has both a magnetic compass for fast direction-finding and a barometric altimeter for accurate measurements of your trail’s ups and downs. The difference between it and the eTrex 30x are minor: the 32X has more memory (although not much of it is available to you because of the very large pre-installed TopoActive map) and the menus are a little different. ![]() A slightly older model, the eTrex 32x is available as a standalone GPS or as part of a bundle with vouchers for additional maps, and whichever you pick, chances are you'll be able to find a decent deal. The eTrex range pops up a few times in our best hiking GPS guide, and with good reason. All that in a package that weighs 76grams? Not bad at all. In addition you get all the bells and whistles of a sports tracking watch, as well as barometric altitude, weather alerts, and a bevy of heart monitoring and training tools. Battery life even on the most demanding GPS setting is 25 hours, which can stretch to 170 hours by tuning the responsiveness down a touch. The only downside is managing it all on the move, as the screen real-estate is limited by the fact it’s a watch. Indeed, the Suunto 9 Baro Titanium has access to GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS and BEIDOU satellite constellations, offers waypoint and visual navigation, POI navigation, bearing navigation and a variety of route planning tools all packed into a tiny unit. However, like many of it’s Suunto 9 cousins, there’s a potent GPS unit built into the watch, plenty enough to get an emergency GPS position, or follow a set of waypoints. The Suunto 9 Baro Titanium might look like a standard outdoors watch, and in many ways it is. Head to our Garmin GPSMAP 65s review for more info. IPX7 waterproofing means this GPS will work underwater (for 30 mins at least), so it should cope just fine with unpredictable weather. Basically, exactly what you want from a GPS unit. The TopoActive Europe maps are detailed, and easily zoomable to immediately show you where you are, what that river or contour line you can see is, and where your destination is. Even though those last two are Asia-coverage only, that’s still covering off most of the public networks available, which is pretty solid work. The Garmin GPSMAP 65s’ GNSS means it can access satellites from GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and IRNSS constellations. With an additional altimeter and 3 axis compass over the standard model, the 65s pairs old-school button operation with new-school pan-global mapping abilities. These are good things because buttons refuse to go wrong very easily, and still work in rain or when wearing gloves, and the new satellite tools (multi-band technology and expanded GNSS support) make location speed exponentially faster, and tracking accuracy much improved. While this option has a shorter feature list than others in our ranking – most notably, it lacks communications features, and is powered by batteries rather than being rechargeable – it shines when it comes to pure mapping power. If mapping is your priority, the Garmin GPSMAP 65s could be the best hiking GPS for you. ![]()
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