Lots of folks ask about " how handy is a Gps" from experiance I will say this , "you can get lost on a beach with out one". Believe it or not, we did, it makes quite a story. So if you have one, make sure you turn it on to use it....Many kinds and prices.. For the average trail rider, not all the whistles and bells are needed. One that will tell you where you are, and where you have been ,and where your going, is all you need. A good understanding of how it works is the best thing you can do, it takes practice and not hard to learn if you work at it. Very valuable piece of equipment to have for strange country.
I have a Garmin XL12. would not ride with out it. It does what I need it to with one extra feature. I can down load the days ride to my PC and print out a topo map of were I have been. Of course you need a topo map program in your PC. I use the Delome Topo USA 3.0. What a great way to keep a very good record of where you rode...On this last trip of 5 months and 13 states I made maps of each ride. Over 30 very handy trail maps that I know are right on the money.. I can duplicate any ride we did. Makes a very good way to keep track of your miles also. We rode over 1200 on that trip.
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Just remember salesmen like to sell, when it comes to a GPS, you dont need a lot of extras.
I do find the Garmin XL12 just right for us. Like my credit card " I won't leave home without it."
