"JR" wrote in message
...
I'm hoping to fish some more out-of-the-way places this year. I have a
compass and fairly good, though somewhat rusty, skills with it, but I'm
thinking about adding the higher tech (i.e., simpler, lazier g) option
as well... you know, something from which, when it fails, I can fall back
on the compass.....

//snip//

I've had a Magellan hand-held GPS unit for three or four years. It's fine
out in the open, but it needs a clear view of the satellites, and in the
woods or in steep canyons it has lots of trouble finding enough of them to
triangulate a position. I never take it backpacking any more because it's a
waste of time and weight. It would be great out on the plains or in a boat
or airplane.

When it works it's kind of neat. If I lay it on the dash of my car it will
calculate the speed and location (in three dimensions) quite accurately, and
it will tell me that from my house to a particular spot on Snowbird creek
is, say, 485 miles.

Maybe new ones are sensitive enough to reduce the reception problem, but I'd
suggest before buying one that you see if the store will let you try one out
in the place where you expect to use it.

Bob