GPS Advice

[MelC]

I have absolutely no intuitive directional abilities whatsoever. I can navigate off a map but not instinctively at all. This has been fine since generally I have a map available to me but I have toyed in the past with getting a gps. Now that I am entering the world of mountain biking this flirtation with gps has become a bit more front and centre. It is one thing to navigate on roads and when hiking but mountain bikes move fast enough that I could get seriously lost.

So the money question is...what should I buy? I have looked at the Edge 305 and it seems great but somewhat limited in applications. The only real advantage is that it will measure cadence for me and I'm not sure how important I think that is (especially since I could just buy a cadence computer fairly cheaply to do that). The mapping features would probably get me back to the car without issue but wouldn't assist my directionally challenged driving in any way so it would essentially be a one trick (or two trick since I would presumably use it for running too) pony. Would I be better off to get an Etrek Vista or something with some real memory/mapping capabilities so it will be useful to me in other scenarios such as travel, driving etc.? Does anyone do this or have any recommendations?

Mel

[Deanna]

I have the Etrek vista and have been pleased with it. My husband and I do use it in the car, hiking, biking etc, though we always have a map backup--if you're in the forest the tree cover can block satellite reception.