eTrex 30 - light weight, compact size, good reception, good battery life, all basic nav functions, mag. compass, pressure altimeter, easy to read screen, easy to use with gloves on, topo map capability, easy menu navigation, customizable setup, easy to use computer based planning/waypoint mgmt. software.
I've used or played with most of the other options out there. This one wins out.
Ymmv. It works for me. In reality, my GPS gets treated exclusively as a tool ... and sits in my pack most of the year.
Wrist mounted nav units (like the foreTrex 301 and 401) are useable and fully capable but less user friendly in real world use due to more complicated menu interfaces. I would guess the same for the newest (Fenix???) with the added problem of shorter battery life. Those fitness GPS watches are generally useless for real navigation purposes.