climbanut Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Anyone have any feelings on GPS vs Altimeters. My Garmin Summit went out and now I was thinking of replacing it with the Geko 301. But, I also was thinking of an altimeter watch. My thoughts are GPS because I like the ability to place way points. Don't ask for the old summit beacuse it's gone. Whadyathink? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhamaker Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Tough one. Versatility of a GPS vs the portability of an altimeter watch? I only use the altimeter durring the 4 months of winter and hope to do more icefield traverses, so I'm probably be going w/ the GPS - one w/ AA batteries I can swap between my avy beacon, headlamp, and GPS. Now, do I realy want to spend an extra $150 for a GPS w/ mapping function? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catbirdseat Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 My feeling is I don't ever want to be without my altimeter. GPS is good but not a replacement. My altimeter is analog and doesn't require batteries. It always works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gslater Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Depends on what type of stuff you do. I sometimes take my GPS, particularly if in potential whiteout conditions, or in featureless terrain like a desert. But I ALWAYS have my altimeter watch with me. I consider an altimeter to be a fundamental navigational tool, and a GPS to be a very helpful tool in certain conditions/situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshK Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 GPS is certainly no substitute for actually being able to navigate, but it can be really nice for moving faster through whiteout or confusing terrain. I got the most use out of mine on the ptarmigan traverse in June, where we navigated from the spider-formidable col to the white rock lakes, all in pretty much no visibility. While this certainly would have been possible without the GPS, the ease of "look and go" sure made it nice and fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrashador Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 I carry both-plus map & compass- for redundancy's sake though more and more favor the gps. The wee Geckos work well and, imho, in terms of bang for buck are hard to beat. Am still using alkaline AAA batteries but am about to grab a few sets of nickel metal hydride rechargeables. Alkaline's are SO suck in the cold not to mention landfills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lummox Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 climbanut said: Anyone have any feelings on GPS vs Altimeters. gps are the only way to go when visual clues are not available. that rarely happens when climbing. but the gps will give a pretty good position (within 100 meters) in crap weather when an altimeter (with map and compass) only will give a dead reckoning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpinfox Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 gslater said: Depends on what type of stuff you do. I sometimes take my GPS, particularly if in potential whiteout conditions, or in featureless terrain like a desert. But I ALWAYS have my altimeter watch with me. I consider an altimeter to be a fundamental navigational tool, and a GPS to be a very helpful tool in certain conditions/situations. What he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastsider Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 Garmin Vista. You get a GPS, barometric altimeter (like the Summit) and the ability to download maps and other useful information into the GPS (I take my GPS on all travel, loaded with the maps and business info for wherever I'm visiting). I don't think the antennas on the e-trex units are all that great (they don't acquire for shiite under tree canopy, in my experience) but they work great once you're on the snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin_Ristau Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 The Garmin Vista and Legend models only get half the battery time of the Summit because of their map screen which has twice the resolution. The summit is still available - try www.cabelas.com and wade through all the cool camouflage. GPS's will be somewhere between duck decoys and nightvision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoboy Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 climbanut said:Don't ask for the old summit beacuse it's gone. It's still on www.garmin.com If you really want one, the store I work at sells them and we could shipp you one. PM if so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layton Posted August 3, 2003 Share Posted August 3, 2003 GPS's are aid. LAME! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastsider Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Kevin_Ristau said: The Garmin Vista and Legend models only get half the battery time of the Summit because of their map screen which has twice the resolution. I think the electronic compass has a far greater effect than the resolution; battery life sucks with it on, so I always keep it off. Lithium AAs give excellent battery life in the Vista. Sure they're expensive, but worth it IMO for the battery life, and they weigh a bit less to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapertimmy Posted August 7, 2003 Share Posted August 7, 2003 one note on gecko's, the power button can easily be turned on accidnetally in the pack, otherwise, these little suckers are dope, light, and have almost all the functions of a full sized garmin sans the gay maps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrashador Posted August 7, 2003 Share Posted August 7, 2003 gapertimmy said: one note on gecko's, the power button can easily be turned on accidnetally in the pack...[snip] learned this lesson this weekend... gots ta pack the thing mo betta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyclimb Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 without a question the garmin vista kicks ass. I have had it for over two years now, and it has become indespensible to my training. I track my mtb every night. then plug the data into Trek Analyst on the internet, and can monitor my progress. I train this way with friends all over the country. It has saved my ass more than once in the winter when huge storms covered all tracks, and would have left me portentially screwed. It is a good safety precaution!! Also it is great to TRACK climbs, becaus eyou can alnalyze angles, calorie burns, and all kinds of data. The Vista is crucial due to its large memory capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa_Eagle Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 Alpinfox said: gslater said: Depends on what type of stuff you do. I sometimes take my GPS, particularly if in potential whiteout conditions, or in featureless terrain like a desert. But I ALWAYS have my altimeter watch with me. I consider an altimeter to be a fundamental navigational tool, and a GPS to be a very helpful tool in certain conditions/situations. What he said. count me in too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtn_mouse Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 I have been using a Thommen altimeter for years, at least 20 years. It has no batteries, always works, and is absolutely bomb proof. GPSs are good for lots of things, but I ever rely on them for altitude. If you are expected to go high, get a thommen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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