Yeah, I know... it's been posted before.  But I searched the old threads and found them either dated or off the mark:  What are the hand-held GPS units of choice for Quetico or more remote locations (WC, Atikaki, etc.)?

I haven't used a GPS for land/lake navigation before, just open ocean & airborne.  What works well (and preferrably doesn't cost a fortune) for the slow-paced canoe world?  It looks like the technology half-life for these things is ~2 years, so I'm thinking it's time to get a fresh thread going.

I have a Garmin 60csx & love it, I have never lost signal anywhere I have been.

I used it for the 1st time on canoe trips last year & it was flawless & accurate. I have always done things the map & compass way & still carry both... but I have to admit I love the fact that I can paddle where ever I want & totally ignore the map...

This lets me enjoy the trip more because I am not always trying to track where I am on the map. Just fish & explore & when I need to know how to head back or out... just turn it on.

I have always wondered what others use for the Quetico but for the Boundary Waters I use Garmin etrex legend HC.  Don't need any topos.  I simply got all the waypoints for the campsites and portages for free and downloaded the program Easygps which sends them to my gps.  Right before every trip I get out my maps and write the campsite and portage numbers on the map for my whole trip.  I then download them into my gps using Easygps program.  This process takes me less than 30 minutes.  If I don't know where I am I just turn on my gps and the campsites or portages will show up on my screen.  For example, I can bring the scale down to 200 feet on my screen and know that a campsite is 200 feet straight west of me and I can look at the map and know exactly where I am.  I assume for more remote locations (Quetico & etc.) you simply must pay for the mapping software sold by the gps companies.  

Thanks to everyone for the posts!  I did some more searching and found that the Garmin 60 and 76 are both equivalents with the same guts, software, etc.  The only difference appears to be in the case and buttons.  The 76 appears to have a larger case for the same weight, and it is the only one of Garmin's products that *they* claim floats.  Anybody used one?

Azalea:  Perhaps I've misjudged or mis-spoke.  About 30 years ago, I had an Apple II computer.  If I had kept it (and now I wish that I had!), it would, in all probability, still be functional.  But I doubt that I could get any service or software for it today.

It isn't so much the technology dies as it is that it gets forced out of use as it becomes "obsolete" and is no longer supported.  I believe the marketing term is "planned obsolescence".  Is this a problem with GPS devices?  A glance at Garmin's website finds "discontinued products".  Do they also discontinue support?

TCK

Woodstripper:
I do have a Garmin Map76 and have used it for close to eight(?) years.  It has been a very reliable unit for me with pretty decent battery life.  Fortunately, I have not had to test its ability to float yet, but keep it securely packed in a Pelican case when not in use.

Kind of like azalea, I have been thinking I need to replace it with a 'fancier' color unit maybe with a touch screen, but when I look at what the newer units actually do, I can't justify the cost to 'upgrade'.  Not as long as the Map76 does what I need it to do; get me from point A to point B.  I am also kind of like most others in that I still like to have that map out in front of me.  The GPS just affords me the straightest line and affirms my direction and on long days of paddling, it really helps.

My $0.02