Garmin GPSMAP 64st, TOPO U.S. 100K with High-Sensitivity GPS and GLONASS Receiver

I upgraded from the older 2000ish model. There were no longer maps available for that unit and memory was next to nothing.This is basically the exact same design with major upgrades. Tons of storage and fast processor.Battery life is good. I use Panasonic Eneloop rechargeables with great luck. Battery saver feature shuts off the screen and helps extend battery life.Bluetooth connects to my phone. Phone App from Garmin lets you share your location and real time movement to friends or facebook. Love that.These are some things I think are dumb. If you download PAID maps to the unit and it dies or you upgrade models the maps are not transferrable to the new unit. You have to buy them again. If you buy maps on memory cards then you can use them in any unit anytime.Here lies the bigger problem. The unit has one memory card slot. If you buy maps on an SD card that slot is now useless for additional storage. This bugs me.Overall it's a very rugged reliable gps...fast acquisition....easy to use. Highly recommend.UPDATE:I had to purchase the TOPO 24k maps on sd card namely because the trails were not accurate on the 100k topo map included or non existent and the topo 24k is routable as the 100k is not. Additionally the 24k maps are road routable as well... So you can use 24k maps to navigate city streets which is cool when you cell doesn't have a signal. Kind of a bonus.Been using this on the last dozen hikes I've gone on. Unit performs flawlessly. Extremely accurate. After you master the learning curve it's a pleasure to use. I've tested it side by side with an older 60 model and they are basically dead on the same. Make sure you update your firmware. I had an issue and had to reinstall the firmware to correct a miscalculation issue. Easy fix.Batteries last about 16 hours with the screen backlighting off.I've read the other reviews. Don't believe most of the gripes. Most are user error or misunderstanding of the features. Everything in the manual works for me.Highly recommend.

I bought the 64st to replace my old Garmin eTrex Legend, which served me well for many years. The higher resolution, color display on this GPS is MUCH easier to read, and the navigation buttons are WAY easier to use than the essentially single-button interface on the eTrex. It takes a little while to get used to which buttons do what (admittedly I only glanced at the manual... ;) but it's fairly intuitive once you play with it a bit.My favorite feature however is the amazing reception. Unlike the eTrex, which requires a clear line of sight to the sky, this GPS easily captures many satellites even inside my house on the bottom floor, through the upstairs floor, ceiling and roof. Absolutely amazing. I expect this unit to perform much more accurately and reliably than the eTrex did when I'm riding my dirt bike for the dense woods of the Pacific Northwest.I use a RAM mount to attach the GPS to the handlebars on my bike, and purchased a hardened glass screen protector to prevent the display from getting scratched. I highly recommend both:RAM Cradle: RAM Cradle Holder for Garmin GPSMAP 62/64 Series GPSRAM Handlebar mount: RAM Mounting Systems RAM-B-149ZU Handlebar MountScreen protector: (Pack of 4) Tempered Glass Screen Protector for Garmin GPSMAP 62 64 64s 64st, Akwox 0.3mm 9H Hard Scratch-resistant Protective Film for GPSMAP 62 62s 62sc 62st 62stc 64 64s 64st GPSPROS:+ Reception is amazing+ Nice color display+ Buttons are easy to useCONS:- My only real complaint is that the 100k topo map is not really all that useful for PNW riding. I plan on upgrading to a 24k Topo map of the areas I ride. If you are considering buying this unit, I recommend saving a few bucks on the GPS itself and buy the plain 64 or 64s and spending that money on a Garmin 24k Topo map...or downloading one of the free, open-source 24k Topo maps that are available on the internet..

I love the GPS. I've had it out hunting and hiking and it's great. For me, the only downside was that the maps Garmin loads on it are out dated. My neighborhood is about 15 years old but doesn't appear on the maps (purchased Dec 2019). It's really better suited for off road, but it was annoying that the maps didn't include the local roads. After some research I found that there are far better and current open source maps that can be found online, downloaded, and copied into the GPS for use in the field or on the road. The more you use this GPS, the more familiar you will become with it. There are a lot of features and the instructions are not detailed. YouTube videos will help. I bought this rather than a newer model because of the rubber buttons. I didn't want a touch screen for concern of messing something up by simply touching the wrong part of the screen. This has menus associated with all the buttons and if you accidently hit the wrong button, it's easy to back out before doing anything that will jeopardize your navigation.