Which free Garmin map

Advice
#1

I bought an Etrex Legend HCx and I’m wondering which of the free maps work best for kayaking inland lakes?

What about for limited coastal kayaking on both coasts



Also any recommendations on memory capacity for the micro SD card?



Any other useful hints?



I got the Legend since I’ve been happy with my Etrex and Bass Pro had a really good sale.



Thanks

Randy

#2

Garmin maps
Lot’s of free goodies here. I use the AZ topo map all the time.



http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/

#3

garmin…
i can’t vouch for any free maps for garmin but as far a SD cards go …the smallest is 2gb …i use 4gb in my Garmin …better to have to much than not enough when it comes to downloading info to it.

#4

I have NEVER found ANY GPS map
to be accurate.

this includes google-earth and mapquest.



Either the land/roads change and the maps are never updated or the maps are purchased from bluep[rints wheih change withthe need of the companythat is building.



Did the Colorado and watched someone try to navigate his boat according to Google-Earth on his GPS.



I, at least, KNEW that my fish-n-go map wasn’t accurate so used it as ‘advice only’.



Do any of these upload maps show contour lines BELOW water?

#5

second GPSFILEDEPOT
I second gpsfiledepo as a place to get maps.



For most paddling, a topo map provides most of what you need. The nautical charts are aimed at larger boats, so don’t provide information on shallower areas or info about the shoreline, which is where I often am at. They are useful if you paddle a place with major shipping.

#6

Second GPSfiledepot. and topo maps
As the previous commenter noted, topographic maps are generally more useful for paddling purposes than nautical charts. The depth of the water (which only charts tell you) is less useful than, for example, the location of fresh water supplies or likely take-out points (which only topos tell you).



I’d like to add my voice to the chorus in praise of GPSfilesdepot. The Ibycus Topo USA map is especially good, and is viewable in MapSource and BaseCamp. Available for Mac and Windows at:



http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/19



The Windows version of Ibycus USA gave me compatibility problems with my Garmin-made Topo US 2008 maps. MapSource could hold the Ibycus maps or the Garmin maps but not both at the same time. Switching between the two maps sets required reinstalling MapSource and re-downloading the desired map set.



I’ve not heard of anyone else having this problem, so it could be something I did wrong.



Alex

#7

Thanks All !
I’ve downloaded from gpsfiledepot but haven’t had time to play with it yet.



SYOTR

Randy