Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB

I have a Garmin Quest and quite pleased with it. In my experience it is very durable. Heavy rain, frost, heat, dust and hard offroad driving, hasn't caused it to fail yet. It is waterproof which means that it can be submerged in 1m water for up to 30 mins and still function. Even if GPS navigating is new to you, the Quest is very easy to operate and use. Being easy to use also means that if you go deeper into its functions (there are many that I don't use) it can sometimes be a tedious task to punch in names of places or even coordinates. You can by a motorbike mount as accesory. If you're realy cheap (like me) you can opt to buy the bicycle mount. But this means that you will run on the internal lithium battery which lasts approx. 15 hours of constant use (the data page says 20 hours but I usually detract 4-5 hours from this). Then it will need to recharge. The Quest comes with a suctioncup mount for car use, with a cigarette lighter powersupply. If you are technically inclined, you may be able to utilize this to create a working powersupply for your bicycle mount.

You can carry it around easily in your breastpocket or walk around with it in your hand. But if you are thinking of using GPS a lot while not on/in your vehicle, there are several models that are more ergonomical.

As for maps, I don't have any recommendations for you. My Quest has a built in worldmap with main roads in it's fixed memory. But I don't think you can rely on them completely. There are many maps out there that can be downloaded for different GPS's (many of them are free) but it seems to me that Garmin is predominant on the market. This means that whenever you find a mapsource that is to your liking, chances are high that it will be compatible with your Garmin.

Depending on the detail level you require and how far you will go, you will propably need to update your maps on the GPS along the way. Three years ago when I bought mine, 240MB was top notch with regards to data storage. Without having checked, I am guessing that todays GPS's are capable of much more. However, you may need to consider bringing a laptop with you, for uploading new area maps to your GPS.

I am currently planing a trip to SA from Europe on which I intend to bring my current Quest.

This post got a lot longer that I had intended, but let me end it by saying that I have not yet had the chance to go for very long trips using this. So don't take this post as the "end all, be all" answers to your query. I hope you get a few more replies before making a final decision.

Happy trails