Walking with GPS is the perfect solution for a tourist who loves hiking and biking. Solid construction, durability and affordable price will make you love this device. Check out which tourist navigation device to choose and buy.
GPS walking navigation (also known as tourist navigation) is a device that is irreplaceable when hiking, trekking, climbing, cycling or picking berries or mushrooms in the woods.
Of course, you can use traditional maps during such trips and activities, but we all know they are not equivalent. First of all, you cannot always easily find yourself on the map. Besides – sometimes there are simply no exact maps of the places you are exploring. In this case, the use of tourist GPS is not only a great convenience, but also increases our safety.
So, how does tourist navigation look like?
Modern GPS devices intentionally resemble cell phones popular in the mid-00s. They are often equipped with an antenna, and their casing is quite bulky and somewhat clumsy.
But appearances are deceiving.
Because of this the device is not only more resistant to any damage, but also houses a large battery. Some manufacturers offer a very simple solution – using regular AA batteries for power. It’s best to take several sets with you on a trip so as not to worry about the possibility of navigation device discharging, which, as you know, tends to happen at the least appropriate moment.
What tourist navigation device to choose and buy?
Although nowadays, tourist navigation has many similar functions, it is important to know which ones are essential. Above all, a good tourist GPS should provide the ability to save routes. A large, full color screen will not always indicate that the model is better than others. Such a screen consumes a lot of energy, so in some cases black and white screen will be much better for your use.
Field versus car navigation
There are several differences between car navigation and field navigation. First of all, the housing differs – the car GPS has the form of a large touch screen that is mounted on the windscreen of the car. Tourist GPS, in turn, as we mentioned, has a solid, strong casing and resembles an older model of a mobile phone. It is resistant to such factors as water, dust and shock. Both devices have different maps loaded. In addition, travel navigation device, unlike a car’s, can be powered by a rechargeable battery or easily accessible AA batteries.
Let’s admit – tourist navigation is not always (or at least not only!) meant to just help us find our way.
Additional tourist navigation functions
We love to check our achievements, check how our body behaves during exercise and … compare our data with the data of other users of same tourist navigation device model. Therefore, these devices are very often equipped with functions facilitating this.
What additional functions can be found in tourist navigation devices?
- Wireless communication with the heart rate meter,
- Blood pressure measurement,
- Air temperature measurement,
- Elevation measurement,
- Stronger antenna ensuring operating also in difficult conditions (mountains, cloudiness),
- Additional batteries,
- Wireless communication with other devices,
- Topographic maps with a three-dimensional view of the relief (useful during forest trips and for mushroom hunting).
It is also worth paying attention to accessories for convenient holding of the navigation devices, like hand leashes.
GPS field navigation
Field navigation devices are mainly for those who want to explore off-road. However, these devices serve you not only when climbing peaks, traversing mountain trails or hiking in attractive tourist places. They are also perfect for short trips to the forest, for example for mushroom hunting.
The most popular tourist navigation devices – TOP 6 ranking:
Choose your GPS navigation devices knowingly based on our ranking:
Bicycle navigation
Bike navigation does not differ much from tourist navigation. For bicycle trips, this device can be equipped with additional handles, allowing it to be mounted on the steering wheel. The other functions remain basically the same.
And finally, let’s take a look at the current price of navigation devices and see at which manufacturers to look for tourist navigation.
Manufacturers and prices of tourist navigation
GPS navigation for walking or cycling is offered by such producers as Sygic, Garmin, Lark, Holux, MIO or Medion.
GPS Navigation Garmin Current price
GPS Navigation MIO Current price
The price range of tourist navigation is very large in Polish market. There is something for everyone here who wants to spend as little as 500 PLN on this device. For amateur use and for hiking we will certainly buy GPS devices in the price up to 1000 PLN. Prices of the most expensive navigation can reach up to 2500 PLN, but they are professional equipment.
The equipment we have mentioned is also ideal as a navigation for berry and mushroom picking. Pleasant, useful, perfect! Have many fun trips with the help of a GPS device. With it, you can wander in peace!
For everybody interested in the topic of navigation as well as GPS technology, we recommend those scientific sources, as they illustrate the potential of technology used in our ordinary field navigation devices.