I dont do the sort of hunting trips people are discussing here...
My idea of a hunting trip is I generally drive out, see something pokkable, pokk it, and drive on.
Night time; Drive out, switch on shooting spotlights, drive, see something pokkable, pokk it, and drive on.
Some days, I open the front door, see something pokkable, pokk it, and then drag it away so it doesnt stink the house out.
So, what I take out with me tends to be more immediate gear like 2-way radio, water, sunscreen, extra ammo, pliers, knife, etc.
Different story if I ever needed to base myself somewhere, and walk to hunt.
A few years back, we bought a set of Garmin Rino 650 combo UHF radios & GPS.
If you have few people with these units, you can have them 'chirp' each other, and update locations on their map(s).
[They send an update via UHF radio every few minutes].
They can also send text messages between units as well.
Another neat feature was they can have 'Birdseye' satellite imagery loaded onto the GPS, and so you have a satellite image underneath whatever other map you have in the SD data slot. If you had a Topo map as your plug-in map, you have a VERY nice navigation tool. Barometric altimeter and electronic magnetic compass as well.
The Li-Ion battery runs the unit for over a day, but you can also fit an alkaline battery pack, which gives you the option of using AA batteries instead.
We thought they would be brilliant for when we are fighting bushfires; if a few neighbours also had these units, we could keep tabs on each other, despite being on the other side of the fire at night.
However, it turns out Garmin bastardized the setup of the UHF radios, when it came to updating location. Initially, Garmin had the Rino's set so they wouldnt talk in Simplex mode AT ALL, on any of the dedicated duplex channels. This meant that you couldnt make a simplex transmission on any of the 32 (out of 80) repeater send/receive channels.
The thing is; Garmin were adamant that they were simply complying with federal communications laws, but as we pointed out, Simplex operation is only banned on those channels when there is a repeater operating in that area.
We also pointed out that no other UHF radio is crippled in this fashion, and that the choice to use the radio in Simplex mode REALLY had to be the responsibility of the user.
Garmin didnt care... Apparently the FCC laws in the US were like this, and so Australia was too...
At about the point when I was boxing the units to send back to the (very apologetic) supplier, we get a firmware update, which removes the restriction.
However, they still refuse to allow the units do the location update 'chirps' on any of the repeater channels, so they havent ended up being any real use for firefighting in the way we envisaged. When we are fighting bushfires, we use the UHF channel of the property the fire is located on, and so we cant pick & choose the UHF channel without confusing a lot of people.
I downloaded satellite imagery for the homestead here, and when I tested it outside between 2 sheds, my location on the image was right to within a few feet.
They havent been the best for what we wanted, but as a navigation tool for walking/hunting, I reckon they would be freaking awesome. Always handy to keep a map and compass as backup, but I'd happily take one of the Rino's as my primary Nav-Aid.
I think the latest model is a Garmin Rino 750, but I havent looked at one in the flesh.
I bought mine through Johnny Appleseed GPS; he was very good to deal with, and I have bought a number of GPS units through him over the years.
https://www.ja-gps.com.au/Garmin/rino-7 ... -handheld/Not cheap; $750!
They do also seem to sell a monochrome screen version; a Rino 700, which is around the $430 mark. Dont know what the satellite imagery would look like on that screen, though.
Food for thought, anyway. If I was doing a lot of walking, this is a pretty handy piece of gear.
Cheers,
Rod.