Best Handheld GPS for Hunting and Backcountry: Garmin eTrex vs GPSMAP vs Montana

Best overall handheld GPS for hunters

Sportsman's Warehouse: $399.99, in stock, free shipping to home · Screen: 2.6 in. color, buttons · Battery: 2 AA, 16 hrs (Garmin) · Weight: 7.7 oz · Owner rating: 5.0 from 7 reviews

The GPSMAP 65s is the classic hunter's GPS shape: a stubby antenna, a 2.6-inch color screen and a full set of buttons you can work with gloves on. Garmin gives it the features that matter in the timber. It has multi-band GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS), a barometric altimeter and a tilt-compensated 3-axis compass that points the right way even when you're standing still. Routable TopoActive maps for the U.S. and Canada come preloaded.

It's the highest-rated handheld GPS at Sportsman's with five or more reviews: 7 reviews, all five stars. A hunter who replaced a 25-year-old Rino says it "works in heavy timber, and the compass arrow is spot on." A search-and-rescue team bought several to replace their older GPSMAP 62s units and called the switch easy. The "s" is worth the extra $50 over the plain GPSMAP 65 ($349.99), which drops the altimeter and electronic compass.

The trade-off is battery life. Garmin rates it at just 16 hours on two AA batteries, the lowest here. Because they're AAs, though, a spare set in your pack weighs a couple of ounces and you're back to full in a minute. Garmin recommends NiMH or lithium cells.

See it at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best budget GPS with topo maps

Sportsman's Warehouse: $199.99, in stock, ships to home · Screen: 2.2 in. color · Battery: 2 AA, 25 hrs (Garmin) · Weight: 5 oz · Owner rating: 4.3 from 10 reviews

The eTrex 22x is the GPS most people are searching for right now. Searches for it are up 200% in the last 30 days, and it's the most-reviewed handheld GPS at Sportsman's, with 10 reviews and 23 shopper questions. It's popular because $200 gets you a rugged, 5-ounce, IPX7 handheld with preloaded TopoActive maps and road and trail routing on a 2.2-inch color screen, which no other Garmin does for less.

Owners like it for exactly what most deer hunters need. One says it's a great value for any hunter and gives "extra security that I will make it back to the truck without getting lost," and adds that it finds satellites faster than his older units.

Know what it lacks. It uses only GPS and GLONASS, with no multi-band, and it has no electronic compass or barometric altimeter. Its compass works only while you're moving, which is why one unhappy owner couldn't find the compass calibration he expected. If you want those sensors, the eTrex 32x adds both for $299.99 (4.6 stars from 5 owners, one of whom notes the small screen means a lot of zooming).

See it at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best premium GPS for serious backcountry hunts

Sportsman's Warehouse: $699.99, in stock, free shipping to home · Screen: 3.5 in. touchscreen + buttons · Battery: up to 145 hrs (Garmin) · Weight: 9.7 oz

The GPSMAP H1 is Garmin's newest flagship handheld, and Garmin lists the H1 family first on its handheld GPS page. It answers the old argument between buttons and touchscreens by including both: a 3.5-inch glove-friendly touchscreen under chemically strengthened glass, plus physical buttons and a customizable quick-action key for rain, cold and gloves.

The battery is the headline. Garmin rates it at up to 145 hours with every satellite system and multi-band running, in "typical use" with its SatIQ mode, and up to 840 hours in expedition mode. That's about nine times the GPSMAP 65s, from a USB-C rechargeable battery. You also get TopoActive maps, satellite imagery that downloads straight to the device over Wi-Fi (Garmin suggests using it to pick stand locations and parking), an altimeter and compass, a flashlight and a safety siren. It's rated IP67 and MIL-STD-810 tested.

It's new, so Sportsman's has no owner reviews yet, and $700 is a lot of money for navigation alone. It has no satellite messaging, though Garmin says it works as a remote for a separate inReach device. If you want messaging built in, see the H1i Plus below.

See it at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best GPS with built-in satellite messaging and SOS

Sportsman's Warehouse: $999.99, in stock, free shipping to home · Battery: 145 hrs navigating, about 48 hrs with 10-minute inReach tracking (Garmin) · Weight: 10.2 oz · Needs: inReach subscription

The H1i Plus is the GPSMAP H1 with inReach Plus satellite technology built in, so one device navigates, sends texts and triggers an SOS from places with no cell signal. With an active subscription, Garmin says you can send an interactive SOS to its 24/7-staffed Garmin Response center, exchange texts of up to 1,600 characters with phones and email, share your track with LiveTrack and get weather forecasts. As the "Plus" means, you can also send photos and voice messages over satellite. It adds 5 MP and 8 MP cameras and weighs 10.2 ounces.

Budget for the plan. Garmin's monthly inReach plans on November 9 ran $7.99 (Enabled), $14.99 (Essential), $29.99 (Standard) and $49.99 (Premium). Garmin says every plan includes emergency SOS messaging, that you can suspend service when you're not using it, and that messages over your plan's limit cost extra. Battery life also falls with messaging on: Garmin rates it at about 48 hours in performance mode with 10-minute tracking, 135 hours in low-power mode, and 425 hours in expedition mode.

No Sportsman's reviews exist yet. The older GPSMAP 67i it replaces in the lineup has 4 five-star reviews at Sportsman's; one hunter switched from an older Oregon "for the SOS feature," and another calls it "a lifesaver out in the woods." Garmin also warns that some places regulate or ban satellite communicators, so check before you travel. If you already carry an inReach Mini or a PLB, the plain H1 saves you $300 (see our satellite messenger and PLB guide).

See it at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best big-screen GPS for ATVs, trucks and base camp

Sportsman's Warehouse: $799.99, in stock, free shipping to home · Screen: 5 in. touchscreen · Battery: 24 hrs GPS mode (Garmin) · Weight: 14.5 oz · Needs: inReach subscription for messaging

If you ride an ATV or UTV to your hunting spot, plan routes on the tailgate, or just want the biggest map you can hold, the Montana is the answer. Its 5-inch, 480 x 800 touchscreen has ten times the pixels of the GPSMAP 65s, and you can use it in portrait or landscape. Garmin preloads TopoActive maps plus City Navigator North America for turn-by-turn routing for motorized vehicles, so the same unit drives you to the trailhead and walks you to the stand. It also downloads satellite imagery straight to the device, and Garmin sells mounts separately.

The 710i adds inReach SOS, two-way texting and MapShare tracking (same Garmin plans as above), plus a ballistics solver and dog-tracking support with Garmin's collars. It's IPX7 and MIL-STD-810 tested.

Two honest drawbacks. It's the heaviest pick at 14.5 ounces, and Garmin rates the battery at only 24 hours in GPS mode, adding that the estimate assumes a full view of the sky and that tree cover can cut it significantly. Expedition mode stretches to 440 hours. Don't need messaging? The Montana 710 is $649.99, and the 760i adds an 8 MP camera for $899.99.

See it at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best lightweight touchscreen GPS

Sportsman's Warehouse: $449.99, in stock, free shipping to home · Screen: 3 in. touchscreen · Battery: up to 130 hrs (Garmin) · Weight: 5.3 oz

The eTrex Touch takes the eTrex's pocket size and adds the newest Garmin hardware: a 3-inch touchscreen, multi-band GNSS with six satellite systems, a barometric altimeter and compass, and preloaded routable TopoActive maps, all in a 5.3-ounce body that's rated IP67 and listed as MIL-STD-810 tested at Sportsman's. Garmin rates the rechargeable battery at up to 130 hours with multi-band on in typical use, and 650 hours in expedition mode.

For a hunter who wants the H1's accuracy and battery in something half the weight, it makes a lot of sense. The catches: satellite imagery comes only with Garmin's Outdoor Maps+ subscription (the H1 includes it), there are no physical map buttons for wet, gloved hands, and it costs $50 more than the button-driven GPSMAP 65s. No Sportsman's reviews yet.

See it at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best cheap GPS for marking the truck and the stand

Sportsman's Warehouse: $149.99, in stock, free shipping to home · Screen: 2.2 in. monochrome · Battery: 2 AA, 168 hrs (Garmin) · Weight: 5.5 oz

The eTrex SE is the cheapest handheld Garmin sells, and on battery it beats everything else here: Garmin rates it at 168 hours on two AA batteries and 1,800 hours in expedition mode. It tracks five satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou), has a tilt-compensated electronic compass, TracBack to retrace your path, and pairs with Garmin's Explore app for weather and LiveTrack when you have a phone signal.

Be clear about what you're getting. The screen is monochrome, and the only map is a basemap with cities, with no topo lines or trails. It's a waypoint-and-arrow GPS: mark the truck, the stand, the blood trail and the creek crossing, then follow the arrow back. For a lot of whitetail hunters, that's all they ever use. If you want to see terrain, spend $50 more on the eTrex 22x. There are no owner reviews at Sportsman's yet.

See it at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best wrist-mounted GPS

Sportsman's Warehouse: $249.99, in stock, ships to home (store showed "only a few left" on November 9) · Battery: 2 AAA, 100 hrs navigation (listing) · Weight: 3.8 oz

The Foretrex 801 straps to your wrist or pack strap (Velcro strap included; it also fits 26 mm QuickFit bands), so your hands stay free for a bow, binoculars or trekking poles. It's a military-style navigator: a monochrome screen that's readable with night-vision goggles, multi-band GNSS, a 3-axis compass, a barometric altimeter, and tactical modes like stealth mode and a memory kill switch. Sportsman's lists 100 hours of navigation on two AAA batteries (1,000 in expedition mode), MIL-STD-810 testing, IPX7 and a weight of 3.8 ounces.

It shows no maps. You navigate by waypoints, tracks and a bearing arrow, which suits hunters who scout on a computer and just need to get back to marked spots in the dark. It can also display messages from a paired inReach communicator. The Foretrex 901 Ballistic Edition ($599.99) adds Applied Ballistics software. Stock was low on November 9, and there are no owner reviews yet.

See it at Sportsman's Warehouse →