gps devices or sat nav as the younger ones call them are as good on the open road as they are in the city, imagine having a person beside you that knows exactly where he/ she is and where you want to go in all situations and then imagine that person being able to get you anywhere you want to go without complaint or argument then you have gps in a nutshell, as the dog says no more arguments with the missus, with the national park issue, if you have something like the camps australia book then in there you have gps navigation points, place those coordinates in your gps and it will automatically tell you ( the driver ) where to go and it will place you at the campsite (within 150 mtrs) my gps is a window mount that way I can take it from my happy trails ( away trips ) to my mundane everyday trip (work) the ammount of maps that you would have to carry would be mind numbing never mind the agro of not knowing where you are when in the city and trying to find it in "the heat of the moment", go and buy one, you will never regret it, dont get handheld they are mostly for hikers and the small screen makes it hard to read, for me anyway, thats my 20 cents worth

Hi Jan and Bob, I dont profess to be the know all and end all to gps devices but what I did find was that the old adage of Kiss ( keep it simple stupid) really does apply on the road, and as to to everything, there is a lot of wizbang gadgetry out there and as many salesmen to match, if you are going from known destination to known destination and want something to brag about to the other caravan park residents when you get there then go and get the shiny one with blue tooth or green hair or whatever else they try to sell to you at an inflated price, the mobile is still currently only good for about 60% of this fantastic country so why would you want bluetooth, and that being only around major cities, up at the kimberleys you may as well shout because more people will hear you  as for your laptop, if you possess one, for updates on the web unless you have satellite broadband at extremely expensive rates, then forget it till you get to a town that may have coverage, the dragon and I have circled this great country twice now and made numerous forays in to what others call "the outback" using nothing more than a Kmart special Logic Gear sl350f, it found every campspot known to the hema map system as well as directions through all major cities, it knew every stream and every dam and every boundary, it automatically updates itself over the air ( dont ask me how but it does) I dont have to carry an sd card for it, even though I keep one in it just in case, it has all australian maps on board, unlike others that recognise america first,  it doesnt carry the fancy price card nor the brag factor but I would rely on it ( and have done many times ) to save my life. if all you want is a reliable gps that just works this is what I would recommend. put the $300 difference in the fuel tank to see the bungle bungles at sunset, we did and we will go back again, just my ten cents worth


-- Edited by dave06 at 13:13, 2008-06-24

just spent 8 weeks traveling  townsville to tasmania and return.used my gps all the way.only map i used was in tasmania only for tourist information.
only problem was gps took me on a narrow dirt road once as it was the quickest route and was a bit hard towing a van.would still carry road map to plan which areas to visit but would use gps to get me there.wouldn't leave home without it.
rocan

C'mon folks,
now ya taking all the fun out of being LOST.Now if ya were traveling way outback and the GPS suddenly"Goe's down,Kaput",then ya might really be lost.Try getting back to the coast from the Percival lakes(SP?) WA,when ya GPS takes an RDO on ya.What if it was ya ride that went "Kaput?",I would deffinately be opting for a portable GPS as well,most people that leave thier vehicle way out there,die.

But,if ya ain't going" OUT THERE",whats wrong with a concise map?If ya in the middle of a big city and the GPS takes another RDO on ya,you will be just as lost,NOTE,a portable won't be a nessesity in the city or the inner country.Thank GOD for telstra.Neither should a GPS.
Glenn.

This is the 'ants pants' guys. Hot off the press!
http://www.hemanavigator.com.au/

Comes pre-loaded with all the HEMA maps plus 1:250,000 plus a street navigator. Nothing else like it.
We will be getting one ASAP.

Cheers,
Peter.

as I PREVIOUSLY STATED WE HAVE CIRCLED AUST. TWICE NOW each time roughly 18,000 kms without a hitch AND MANY JAUNTS TO THE CENTRE using only our trusted logic gear navigater, however when people like pete and marg and dougy start talking my ears prop up, advice is free but what you make of it and what you take with you from it could be life saving, or at least marriage saving in the citys, when we travel I have not only the gps but I carry the camps 4 book which has all hema maps relevent to my travels I.E. mostly highway, if something untoward was to happen to the gps then I have backup, when we go full time ( 3 years time) I will take dougys advice and grab myself a garmin simply because it has the name and reputation, not only dougy has sung their praises but others on our trails swear by them, if I was going offroad then pete and margs webpage would be my new bible, have a look and you will see why, I will however defend the logic gear for what I am doing now, and if I was to battle the off road I would grab pete and margs webpage simply because he belongs to an oka club and has the congregated knowledge base of an unknown number of members and I know damn well if it didnt work, then they would ditch it, simply because I would do the same. as for price to me that is secondary if it cost $2,000 I would grab it if it done everything that I required it to do, as a reference I will be buying a webasto heater for the tasmanian winters and that costs $2,500 not installed but I visited tassy about 5 years ago and my memory is still strong of those cold nights, so to me it is simply a matter of choice, cheap ones seem to be fine, dear ones seem to be fine, if you want my advice listen to the advice and make up your own mind