Garmin Gps Canadian maps free download?

Do you have to download any maps on Garmin eTrex Vista HCx or Garmin Legend HCX GPS?

• because i don't wanna pay for anything else but the GPS. using for car and geocaching. also if i should purchase garmin etrex 20 instead of vista or legend....i've studied them and read review for 3 weeks now but i can not make my mind up. thank you

• Answer:

  If I was buying one today, I would strongly consider the newer version since it has more features and the knowledge gained in the last few years in it's design. However I am quite happy with my Vista HCx which was a vast improvement on the Vista (no initials) I had before it. If I remember right the new eTrex series has special programing for geocaching. The one thing I would do if I was looking at the new versions is try it out to see if it can be controlled by the hand that is holding it (leaving the other hand free). I find that a good feature that I could not do on a friend's Oregon. For use in the car, you would want to have the road maps. The base map in any of the units is not very useful since it only has major roads. For caching, you don't need the maps. If you want a more detailed map of where the cache is, you can use a number of web sites that let you display recorded tracks and points on road or satelite photos. If you want to drive on planned trips without the maps, you can also use google map to create routes and other free sites to convert them to the form that can be loaded into the GPS. The gotcha with that is that you have to mark specific points to follow the road since the unit will use straight line navigating between the points. With the road map, the unit calculates the route from the present location to follow roads between the waypoints you have entered. The on the fly calculations are good when I find myself in a part of town that I am not really familier with and want the best way home rather than my old method of wandering on streets in the proper directions.