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Old 05-01-2008, 04:02 PM   #1
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Garmin GPSMAP 478, Lowrance XOG

Anyone have any hands on experience with either of these. I'm looking for a unit that can have BLM mapping as well as inland lakes and has a screen no smaller than 3.5".
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Old 05-01-2008, 04:12 PM   #2
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I have a Garmin GPSMAP 76CS. The screen is a little smaller than you want but the software will be the same (pretty sure anyway). Garmin hasn't updated it's topo maps in like 10 years or something, although they're pretty good. You have to buy the topo separately from the road maps (if you want address capability) and at least on mine they don't layer- so you have to turn off the city map to see the topo with all the forest roads etc.
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Old 05-01-2008, 04:16 PM   #3
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I have the Lowrance XOG that I bought specifically for our SMB. I will state right away that this would not be very good for outside of your vehicle (e.g. hiking), mainly due to the lousy battery life.

I have actually really liked this unit for on and off-road use. On road, it is easy to use (touch screen) and the auto routing has been more than adequate. It also has turn by turn voice if that is needed. I should mention that I have not used the POI at all. The downside from driving is that the screen can wash out a bit in bright sunlight (really not that bad) and some may find the screen size too small.

It has really shined for off road use. I have downloaded the various maps available on mapselect.com (exclusive to the XOG). The USGS maps are great and very detailed. They actually helped us avoid getting lost several times in Anza Borrego a couple months ago. The satellite imagery is also very cool. I have not yet purchased/tried the MapCreate software.

Knowing everything I know now, I would definitely buy it again, especially for the price.

Please let me know if you have any specific questions I can answer.
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Old 05-01-2008, 04:29 PM   #4
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Absolutely great feedback...thank you. I was leaning toward the Lowrance but thought the price compared to the Garmin might mean an inferior product. I have an old Garmin for hiking and it just fine for that. What is a POI? I know it's something simple but I'm not good with acronyms...I wasn't in the Navy!
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Old 05-01-2008, 04:53 PM   #5
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POI = Points of Interest. For example, you should be able to find Sushi restaurants or Automotive Repair, etc in the area. I'm not sure how good the XOG is in this regard.
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Old 05-02-2008, 11:55 AM   #6
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Thanks,
Did you get yours online or from some other place?
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Old 05-02-2008, 12:19 PM   #7
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for what its worth, I use the Garmin 60C which is smaller than what you are looking for but also serves a dual purpose for off road navigation AND take it with you for hiking/biking/geocaching.

I dont have any street maps loaded on it other than the base map that comes with it. So I just load the USGS maps for backroads. I use a Pioneer in-dash Nav system for streets and businesses when necessary, or the Blackberry with TeleNav (sad but true, I do travel with 3 GPS devices in the van sometimes). But the 60C and the newer CS is a neat little GPS, color screen, very capable. Available on Amazon, REI, any good outdoor store. Here's how I have it mounted in the SMB, top left side of the dash and almost eye level but safely out of the direct line of vision when driving:

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Old 05-02-2008, 12:25 PM   #8
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Chris, I purchased my XOG at Boater's World back in December since I had a discount coupon from them. The new Garmins are definitely worth a look as well.
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Old 05-02-2008, 12:47 PM   #9
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I just ordered an XOG. But will continue to look. BC, I like the Garmin and I'm impressed with your ability to take a picture of it while traveling at 99 mph on a mountain rd!
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Old 05-02-2008, 01:04 PM   #10
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That's "Max Speed" up in the corner- although I am impressed with that regardless of where...
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