>>231942Smartphones blow ass for backcountry land nav IMO. They're marginally acceptable for urban navigation.
Really, their biggest benefits are a nice big high-res screen.
Drawbacks include shitty battery life, somewhat delicate, and not waterproof.
It has to work for you. Sometimes it's the little things one brand/model may do that just works. If it does something small and annoying, it's going to bug you.
Personally I like the Garmin 60/76 models. Straightforward, solid, proven receivers.
The downside with them is a fairly low-res screen. Upsides, they're tough as shit, waterproof, and just plain fucking work.
The newer 62/78 adds a few features, but gets rid of a LOT of really useful ones. Some people like them. I can't fucking stand it, for the most part there's now about twice as many keypresses to perform an action vs. the 60/76's. Deleting a waypoint is buried about 4 menus deep in the newer receivers.
>Had ancient Trimble HMMWV unit (pic related), I think that went to the boy scouts>Got a GPS12>Upgraded to a 60CSx>Killed that, bought 78>Used it for about a week, hated the UI, didn't work well>Bought a 76Cx>Killed it (don't use shitty USB car chargers)>Started using 78 again since I haven't sold it yet>Infuriated trying to navigate with the 78>Bought another 76Cx a few days ago>78's going on ebay when I get the 76 