eTrex 20x and Maps

[Biggfoot44]

( Background - I've intermittently had interest in handheld GPS . In the woods for hiking, hunting, 4x4ing, occasional geochaching. I am Luddite with computer related stuff , but fluent with map & compass . Previously used GPS simply for my actual Lat Long , while using map to interpret where I was, and where to head .

22yo daughter about to recieve already purchased eTrex 10. I am probably about to recieve eTrex 20x for Fathers Day .)

One of the online vendors offers a bundle of the 20 together with a 24k card for one Region. Great , until I looked into it , and I live close to the border between two Regions .

Called Garmin , with pre-loaded cards , I would have to switch cards . I could download both, and load onto a microSD , but my eyes are glazing with all that computer guy talk.

Also mentioned was the nationwide 100k ( 1:100,000) .

Looked thru Garmin website some more, also saw the "rasted" .Image of paper maps is ok with me , I'm a paper map guy from way back. But it says its an annual subscription, what's that mean ? It says in description that whatever is in the GPS will continue to work .

USGS meaningful revisions are decades apart, so being out of date is minor concern . Does the whole country load into GPS upon payment, or only those quadrangles I physically travel thru ?

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

I could download both, and load onto a microSD , but my eyes are glazing with all that computer guy talk.

The Etrex20 has internal memory plus a microSD slot this is where to a 24k card would be placed, to avoid having to swap different cards you can copy 2 or more 'cards' to a computer program like Basecamp and then send mulitiple maps to a new (blank) microSD card in the Etrex20, this new card would then allow access to multiple maps

. . . it says its an annual subscription, what's that mean ? It says in description that whatever is in the GPS will continue to work .

A subscription allows access to a large online store of maps, but you only download small areas, when the subscription ends, you can still use the maps you have downloaded but you can't download any new ones