Why your outdoor enthusiast customers need a handheld GPS, and how you can help them make the ideal choice.
Remember the days when we had to print out directions before a road trip? Then came the revolution of Global Positioning Systems. Now, it’s in everything from your smartwatch to dog collars. However, a handheld GPS is still a valuable tool for outdoor enthusiasts.
Why Invest in a Handheld GPS?
weYou can’t always trust our phones to keep us on track. A dedicated GPS unit is much more rugged and weather-resistant and doesn’t depend on chargers. Additionally, each has superior satellite reception in remote places, and has features specifically designed for the outside.
There are multiple advantages to having a handheld GPS:
• The freedom to travel with peace of mind. A handheld GPS can track where you’ve been, and you can always follow it back to your starting point.
• New adventures! Hiking websites, federal agencies, and the like will often provide coordinates of locations to visit. All you must do is enter these coordinates into the device.
• Creating coordinates. Can never find where you parked your car? Just put in the coordinates before you head out and it’ll be saved in the device for when you need to head back.
• Convenient for emergency services. If you ever get hurt or stuck somewhere, you can provide emergency services with the exact coordinates of where you are.
How to Decide on a Unit
There are a variety of handheld GPS units out there, so what happens when your customers want to invest in one, but can’t figure out which one they should get? Here are a few things to consider:
• Touchscreen vs. buttons: The interface is something to consider. If they can’t go without a touchscreen, that narrows their choices. However, consider offering a unit with buttons if they’re going to go on a lot of winter hikes, since they’re easier to use with gloves.
• Display: Usually, the bigger the better, but keep in mind a bigger screen means a bigger and heavier unit.
• Durability: It’s important to invest in a GPS that’s made of water-resistant materials and comes with a decent warranty.
• Battery Life: It goes without saying that every handheld GPS should have a long battery life; also consider those that work with external batteries.
• Advanced Features: Consider promoting features like a barometer, an electronic compass, and wireless transmission if they’re looking to invest in a good quality unit.
Garmin has a variety of inReach satellite communicators for everyone’s needs. With their inReach satellite technology and an active satellite subscription, your customers can stay in touch globally. They can send and receive messages, navigate a route, track and share the journey and, if necessary, trigger an SOS to a 24/7 staffed global emergency response coordination center via the 100% global Iridium satellite network.
Top Picks from Garmin
The Garmin inReach Mini 2 lets the user send and receive messages, trigger an interactive SOS (active satellite subscription required), track and log locations, and uses simple navigation globally. It can also be synced with the Garmin Explore app and website on a compatible smartphone for trip planning and topographical mapping. The user can also create waypoints, courses, activities, and collections they can sync to their device.
For a more advanced unit, check out the Garmin Montana 700i Rugged GPS Touchscreen Navigator with inReach Technology. This rugged GPS handheld combines TopoActive and City Navigator mapping for routable on- or off-road navigation with global 2-way messaging and interactive SOS via inReach satellite technology. The 5 in. color touchscreen features a full QWERTY keyboard for messaging and a display that’s 50% larger than earlier models. Multi-GNSS support and sensors for the 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter put a world of outdoor navigation capability within your grasp. Plus, wireless pro-connectivity gives your customers direct-to-device access to BirdsEye Satellite Imagery downloads, location sharing, Connect IQ app support, and more. Pair with a compatible smartphone to access Active Weather forecasts.
Precise navigation meets global communication in the rugged Garmin 010-02088-01 GPSMAP 66i GPS Handheld and Satellite Communicator. It features a large, 3 in. sunlight-readable color display for easy viewing. The button-operated GPS handheld and satellite communicator (satellite subscription required) comes preloaded with Garmin TOPO mapping and inReach technology, which enables 2-way messaging and interactive SOS alerts.
Garmin inReach satellite communicators give your customers peace of mind whether they’re camping in the woods or on a hike in a nearby trail.
For the entire Garmin lineup and for more tools for navigation, make sure to visit order.petra.com.