GPS navigation Systems for Walkers in France.

Hi Folks
Has anyone got one of these devices. I'm after a good one for the love of my life's birthday. She comes from a long line of lake District walkers and loves walking, but here in the Correze gets lost very quickly in the woods. So i thought a GPS device for walking and cycling would with a a screen that you can up load maps onto would be the ideal gift. She loves the technical stuff and has a flair for using all things like that. The device will have to be water and bomb proof with a long battery life. Then the love of my life will be able to find her way home again.
Simmo in the Correze.

If you check out Amazon there are several devices for walkers.

Does the love of your life belong to a club randonée? They are incredibly popular here. I participe on our local Comite des Fêtes and we had a randonée yesterday with options of 10, 15 or 18km. We had 71 inscriptions, last year there were 80. Funnily enough not one Anglais but 4 Hollandais. I am thinking of joining one myself.

I have been using hand held GPS devices since the early nineties, and by far the best sort are the ones that you can load real maps to. By real maps I refer to OS style or in the case of France IGN maps. Therefore when you look at/use the device, it looks exactly like the paper map and with all the same features. In my opinion the devices that merely show a route without a decent background map are a wast of space. My most current GPS (and the best I have ever used) is featured here: http://www.memory-map.co.uk/adventurergps/ not cheap, but worth every penny/cent.

Well I'll be danged! well done folks and most of all Le Dolly. The love of my life has a sister and brother in law who works at George Fishers in Keswick where they sell the Memory map devices. Ain't it a small world and guess what The better half will be in Keswick this weekend.Say le-dolly which model have you got?.
Simmo in the Correze

simmo wrote:Well I'll be danged! well done folks and most of all Le Dolly. The love of my life has a sister and brother in law who works at George Fishers in Keswick where they sell the Memory map devices. Ain't it a small world and guess what The better half will be in Keswick this weekend.Say le-dolly which model have you got?.
Simmo in the Correze  

I use the 3500, it has a much larger screen, therefore more information shown without having to zoom out. It is also waterproof. I did previously have the 2800 which is also very good, just smaller & cheaper.   Either way, it is cheaper, usually, to buy the 'standard model' as the normal one comes with Great Britain OS Landranger 1:50,000 pre-loaded (which are not ideal walkers maps anyway) and if it is your intention to use it mainly in France, it would be better to buy the IGN Top 25 maps  at 1:25,000. Map sections can be downloaded from MM from 5000 sq km upwards.

By the way, before we moved here we were living in Gt. Langdale & George Fishers is, if not expensive, well known to me. I usually used to shop at The Climbers Shop in Ambleside as they always gave me a 30% discount as a member of the LAMRT.

Wow Le Dolly fancy that you coming from the posh end of the lakes Sue's from a little place called Haverigg down the poor end of the lakes. Her sister lives in a nice spot back of the Gardens in Keswick on the river. I have just spoken to Sue on the phone and it's so cold they have the fire on at the moment.
Simmo in a warm and Sunny Correze.

Hi again Le-Dolly
well when Sue returns from the lakes and visiting all the lakeland rellie's.I think i will recharge the old bank account and take your advice and get her the 3500 standard model with the French map set you recommended. Just one question does this map set cover the Marcilliac La Croisille 19320 area. I was however within two minds weather to get the bigger version with the in car nav set for her to put in her MG Midget for when she goes drive abouts.Going North she is ok with map reading but going south and turn the map round and it's a lost in France Job. I watched a TV programme once on men and womans brains that said it was a thing that effect a large pecentage of womem. A bit like women being good at multi tasking but men only being able to do one job at once.
Simmo in a sunny Correze

Hello Simmo,  I did not get the car sat nav version for various reasons, I could not afford it, I already had a very good sat nav for the motor and it seemed a bit large to carry about when we do lightweight walking. Other than that it seems a nice piece of equipment, having a much larger screen than most. The map sets for France are downloaded from MM in chunks, you draw a line around an area on a basemap and download, the more you download, the more you pay. I recently bought the whole of France set when it was on offer at half price, it cost me £150. The offer is still current. http://shop.memory-map.co.uk/acatalog/maps-france.html A 5000sq k map area costs, at the moment, £30 or £45 if you want the sat 'photos.
As an example of the style of map available:


The IGN maps follow the same parameters as the UK OS maps you may be familiar with; showing all roads, tracks and paths, buildings, ruins and even fences were appropriate, you should never need to get lost.

Hi Le-Dolly
Thanks for that , Holy shmoolie! I do not think she will let me spend that being a Cumberland lass she knows how to watch the pennies, Still  might get away with the 3500 at a push.Me get lost i do not go anywhere unless you can get to it by Landrover it's  Sue that does the walking me i can not keep up with her even though i use to do a lot of yomping in the army. Sue gets it from her dad who was in the south lakeland ramblers and was rambling well into his late 70s.
Simmo in the Correze