My first GPS receiver was an old Magellan. I can't recall the model, but mid 90s, very basic features. Eventually after turning it on it would get a fix, and give you coordinates / speed / bearing. No names of towns or anything like that though it did have support for some number of waypoints.
I typically used it for multi week hikes through the rockies where I was navigating primarily with topo maps & compass, and about once a day I'd turn on the GPSr to validate my location. It was too much of a pig on batteries to use it any more often, but, it was a reasonable size for hiking.
Totally different world vs the Garmin GPSMap 66i I currently use, but, I'd probably trust the old Magellan more than I do 66i on week/longer excursions.
> about once a day I'd turn on the GPS to
> validate my location.
This point can't be stressed enough, these early GPS models (and even one I owned in the early 2000s) often served a fundamentally different use-case than what people think of as "GPS" today, which has come to mean something with integrated maps and navigation.
The idea with many of these early devices was exactly what you're describing, experienced hikers who'd mainly use a map & compass to navigate might buy these. It was enough to have one GPS for the entire group, and on a typical trip with good visibility and orientation the GPS might never come out of the backpack.
But knowing where you are if you manage to completely lose orientation (e.g. with an onset of fog) is invaluable. The original use case for GPS devices for hikers was that sort of fallback safety.
My first GPS receiver was an old Magellan. I can't recall the model, but mid 90s, very basic features. Eventually after turning it on it would get a fix, and give you coordinates / speed / bearing. No names of towns or anything like that though it did have support for some number of waypoints.
I typically used it for multi week hikes through the rockies where I was navigating primarily with topo maps & compass, and about once a day I'd turn on the GPSr to validate my location. It was too much of a pig on batteries to use it any more often, but, it was a reasonable size for hiking.
Totally different world vs the Garmin GPSMap 66i I currently use, but, I'd probably trust the old Magellan more than I do 66i on week/longer excursions.