Mio A201 (+ 512MB Memory Card + Anquet 1:25,000 scale National Park mapping)

This is the type of GPS system that walkers have been waiting for. In one unit, you get a GPS receiver coupled with a large colour screen and digital mapping that is identical to the paper maps that we are all used to using. Switch it on, and the GPS receiver places a small circle over your location on the map. This unit came fitted with a 1:25,000 scale OS map of the Lake District but you can also get other UK National Parks and Harvey Mapping. Planning routes can be achieved just by using the stylus pointer to tap out a route on the screen. Save your routes, retrieve your routes and follow routes by setting the unit to Virtual GPS so that a compass and arrow point you in the right direction. You also get OS road mapping for your city travels. The huge screen is far easier to read than any other GPS receiver we looked at. If you already have a pocket PC then you could buy the Anquet software on its own of course too. But this unit is far more delicate than the standard GPS receiver options and you may lose the stylus easily. However the real drawback is that you only get 3 to 4 hours of operation before you need to recharge the battery, so this is best used to check and find a location, rather than all-day use in a blizzard. Anquet is not making software for maps outside of the UK, so this option has limited use if you are a traveller. You cannot zoom in as close as some other units, and when you do get in close the OS mapping is not as clear as others at street level.