I'm looking to replace my Delorme PN-20 and overwhelmed by choices. I'm looking for something with a larger display (2.2") so I don't need to stop and zoom in to see where I'm going. I'm not looking to program routes into it, all I need is there and back again with waypoints and the ability to save tracks onto a SD card. The ability to receive signal in dense forest is top priority, recording tracks onto an SD card secondary. I do NOT want to use any apps for smartphones or anything using cellular technology. Anyone care to share what kind of handheld GPS they use, what they like about it and why ?
I have had a couple Garmin Units, for a couple of Decades. One is a GPS3, and the second is a GPS3+... The 3+ sits in my Office with the External Antenna, mounted outside on the Metal Roof. I had s Surveyor, survey in the Antenna to +/- 2CM, and I use it for my Reference Unit when doing Differential GPS Plotting. The Garmin GPS3 is just a spare, these days. Now that I have an AvMap6, and an iPad2 my Navigational needs are met, and MOmma has her iPad3 and an iPhone 4S, so she is covered.
I've a Garmin GPSMaps 62s. Display probably won't meet your needs, 1.5X2, but it will point you in the right direction. Battery life is sucky, a couple hours at best if it is doing anything more than sitting in your pocket. You will have to stop and squint, it isn't all that easy to read. But it picks up satellites in a right hurry in any opening overhead. I have not tried it in thick trees.
This is what I use, and it works just fine in the woods, in fact, I marked the borders of the property using it. Magellan Meridian Gold Water Resistant Hiking GPS | eBay
I have an older, way older Garmin GPS 55. And an early Garmin 62. I bought a Garmin etrex 20 because it was small and relatively cheap for mountain biking. The etrex 20 boots and finds the satellites faster in my garage faster than the Garmin 62 outside..The etex 20 uses both the USA GPS sats and Russian GLONASS constellation. If I attach an external antenna to the GPS 62 it finds the US GPS sats outside about as fast as the etrx 20 does inside the garage. Going forward I will not purchase a GPS that does not look at multiple GPS satellite constellations with an SD card slot. Galileo (satellite navigation) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ....................................................................................................................... Some modern receivers are able to use both GLONASS and GPS satellites together, providing greatly improved coverage in urban canyons and giving a very fast time to fix due to over 50 satellites being available. In indoor, urban canyon or mountainous areas, accuracy can be greatly improved over using GPS alone. For using both navigation systems simultaneously, precisions of GLONASS/GPS navigation definitions were 2.37—4.65 m with mean number of NSV equals 14—19 (depends on station).
When my beloved Magellan eXplorist 200 (B&W screen) bit the dust, I looked for a replacement. My particular needs are for highway motorcycle use, and secondary walking and automobile use. Tried the Magellan 310 handheld. Utter garbage. Screen size is too small, and far too cluttered. At one point it would not display the map. Finally fixed that. At last I ended up deleting the compass display, and the color and shading. At last I can almost see the map, up close. Useless for my special needs though. Replaced it with the Garmin Etrex20. Better, though still too small a screen. Unknown why they can't offer the same screen size as my old eXplorist 200? Same overall size unit. Weird. The Etrex 20 can be used in my van, and works okay on the bike. It is my backup unit at the moment. I still have my Magellan Roadmate, that is a very decent size for van use, but is NOT a handheld and cannot be used on the bike - doesn't fit the bar mount and isn't water proof. It will stay in the van. Locally I have actually used my Galaxy SIII smartphone with both built-in VZNavigator app and online MapQuest - both work well, and the phone is always with me. But the OP says 'no cell phones'. I fully understand that. I am still looking for a smaller unit with a workable screen size, that doesn't overheat my wallet, for motorcycle use.