I've had several GPS over the years. I've had Garmin and Magellan units and I've found Garmin easier to use in the field.

Right now I have a Garmin Vista HCx which is small, light, but most importantly it gets great signal with a new high sensitivity antenna. I can pick up satellites inside my house, very impressive, and so I can pick them up in covered woods. My vote is that good satellite reception trumps all other features for selection purposes.

The HCx runs 24 hours on 2 AA batteries which is great.

I have the Gramin MapSource topo sw and it's OK. I also have a copy of Magellan Topo USA. Based on my sw, Garmin shows the most trail detail and Magellan has the best backcountry road detail. Hence it's nice to have both. I've not used 3rd party sw so I'm interested in what you guys think is the best for trails and what is compatible to upload to Garmin units.

Having said all this GPS is a backup tool and I always have maps with me as my first reference. I've had times in the field when the satellites can't be picked up due mountains or heavy cover. With my new unit I do plan to have it track breadcrumbs on trail so that I can transfer back to the PC software.