Rino 530HCx vs 76CSX

[IntrntFshrman]

Hello all.

Just getting up and running to start out at La Jolla. I've been doing research here and other places and safety is a pretty big issue to me.

I got two used Malibu X Factors that came with fish finders so I'm going to get a portable gps. I've narrowed it down to the Garmin 76CSX and the Rino 530HCX and was wondering what you guys that have them think about them?

From what I've been able to read about them, the 76CSX seems to have some cool features aimed at maritime use and IT FLOATS!!!(I would think a pretty big 'must have' feature for anything on a kayak if possible)

The rino has the two-way radio built in and the cool ability to see where others with rhinos are.

I don't want to buy something that i'll regret later. Right now, I'm a newb and will probably go out with just one other person, so all the 'buddy-buddy' stuff on the rhino doesn't seem to be that needed. However, my goal is to take a few guided trips and 'de-newb' myself to the point where I'd hook up with some people on here and possibly go out in groups, so the Rhino might be better?

Can you shed some more light onto these units and how they are used in the Kayak fishing world so I can make an informed decision? Most of the discussion I through google was hiking oriented and didn't really help.

Thanks so much as always!

[1Flatfish]

I'm not suggesting anything, just giving you something to think about. You might consider replacing your existing fish finder with a combo fish finder/GPS unit. Very easy to use. I found that my portable GPS was not nearly as easy to use as the GPS on my combo. And it is one less unit to bring along and hold! Believe me, you will have plenty of stuff to hold in your hands without worrying about a hand held GPS. Yes, I know you can mount a hand held, but that's more hardware on your boat. I'm sorry I can't offer any advise on the models you are asking about, I'm just adding advise. The portables you are looking at may be more intuitive to use than the one I had. Mine was so hard to figure out (I did read the instructions, by the way) that I ended up giving it to a friend, and I know he hasn't used it yet!

[JoeBeck]

I have a Garmin etrex venture HC GPS hand held very easy to use, waterproof, works great. I like the hand held mostly because I also use it when I mountain bike and backpack. So I have 1 for all my hobbies. If I just kayaked I probably would have a fishfinder GPS combo. I agree with 1Flatfish though whatever you choose simple to use is the way to go.

I used to have the vista that has a lot more features until I lost it. I put blue charts on it which didn't do much because of the small screen, besides that I didn't really use any of the extra features the the cheaper models don't have. I mostly just use waypoints and the tracking snail line getting back to places.