Handheld GPS

Honestly, I use my cell phone. Verizon has a decent GPS built into my phone (VZ Navigator). It works well (for USA).

 

It's might be a good idea if you start by looking who makes the best maps for your use. Every map company doesn't do every continent, etc.

 

iphone

 

The tip about choosing based on the map availability is good.
Beyond that, I think Garmin is the preeminent contractor to the US military so, that's probably worth something.

It can get pricey. I think the Garmin map packs run about $100 each

 

Are you a bounty hunter...

 

I have a Garmin product (nuvi) and I know they do have international maps available. They come on a SD memory card and cost about $150.00.

Here's the link for the Colorado 400. Click on the "Buy additional maps" tab to see what's available. I did see one map for Southern Africa and Southeast Asia.
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=145&pID=11023#mapTab

One thing I can say about the Garmin products is the manual that comes with the unit is very minimal. Going to their website and registering your product is well worth it. They have a much more comprehensive manual to download.

For instance. They have an application you can download to your computer that can communicate with google/mapquest/ etc. maps and download them to the GPS. It came in handy for me once when my nuvi didn't have an address on file.


Try emailing Garmin. I did once and they returned my email the next business day.

 

I have a Magellan Explorist 500.

It's decent, but I've had to repair it a couple times--a solder connection that needed redoing, and the keypad got flaky. Magellan's customer support is weak and often unresponsive. I've sometimes needed to just figure things out by trial and error or through online user groups because I couldn't get an answer from Magellan.