Garmin Montana 600, installed Ibycus 4.0

tanked_darren · December 14, 2012

So I got myself a Garmin Montana 600, I got a car mount and boat mount as well. Its a good size GPS I can't wait to use it in the bush hunting and to try geocaching with the girlfriend.

Anyways I didn't buy backroads program yet, but I went online and found out this guy in Alberta makes maps off of government maps, it's called Ibycus 4.0. Being free (he asks for a donation if you feel generous) and a bit torrent it was a little hard to obtain I've never used a bit torrent, now I got it figured out though. Seems like its detailed it has all of Canada in it. Anyone around here heard of this map system?

I will still take my hard copy of backroads with me when im out hunting though. I found even on my buddies GPS the backroads program when it comes to some logging roads it can be a little off. Easier to plan a trip off a hard copy map as well.

Anyone got this GPS? Opinions?

robertdegoey · December 17, 2012

You can't go wrong with any of the Garmin handheld units. I have an older ETrex Venture HC I use for the trails on my ATV and it works well. You can see it on my RAM mount, its a good setup.

I've used Ibycus maps in the past on it, and they are pretty good for being free, here in the US, I prefer the topographic maps or Planimetric maps from GPS file Depot, you can get really good free maps that can be installed with Mapsource or BaseCamp. The site is gpsfiledepot.com I get all my maps from there.

robertdegoey · December 17, 2012

Forgot to add, I think you'll be surprised by the accuracy of it. Any of the high sensitivity WAAS enabled receivers are gonna be close to spot on, tree cover or canopy don't really matter with the high sensitivity receivers. Mine will even get a reliable fix inside my house, no where near a window or view of the sky. Paper maps and a compass are always a good backup though.