Garmin’s 296 is the do-it-all Alpha dog GPS.

by Larry Anglisano

In a crowded market dominated by good performing portable GPS navigators, the $1000 question remains: Which model is the best value for the money? Having tested them all exhaustively, we conclude that there’s no easy, one-size-fits-all answer. The market has matured and all of the current offerings are competent, with few warts.

Because even the most basic portables aid in situational awareness and increase safety, investing in any of the units covered in this article will be worth the asking price, whether you fly behind a glass cockpit or behind start-of-the-art steam gauges. In this report, we’ll compare the pros and cons of the various portables based on our own…