Check out ebay you could get a bargain. People often upgrade to the more expensive ones when they have had theirs for a while. It gives you the opportunity to try it out without spending a fortune.

Good idea, thanks I will!

£500 hmmmm don't think I'd pay that - my Gramin vehicle sat nav was only apprx. £150 - The point about batteries is very relevant to pedestrian use, I once left mine switched on and out of the car and the batteries went flat very quickly and on mine you can't swap them, they are sealed inside Luckily they recovered after about 12 hours on the charger. Maybe I should have another go at using it in pedestrian mode (The one time I tried it was not a success)but I have no time and pedestrian mode is not something I'm likely to need very much.

Ive not read the thread and Im a bit late piping in here but I just use an app on my phone for mapping walks and theres also google maps and I'm sure theres another one that can give you directions too but I havent used it yet. All FREE! Cos it uses the phones GPS.