Topash - what is the purpose of your map? I ask because I am a Civil PE and tried to use my Garmin E-Trex to do some mapping for work ... and then we tried a trimble (about a $6K unit) and it was good for some mapping ... but depending on what you are doing a 'cheap handheld' will probably NOT be adequate ... i.e. NONE of the handhelds that are under $1000 are accurate to less than 3 m (9 ft) horizontal position.
Perhaps some added details would help clarify? what exactly do you need this for? or if this is good enough on accuracy ... then almost any would do. ... but don't get the basic etrex ... no download capability. ...
Can anyone recommend an accurate handheld GPS unit for use in heavy foilage? It will be used to plot data on a large office map in an office.
Anything that trimble offers is overkill for what this person is needing. On the other side, any garmin unit is not adequate for mapping. Besides you can't really compare those different types of units. Trimble has some post process correction abilities that make it far more superior for mapping.
P.S. I highly recommend the topo maps if you're going to be offroad.
And I will beg to differ on you statement about a garmin unit being less than 3m accurate. With my legend C I am consistently getting 6-9 ft accuracy which has been verified by a Trimble GeoXT. The 60CSx is even better than the Legend and Vista.