base maps on latest hand held GPS

I don't think they have any contour lines as far as I know. Maps on the GPS are very simple vector maps. If you want contour lines you'll need to use topo maps with a laptop or PDA.

Nudenut - keep in mind there are a number of different brands and models of GPS units out there ...which one are you taking about? It is possible to get contour maps for use with Meridians 1. Magellan Worldwide Basemap has wide spaced contours 2. Get hold of the Magellan Mobilemapper Office software and "aftermarket" software (to modify files for use with Meridians) and make your own - time consuming but possible if you have the contour data in the right format ..and a lot of time ....see the Mobilemapper yahoo user group. Some (eg gpsoz) have gone to the trouble of making some contour maps available online for Meridian (color units only) using Geoscience Australia Data (as used by David for his maps on this site). I dont think too many people have gone to the trouble of making Meridian compatible maps ....the other option - raster maps using OziExplorer etc is toooo easy for those in serious mode..though having it on GPS would be nice. Garmin??
Cheers
Greg

mmmm?
looks as though its not economical to upgrade if all i want is to know where exactly i am when i look at a paper map while walking.

95% of people don't want to do anything more than look at a screen, not interested in creating own maps by spending big dollars and find it doesn't work all that well, if at all. Garmin don'thave anything exciting like Topo for Australia, they don't have the maps for central AU like Magellan AU does. Garmin are good in the hardware dept but lacking in software. Magellan are the only ones who have opened the door a little for development. Garmin won't let any of their secrets out because they have massive market share. However, I will sell both on their merits.