Terrain-Aware Handheld vs. IFR GPS?

Panel mount stuff is usually better. Turns on with the radios, turns
off with radios, no batteries or cords. Don't need to "get it out".
The buttons are built to work with it panel mounted. Probably some
other reasons. I have a handheld, and use it some, but its mostly for
backup if my panel GPS goes on the fritz. Once you use a good panel
mount, you'll never want to go back.

"C Kingsbury" wrote in message hlink.net...
OK, here's a new take on an old debate:

I fly a 172 with 2 good NAV/COMs, an M1 Loran and a flaky ADF in the
Northeast US. Since everything up here is airways and most of the fields I
go to have an ILS or LOC approach, this is enough to get away with on most
of the flights I take. This is the plane I got my ticket in so I'm used to
it.

I've been thinking about trying to talk my partners into floating the 6k or
so to install a basic IFR-certified GPS like a GX-50 or similar. No, we
cannot afford a GNS-430/480 so that is not part of the decision matrix.

Lately, I've been wondering whether the *real* value of something like the
newer handheld GPSs with terrain alerting (i.e. Garmin 296) might actually
be greater. I know it's not certified, but the certified GPS will do nothing
to warn me that I'm rapidly approaching cumulogranite for whatever reason.

Let's say I cannot get both the handheld and the panel-mount: What would you
choose?

-cwk.