SD
Got the 195 as a B'day present from my wife some 6 years ago.
This is the 3rd portable GPS I have owned and used.
Previous one was a Trimble and a Magellan (anyone hear from these of late?)
Garmin was a great step forward as they use their 12 channel receiver which is excellent.
At the time the choice really was between the GPS 3 and 195. My dear better half got cheesed off with me buying stuff only to flog it after a year to my mates at a ridiculous cheap price to buy the next one up. So she decided that she might as well go the full hog and get what then was the TTOTR model. She also kindly pointed out that for someone who was heading fast towards the big 40 a larger screen with bigger print was better. (Aint she sweet)
Anyway the 195 is a fine unit works well, never used the extra aerial even in high wing machines. Works well with FLitestar. Battery life about 4 hours if you use it non stop but longer if you give the batteries a rest so if you do 1-2 hour jollies you may well get up to 6 hours. Great screen; has all the Jeppsen database in it which is easily updated (not cheap but better now than a few years ago when they ripped you off to the tune of nearly £100.)
Big screen mean less battery life and bigger unit. Size is a bit of a pain when using it in a glider or Cub/Citabria type affair.
Until we got the Skymap IIIC topo in the Robin we used the 195 clamped to the glareshield and wired in which was fine (Skymap is an excellent unit but not portable)
I have not used a 295 or 196.
If I was to buy another handheld I would go for the GPS3 as it is more portable, uses less battery and you can use it in landscape and portrait mode.
I think if you have a look around you can pick up a second hand 195 for the price of a new GPS 3.
Have fun.
FD