Anyone on here have a hand-help GPS unit? I'm thinking about getting one for hiking, hunting, navigation, etc. I'm looking at the Garmin Etrex Legend, and the Magellan Explorist 210. They both seem to have their pluses and minuses, and after reading reviews and forums, I'm more confused than ever! Any recommendations for a basic unit?

 

I have a Garmin 12 Map, I love it, I did look at the Magellan units at the time and liked the Garmin better. My dad has the Etrex, I do not like the Joy Stick, I prefer the paddle button. I am familiar enough with the Garmin that I can navigate most of the menus without looking, I can't do that with the joy stick. My next purchase will be the GPSMAP 60CSx, as the button layout is similar to the 12 Map. I have the Topo Maps to upload to the Garmin units and find they are very accurate. GPS units are a useful tool and a lot of fun. Download the manual and go to a store that sells them and test drive the unit at the counter.

 

I have an etrex Vista. I absolutley love it, and now they have color ones. Upload maps, easy to use, download waypoints, etc.

 

I have an Xplorist 200, it's a pretty decent compact unit, but not as accurate as they say. All your logged waypoints are right dead on, but the track is off, sometimes by as much as 100ft. I have been using this to map out properties while looking for land, I've been able to use the log function, transfer the numbers into Delorme, and get accurate acreage calculations.

 

I posted in a hurry, I had to leave for an appointment. Navigating with a unit that has the ability to upload maps is great, the Garmin map software costs about $100, check out the Garmin and Magellan web sites for the different versions of this and see what may work best for you, my dad has the roads and recreation version and I have the topo version, we both prefer the topo version. You do not need to have the software to make these units useful but it helps. The base maps included in the Garmin units are handy when traveling, the will have information about rest stop locations and food and hotel information at exits. This is useful when you are wondering if you need to stop now or can make it to a more convenient pull over point. Marking a waypoint for a good fishing spot or where your game animal is down is very handy also. If you have a buddy that has a GPS he can give you his location by Longitude and Latitude, makes it easy to find them. I also use my as a true speed indicator as I do not have a single vehicle that has an accurate speedometer, these units are accurate to one tenth of a knot when receiving a good signal, so great for calibrating a speedometer and odometer. If you plot a route they can give you a fairly accurate ETA at destination. It can save your bacon too, I was on a forest road to elk camp during a white out at night, pushing snow with the bumper, no tracks to follow. I have been up and down this road dozens of times but in this white out I wasn’t able to distinguish a turn off from a field. I had the route in and followed it to camp. Like I wrote earlier, great tool.

 

I have a Garmin 72 which I use mostly for a speedometer :-) Has all the off road features I need too. Well worth the $160. I buy mine at West Marine, good service.

My last Garmin I sold on E-Bay, after I used it more then a year, I got almost as much as I paid for it new. They hold their value.

 

I have a Garmin Legend. What I dislike about it is that the reception goes bad when you are in thick brush/trees and if it is completely vertical. It has to be somewhat horizontal for good reception. I use it primarily for snowmobiling as it mounts on my handlebar and lays at about a 45 degree angle. Reception is fine with it mounted like that. Not a bad unit, but I don't have any experiences with others. It will get me out if I get lost or turned around, and that is all I care about.

 

I have the Magellan Explorist 200? I bought it last month. It is OK but has an interesting bug.

The built in map showing the freeway past the Magellan headquarters is WRONG. It shows the wrong freeway number. You would think the map past their headquarters would be accurate.

There are other inaccuracies to the map and the resolution goes down only to main surface streets, not side streets. Either my unit is an older leftover with incorrect maps, or they are all that way. I guess this is what you get with the economy model.

It works OK as far as I have played with it. Seems it takes a little longer than expected to get a fix on enough satellites, and yes I was outside with no trees etc in the way.

Just my experience,

Jim Henderson

 

I dunno- I'm leaning towards the Magellan because there are some good deals out there already bundled with the 3D Topo software, and the compass (supposedly) functions when you are standing still, which some others don't. My first use is to look at properties next month in rural SC, and I thought it would be good for walking unmarked woods to get an idea of the property. It doesn't have to be too accurate; I guess I could use a compass and some guesstimation as far as the back of the properties, but I figured w/ a GPS unit I could follow the plat map within reasonable accuracy, not to mention it would be a cool toy!

 

I looked at the 210 on Magellan's web site, it looks like a real nice unit for the price, good specs and lots of features, it looks like you have to go to the 300 for the electronic compass. An electronic compass is handy when you are turning and trying to orientate yourself, without it you have to take a few steps for the display to orient to your heading, the compass uses a little more battery power and can be turned off if not needed. In a forested area without much for landmarks a GPS is real handy. When I bought my first Garmin I selected the 12XL, I used it for the weekend and compared it to the 12 MAP, Monday I took it back to the store and asked if I could swap up, being a great local store they said yes. These GPS units are like any other technology, faster, better, more bang for the buck comes out every year and I get the upgrade itch. I have had my present GPS for five years now and it still does everything I need but when I see more memory for storing maps, color screens and more user friendly features it takes will power to hold off buying a new one. All of the GPS units from the top makers have been well thought out it is just a matter of finding one that works best for you.

 

If you have a laptop, or PDA, you may want to consider the Delorme GPS, and map software.