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Garmin eTrex


A few years ago, when personal GPSs first became available, every geek from here to Poughkeepsie was enthralled about the possibility of always knowing exactly where on the planet he or she was. While the Garmin eTrex isn't the most feature-rich GPS out there, it will definitely come in handy if you don't want your next camping trip to end up like a scene from The Blair Witch Project.

The eTrex is sort of a dumbed-down, rugged version of the company's more advanced eMap. Designed specifically for hiking, biking, and camping, the eTrex is one of the easiest-to-use GPS units available. It offers the ability to track up to 12 satellites so you never lose contact with one. The eTrex won't work inside--however, we don't anticipate that you'll get lost inside a building very often.

Among the eTrex's notable features is its ability to calculate your current and average speed. We used the eTrex to determine the distance from work to home, and to calculate how fast we were walking. This helped us gauge the average time it should take to get to work. This feature should really come in handy on extended hiking, camping, or cycling trips where planning your average speed and tracking the distance traveled is critical.

Main menu
Map page
Pointer page
Mark pointer page
Sticking with its theme of simplicity, the eTrex has only five buttons, making it easy to use with just one hand (It's specifically designed for the left hand.) Weighing only 5.3 ounces with the batteries installed, the eTrex is also ultralight, making it an easy addition to a daypack. The eTrex is also waterproof, so a little water shouldn't damage the unit.

The eTrex can hold up to 500 user-created waypoints. And using Garmin's TracBack feature, it's easy to plot a course with up to 10 waypoints and follow it in both directions.--Julian Strate

Pros:

  • Easy to use
  • Light
  • Waterproof
Cons:
  • Batteries only last about 20 hours



Customer Reviews

Average rating:

Simple and good

I used an old model of this unit during a weeklong kayaking trip along the Maine coast, and I recommend it highly for anyone going point-to-point over water. A kayak's a terrible place to navigate from -- no place to set out a chart, water everywhere -- so being able to simply point the boat at a waypoint is a comforting luxury. Put your waypoints in the night before you leave and enjoy the trip. Also, my unit was routinely wet but kept on ticking.


Great value for a great price!

This little hand held GPS unit is a solid value for the price. User friendly and does the job. No problems.


value for money

If you need a basic GPS receiver, this is it. No complication, no headache. This is very similar to etrext legend, but no stick, no map and no area calculation. But you have a map page where you can view your waypoints and your active track log. Also notice that the box does not contain the PC interface cable. If you need to transfer data to PC, then order it separately, or buy etrex legend (its box contains this cable).


garmin navigator

i-we- find this the best easiestbest priced gps out there.. about idiot proof.. we have hunters that get lost goin to the truck for beer.. not any more.....


As is . . .

This unit works as they say. I only need it for location coordinates and it works great. I tried setting markers and waypoints to find my way back to a starting point, but the unit seemed to want me to return in a straighter line vs the one I walked. Many other features I have yet to use and may not need as I only need a location point. For the money, I got what I paid for.


Get the Garmin eTrex from Amazon.com.