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| Garmin eTrex Handheld GPS | 
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| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: $139.99
Buy New: $69.95
You Save: $70.04 (50%)
New (8) Used (1) Refurbished (1) from $64.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  213 reviews
Sales Rank: 4288
Media: Sports
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Fragile: No
Tracks: 10
Batteries: 2
Batteries Included: No
Native Resolution: 64x128
Includes MP3 Player: 0
Size: eTrex
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 2 x 1.2 x 4.4
MPN: 010-00190-06
Model: 010-00190-06
UPC: 753759017026
EAN: 0753759017026
ASIN: B00003WGP5
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Signal "spikes" limit the unit's "Bread Crumb" feature... November 15, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have owned my eTrex for several months now. There is a lot to like about it. I personally like using the buttons as opposed to a joystick. Once you figure out where to place your fingers and learn the menu system, you can fly through and find your desired input faster than with a joystick. There is a ton of configurability. I love the look and feel of it in my hand compared to some of the Magellan's. But I am here to warn people about a couple big gripes I have with the eTrex.
One gripe I have is the eTrex's inability to pinpoint a waypoint or coordinate. "But my LCD display says 'Navigation Accurate to 9 feet.'" Don't believe it, friends. Even if I wait until the display tells me the WAAS fix is accurate to 8 feet or so and then record my position as a waypoint, if I try to navigate back to this point later, I am lucky if it gets me within 20 feet. For hiking this is no problem, but for geocaching it could be disastrous! Once you get to within 20 feet of your known waypoint or coordinate, the compass arrow literally has you walking in circles, never directing you to the exact location, or even within 8 feet!
The other gripe I have with the eTrex is that it introduces noise "spikes" when using the "bread crumb" feature. When I enable the track recorder and go on a long hike, it will draw my "bread crumb" trail as I walk. But sporadically the track will show a "spike" ranging anywhere from 100 feet to over a quarter mile long. For example, if I am walking north in a straight line, suddenly the unit will think it is instantaneously a quarter mile to the West, and draw a track line to that point, and back, instantly, drawing a line to that point and back in the shape of an instant spike. Besides being annoyed by the picture of the spike, the computer also factors the spike into the trip odometer and maximum speed. It adds the round-trip distance of the spike to your trip odometer. This makes the unit worthless for hiking from trail to trail of known distances. So a 1/4 mile spike adds 1/2 mile to your trip distance. In a nine-mile hike, I estimate that the spikes added a little over a mile to my total trip distance. It also completely ruins your maximum speed reading. After my unit instantaneously "spiked" on my hike, it said my maximum trip speed was 102 MPH!
I emailed Garmin and they suggested to do a master reset. Didn't help the spikes, but it did erase all my saved data. I even bought another identical eTrex unit. My first was a 2000-2005 version with V 3.30 software. The new unit displayed 2000-2006 V 3.53. Both software versions "spike." The problem must be well documented, because in Garmin's website if you search for "spikes" it directs you to a thread which says that this can happen if the unit does not have a clear view of the sky. Problem is, both the units I tried will spike even with a full, clear view of the sky in all directions. A third eTrex unit I tried had an LCD display which was so grainy/sparkly with very little contrast as to be unusable.
So, if you plan to use this units Track Back feature and/or "bread crumb" recording, or intend to rely on it for accurate distance or maximum speed recordings, or intend to use it for geocaching, you will want to skip the eTrex.
 Great GPS'r for your dollar October 26, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Bought ours used almost 2 yrs ago. Use mostly for geo-caching and hiking. Also fun to bring on road trips and observe elevation changes, average speed, etc. It doesn't have some of the bells and whistles the more expensive units have, but works fine for what we use it for. I do recommend using rechargable batteries though since it can burn through some AA's pretty quick.
Simple and good September 24, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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! September 20, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This little hand held GPS unit is a solid value for the price. User friendly and does the job. No problems.
value for money September 17, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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).
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