Pinon

I also have a Venture HC and love it. I also found the manual not worth alot. But with help from this forum and alot of trial and error, I am now able to use my Venture HC very well. I use mine mostly for hiking and some geocaching. Works just great. NO problems.

Great pics...I love that type of hiking. I hike Arizona as much as I can...wjw

I too have a Meridian Gold. It is a great unit. I have used it in Arizona for many hikes. I still use it as a backup unit. I just recently purchased a Garmin Venture HC. Another great unit. I love it. Small...compact and COLOR. It obtains sats really fast, and hangs on to them under dense cover. My Maggie did well in this area too. Hang on to the Maggie...it's a very good unit.

I also purchased a Venture HC. I really like it. It does ALL I need for it to do. I use it for geocaching and mostly hiking out west. Although it is no more accurate than my Magellan Gold, it does pick up sats much faster and holds them better under tree cover. I DON'T need a gps for turn by turn help. My Venture does just fine....

I saw an ad in one of the local newspapers about a free GPS class in one of the neighboring towns. We did not own a GPSr but decided to go anyway. It was fun....met some interesting people and we got hooked. Shortly after, I bought a new Magellan Meridan Gold, which I still have...great unit. Bought a Magellan Sportrak Pro as a backup but soon gave it to my daughter as she got hooked as well. Great unit as well. Couple of months ago, I bought a new Garmin Venture HC. Wonderful unit. Keeping the Magellan Gold as a backup. Just bought a new Garmin Legend HCX for my daughter as a gift. I use my Venture for geocaching and hiking. Great little unit...I am very pleased. I often wonder what I did before they made GPSr's.....lol

I left Milwaukee WI for a week long trip to Arizona just last week. I had planned several hiking trips and place the coordinates/routes on my brand new Garmin Venture. I also place all coords on my faithful Magellan Gold... just for backup. When I got to the airport in Phoenix, I opened my day pack to get something and thought that I put everything back in the pack. My Garmin must have fallen out (when I was rooting) on the floor next to the luggage pick up area and I did not know it. When we got to our condo that we rented, I immediately looked for my gps units to make sure that I was prepared for the next days hike. To my shock...I could not find my Garmin Venture.....I looked everywhere...BUT NO GARMIN. As you might guess, the lost and found department at the airport is closed on the weekends. I called on Monday and had to leave a message about the lost item. I did a beautiful 6.5 mile hike just below Superior AZ the next day using my Magellan Gold as a backup unit. Thank God for backup units. When I got back, my wife told me that the lost/found dept had returned my call. I called back, and to my surprise.......THEY HAD MY GARMIN!!!!! I could not believe it. Someone had found it and turned it in at the airport. It sure restored my faith in people. I used my Garmin for the rest of the week in the Phoenix area. This is a THANK YOU to whoever found my Garmin Venture and turned it in. Thank you so much.....!!

YES..just about the same problem...What is happening is that the backtrak feature (with my Venture HC) does NOT follow the exact same return route as the initial route. I guess thats just the "nature of the animal". I am a new Garmin owner...I still have my Magellan Merigold and I love it. It will be used as my backup unit. I am going to Arizona next week and I need to have confidence in my new Venture HC. Time will tell.

bump up....

Just bought a new Venture HC. I love it. BUT, when I use the backtrack feature I find myself all over the original path. Does the Venture HC have the "lockon road setting"..?? If so, I can't find it. I also just download to the newest software version 2.70. Is that the culprit ??...Anybody...??

Thanks for your reply...It just seems that my Venture HC cannot follow my backtrack without the gps meandering off of the backtrak trail, especially at corners. And I do the exact same route (while driving). I also just fired up my Magellan Merigold and tried the same thing. The gps also wanders when I try to follow the backtrak feature. Maybe they are all just inaccurate with this backtack feature. O well....any comments appreciated.

Any Venture HC owners experiencing the same problems with the backtrack feature?? OR is there something I may have forgotten to do/change?? Accuracy has not been affected...just the zig zaging of my return route trying to follow my trackback. Someone please.....thanks.....

I loaded the newest version for my new Venture HC....2.70. It seems that it screws up my trackback feature. With the GPS turned on, I drive around a large block and zig/zag in my area. When I turn on the trackback feature, some of the trackback turns are way off. I am going hiking in Arizona in a week and I don't want any problems with my Venture. Any comments ?? Also..is there any way to download a previous update such as ver# 2.50 for my Venture HC ?? I never had any problems with ver# 2.50. Thanks....

Arizona would be my pick....

Keep it for a backup unit. I also have a Magellan Gold...I love it. I did buy a new Garmin Venture HC as my primary unit...$129...

I too have a Meridian Gold and a Sportrak Pro. Two great units. Have NEVER had a problem with either unit. I will admit that I just bought a Garmin Venture HC for $129. Nice unit too. One can never have too many GPS units...lol

I purchased a Venture HC from Amazon last week. $137 and change (which includes S&H) Being a Magellan owner, I really love this Garmin. I wanted a new GPS unit but did not want to spend a chunk of $$. I will be using my new Garmin next month in Arizona while doing a few hikes. I expect it to perform just fine. I wish that the base map was better....BUT it works. The unit itself is small and compact which is good. I also like the bright yellow color...easier to find if misplaced. I am looking forward to the Garmins test run in Arizona...

I have 2 Magellans but just bought a new Venture HC. I love it.......

It's nothing more than " a horse apiece"....don't you agree ??

I will have to agree with you.....I have 2 Magellans, a Meridan Gold (bought new in 2005) and a Sportrak Pro. I just purchase a Garmin Venture HC. Nice unit, like the bright color and the smaller size. Cheap too..only $129. Has a few more bells and whistles on it than the Magellans. I have NEVER had any problem with the Magellans...NEVER. I also did a accuracy test with my Magellans verses the new Garmin Venture HC. There is NO difference in accuracy between the three units. I have used my Merigold while hiking in canyons and under dense tree cover and have never lost my signal. This is my first Garmin purchase and so far so good. I will be in Arizona next month doing some hiking. Will take the new Garmin as a primary gps and the Merigold as my standby unit. One can never have too many gps units....lol

I have several sets of poles that I use for geocaching and hiking/backpacking. 1 set is from REI and the other is from WalMart. I am surprised at the quality of the Walmart poles. I have not had any trouble with them in 3 years. I don't hike without them.

Lanyards can be found most everywhere. I too have a Magellan Merigold and purchased a neck lanyard at Sportsman Warehouse. They had a lot to choose from..and cheap too. One other comment...it usually NOT the lanyard that fails...it's the connection point at the GPS'r that craps out...It's the weak link in the lanyard system. The brass threaded part that is press fit in the back of the Magellan usually pulls out and then the GPS'r falls. I did a minor glue job on the brass screw on the back of my Merigold. It has held for the last 2 years without failure. Works for me.....

Thank you both for your replys...I decided to NOT purchase the 210 at this time and keep the tried and true Sportrak Pro. ...Thanks again....wjw

I have a Merigold and a recently purchased Sportrak Pro. The Sportrak Pro is a great unit and does everything I need to do. It functions flawlessly...NEVER a problem. I switch off using the MeriGold and the Pro for hiking and geocaching. I have an opportunity to purchase a Explorist 210 for a very reasonable price from a friend who is upgrading to another Magellan. My question is this....will I gain anything...I mean anything by buying the Explorist 210 ?? I don't want or need 3 GPS'r units. Thanks in advance.....

I have a Magellan Meridian Gold and a Sportrak Pro. Both get the job done. I never have a problem with these units, either geocaching or hiking.

Just got home from a flight from LAX back to Milwaukee. Just before I had to put my GPSr away, The Captain hit 600 mph. We were just over DesMoines Iowa and he was putting the pedal to the metal at 32500' !! It was Midwest Airlines. Great flight.......