Njal

I'm recently new to geocaching and have been buying and returning GPS units so I could the right one for me. I've checked out the Garmin etrex legend, magellan gold, and the magellan sportrak pro. I found that the Sportrak acquires sattelites faster than the Magellan gold and seems to hold signal strength a bit better (noticeably better than the eTrex Legend). I slimmer size is nicer (slightly bigger than the eTrex, slightly smaller than the Mag. Gold). Overall a great unit. I think the question that you've got to answer is "how important is autorouting?" None of the GPSs at this level do "turn-by-turn" routing, they merely show a line "as the crow flies" from current location and the destination. To get "autorouting" you'll need to step up to something like the Garmin GPS V, which runs ~$400+.

I'm relatively new to geocaching as well and wanted to make a good choice on my first gps, so I bought two the Magellan Gold and the etrex Legend (both ~$250) so I could do a side by side comparison. I posted by likes and issues earlier today, but in essence the Magellan Gold keeps a better sattelite fix in tree cover. I did like the size and ergonomics of the etrex, but the Magellan was easier to use and seemed to be a tad more responsive. Reponses from my posting tend to confirm my findings. I took back the etrex and kept the magellan.

I'm relatively new to geocaching as well and wanted to make a good choice on my first gps, so I bought two the Magellan Gold and the etrex Legend (both ~$250) so I could do a side by side comparison. I posted by likes and issues earlier today, but in essence the Magellan Gold keeps a better sattelite fix in tree cover. I did like the size and ergonomics of the etrex, but the Magellan was easier to use and seemed to be a tad more responsive. Reponses from my posting tend to confirm my findings. I took back the etrex and kept the magellan.

I’m just getting into geocaching and have been looking for a good, durable GPS. I originally tried out Magellan’s GPSCompanion for the Palm m515. I liked the basic functionality, but was concerned about the durability. I picked both eTrex Venture and the Magellan Gold so I could do a head-to-head comparison. Here’s what I found: Etrex Venture: Likes: unit ergonomics (size, easy one-hand operations), the screen was smaller but the details were sharp, and the screens seemed well designed. The buttons weren’t obvious but easy to learn. Annoyances: It seemed to take several extra clicks to enter waypoints/use screen features, tracking against the roads in the base maps was somewhat inaccurate, it seemed somewhat sensitive to tree cover and would occasionally loose satellite signal. The time it takes for acquire satellite fix was consistently longer than the Magellan and noticeably longer than advertised. Magellan Gold: Likes: good screen design, relatively quick to acquire satellite fix (3D), buttons were obvious, waypoints were easy (easier) to enter. The unit kept good satellite lock even in tree cover. Annoyances: Unit size, screen sharpness (a function of the pixel size), too many screens to toggle through. Is this consistent with others who have used these products?

I’m just getting into geocaching and have been looking for a good, durable GPS. I originally tried out Magellan’s GPSCompanion for the Palm m515. I liked the basic functionality, but was concerned about the durability. I picked both eTrex Venture and the Magellan Gold so I could do a head-to-head comparison. Here’s what I found: Etrex Venture: Likes: unit ergonomics (size, easy one-hand operations), the screen was smaller but the details were sharp, and the screens seemed well designed. The buttons weren’t obvious but easy to learn. Annoyances: It seemed to take several extra clicks to enter waypoints/use screen features, tracking against the roads in the base maps was somewhat inaccurate, it seemed somewhat sensitive to tree cover and would occasionally loose satellite signal. The time it takes for acquire satellite fix was consistently longer than the Magellan and noticeably longer than advertised. Magellan Gold: Likes: good screen design, relatively quick to acquire satellite fix (3D), buttons were obvious, waypoints were easy (easier) to enter. The unit kept good satellite lock even in tree cover. Annoyances: Unit size, screen sharpness (a function of the pixel size), too many screens to toggle through. Is this consistent with others who have used these products?