Garmin Gpsmap 60cs Or Magellan Explorist 600?

[+storm180]

I am new to the sport of geocaching and just started last weekend using a Forerunner 201. I found 4 caches and had a blast. I have decided to look into a slightly higher end unit and I have came up with two that I like.

 

Right now the big differnce that I see is the rechargable LION battery in the Magellan as compared to the AA batteries in the Garmin. I like the LION battery feature. Both will let me load top maps and I like the color. Those are my basics that I am looking for. Both have geocaching modes according to the websites.

 

Any other opinions would be helpful.

 

Sean

[+ganlet]

I am new to the sport of geocaching and just started last weekend using a Forerunner 201. I found 4 caches and had a blast. I have decided to look into a slightly higher end unit and I have came up with two that I like.

 

Right now the big differnce that I see is the rechargable LION battery in the Magellan as compared to the AA batteries in the Garmin. I like the LION battery feature. Both will let me load top maps and I like the color. Those are my basics that I am looking for. Both have geocaching modes according to the websites.

 

Any other opinions would be helpful.

 

Sean

 

this comes up on a regular basis. the simple answer is they are both good GPSr and you'll most likely be happy either way. having said that, given enough time this will boil down to the two companies that make them, garmin and magellan. each companies products have their ups and downs. each one also having its loyal followers.

 

having said that most people will side with the 60cs (its a very popular GPSr)

 

one of the upsides of the 60cs is the antenna type used.

 

i would suggest reading more threads

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=129731

Edited April 25, 2006 by ganlet

[+YuccaPatrol]

I much prefer the use of standard easily purchased or recharged AA batteries in almost every electrical gizmo I carry. I typically carry my GPS, an FRS radio, and my camera. If it came down to it, I can always scavenge batteries out of one piece of electronics to power another.

 

For me, the Lithium battery of the Magellan would be a prime reason NOT to buy it since I would be concerned that I would run out of power with no way to get more. In a pinch, I can stop at any gas station and buy a couple AA alkalines for either of my Garmin 60's

 

Plus, additional Lithium batteries for the Magellan are $40! That buys a LOT of rechagable NiMH batteries. . .

Edited April 25, 2006 by YuccaPatrol

[+greyhounder]

I use a 60CS and love it dearly. But the Explorist 600 looks like a good unit too.

 

Bec

[+briansnat]

For me, the Lithium battery of the Magellan would be a prime reason NOT to buy it since I would be concerned that I would run out of power with no way to get more. In a pinch, I can stop at any gas station and buy a couple AA alkalines for either of my Garmin 60's

 

Agreed, I'd hate to be a couple of hours away from a charger and have them go dead on me. With AA, I just pop in a fresh set.

 

Here are some other things to consider when considering Magellan and Garmin:

 

Magellan

Magellan again

and again

 

Garmin

Garmin again

and once more

 

Both have geocaching modes according to the websites.

 

For some reason Magellan only lets you load 200 geocaches. So you can have 500 geocache waypoints, but only 200 of them will work in "geocaching mode". Garmin will let you make all 1,000 waypoints geocaches, so geocaching mode will work for all of them as long as they are designated as geocaches.

Edited April 25, 2006 by briansnat

[+Sputnik 57]

I would also look at this recent thread in the Units and Software forum. There's a link to robertlipe's side-by-side test of these two units and some other useful comments.

[+Lasagna]

As others have said, it would seem to really boil down to a matter of preference. I'm a "Garmin" person myself (actually the Vista C), but know others who are diehard Magellan fans. Having one of each is not a bad idea either ... but who can afford that!?!

 

One observation however that I will make is that you should check carefully any device which has a manfacturer supplied rechargable battery ... these do wear out and then you'll need to replace it. If it's just a generic battery, then no problem. If however it's a custom battery supplied by the manufacturer, then you're faced with paying to replace it at some potentially inflated price. Now, I don't know if that's the case with the Magellan, but it is some food for thought. Perhaps others who own such a unit can clarify.

 

In the case of the Garmin, I prefer to buy rechargable NiMH batteries for my Garmin and then just keep a supply handy in my caching bag. These are relatively inexpensive and you can shop around for a good price since there are many suppliers. A charger won't cost you more than $20 and you can quickly swap batteries when necessary on those long days caching without needing to return the unit for a recharge.

[+SgtSue]

The ONLY thing I don't like about the Explorist 500 I have is the rechargable battery. While yes it only lets you load 200 caches in that is in one file. You can have countless folders and files on a SD card and quickly switch from one file to the other as you move into a different territory. Folder system is like windows folders/subfolders/files. I have folders for different states I either travel in or will be traveling in and then in each folder I have a file for either a specific area or a date that I will be caching. It is the same set up for the maps. I have multiple folders with different maps and can quickly switch as I move from place to place. If it only took AA. Maybe I'll move to the Explorist XL but it is quite a bit larger. No perfect man, no perfect gps I guess.

[+soonerdg]

I am new to the sport of geocaching and just started last weekend using a Forerunner 201. I found 4 caches and had a blast. I have decided to look into a slightly higher end unit and I have came up with two that I like.

 

Right now the big differnce that I see is the rechargable LION battery in the Magellan as compared to the AA batteries in the Garmin. I like the LION battery feature. Both will let me load top maps and I like the color. Those are my basics that I am looking for. Both have geocaching modes according to the websites.

 

Any other opinions would be helpful.

 

Sean

 

I know the Magellan 600 has and electronic compass that will work even when your standing still. I use a Magellan 300 that has the same feature and I really like it. The Garmin may have the same feature as well, I'm not sure. I too am thinking about upgrading and the only worry I have about the Magellan is what if I forget to charge it? With the Garmin I could just pop in fresh batteries and go, even in the field. If the Magellan dies in the field you'd be in a pickle.

[+storm180]

Well thank you for all the replies I really appreciate it. One thing I saw in here mentioned was when you were a full stop my arrow starts going round and round. Now someone mentioned that the magellan had the feature where it stabilized everything when standing still am I to assume thats what you were talking about?

 

Storm

[+JohnnyVegas]

Plus, additional Lithium batteries for the Magellan are $40! That buys a LOT of rechagable NiMH batteries. . .

Only if you buy the Battery with the Magellan name on it. The battery used in the Explorist 400, 500 and 600 is the same battery that is used in a Motorola cell phone, you can buy them on e-bay for about $10.00 after shipping.

 

The battery life for the explorist 400, 500 and 600 has a maximun time of 14 hours, this is more time than most geocachers are going to be in the field, Very few geocachers are going to be out more than 14 hours at a time.

 

You can also buy a 12 volt charger to use if you are on a long distance drive to keep the GPS charged.

 

For some reason Magellan only lets you load 200 geocaches.

This is not exactly 100% correct. You can store several thousand caches in an explorist, You can break the cache files down and load them according to cache type, Difficualty, Terrain or geographic location. While you can not veiw thousands of caches on the screen at the same time, you can search all the files at the same time when looking for a cache.

 

One thing I do not like about the 60CS and the Explorist 600 is the Magnetic compass, there is not real need for it in geocaching, Like I have said in the past, for the cost of the Magnetic compass feature in a GPS you can by a few pairs of good hiking sox that you will get more use out of.

[+Adrenalynn]

The battery life for the explorist 400, 500 and 600 has a maximun time of 14 hours, this is more time than most geocachers are going to be in the field, Very few geocachers are going to be out more than 14 hours at a time.

 

14hrs isn't, with the backlight on.

 

I get about 12hrs on my Garmin eMap normally. About 4hrs with the backlight. And that's not continuous use by any stretch.

[+OzGuff]

Friends don't let friends cache with a Magellan...

[+briansnat]

Well thank you for all the replies I really appreciate it. One thing I saw in here mentioned was when you were a full stop my arrow starts going round and round. Now someone mentioned that the magellan had the feature where it stabilized everything when standing still am I to assume thats what you were talking about?

 

Storm

 

I think what they were referring to is the magnetic compass. Only the eXplorist 600 has it, not the 500. The 60CS and CSX also have it

 

The battery life for the explorist 400, 500 and 600 has a maximun time of 14 hours, this is more time than most geocachers are going to be in the field, Very few geocachers are going to be out more than 14 hours at a time.

 

True for geocachers, so provided you remembered to stick your GPS on the charger between trips, you're fine.

That's one thing I notice with the equipment that I have that uses these kinds of batteries. I get home, throw it on the desk and when I go out the next day I'm starting with a partially charged cell phone or PDA.

 

For backpackers, canoers and others who are going to be away from an electric outlet for a few days, 14 hours is not going to cut it.

Edited April 27, 2006 by briansnat

[+Thrak]

Buy either unit and you will probably be happy ---- UNTIL YOU NEED SERVICE. Nothing, I mean absolutly nothing, can beat the wonderful service provided by Garmin. They have the very best customer service in the world. I broke my unit and called them and said it was MY fault it was broken but asked if they could repair it. I said I was aware it wouldn't be covered under warranty. They said no problem and sent me a new replacement unit for free. Try getting that kind of service from Magellan.

 

BTW - my story is not an isolated incident. You will find that everybody who has dealt with Garmin has the same great things to say about their customer service.

[+YuccaPatrol]

 

BTW - my story is not an isolated incident. You will find that everybody who has dealt with Garmin has the same great things to say about their customer service.

 

Garmin shipped me a brand new 60cs this month to replace one which started having problems acquiring satellites. I sent them nothing but the GPS itself and they sent me a new one in the box. . .

 

Did I mention that it was technically 6+ months beyond the end of the warranty?

 

And they then gave me a new unlock code for my mapping software.

 

Since I already had a second 60CS, I was able to turn around and sell the new 60CS and upgrade to a CSX at very little cost and apply my unlock code to the new unit.

 

Had I chosen Magellan instead of Garmin, and the same thing happenned, I'd be sitting here with an expensive paperweight instead of a new top of the line GPS unit.

 

Garmin rocks!

Edited April 28, 2006 by YuccaPatrol

[+Lasagna]

Friends don't let friends cache with a Magellan...

 

Actually ... I usually cache with one or two others. I'm the Garmin and they are the Magellan. I like that combination as between the two of us, one of us usually narrows down the search area pretty quickly. The Garmin, while it seems to lose lock more easily and thus get you crappy accuracy in tree cover -- nails the coords dead on and quickly points to GZ when it's got a good lock. Magellan seems to do the "overshoot the mark" thing consistently and always seems to "debate" about GZ for a while but keeps the lock better in tree cover, etc.

 

Get good coverage and set them down for a bit and walk away (like we usually do while we search the first area our respective units seemed to like) and they'll eventually both agree on the general location of the cache.

[+JohnnyVegas]

One thing about a magnetic compass in a GPS. THe Magellan Explorist 600, Sport trak color and Meridian Platinum use a Triaxial compss, this means you do not have to hole the GPS level for the compass to be accuturate, With any Brunton, Garmin that has a Magnetic compass and with the Explorist 300 you must hold the GPS level or the Compass will not be accurate.

 

But like I said, you would be better off spending the extra money on some good hiking sox.

[+Adrenalynn]

Or more appropriately, a decent surveying compass and a few sets of NiMH batteries. . .

[+Team Dubbin]

Very few geocachers are going to be out more than 14 hours at a time.

 

That may be true if you are ONLY going to use it for geocaching. I think most people that spend that kind of money on a GPS unit are going to be using it for more then just caching. Now if you forget to charge it up then you're screwed when you want to go out the next time. I have enough NI-MH AA's that will keep my GPSr's (Garmin & Magellan) running for a week.

 

I will say one thing about the two GPSr's in question. I ALWAYS see people having a problem with the Garmin and hardly ever see people having problems with the Magellan.

[+budd-rdc]

Right now the big differnce that I see is the rechargable LION battery in the Magellan as compared to the AA batteries in the Garmin. I like the LION battery feature. Both will let me load top maps and I like the color. Those are my basics that I am looking for. Both have geocaching modes according to the websites.

 

Any other opinions would be helpful.

 

Sean

Li-Ion batteries may hold more capacity per volume than a NiMH, but that's where the advantage ends. NiMH and regular alkalines can be interchanged, making GPSr that use them very convenient. Keep in mind that the power requirements are different from a laptop computer.

 

I don't know of any way to "fast charge" a Li-Ion battery in less than 30 minutes from near empty, while that can be done with a NiMH all the time.

[vagabond]

The battery life for the explorist 400, 500 and 600 has a maximun time of 14 hours, this is more time than most geocachers are going to be in the field, Very few geocachers are going to be out more than 14 hours at a time.

 

14hrs isn't, with the backlight on.

 

I get about 12hrs on my Garmin eMap normally. About 4hrs with the backlight. And that's not continuous use by any stretch.

 

I ran a test on my 9 month old exp 500

6:00AM disconnected from battery charger backlight on high

9:58AM battery meter showing approx. 40 to 45% left

1:05PM low battery warning comes on

1:34PM 500 shuts down backlight on high for full test

The battery meter seems to show more usage during the first 3 hrs or so

 

I ran a test a a few weeks before the one above using med backlight and low backlight and got a little over 14 hrs of use

from the 500

 

there are 3 settings for the backlight bright, medium, and low, there is no off for the backlight on the explorist

Edited April 28, 2006 by vagabond

[+Adrenalynn]

The battery life for the explorist 400, 500 and 600 has a maximun time of 14 hours, this is more time than most geocachers are going to be in the field, Very few geocachers are going to be out more than 14 hours at a time.

 

14hrs isn't, with the backlight on.

 

I get about 12hrs on my Garmin eMap normally. About 4hrs with the backlight. And that's not continuous use by any stretch.

 

I ran a test on my 9 month old exp 500

6:00AM disconnected from battery charger backlight on high

9:58AM battery meter showing approx. 40 to 45% left

1:05PM low battery warning comes on

1:34PM 500 shuts down backlight on high for full test

The battery meter seems to show more usage during the first 3 hrs or so

 

I ran a test a a few weeks before the one above using med backlight and low backlight and got a little over 14 hrs of use

from the 500

 

there are 3 settings for the backlight bright, medium, and low, there is no off for the backlight on the explorist

 

That seems consistant with my observations on the eMap. The eMap gives a LOT less warning on the battery low state, however. About half the time to shutdown.