Opinion? Trying To Decide Between An Explorist 500 And A Map 60csx

[+The_LangHerd]

I'm almost afraid to ask this question. There seems to be two camps in the GPS world... Magellan and Garmin...

 

It gives me the Mac vs. PC or Windows vs. Linux flashbacks..

 

We've narrowed our search / choices to two models. I'm looking for valid reasons for selecting one over the other. I've read online pleanty of good and bad about both in different reviews. We'll be using the GPS for geocaching, of course, but also plugged into the notebook for driving... plus hiking, hunting and just enjoying "geek" toys.

 

This will be our first handheld. So far, all of our caching has been done packing a 12 lb laptop with Delorme or Streets and a USB gps receiver. Just tired of packing the weight out into the hills.

 

Thanks,

 

John (of The_LangHerd)

[Michael Cook]

Do you need the barometric altimeter and electronic compass? Then the comparison should be between the 60CSx and the Explorist 600. If you don't need these features, the choice would be between the 60Cx and the Explorist 500. All these models have very good satellite reception (An interesting comparative test regarding reception can be found here: http://www.mtgc.org/robertlipe/showdown/).

 

If the type of battery should be a deciding factor, check out this thread.

 

Regarding ease of use, size, weight, feel of buttons, etc. the best thing to do is to find both models in a shop and try them out.

 

Otherwise, if the "geek factor" is important, the Garmins have more menus/options/stuff to play around with than the Magellans.

 

If you happen to have a Mac, note that Garmin has announced support for Mac OS for the end of this year, and that there are already some Mac apps (LoadMyTracks or RouteBuddy, for instance), which will communicate with the Garmin 60CSx over USB.

 

Have fun choosing and don't rush the decision!

[Fireatak]

I'm almost afraid to ask this question. There seems to be two camps in the GPS world... Magellan and Garmin...

 

It gives me the Mac vs. PC or Windows vs. Linux flashbacks..

 

We've narrowed our search / choices to two models. I'm looking for valid reasons for selecting one over the other. I've read online pleanty of good and bad about both in different reviews. We'll be using the GPS for geocaching, of course, but also plugged into the notebook for driving... plus hiking, hunting and just enjoying "geek" toys.

 

This will be our first handheld. So far, all of our caching has been done packing a 12 lb laptop with Delorme or Streets and a USB gps receiver. Just tired of packing the weight out into the hills.

 

Thanks,

 

John (of The_LangHerd)

 

There must be 10 Garmin owners for every 1 Magellan just based on the forum pages.

I own the Garmin 76csx and nothing that Magellan has comes close.

Ease of use, tech support and forum information lead me to Garmin.

Too bad you just missed the $100 rebate.

The 60 & 76 series (x) has expandable mem card and auto routing for in car nav.

Does Magellan have the sirf chip? if not go Garmin.

[+geognerd]

Does Magellan have the sirf chip? if not go Garmin.

This shouldn't be someone's sole reason for buying a Garmin. If you read this comparison mentioned earlier, you will see that the SiRF receiver isn't dramatically better than the eXplorist receiver.

 

The OP may have missed the $100 rebate on the 76Cx/76CSx (the 76Cx was very tempting), but now there is a $50 rebate on the 60Cx/60CSx plus the x-series eTrexes.

[+paulamur]

I have owned a explorist 400 (same as 500 but greyscale screen). I now own a 60cx. I would say that the cx reception is much better than the explorist. I had them side by side driving to the Oregon coast on a tree lined road. The explorist was on the dash, I was holding the cx. I watched the sat page, and at times the 400 would be down to 2 sats, the cx would have 5.

 

I really like the color screen on the cx, but I can't compare the two as I haven't seen a color screen on a explorist. I like the interface better on the cx, and from what I read here Garmin autoroutes better than Magellan.

 

The cx is more money, but I think it is worth it.

[+Jhwk]

There seems to be two camps in the GPS world... Magellan and Garmin...

 

It gives me the Mac vs. PC or Windows vs. Linux flashbacks..

 

John (of The_LangHerd)

 

There must be 10 Garmin owners for every 1 Magellan just based on the forum pages.

I own the Garmin 76csx and nothing that Magellan has comes close.

Ease of use, tech support and forum information lead me to Garmin.

The 60 & 76 series (x) has expandable mem card and auto routing for in car nav.

Does Magellan have the sirf chip? if not go Garmin.

 

Lets try and stick with the facts versus your perception. You will get fans of both systems here, mainly Garmin, but Maggies do have a loyal following. Look at the features you want in a GPSr and find the one that matches your needs.

 

I have three maggies right now, but if I was looking to get a new system, I would have to go with the 60csx

(boo, get off the stage, you traitor)

[+Team ChipsNDip]

check out that comparison page of accuracy readings. That's what made my mind up - i switched from a garmin etrex to a magellan explorist. I prefer the Garmin interface - I think it's easier to use. But I went caching with a Magellan owner, and liked the way the "averaging" held him closer to the cache. Perhaps it's just that it's style of reporting matches my hunting style more.

 

Basically, the new SIRF chips in the Garmins is hyper-sensitive - it gathers in more info, and reports down to a lower dB. The bad news is that by reporting the lower dB signals, you may get more "bad" data in the process. Look at the wander in that scatter plot... The Explorist stays tight. How does it do that? Because it doesn't show you the wander - it averages together the last so many samples. For geocaching and me, that is good. But there may be times when you want to know exactly what your current readings are, and the Magellan doesn't do that.

 

I'm currently doing routing with the V1 maps for Magellan, and while they work they don't really pick the "best" route. I haven't done any autorouting with Garmin for comparison, and haven't done auto-routing with the newer v2 or v3 versions of the magellan software.

 

I also got the 600 explorist - I don't really care about the barometric altimeter, but I really dig the electronic compass. The Explorist has a 3-axis compass (doesn't have to be level horizontally to get you an accurate reading). I don't know WHY Garmin hasn't switched to a 3-axis over a 2-axis.

 

I like both companies, like both options - but I picked the one that matched my needs.

[+EScout]

Here we go again. Some untruths/opinions here so I will give mine.

 

Regarding reception, please go to the link and see that they are very close. With my 500, I have never had a situation where it did not get a good position reading. The Garmin is very sensitive and this has been shown to have effects that need to be considered. I have done tests on my 500 where I walk very quickly to accurate benchmarks with a GOTO set to them and stop directly over them. There is maybe a second or so delay until the goto distance stops decreasing. So, any averaging seems OK to me.

 

Regarding the geek factor, the choice is the explorist due to the advanced file management system. There are Geocache and regular waypoint files, track and route files, all savable on SD card or internal memory. You can move a file from one to the other, create folders, subfolders, copy/move files from one folder/memory to another, copy/move waypoints from one file to any other, all in the unit not while not attached to a computer. This is geek stuff.

 

Regarding the battery, the Li-ion of the eXplorists has its advantages/disadvantages, and the AAs of the Garmin has its advantages/disadvantages. Since I have had a cell phone and PDA that use Li-ion and charge similarly, I like it. Once you get a cell phone with a Li-ion battery, imagine taking out AAs and charging them every time. Extra explorist batteries can be had for $10. You can also use regular/rechargable AAAs in the eXplorists.

 

Regarding price, I have seen the eXplorist 500 for $175 recentlty after rebate. Not sure about the 60Cx.

[+Catlon]

I have used the Explorist 500 for 16 months and it was an unbeatable unit; that is until the SiRF processor was put into the 60Cx and 76Cx units. I personally liked the Garmin features better because before I got the Explorist I had a 60C. However, because of continually dropping satellites I switched to the 500. But now that Garmin has a better antenna, I switched back and bought the 76CSx. Note: except for looks and a couple of features, the 60 Cx and the 76Cx are basically the same unit.

 

Comparing the two units - Although both units have never lost a lock, the 76CSx acquires lock much faster than the 500. Both units hold lock indoors, and under heavy canopy. But for me, I like the bigger Garmin unit, and the geocaching features of the Garmin unit better.

 

Today, I experienced my first issue with the Explorist. The USB cable no longer screws into the back of the unit. I believe the screw hole in the back of the unit is stripped. I've always felt that the USB cable on the 500 is the weak point of the unit. It is extremely tiny and flimsy. On top of transferring data, this cable is also used to charge the battery. This might be something to keep in mind when purchasing. I will be sending my unit in for repair. I did purchase a 2-yr extended warranty with it. Foresight!

 

But to answer your question - for me personally, the new SiRF processor units will be a strong competitor to the Magellan units. And I do like the features of the Garmin better. So it's the Garmin Cx units for me.

[+The_LangHerd]

Folks,

 

Thanks for your input. What's important to me....

 

Relative ease of use.

Not having the signal hop around like a jackrabbit

Bang for the bug

Good compas ( I like the 3 axis)

 

Not important:

The latest and greates

Barometric stuff

drive mapping (that's why I have a laptop with streets & delorme)

 

From what I have seen so far, the Ex500 should do us just fine. Plus it's quite a bit less expensive.

 

Thanks for the input (and the lack of flames)

[Michael Cook]

If you need the compass, it's the Explorist 600 you want, not the 500.

 

Folks,

 

Thanks for your input. What's important to me....

 

Relative ease of use.

Not having the signal hop around like a jackrabbit

Bang for the bug

Good compas ( I like the 3 axis)

 

Not important:

The latest and greates

Barometric stuff

drive mapping (that's why I have a laptop with streets & delorme)

 

From what I have seen so far, the Ex500 should do us just fine. Plus it's quite a bit less expensive.

 

Thanks for the input (and the lack of flames)