Need Some Advice On Purchasing

[breakerbreaker]

I'm looking to buy a GPS unit & I'd like a second opinion. It's between the Magellan Sportrak color & the Magellan Meridian color. I plan on doing some hiking, so the unit needs to be extremely light-weight & durable. Also, I want to mount it inside of my car. Since I'd be taking it out to the desert & on cross-country road trips, would I need the expandable memory card??? I'd like some honest reviews from actual users, discussing the pros & cons. What about the Garmin products?? Ideally I'd like a unit that is user-friendly, yet technologically sophisticated & is "grab & go" right out of the box.

[+hiikaash]

You should buy the Magellan 210. It also has built in memory

[blocko1000]

Of those two I would definitely go with the Meridian color. I have never had a Sportrak color but I have had a Sportrak. I use the Meridian Gold now and like the Meridian's over the Sportraks because of the size. That comes in handy in the car because it is a little easier to what is on the screen because the screen is bigger on the Meridians. So, that will be helpful when driving. You can also find a vent holder on ebay for the Meridians or the Sportrak if you go that way as well. The vent holder is nice because it hangs on your air conditioning vent where you can just glance at it and see what you want for the most part. The Meridian Color has an SD slot I am pretty sure. My Gold has it. You will want to get the expandable memory if you plan to put on maps. I dont think the Sportrak color has that.

[+briansnat]

I wouldn't buy either. The ST color and Meri color were early attempts by Magellan to make a color GPS that fell flat. The units are sold at a steep discount these days, probably because they didn't sell. What was wrong with them? The screen is hard to read in sunlight. Think of your color cell phone screen (if you have one) and how difficult it is to read in the sunlight. Same thing with these two units.

 

If extremely light weight is a criteria for you, the Magellan Meridian is not one to look at. Its probably the largest handheld GPS around, with the possible exception of the Garmin 76 series.

 

If you are taking cross country trips a unit with expandable memory is probably in order, unless you have a laptop along to allow you to reload new maps. That rules out the Sportrak.

 

Not many handheld units are "grab and go" out of the box. Nearly every mapping unit requires that you purchase and install the detailed mapping software. Non mapping units are generally "grab and go", but you seem to want something more sophisticated.

 

You don't say how much you want to spend, so its hard to make recommendations.

 

Some to consider in different price ranges:

 

Garmin Venture CX (around $150 with the new Garmin rebate) - A compact, lightweight color unit with expandable memory. It supports autorouting and gets solid reception. One downside for auto navigation is that the buttons are on the side,

but you can get used to that after a while.

 

Garmin Map 60CX (around $300 with the new Garmin rebate) - Larger and heavier than the Venture, its a great color unit that supports autorouting. It has a rep for excellent reception, with people even reporting solid reception indoors. Expandable memory.

 

Magellan eXplorist 500 ($240) - Magellan's replacement for the Meridian and Sportrak. This color unit has a rep for very good reception. Its has expandable memory and a color screen. Unfortunately it also comes with Magellan's reputation for abysmal customer service.

 

Lowrance iFinder H20 Plus ($218) - A very good unit with expandable memory. A bargain at $218 because that price includes the mapping software. The mapping software is an additonal $90 to $130 for the previous three units. The H20 has great reception, but doesn't support autorouting, so if that's important to you it would eliminate this from consideration,

Edited July 29, 2006 by briansnat

[+thehulinghounds]

I use a sport trak color and absolutely love it.

[breakerbreaker]

You've all been extremely helpful to me in making this decision. I've kind of narrowed it down to the Garmin Map 60cx & the Magellan eXplorist 500. Although I've been reading some very mixed reviews on the Magellan that are making me lean more towards the Garmin Map 60cx. I know the garmin is a bit more expensive & a bit more sophisticated. But it seems like most reviewers are extremely happy with the product. I just want to get some feedback from maybe some Garmin users, will the Garmin unit be a quick start use right out of the box?

[+briansnat]

Garmin users, will the Garmin unit be a quick start use right out of the box?

 

Any unit will be usable right out of the box. I own some Garmins and a Magellan and used a Lowrance extensively and I think the Garmin units have the easiest, most intuiative interface of the bunch. The menu is

icon driven like Windows PC. If you want to find all the functions available for a screen all you need to do is hit the menu button. Magellan and expecially Lowrance hide functions in places that just don't make any sense to me.

 

For each of my Garmins I turned them on and pretty much figured out how to use 3/4 of the features without reading the manual. I had to go to the manual frequently to figure out the Magellan and Lowrance units.

[+wesleykey]

I used a borrowed Magellan, then owned four different Garmin units. Go with the Garmin 60 series.

[+Team Neos]

We liked our Garmin Legends so well that when we upgraded we stayed with Garmin and got a 76cs and a 60cs--Three weeks later they came out with the "x" versions. We would have gonen with the Garmin Map 60CSx if we knew then what we know now. If you don't want the compass/altimeter, the 60Cx costs a bit less than the CSx. (The compass will work even when you are standing still on the "S" version).

 

I'd go for the Garmin 60Cx, if it were me.

[+Half-Canadian]

You've all been extremely helpful to me in making this decision. I've kind of narrowed it down to the Garmin Map 60cx & the Magellan eXplorist 500. Although I've been reading some very mixed reviews on the Magellan that are making me lean more towards the Garmin Map 60cx. I know the garmin is a bit more expensive & a bit more sophisticated. But it seems like most reviewers are extremely happy with the product. I just want to get some feedback from maybe some Garmin users, will the Garmin unit be a quick start use right out of the box?

 

I own one of each of those two -- the 60CX and the Explorist 500. While they are both great units and both work well for geocaching, if I had to choose one I would take the Garmin. Why?? Better functions for geocaching. Better mapping and autorouting. The use of easily replaceable AA batteries. And most importantly -- Garmin's customer service and product support.

 

I recently had a problem with my 2 month old Garmin CX -- it developed a short in the power switch and kept randomly turning itself on and off. I was on the phone with Garmin, on hold less than 2 minutes, when I was assisted by a very helpful and personable customer service rep. I was issued a return authorization, and sent it off. In a week's time, I had a brand new unit back in hand, complete with all accessories, a test report on the new one, and a complimentary set of US topo maps. I have had similarly great experiences with Garmin when I have called them regarding software issues and other questions (I own 2 other Garmin models as well).

 

A few months ago, my near-new Explorist's battery self-destructed while I was on a geocaching trip in another state. I wasted most of a day trying to find a replacement battery at various cell phone shops and finally found one, which set me back $50.00. Magellan has now come out with a little plastic carrier that allows you to use 3 AAA batteries instead of their battery pack, but I've noticed only about 4-5 hours lifespan with that setup.

 

You'll be happy with either one, but the new Garmin X series is the way to go. Whatever you end up deciding, though, don't be tempted to save a few dollars and buy the now-discontinued Garmin 60CS!

[+Jhwk]

As an eXplorist 600 owner, I am sad to say that, right now, if I had to purchase a new GPSr, it would be the Garmin 60 cx/csx. Predominantly for their customer support and frequency of software updates. I love my 600, but in over a year of use, I have had exactly one software update. And trying to raise them on the phone or via e-mail for help is nearly a joke at this point.

 

just glad I haven't had te troubles some have had with their units. Good luck and HAVE FUN!

[breakerbreaker]

Thank you thank you, I can't thank everybody enough for their advice. Top choice is the Garmin Map 60CX (briansnat, you definitely helped me make my decision). Right now I'm looking on eBay for a new one or checking around websites to find a good price. I'm hoping to get a decent price on the Garmin, although I know they're expensive, in order to have enough left over for the maps. More importantly I'm just excited to get it & start using it.

[+briansnat]

Thank you thank you, I can't thank everybody enough for their advice. Top choice is the Garmin Map 60CX (briansnat, you definitely helped me make my decision). Right now I'm looking on eBay for a new one or checking around websites to find a good price. I'm hoping to get a decent price on the Garmin, although I know they're expensive, in order to have enough left over for the maps. More importantly I'm just excited to get it & start using it.

 

There is a $50 rebate from Garmin right now on all "X" units. Also, if you can find a good deal on the 76CX, it is essentially the same unit in a different case. So shop around for both.

[breakerbreaker]

Although I've mainly been looking at the 60 CX, I recently found someone selling a new 76 S... is that comparabe to the 60 CX that I've been looking into?

[+briansnat]

Although I've mainly been looking at the 60 CX, I recently found someone selling a new 76 S... is that comparabe to the 60 CX that I've been looking into?

 

76S is not the same unit. Its an older modelt, not color and limited memory. The 76CX is comparable to the 60CX.