Which Garmin To Buy?

[+jellis]

Well from reading the forums and reviews I see the Garmin beats Magellan. I like my Lowrance but it is missing features Garmin has. So time to upgrade. But now which one. Vista , Legend, Venture or GSPMap?

[-Oz-]

GPSMap is quite generic.

 

Which one to buy depends on what you want to do with it:

Auto navigation

Hiking

Geocaching

Skiing

Boating

 

just a few examples.

 

You're gonna find most people say one of the "x" units since they have expandable memory. Then the most reccomended is the 60c(s)x which currently has a $50 rebate. The 76c(s)x is the same unit with a different shell (and it floats). The 76 comes with more memory standard but most people upgrade anyway. I have a 60csx and love it.

[+jellis]

GPSMap is quite generic.

 

Which one to buy depends on what you want to do with it:

Auto navigation

Hiking

Geocaching

Skiing

Boating

 

just a few examples.

 

You're gonna find most people say one of the "x" units since they have expandable memory. Then the most reccomended is the 60c(s)x which currently has a $50 rebate. The 76c(s)x is the same unit with a different shell (and it floats). The 76 comes with more memory standard but most people upgrade anyway. I have a 60csx and love it.

 

Thanks

But since you see I am on this forum it is mainly for geocaching. Maybe more.

Does anyone know much about the New Venture?

[-Oz-]

Heh, I'm on this forum but yet to have done a single geocache. So assumptions are bad. Anyway, the Venture Cx is good because if you already have a usb cord you can easily turn it into the Vista. Just buy a microsd card and plug it in and you're good to go. It does auto-nav as well.

 

Since I don't actually have it I can't give a hands-on review.

[+BlueDeuce]

Mainly geocaching, maybe more?

 

How much are you willing to spend?

[+jellis]

Mainly geocaching, maybe more?

 

How much are you willing to spend?

someone wants to know to buy one as a gift for my birthday.

 

You know Tool man Taylor

Bigger the better

I told him NO

but he still wants to know since he believes I can do better than Lowrance

[+BlueDeuce]

Mainly geocaching, maybe more?

 

How much are you willing to spend?

someone wants to know to buy one as a gift for my birthday.

 

You know Tool man Taylor

Bigger the better

I told him NO

but he still wants to know since he believes I can do better than Lowrance

 

Garmin Legend.

[Kurt301]

I have always used the garmin legend from the first long skinny blue one. it is a very versitile unit I now have the legend C which if you look at their website has been discontinued and replaced by the legend CX. I really dont know why you would need expandlable memory card with the amount of internal memory the legend C had and besides I like having one less hole(memory card slot) for water and such to get in to. So I highly recomend the legend series. they plug and play right into a USB port and work well with windows xp.

[+budd-rdc]

By the way, which Lowrance unit do you own currently? You might want to give the Lowrance guys a chance to chime in.

 

I think Garmins are easier to use than Lowrance, but I believe Lowrance has features that Garmins might not have.

[+weakfish]

I honestly believe that if you're going to use the unit for anything in addition to caching (eg, routing while driving, boating use, etc) You'll get the biggest bang for your buck by going with the 60Cx.

 

You get expandable memory, the sirf chipset (which ROCKS!!!) a bigger display and a better layout for the buttons.

 

I totally believe the 60Cx is Garmin's best product.

[+oldsoldier]

I'll second that. The compass & altimeter are, IMHO, overkill, and not needed in most situations. For the money you save going with the Cx vs the CSx, you can get a decent compass. And, just starting out, its doubtful you'll do any caches where you would need the altimeter to figure out your altitude.

I absolutely love my 60Cx. The map alone was worth the extra $$$. It locks quick, stays locked under trees, and is a generally all around robust unit (I have a tendency to abuse my gear). If you have the money, go with the 60x series. It will save you money when you upgrade.

[+TEAM 360]

Which Garmin To Buy?

 

The one that says Magellan on it.

 

Seriously, why blow almost $400 on a GPS? You can drop it, or trip and smash the screen onto some rocks. Plenty of bad things can happen to it. These are the same reasons many in here recommend getting a cheap PDA, but will tell you to go out and buy the 60 series, just because everyone else is buying them right now. And don't tell me a GPS is 'meant to take the outdoors', because when you fall and have a GPS in your hand, it's going to smash on SOMETHING and get damaged.

 

I used to have a 60C. Know how many screens I used on a regular basis? Only 2. The map screen and the compass screen. Wooohooo.

 

I just picked up a refurbed Magellan Gold off Ebay for $120. Looks and performs just like new. Came with a warranty, too. Expandable memory. Can download waypoints. Has alot of different features and screens, some that I won't ever use, and gets me to the caches just as good as that $400 60CSX. Do I NEED a color screen? No. Did I ever use autorouting? No. So I saved a lot of money and still got a GPS that could do everything.

 

A GPS is like a car. They will all get you from point A to point B. Some just look fancier than others.

Shop around for a week and THEN decide what GPS is right for YOU, and how much $$$ you are willing to invest.

[+CheshireFrog]

I haven't really figured out a use for the altimeter yet, other than to look at the elevation profile when I get back home, and that's really just cool information to have, not really necessary by any stretch of the imagination.

 

The compass, however, is invaluable. For projecting waypoints or or headings when entering an area where there will be no reception (like caves) nothing beats being able to stand still and still get a reading. Sure, you can do that with a conventional compass, but I'd rather have it on the GPSr than not have it, and I won't buy another GPSr without it now that I'm used to it.

[+jellis]

I haven't really figured out a use for the altimeter yet, other than to look at the elevation profile when I get back home, and that's really just cool information to have, not really necessary by any stretch of the imagination.

 

The compass, however, is invaluable. For projecting waypoints or or headings when entering an area where there will be no reception (like caves) nothing beats being able to stand still and still get a reading. Sure, you can do that with a conventional compass, but I'd rather have it on the GPSr than not have it, and I won't buy another GPSr without it now that I'm used to it.

 

Thank you all for your input and I will check into all the suggestions and make my decision.

Happy hunting

j

[+Miragee]

I started caching with the Garmin Vista. I liked it a lot, but when I saw how useful auto-navigation was, I upgraded to the Vista C.

 

The newer color unit gets a lock, and holds it better, than my monochrome Vista did, and I use the auto-navigation all the time since I am unfamiliar with many areas of the huge metropolitan area near where I live.

 

The new Venture Cx is probably the best deal out there now, unless you want all the bells and whistles of the Garmin Map 60CSx.

[+El Diablo]

Which Garmin To Buy?

 

The one that says Magellan on it.

 

Seriously, why blow almost $400 on a GPS? You can drop it, or trip and smash the screen onto some rocks. Plenty of bad things can happen to it. These are the same reasons many in here recommend getting a cheap PDA, but will tell you to go out and buy the 60 series, just because everyone else is buying them right now. And don't tell me a GPS is 'meant to take the outdoors', because when you fall and have a GPS in your hand, it's going to smash on SOMETHING and get damaged.

 

I used to have a 60C. Know how many screens I used on a regular basis? Only 2. The map screen and the compass screen. Wooohooo.

 

I just picked up a refurbed Magellan Gold off Ebay for $120. Looks and performs just like new. Came with a warranty, too. Expandable memory. Can download waypoints. Has alot of different features and screens, some that I won't ever use, and gets me to the caches just as good as that $400 60CSX. Do I NEED a color screen? No. Did I ever use autorouting? No. So I saved a lot of money and still got a GPS that could do everything.

 

A GPS is like a car. They will all get you from point A to point B. Some just look fancier than others.

Shop around for a week and THEN decide what GPS is right for YOU, and how much $$$ you are willing to invest.

 

Maybe I need to send you one of my hiking staffs so you quit falling down and smashing your GPS The color screen is a lot easier to see, especially if your eyes are getting old like mine. Auto routing is like comparing sliced bread to unsliced bread. If you ever use it you won't want to give it up.

 

Also a GPS is a lot like a car. In most cases you get what you pay for.

 

El Diablo

[+Steel City Seekers]

By the way, which Lowrance unit do you own currently? You might want to give the Lowrance guys a chance to chime in.

 

I think Garmins are easier to use than Lowrance, but I believe Lowrance has features that Garmins might not have.

 

She has an H2O, which is a pretty capable unit.

 

My opinion is that budd-rdc and Team 360 are closest to the mark.

 

The Lowrance that you already have is more than capable. It isn't color and it doesn't have autorouting and it isn't the greatest thing that will ever be made. However, it offers a great deal of features already including the ability to upload waypoints and much more.

 

If you have Tim the Toolman that insists on buying you a present, then good for you! Don't put him off. I'd tell him to buy me one of those stand-alone automobile GPS systems (it can be from Garmin, that's okay) that provide routing with voice direction. If you have to have only ONE receiver, then autoroute might be fine. However, comparing autoroute to voice-guided directions is a step up from sliced bread to prime rib.

 

If I were you, I'd ask for an in-car system and stick with the Lowrance for the woods.

 

There isn't anyone here that's posted a single shred of proof that any Garmins, even the almighty 60 CSX, provide any better reception than the Lowrance receivers. Other than autoroute, I don't see a single feature that Garmin has that a comparable Lowrance does not. Since you already have a good receiver, bypass the autoroute and get a stand-alone.

[+Airmapper]

Everyone knows I'm a Lowrance fan, but I'll admit Garmins are nice. I even own a Garmin.

 

If your friend is going to buy you for example a 60CSx, are they also going to buy you the Mapping? Mapping for Garmin comes in separate packages for detailed Topo mapping and Auto-routing data. Each costs about $100. With a out of the box Garmin 60CSx, you'll be holding a nice unit, without any mapping to run all the fancy features it has.

 

You might need to spend $200 of your money, and that applies to ALL Garmin units, to get all the features.

 

I agree with Steel City Seekers, your Lowrance is a fine unit, I can even tell you how to configure and send Geocache info to it. You might find you can get something else that will add to your caching setup instead of replacing it.