Magellan Explorist XL vs Garmin 60CSx

[+starbox189]

I currently have a Garmin 60CS with current versions of TOPO, City Select and Blue Chart. It has always served me well, except that I wish the screen was bigger and it had expandable memory.

 

I bought an Explorist XL for the big screen and the expandable memory a few days ago. I bought Direct Route v3, too. I would like to try the 3D TOPO to see what it is like. The large screen is GREAT, however, I find that I need the backlight on all the time in order to see it, thus wearing down the battery faster. I also find that the software is not as sofisticated as that of Garmin and it doesn't have as an extensive a list of included POI's as that of Garmin.

 

The XL locks on to a fix much faster and holds it much better that the 60CS. I know that the 60CSx would be as good as the XL in that regard.

 

I'm debating whether to exchange it for a new 60CSx. These units are quite different, however, the pro's and con's of each unit sort of balance out with me.

 

Any one with experience with these to units? What do you think?

[+own6volvos]

The part I lvoe about my 60cx is the screen is perfectly readable in direct sunlight, and not washed out at all.

[+EScout]

The eXplorists have a screen that looks great in sunlight.

[+Torgut]

The eXplorists have a screen that looks great in sunlight.

 

Not sure if you are beeing ironic here. Clarification: I don't own an eXplorist and I never had one im my hand. However, basically all the reviews I read about this series point the problems of screen reading under sunlight as a Con for the unit.

[+starbox189]

The eXplorists have a screen that looks great in sunlight.

 

Not sure if you are beeing ironic here. Clarification: I don't own an eXplorist and I never had one im my hand. However, basically all the reviews I read about this series point the problems of screen reading under sunlight as a Con for the unit.

On my XL unit atleast, you can't see the screen without the backlight on. My 60CS is perfectly readable without the backlight on.

[Xlobsterman]

Here is my .02 cents worth of opinion on this topic!

 

I currently do not own a Magellan GPS, BUT................if I did purchase a Magellan, it would definately be the XL because of the size of the unit & screen! Although, I do not like what I here about Magellan's customer service!!!!

 

I currently own 3 Garmin units. A GPSII, GPSV, and a Legend. The GPSII is over 10 years old and still works great!!! It's a little slower than the newer units, but that is to be expected with an older unit, and older technology. If I was to purchase another Garmin, it would be a 60CSX!!!

 

I like what I here about Garmin's GREAT customer service, and have had GREAT service from them myself when I had to deal with them!!!

 

 

P.S. Have you tried checking your contrast setting on your XL??? It sounds like it needs to be adjusted!!!

Edited September 2, 2006 by Xlobsterman

[+embra]

The eXplorists have a screen that looks great in sunlight.

Not sure if you are beeing ironic here. Clarification: I don't own an eXplorist and I never had one im my hand. However, basically all the reviews I read about this series point the problems of screen reading under sunlight as a Con for the unit.

On my XL unit atleast, you can't see the screen without the backlight on. My 60CS is perfectly readable without the backlight on.

Perhaps this is a difference between the XL and other units, but, like EScout, I can easily read my 500 in direct sunlight (I may have to adjust the angle of reflection from the sun to avoid glare, like any other unit). I've not seen an XL so I defer to your experience, but I am a little surprised since I presumed it to be a bigger version of the little guys--a quantitative, but not a qualitative difference from the 500 and 600.

[+EScout]

To be clear, I have the 500 and it works great in full direct bright sun. By great I mean perfectly readable bright colors. This is my 4th GPSr, and I have a Sony Clie with a color TFT screen that also works great in sunlight. I have not seen the XL in the sun, but I also assume it works just as well as the 500/600 models.

[+hogrod]

If I were you I would get rid of the magellan, not only because I think magellan sucks, but because you already have software for the garmin. I'm sure that price was a major factor in your purchase of a magellan product so since the XL doesnt have an altimeter or a electronic compass why not consider the 60cx so the price is that much closer to the XL you bought?

[+Jeeters]

I was looking to upgrade this past Spring from a Magellan Sportrak. I wanted a color screen, and one large enough that made it useful in the car. I eventually got down to two candidates: Garmin 60cx or an Explorist XL.

 

I ruled out the Garmin because I didn't like their topo software at all. With Garmin's maps, you can't have both full roads and full terrain detail at the same time, unless you buy *both* the Topo software and City software. Yes, their Topo software gives you more roads than what's just in the base map, but it's still pretty limited. (you can see what detail you get and don't get by viewing the maps at their website). I was also very disappointed with Garmin's terrain detail when comparing maps of some local areas against Magellan's Topo 3D software. And with Magellan's Topo 3D software, you get both full terrain and and full road information. The basic difference between Magellan's topo and city software is that the topo software trades in POIs for terrain detail, and vica versa. Both software have full road info, unlike Magellan.

 

What killed the idea of the XL for me was just the sheer weight of it. I figured I could probably get used to the bulk of the thing, but the weight, being something like 13oz if I remember correctly, was a showstopper. I knew I'd be sorry if I had a GPSr that weighed more than a can of Coke hanging off my belt when out on the trail.

 

In the end, I ended up looking into Lowrance's GPS offerings based on a couple suggestions in this forum. Ended up with a Lowrance "Expedition C" when I absolutely love, has more features than my two earlier candidates, and was cheaper to boot, but going into all that would be off topic.