Garmin or Magellan?

[badfish9]

Hey all!

 

I have been lurking here for a while and finally decided to ask some questions. Part of the reason I want to start Geocacheing is because I want a GPS unit anyway. I was wondering you could please give me some advice.

 

Here is what I am going to do with a GPS:

1. Some geocacheing. Maybe a few times a year.

2. Hiking/paddling/camping/canoeing. This will be my biggest use of this unit.

3. The very occasional use for driving. Maybe just while on a road trip or going somewhere in an area I don't know well. I know I will be getting a unit whose primary function is not road navigation, so some of the features may suffer. (However, I would like the ability to load roadmaps on my GPS unit. Sometimes we get into a canoe and just paddle until we can't get any further. We then call our pick up person from our cell phone to come pick us up and need to tell them what roads we are near. It would better to know for sure rather than flagging down cars to ask or knocking on farmer's doors!)

 

Okay, so here are the features I was looking at getting:

*I need some road mapping capabilities.

*I need topo abilities.

*I need to be able to load details maps of areas I will be going for the above.

*Obvioulsy, some sort of PC connection.

*The unit should be less than $200 as this will be a gift and I don't want my fam to have to spend to much $$$.

 

While I know I want those things, I don't know the features that would be important to geocaching. Can you pelase help me? Do you have any insight on which may be the best model? Here are the ones I have been researching:

Magellan Explorist 210

Magellan Explorist 400

Magellan Explorist 500 (Usually over $200 but sometimes on sale.)

Garmin eTrex Legend

Garmin eTrex Vista

Garmin eTrex Venture Cx (doubtful, too expensive.)

 

Have any experience with any of these?

 

Sorry to unload so much in my first post, I have been lurking for a while. I have absorbed some things but was hoping to not hint at which way I am leaning to see what you guys recomend and to see if I learned as much as I think (hope) I have.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

[MtSpaz]

My first post was a bit longer, and has a bit of info that might be helpful.

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=149198

 

I'm likely going to eat the return fees on the Garmin gear and go with the Magellan at Costco. Our local Costco stores don't seem to ever carry handheld GPSr.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?...av=&browse=

 

It's not a Garmin vs Magellan thing, but value for the $$. Even with the return fees we'll end up with a better unit & maps for the money; best I can tell anyway....

 

Someone please speakup if that's not actually a good deal.

 

If you're not a Costco member it's another 5%.

 

I'm new at this too, so take my advice/info appropriately.

[+gpsblake]

2. Hiking/paddling/camping/canoeing. This will be my biggest use of this unit.

 

Then you'll probably want a unit that can float in the water. I believe the Explorist fall into this line but I know the Garmin Legend's don't.

Edited November 21, 2006 by gpsblake

[+embra]

With the things you want and the budget you're working with, the Costco deal for the Explorist 500 is probably the best way to go. Most handheld GPS units will come only with limited detail base maps installed, and you will need detail topo maps to get streams and rivers, as well as streets and roads. This software typically will cost you another hundred bucks or so beyond the cost of the GPS.

 

Because Garmin's customer support has been better of late than Magellan's, I currently favor their products over Magellan's. However, Magellan tends to have more bang for the buck, so a limited budget tends to favor their side of the fence. A package like the Costco one--or, alternatively, a used model and accompanying map software--is hard to beat.

 

You may additionally want to purchase an SD card (small ones are almost free with rebates, larger ones are cheap) and you might find the Li-Ion battery/charger to be useful.

 

You might find this Explorist review of some help (although it appears you've been doing your homework).

[+media601]

For automotive and canoe use a RAM mount is a must. I use one that attaches to the windshield with a suction cup (though if I lived in California that would be illegal). They are modular so you can have one component that holds the GPSr and works with several different mounting bases for the auto, canoe, bicycle, motorcycle, or whatever. custommounts.com

[+sandia_doug]

Heres what i know:

 

You're talking about auto-routing. Step by step directions, right? Because the Explorist 210, 400, and the vista, and legend don't have that. That leaves you with the most expensive one, the Venture CX.. I'm not sure how waterproof the Venture CX is, but the magellans are for sure. So the question here is, do you want durability, or autorouting? So unlesss you want to shell out the dough for the Venture, I think that all the other gps' would do what you wanted. I have a explorist 400. It works great, has good maps, (topo too), is waterproof, and durable. I've dropped it quite a few times without giving it a second thought. I also have a Etrex Vista. Because it is a friend of mines GPS, i don't take it on adventures where it could get damaged. That gps also seems to work. Also, Magellan or Garmin.

 

Oh well

[me_chris]

I would go with an Explorist (either 400 or 500 if you must have color). Be aware though that color eats batteries...

 

The explorist floats in water, which is a huge plus...

 

The only drawback with the explorist line is that it uses a proprietary lithium-ion battery, so if your 17 hours of battery life run out in the field, you can't just swap in some AAs... But, if you are planning on spending more than 17 hours in the wilderness, bring a spare battery, a solar charger, or at least a spare GPS...

 

I use an explorist 400 as my main GPS, and for extended camping/hiking/kayak trips, I bring a Garmin Geko 101 as my backup...

 

Hope this helps!

[MtSpaz]

The 500LE at Costco uses AAA batteries rather than a battery pack & charger; part of the lower cost.

A good stock of NiMH rechargables would be handy. That's my plan at this point.

[+geognerd]

Garmin eTrex Venture Cx (doubtful, too expensive.)

It's not too expensive. After the $50 mail-in rebate from Garmin, it is only $155 (less than some places charge for the eX210). So it is $5 more than your budget before the rebate, but you'll be getting $50 back if you are willing to fill out the rebate form, send in the receipt, and wait.

 

Heres what i know:

 

You're talking about auto-routing. Step by step directions, right? Because the Explorist 210, 400, and the vista, and legend don't have that.

The 210 and 400 autoroute. I have both, but have only autorouted with the 400. The 210 is my spare.

 

I would go with an Explorist (either 400 or 500 if you must have color). Be aware though that color eats batteries...

 

The explorist floats in water, which is a huge plus...

 

The only drawback with the explorist line is that it uses a proprietary lithium-ion battery, so if your 17 hours of battery life run out in the field, you can't just swap in some AAs... But, if you are planning on spending more than 17 hours in the wilderness, bring a spare battery, a solar charger, or at least a spare GPS...

The battery life for the 400 (monochrome) and the 500 (color) are the same. I didn't know the eXplorist floats, but two users have mentioned it so far. Can't wait to test that out later. I thought only the Garmin GPSmap 76 series floated. As for the lithium-ion battery in the eXplorist, it is not proprietary. You can use the Motorola t720 cell phone battery as a spare or replacement. They can be found for cheap online, and I think Magellan itself was selling the battery and charger cable under a special deal for like $20 recently.

 

As usual, I agree with what embra said earlier

[+avpas]

Walmart.com has the Venture cx for $198, before the $50 rebate. After looking long and hard at all the options, this seems to be the best unit - especially at that price. I am anxiously awaiting Christmas to see if mine is under the tree!

[+Red90]

Does your budget include the maps?? If so, $200 will not be enough.

[+road_rascal]

I posted this on another topic, but TigerGPS has the explorist 500 travelers bundle (with Mapsend software) for $209.95. I'm seriously thinking about snagging this deal to replace my aging Meridian Gold. I would love to get a 60CSx, but I can't quite cough up the $$$.

[+glrii]

My opinion on Magellan Explorist 500

 

If anyone cares here is my situation and thoughts.

 

I have a Garmin Street Pilot 2110 for driving on my job but it must be plugged in to the car to run. So I had a Magellan Meridian that I use for Geocashing but it died. When looking into a new unit for geocashing I did not need the directions on the street. Magellan offered me a “trade-in” discount on a refurbished unit and any accessory I had for my old unit (up to three items), if I mailed them in to the company. After price shopping I went with the refirbished Magellan Explorist 500.

 

Likes and dislikes:

 

It fits in pocket but the screen is small; however, the screen resolution is higher and it gives a good view of the map.

The Exporist series is much faster to zero in on the location. I have walked up to the cache when the unit said I was 50 feet away. The new unit does not have that trouble.

My Garmin came with detailed maps as part of the purchase prices. No local maps came with the unit but they did have a coupon for a local map for $10 (normally $60 to $80 I think).

When my Garmin had trouble and Best Buy was no longer stocking that unit I called Garmin for help. I spoke with someone in Texas who was very helpful and took owner ship of the problem and figured out what needed to happen, then did it.

When my old Magellan Meridian had trouble I reached someone in India who was hard to understand. After they walked me through steps to test the unit they offered me the trade in program. I wanted to know if I could get an extended warranty and they did not know so I was told to hang up and call the sales department. Once I reached the sales department they said the extended warranty was not available and informed me they could not handle the sale of refurbished unit I would have to call the tech support back.

[+glrii]

I would go with an Explorist (either 400 or 500 if you must have color). Be aware though that color eats batteries...

 

The explorist floats in water, which is a huge plus...

 

The only drawback with the explorist line is that it uses a proprietary lithium-ion battery, so if your 17 hours of battery life run out in the field, you can't just swap in some AAs... But, if you are planning on spending more than 17 hours in the wilderness, bring a spare battery, a solar charger, or at least a spare GPS...

 

I use an explorist 400 as my main GPS, and for extended camping/hiking/kayak trips, I bring a Garmin Geko 101 as my backup...

 

Hope this helps!

 

Mine came with an adaptor that lets me use "AAA" bateries but I've not tried it.

[badfish9]

Wow! What a response!

 

I have quickly read through most of what was written by everyone but have not yet given it the time it deserves. I plan on doing so tomorrow over lunch.

 

Sorry I have been so busy this past day or two.

 

Thanks again for the help!

 

[+road_rascal]

 

I have a Garmin Street Pilot 2110 for driving on my job but it must be plugged in to the car to run. So I had a Magellan Meridian that I use for Geocashing but it died. When looking into a new unit for geocashing I did not need the directions on the street. Magellan offered me a “trade-in” discount on a refurbished unit and any accessory I had for my old unit (up to three items), if I mailed them in to the company. After price shopping I went with the refirbished Magellan Explorist 500.

 

 

A 2110? Talk about a widescreen GPS for the dash! And I thought the 276c was a big one.

[+geognerd]

The explorist floats in water, which is a huge plus...

I didn't know the eXplorist floats, but two users have mentioned it so far. Can't wait to test that out later. I thought only the Garmin GPSmap 76 series floated.

I filled the bathroom sink with water and my eX210 fell to the bottom. It did not float.

[vagabond]

As I understand it the explorist series is waterproof,but does not float.

As far as the Li-on battery you can buy aftermarket batts for under 10 bucks.

I ran some tests about a year ago on my 500 batt on the brightest setting it lasted about 14 hours,on med. and low it ran about 17 hours, and I think others were getting about the same.

[badfish9]

Again, thanks very to everyone that has chimed in. You input has been real helpful.

 

Couple things. I am leaning toward the Explorist 500LE for the price. Having color isn't mandatory for me but it will be nice.

-I have been getting conflicting info on this. I think the 500 LE has an internal compass. The Magellan web site says it has several screens and one of those it lists is the compass screen. That means I can look at it to see which way is north, right?

From the web page: "Four navigation screens - Map, Compass, Locator and Satellite Status deliver easy-to-use information"

-The one from Costco comes with Topo for free but I will probably buy the DirectRoute software myself as well. This might be a silly question but can you have both on one GPS unit? It's not like an operating system on a computer is it? I would imagine you can use both and they will be separate in the menus, correct?

 

Again, the driving directions thing would be cool, but I don't plan on using that feature much. It isn't a priority. However it would be nice to have the ability to look up a map of where I am at the time. Sort of a hand-held Mapquest.

 

$200 is what I would like to cap out what my family will be spending on this. I will handle the maps or whatever myself.

 

MtSpaz - Thanks for the Costco link. If I get it, that is where it will come from.

irchriscdk & geognerd - I think it might use the "proprietary" battery but it also has an adapter that will take AAA batteries.

gpsblake, media601, irchriscdk - We are pretty good with electronics on the canoe. It will stay around my neck, in a float bag or be caribeaner-ed to the seat on a lanyard.

embra & Red90 - The $200 is for the unit someone else will be buying for me. I will handle getting the extra software. Also, I have a few SD cards kicking around.

avpas - What do you like better about that Garmin?

Glrii – I called Magellan tech support and got through to some in about 5 minutes. However that someone was in India and hard as hell to understand. I called Garmin and a recording told me the wait time would be over 30 minutes.

Vagabond – Thanks for the battery test.

 

Everyone—thanks so much for your help, insight and kindness. I really appreciate it and will keep you updated on what I get!

[+timk54]

I like the Garmin Vista CX. GPSNoW has it for $349.00 Then you get a $50 rebate. It has the electronic compass so you can track yourself on your canoe trips. It has a memory slot. Garmin says you can use up to a 1 gig transflash in it. You can store US topo maps and City Navigator maps on it. I put the So Cal deserts topo maps on it as well as City Navigator California , Arizona, and Nevada maps. I think it was about 200 MB.

At the end of your trip you can call your friends with the LAT / LONGITUDE position and they can autoroute to you with no problem. Dont fret wth waterproof thing use a dry bag if you really want to keep your phone camera and GPSr dry. Get the best unit you can ,color screen, expandabl e memory and such. You wont be sorry. In that respect most would say get the 60csx It's a great unit with the best satillite reception in the garmin line. the screen is bigger if your eyesite is less than perfect. It is out of your stated price range It will cost you $399 but does have the $50 rebate.

Buy the software later after you figure out what you need.

Hope this infor helps

timk54

[+embra]

-I have been getting conflicting info on this. I think the 500 LE has an internal compass. The Magellan web site says it has several screens and one of those it lists is the compass screen. That means I can look at it to see which way is north, right?

From the web page: "Four navigation screens - Map, Compass, Locator and Satellite Status deliver easy-to-use information"

-The one from Costco comes with Topo for free but I will probably buy the DirectRoute software myself as well. This might be a silly question but can you have both on one GPS unit? It's not like an operating system on a computer is it? I would imagine you can use both and they will be separate in the menus, correct?

The compass screen on the 400 and the 500 is a display based upon changes in position as derived from satellite signal--it's not based upon a magnetic signal (as is possible with the 600). As long as you are moving, there's not much difference, but if you stop and turn to face a different direction, only a magnetic signal would be able to reflect it. Magellan compass displays do include something they call "Northfinder technology" or something like that, an overblown term referring to icons on the compass screen that let you orient to the sun and/or moon to help figure out which way to orient the compass when not moving. It's helpful if you can tell where the sun or moon is.

 

On the second question, it's not like two operating systems, more like two different map files. Only one can be active at a given time, but you can carry as many from either program as you have room in memory. I carry both DR and T3D files on my SD card, but usually have one of the T3D files active.

[ossumguywill]

The magellan explorist 500 is a wonderful unit. It has land and water mode for both kayaking and geocaching. It is really easy to use and very durable. Some people say it floats some don't. I think it depends on water salinity. The maps on my 600 are very good and serve me well. The customer service kinda stinks, but you can get through as long as you still have your warranty. The unit is also CRAZY small but still has a big screen. My unit is usually about 13-20 ft accuracy when moving.

[+munro290]

get the 500 while they last cause they are discontinued on magellans website, this is why you can find em so cheap now.

[thechubbybunny]

I say get either the Garmin eTrex Venture Cx or Magellan eXplorist 500(LE). They are both good units. Go with the unit that is least expensive though. But if you decide on buying the Magellan, get the 500 model and buy a spare AAA' battery clip with it. Those batteries will come in handy out in the woods.

[Garmin8888]

Garmin 60CSx beats everything there is nowt that can touch it ( beat it) is there...........

[+munro290]

?

[+DyverDown]

Now if the user could just be upgraded

 

 

LOL

[+hkps1]

get the 500 while they last cause they are discontinued on magellans website, this is why you can find em so cheap now.

 

The LE is still listed on the Magellan site as of 10 minutes ago, and I couldn't find any information about it being discontinued. But I could have missed it.

[+geognerd]

get the 500 while they last cause they are discontinued on magellans website, this is why you can find em so cheap now.

 

The LE is still listed on the Magellan site as of 10 minutes ago, and I couldn't find any information about it being discontinued. But I could have missed it.

The 500LE is still listed, but the LiIon battery-equipped 500 is not. Same model with the exception of the battery pack. The apparent discontinuation of the 500 is news to me.

[+munro290]

get the 500 while they last cause they are discontinued on magellans website, this is why you can find em so cheap now.

 

The LE is still listed on the Magellan site as of 10 minutes ago, and I couldn't find any information about it being discontinued. But I could have missed it.

The 500LE is still listed, but the LiIon battery-equipped 500 is not. Same model with the exception of the battery pack. The apparent discontinuation of the 500 is news to me.

Go to magellans legacy models on the web site, It shows the 500 being discontinued as of November 2006.Its in the support section of their site.

[+robotman]

I'm replacing my Magellan SporTrak so this thread has been great to get me up to speed on the latest Magellan / Garmin units.

 

I've always been a Magellan fan. Here's are some considerations for the eXplorist:

 

1. The screen is slightly smaller than the SporTrak (more of an adjustment thing for me, but I don't know how much smaller I could take... the SporTrak wasn't that big to start with).

 

2. All the eXplorists use a rechargable Li-ion battery. This is a HUGE negative for me. Besides the cost of a spare battery, they enivitably get weaker and weaker. Especially if you tend not to use them frequently (which I don't). When I'm out caching, I just want to swap in some normal AA or AAA batteries.

 

3. Before you correct me on point #2 , the 500 LE (and optionally for the other eXporists) are the exception to this. It uses AAA battery adapter. However I believe this is a separate extermal adapter that you need to connect back into the eXplorist (I can't find a picture of the AAA battery adapter anywhere... including the Magellan site so I don't know if it needs a cable or just clips on the unit). Either way, it's one more bulky piece of equipment you need to deal with.

 

4. The 500 does NOT have an electronic compass. I didn't have this on the SporTrak, but I always wish I did. The electronic compass determines your heading even if you are standing still. If you don't have it, you have to walk back and forth to determine the direction you're heading. (Granted at times this can be entertaining or good excerise for the kids.) Still the e-compass in the eXplorist 600 sounds great.

 

5. But wait... Magellan has read my mind and has the eXplorist XL to meet all my needs. OR so it seemed for a few seconds. It has a much larger screen (and price). It uses normal batteries! Ah... but now we've lost the e-compass. Grrrr.

 

So my dream GPS (not considering price) would have these features for geocaching:

 

+ Uses normal batteries (XL)

+ Decent size screen (XL)

+ Topo map capability (400, 500, 500LE, 600, XL)

+ Has a built in e-compass (600)

 

For me, it does not seem that Magellan has anything that has all these features in one unit. I need to hang my head low and go research some Garmin unit now...

 

If you can live with the external battery back and no e-compass, the costco deal is a steal, especially since it includes the topo software.

[+munro290]

I'm replacing my Magellan SporTrak so this thread has been great to get me up to speed on the latest Magellan / Garmin units.

 

I've always been a Magellan fan. Here's are some considerations for the eXplorist:

 

1. The screen is slightly smaller than the SporTrak (more of an adjustment thing for me, but I don't know how much smaller I could take... the SporTrak wasn't that big to start with).

 

2. All the eXplorists use a rechargable Li-ion battery. This is a HUGE negative for me. Besides the cost of a spare battery, they enivitably get weaker and weaker. Especially if you tend not to use them frequently (which I don't). When I'm out caching, I just want to swap in some normal AA or AAA batteries.

 

3. Before you correct me on point #2 , the 500 LE (and optionally for the other eXporists) are the exception to this. It uses AAA battery adapter. However I believe this is a separate extermal adapter that you need to connect back into the eXplorist (I can't find a picture of the AAA battery adapter anywhere... including the Magellan site so I don't know if it needs a cable or just clips on the unit). Either way, it's one more bulky piece of equipment you need to deal with.

 

4. The 500 does NOT have an electronic compass. I didn't have this on the SporTrak, but I always wish I did. The electronic compass determines your heading even if you are standing still. If you don't have it, you have to walk back and forth to determine the direction you're heading. (Granted at times this can be entertaining or good excerise for the kids.) Still the e-compass in the eXplorist 600 sounds great.

 

5. But wait... Magellan has read my mind and has the eXplorist XL to meet all my needs. OR so it seemed for a few seconds. It has a much larger screen (and price). It uses normal batteries! Ah... but now we've lost the e-compass. Grrrr.

 

So my dream GPS (not considering price) would have these features for geocaching:

 

+ Uses normal batteries (XL)

+ Decent size screen (XL)

+ Topo map capability (400, 500, 500LE, 600, XL)

+ Has a built in e-compass (600)

 

For me, it does not seem that Magellan has anything that has all these features in one unit. I need to hang my head low and go research some Garmin unit now...

 

If you can live with the external battery back and no e-compass, the costco deal is a steal, especially since it includes the topo software.

The batterie clip for the magellan explorist model is the same size as the li-ion rechargeable batterie and the three aaa's fit right inside its not bulky at all. But magellan also has the rechargeable li-ions on sale right now with the power cord so I think they are trying to get rid of em, seeing how they discontinued the regular 500 with this type of batterie.The 500le is still on their web site.I would go with the eX600 or if you are into garmin and want to shell out a few extra bucks get the 60 csx.

[+robotman]

OK... if the batteries fit inside the unit, that's not too bad.

 

I'm leaning towards the Garmin 60csx. Now that I've done more research that seems to have all the features I'm looking for. I'd be interested to hear what Magellan people have to say as negatives with the 60csx, though!

 

John

[+munro290]

OK... if the batteries fit inside the unit, that's not too bad.

 

I'm leaning towards the Garmin 60csx. Now that I've done more research that seems to have all the features I'm looking for. I'd be interested to hear what Magellan people have to say as negatives with the 60csx, though!

 

John

The topo Map for Canada sucks compared to magellans.

[+embra]

I'm leaning towards the Garmin 60csx. Now that I've done more research that seems to have all the features I'm looking for. I'd be interested to hear what Magellan people have to say as negatives with the 60csx, though!

The only negs I can think of are cost (I haven't really priced the two recently so I'm not so sure of that, but Magellans typically run a bit cheaper for comparable features) and the 60csx has a two-axis compass while the 600 is a three-axis compass (i.e., you don't have to be so careful about holding the GPS in a flat plane).

 

That being said, if cost is not a factor, I would regard the 60csx as the better unit.

[MtSpaz]

Many thanks to those who replied here and on my thread

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...98&hl=500LE

 

I've ordered the gear from Costco and both sets should be here on Tuesday.

I plan to return the Garmin gear and just consider the return & restocking fees to be part of the deal. Write it off as part of the birthday & Christmas presents they are for me and dad.

 

It would be nice to have a compass, but not being an avid outdoorsman, I figure I'll spring for a separate magnetic compass if the need arises; well, hopefully before... ;-)

 

If anyone wants specific info on the 500LE from Costco I'll be happy to take a shot at it once I get my hands on it.