Magellan vs Garmin

[targetvarmints]

I am about to purchase a new GPS. I am interested what fellow geocachers opinions are concerning these two units:

 

Garmin eTrex Vebture Cx vs the Magellan eXplorist 210

 

I have read several reviews online and I can see there are advantages and disadvantages with both units.

I am coming into a place in my life that I will be able to actually go caching instead of just reading about it. Up until now all I have been able to do is go caching with a friend of mine a few times. I am ready to begin to have some serious fun with this sport!

[+Chuy!]

I use Garmins and will comment on the Venture. I've told cacher and non-cachers, this is the most value-packed hand held GPS on the market. It has a color screen; excellent battery life; removable/expandable memory card; small and lightweight; and is capable of auto-routing with the optional mapping software. You will find it at $180 at most GPS retailers. Some one else can pipe in on the 210's features.

[+egami]

Here is a quick break down just scanning specs...

 

Venture Advantages:

- SD Card (not provided with unit however)

- Waterproof (IPX7 vs. water resistant)

- Longer battery life

- Color display

 

eXplorist Advantages:

- Stores more tracks

- Built-in compass

- Built-in maps

 

Personally, I'd lean toward the Garmin. I don't know what it is, but color screens really seem to make a big difference for me out caching. To some people this isn't a big deal. I really like the water-proofing...I've already dunked my unit once by accident (60 CSx).

 

I haven't checked price...I am going to assume they are similarly priced or that the Garmin may be slightly higher.

 

Also, I haven't spent much time with Garmin's that don't have the SiRFIII chips. Not sure how reception is compared between the two, but I have used one of these eXplorists and they do have fairly decent reception in various situations (tree cover and such).

Edited April 19, 2007 by egami

[+geognerd]

Here is a quick break down just scanning specs...

 

Venture Advantages:

- SD Card (not provided with unit however)

- Waterproof (IPX7 vs. water resistant)

- Longer battery life

- Color display

 

eXplorist Advantages:

- Stores more tracks

- Built-in compass

- Built-in maps

 

Personally, I'd lean toward the Garmin. I don't know what it is, but color screens really seem to make a big difference for me out caching. To some people this isn't a big deal. I really like the water-proofing...I've already dunked my unit once by accident (60 CSx).

 

I haven't checked price...I am going to assume they are similarly priced or that the Garmin may be slightly higher.

 

Also, I haven't spent much time with Garmin's that don't have the SiRFIII chips. Not sure how reception is compared between the two, but I have used one of these eXplorists and they do have fairly decent reception in various situations (clouds, tree cover and such).

I struck out two of the advantages for the eXplorist. The eXplorist 210's compass page is based on the GPS satellites so you have to be moving for it to work. It's not an electronic compass. The eX210 only comes with a basemap, which again puts it even with the Venture Cx. Chuy's price estimate for the Venture Cx is correct. I have seen the eX210 recently for as cheap as $90, but it is usually around $135.

 

If I were the OP, I would go for the Venture Cx. I always pooh-poohed color screens, but now that I am using maps on a grayscale screen, I can definitely see the advantages of a color display. Garmin's autorouting implementation is much better and more feature-filled than Magellan's. Recently I got frustrated by my eX400's (I own a 210 also) routing. It kept telling me to do U-turns and use a toll road. Garmin allows you to set the GPSr to ignore toll roads and not instruct U-turns. It also recalculates routes on the fly. Another good thing about the Venture Cx is that you can add as big of a microSD card as you want; the eX210 has a fixed 22MB of memory.

 

However, I like Magellan's Geocaching POI system. I also like how sending maps, tracks, and POIs to the eXplorist is as easy as copying files to a flash drive.

 

The eX210 is good, I just think the OP might be happier with the Venture Cx. As others have noted, you have to purchase a microSD card separately. Recently I saw a 2GB Kingston card for $10. You may also have to purchase the miniB USB cable, but you might already have one that you are using for a digital camera, cell phone, or PDA.

[+egami]

I struck out two of the advantages for the eXplorist. The eXplorist 210's compass page is based on the GPS satellites so you have to be moving for it to work. It's not an electronic compass.

 

I am aware of that, but that's still something the other unit has that some people like as a feature. A lot of people I know use this when caching and for some it may be a "key" feature.

 

The eX210 only comes with a basemap, which again puts it even with the Venture Cx. Chuy's price estimate for the Venture Cx is correct. I have seen the eX210 recently for as cheap as $90, but it is usually around $135.

 

According to their website their basemap comes a bit more robust than the standard Garmin basemap with POI's and some other minor benefits.

 

Not something I would make a decision over, but it does appear to be better than Garmin's basemap.

[targetvarmints]

Thanks everyone for your input. I am going to buy the Garmin, because of the expandability capabilities and the color screen. My friend in Michigan called me last night and basically said the same things I am reading here, “The color screen is very helpful when reading a map,” and, “that you can add as big of a microSD card as you want.” Thanks again.

[+egami]

Happy caching...you should be very pleased with that unit I think. The people I know that have them are very satisfied.

 

And, of course, the item I left out that tends to be well known is Garmin's wonderful customer service.

 

Enjoy.