What Magellan is the best?

[Maimas]

I am looking to buy a GPS, specifically a Magellan, preferrably under $300. Which one would be the best with a good amount of memory and battery charge to hike around all day?

 

Thanks!

[+Thrak]

The best Magellan is a Garmin..........

 

Sorry, couldn't help myself. I just can't understand why people want to buy a product from a company that has consistently horrible customer service.

 

Hopefully a Magellan person can help you out.

[Maimas]

My fiance has a Garmin...but I wanted to get a Magellan so we had the best of both....but is it perhaps just better to get a Garmin all together. Does anyone like Magellan?

 

Thanks

 

 

The best Magellan is a Garmin..........

 

Sorry, couldn't help myself. I just can't understand why people want to buy a product from a company that has consistently horrible customer service.

 

Hopefully a Magellan person can help you out.

[+Miragee]

Most of the people I know who had Magellans now have Garmins. One guy still has a Magellan, but it will only connect to his computer for tranfering waypoints once in a while. The tiny threads on the connector have gotten stripped. I think he will soon be holding a Garmin when we go caching . . .

 

For the price you have stated, you can get one of the new Garmin HCx versions when they come out, and almost have enough money for the new City Navigator maps with auto-navigation kit package.

Edited June 28, 2007 by Miragee

[+TrailGators]

Most of the people I know who had Magellans now have Garmins. One guy still has a Magellan, but it will only connect to his computer for tranfering waypoints once in a while. The tiny threads on the connector have gotten stripped. I think he will soon be holding a Garmin when we go caching . . .

 

For the price you have stated, you can get one of the new Garmin HCx versions when they come out, and almost have enough money for the new City Navigator maps with auto-navigation kit package.

I would go with a Garmin too.

[+briansnat]

I personally would go Garmin for a number of reasons, but that isn't the question.

 

To answer the OP's question, I'd say the eXplorist 500 LE should do the job in the requested price range.

[+tomfuller & Quill]

I lost a Magellan Meridian Gold about a year ago. I replaced it with a Meridian Platinum. I have handled and used Garmin but the buttons/ controls are not as intuitive to me as my Magellans.

I have had good luck buying little used units on Ebay. I have never had to deal with Magellan customer service but keep hearing that it is poor.

Under tree cover, I think the antenna on Magellans is slightly better. The key to positional accuracy is getting a good signal from 5 or more sats.

[+klipsch49er]

Sadly I purchased a GPS device before I even statrted an interest in Geocaching. I have a Magellan Explorist 100. I have created a cache "Where Am I" where I ask the finders to note in the paper log the last 3 digits of the coordinates thier GPSr indicates when they find the cache. I did this because I was unable to get a consistant reading with my unit. Many trees and power lines kept the pointer changing constantly. Although I averaged 5 different readings prior to listing the cache, I happened to be in the cache area when the FTF groupe with 3 different GPSrs tried to find the cache. They were looking about 150ft away from the location of the cache. I helped them locate the cache and then compared what thier GPSrs were reading with mine. All of thier GPSrs were reading consitantly and mine was acting as if I were in the Bermuda Triange. I have had this behavior when in mountians and when near large buildings.

 

Althouth I do not have enough data points to make a clear determination datd to date suggests that the Garmin are much more stable and usable in cluttered areas. I am currently looking to purchase an new unit with more capability and it will likely be Garmin. []

[+lmcgisme]

I have a Magellan Meridian Color, my daughter has a Magellan eXplorist 500 and my niece also has a Magellan eXplorist 500. We all like our Meridians and have never had any problems, so we've had no need to contact tech support. They are all very accurate and keep a lock even under heavy leaf cover. When I lose GPS lock in a tunnel or something mine beeps at me, so its not just pretending to have a lock using the averaging.

 

IMO, for the money an eXplorist 500LE is a better value than a Garmin.

[+uxorious]

I have a Magellan, my brother has a Garmin, we both find the same caches. His Garmin seems to lose Sat.s easier then my Magellan, but other then that, they are both good units.

 

They both have their idiosyncrasy's, but if I ever replace my Magellan, it most likely would be with another Magellan.

 

I have only had one occasion to use customer service, and I was very satisfied with the help I got at that time.

[+Sileny Jizda]

I've got three Magellan's. A GPS315, a 200, and a 400. We like the 400 and were able to pick it up at Wal-Mart for $150 with the discounted MapSend software. I love the thing and don't leave home without it.

 

As for the Garmin vs Magellan bit that seems to happen here I have my thoughts on it. I used a Garmin in Survey class in '95 and didn't much care for it. I liken it to a PC vs Mac debate. They both have their plus sides and both have their negatives. I like a large screen which Magellan has. I like a lower price which Magellan has. I like the feature to price ratio that Magellan has against it's competitive version of Garmin. Will I talk bs about Garmin? Nope, never owned one and don't plan to do so. Will I buy another Magellan. You betcha. My GPS315 and 200 still work great. Nothing is stripped out. Both the 315 and the 400 transfer waypoints flawlessly. As for stripping out the connection on the back... don't tighten it like a gorilla and it'll treat you good. Abuse the equipment you have no one but yourself to blame.

 

Different strokes for different folks but all of our Magellan GPS units work, work well, and get the same job done as a Garmin.

[+conradv]

Heck, I still use my Magellan ColorTrak and it gets spot-on coverage. Of course it doesn't have the fancy maps and such that all of the newer units have.

 

I do get a kick out of all of the "Magellan bashing" here on the the forums though.

 

Some people's children...

[Maimas]

Thank you everyone for all your help and advice...much to think about!

[+hukilaulau]

Does anyone like Magellan?

 

 

 

I do! I've had magellan eXplorist 200 and 500 and Sportrak map. I've had garmin etrex legend. I liked ALL the Magellans. The eTrex really sux... I would not buy another Garmin based on my experience with this atrocious little unit.

The best Magellan is a Garmin..........

 

Sorry, couldn't help myself. I just can't understand why people want to buy a product from a company that has consistently horrible customer service.

 

Hopefully a Magellan person can help you out.

 

I hope I can. I can't understand why people want to buy a product from a company that can put out a worthless unit like the etrex legend. But I suspect it's just that people tend to like what works for them. For me the eXplorist 200 worked just fine until I really got into geocaching and then the 500 with direct route mapping was like heaven! Oh, yeah, and I've had good luck with customer support, too...

 

But hey! It's more fun to jump on the band wagon than to just respond to the question!

[adampierson]

I started out with a Garmin Rhino (green) and returned after using it for a week. The menus were okay, but my main gripe with it was whenever I used it near the LAX airport, the Rhino would just lock and be totally useless. I suspect it doesn't do well near certain RF areas, because another cacher with the same model experienced the same problems.

 

I borrowed a friend's Meridian (Green) and a week later bought my own. That GPS I used for a couple of years before upgrading to a Meridian Gold so I could the Direct Routing software. Two years ago, I found myself looking for a new GPS (the Gold took a dive off the side of a mountain), and I now use a eXplorer 400.

 

My co-worker whom I cache with owns a Garmin V+ (it's an older model on par with my old Meridian Gold). He and I compare notes and there are a couple of items he likes about the Magellan mapping software that he wishes was available for his Garmin mapping software.

 

Customizable regions. With Magellan, Mapsource software you can draw out a rectangular region and load it into an SD Card. With Garmin's Mapsend, you load the regions they set for you... and if your area of interest is on the edge you may end up having to load multiple regions - a common problem for those living in a crowded metropolitan area. Nowadays this isn't much of a problem, if your GPS supports the use of a large enough memory card to store your detailed maps.

 

Quite honestly, don't get caught up in the whole Garmin vs Magellan. Choose the unit that you are the most comfortable with. If you get a chance, borrow one from your friend and try it out. If this isn't possible, go to one of the Geocacher events in your area and ask to see and try the GPS out. The people at these events would love to show you their GPS. Go though the menus and use the features you would use to find/program a waypoint/cache.

[Stephen2]

IMO, for the money an eXplorist 500LE is a better value than a Garmin.

Until you have problem and need to help from customer service. Then you will have wished that you bought a Garmin. I know. I am in the same boat.

[+FamilyDNA]

I love my 600. We bought it at REI. REI = super customer service. I did strip out the pin connector on the back after about a year, and REI replaced it with a new one no problem. It was well worth spending the few dollars we could have saved by buying the unit elsewhere.

 

I love REI.

[+palmetto]

Referencing Magellan customer service, I've had zero response from their on-line form, just a bot generated email and no follow up, but good response from calling the 1-800 number.

 

I have the eXplorist 500, lots of features, file management is a nice touch. Battery life is good. Annoying that it doesn't accept .loc or .gpx files. But if it's your first unit, you'd likely accept that as the norm (instead of moaning about if for months as I did).

[+...The Girl]

All Garmin, all the time.

[Neos2]

One thing to consider...as you and your boyfriend continue to geocache, you will likely both upgrade GPS units from time to time. If you are able to share mapping software, cords, cases, and other optional products, you will save some money. Not everything made for one unit will work with another unit, but many will--especially maps--Magellan maps will not work with Garmin products and vice versa. So you may want to use the same company (whichever company you choose).

 

Oh yes, I chose Garmin and am happy with all of our units (2 eTrex Legends, a Map 60CS, a Map 76CS, and a Map60CSx).

[+countrymouse]

I have an Explorist 210 and so far I'm very happy with it. No trouble at all downloading waypoints, the controls are intuitive, and I've found the accuracy to be really close! If it says it's accurate within 16 feet, the cache is probably within arm's reach. The only time I've had trouble getting a reading was today, under heavy tree cover.

 

I don't think I'd use it for finding my way on a road trip, which ironically is the reason I bought it...but for caching it works fine!

[+briansnat]

Customizable regions. With Magellan, Mapsource software you can draw out a rectangular region and load it into an SD Card. With Garmin's Mapsend, you load the regions they set for you... and if your area of interest is on the edge you may end up having to load multiple regions - a common problem for those living in a crowded metropolitan area. Nowadays this isn't much of a problem, if your GPS supports the use of a large enough memory card to store your detailed maps.

 

Actually this to me was a major advantage for Garmin. Magellan only allows (or allowed maybe it's changed) 4 rectangtular mapsets of a limited size. If my area of interest was on the edge of one mapset and that one was already at its limit, I would have to waste one of my other 4 to cover it. Garmin's map segments are very small (except for City Navigator V7), so it's very easy to customize your maps. For instance I could create a mapset that follows Route 80 from coast to coast with Garmin. I couldn't do that with Magellan (at least a few years ago).

 

In short, for years Magellan had the advantage with better reception under heavy leaf canopy and expandable memory. Garmin had the advantage of a better user interface, smarter routing software and better display resolution.

 

In the past year or so Garmin has equaled or exceeded Magellan's reception under trees and added expandable memory. Magellan has responded by cutting price.

Edited June 29, 2007 by briansnat

[+Team Cotati]

I am looking to buy a GPS, specifically a Magellan, preferrably under $300. Which one would be the best with a good amount of memory and battery charge to hike around all day?

 

Thanks!

 

Explorist 500LE

Edited June 29, 2007 by Team Cotati

[vagabond]

Customizable regions. With Magellan, Mapsource software you can draw out a rectangular region and load it into an SD Card. With Garmin's Mapsend, you load the regions they set for you... and if your area of interest is on the edge you may end up having to load multiple regions - a common problem for those living in a crowded metropolitan area. Nowadays this isn't much of a problem, if your GPS supports the use of a large enough memory card to store your detailed maps.

 

Actually this to me was a major advantage for Garmin. Magellan only allows (or allowed maybe it's changed) 4 rectangtular mapsets of a limited size. If my area of interest was on the edge of one mapset and that one was already at its limit, I would have to waste one of my other 4 to cover it. Garmin's map segments are very small (except for City Navigator V7), so it's very easy to customize your maps. For instance I could create a mapset that follows Route 80 from coast to coast with Garmin. I couldn't do that with Magellan (at least a few years ago).

 

In short, for years Magellan had the advantage with better reception under heavy leaf canopy and expandable memory. Garmin had the advantage of a better user interface, smarter routing software and better display resolution.

 

In the past year or so Garmin has equaled or exceeded Magellan's reception under trees and added expandable memory. Magellan has responded by cutting price.

it has Brian, the only limit is how big the SD card is

[+frex3wv]

I too have a Mag. 210. I really like it. I cannot speak to how good (compared to other units) the map feature is - because I don't use it. Its accuracy though is very good - both in the open and under tree cover.

 

If I can't find a cache - I never think its the unit - I always think its simply me (if that tells ya something).

 

Good luck whatever route you choose - enjoy geocaching!

 

(and if you do go with a Mag - use both units to find the same cache and report back in a new thread what you find - I think some -including myself - would find that of interest.)

[+JohnnyVegas]

As far as a hand held GPS

I was a buyer for a GPS retailer and I have used Garmin and Magellan products for geocaching, As many I started with the old Garmin etrex.

 

For the past few years all my personal GPSrs have been from Magellan. Sportrack map, Sport Trak color, Meridian Gold and Explorist 500 in that order. I have also used the Garmin E-trex, E-trex legend, E-Trex vista, GPS Map 76 and the older street pilots.

I have always seen better reception under tree cover with Magellan products.

But the one feature I find most usefull is the abilit to load maps and Data onto an SD card, this is a feature the Magellan has offered many years before garmins "X" versions. The other feature that Magellan has offered for many years is the ablity to store several sets of maps and several sets of Waypoints (Geocaches) on the SD card. With this function I can load just the caches that are in the area I am geocaching in. Or I can store sets of caches based on cache type and cache difficulty.

 

As far as an automotive GPS for geocaching about the only real selection is from Garmin, Magellan had a new one called the 2500T that may work but this one I have not had a chance to use.

 

For an automotive unit I now use the Garmin Street pilot C320, it is not real good for off road use, but it does get me to the area of the cache, then I use my Explorist 500 to zero in. THe other problem with the street pilot C320 is that in only hold 500 waypoints.

[Ghengis Jon]

I have an old SporTrak, equiv to the exPlorist 210. Great unit, very reliable. Now I don't need/use maps and don't download waypoints. (Thats for Nancy-boys, real men input the data. Its like wanting fresh oranges, driving right by the orchard and buying a bag at WalMart.) I've never had to deal with their customer service.

 

I'm not knocking Garmin, they make fine GPSr. Its all about what you want the unit to do.

[+AnotherPirate]

I am looking to buy a GPS, specifically a Magellan, preferrably under $300. Which one would be the best with a good amount of memory and battery charge to hike around all day?

 

Thanks!

 

I have a 500LE and no issues with it. It connects to both my Mac and my PC for transferring POI's, Geocaches, and Tracks. I only have to use the PC for transferring TOPO maps to it.

 

Personally, I don't understand the anti-Magellan attitudes. My wife and I both have one, and my parents both have Magellans. None of us have had an issue with one using it for Geocaching.

[+SanityEndsHere]

I started with a Magellan 210 and upgraded to the 600. I personally like the Magellan but I agree with the earlier statement of trying out a friends and choosing what works best for you.

[+EScout]

I have had the Magellan Meridian for 4.5 years and the eX500 for over 2. I have never had to contact customer service because I figured out what I needed through this site or Yahoo's group site. Some nerd skills used here, but you also need some to run a computer, PDA or phone.

 

Since the original question, is what Magellan is best, the answer for handheld units is: the best value is the 500. The smallest easy to carry color screen is the 500. The best big screen is the XL.