Garmin etrex Summit GPS vs Magellan Explorist 100 GPS

[2ocb183]

im getting one of these for geocacheing but dont know witch to chose

[gallet]

im getting one of these for geocacheing but dont know witch to chose

 

No one here can assist you without more information. What is your budget, do you especially want to buy new? What are the reasons for selecting these two.

 

However even without any other information I can tell you a bit about the Summit, I don't know anything about the explorist.

 

I would not recommend getting the Summit due to the poxy method when you need to input a waypoint in the field and the lack or space to name it. Also this one really sucks the batteries dry if you use the compass, gets about 10 hours use. Not good.

 

Later models with a compass do not appear to suffer from this problem. The Colour Vista HCx for example gets 25hours with the compass on full time.

 

If you really must have a compass then you will need to get the Vista HCx which is their top of the range unit, but it's still pretty cheap at $220.

 

I'd strongly suggest you forget the Summit and buy a $10 hand held compass and consider the Venture instead (green one) this is a very nice unit to use.

 

EDIT: something I'll never understand is the relatively small price differences between greatly varying units. Like you have already committed $130 in your mind but for just $90 more, (I mean really that's peanuts isn't it) you can get a gps that is light years ahead of the explorist and the gah! Summit. You'll end up losing more than $90 when it comes time to upgrade but if you get the Vista HCx you will enjoy the very considerable benefits of a massively improved signal reception and accuracy. Like you will be able to use it under heavy tree cover, up until a few months ago you would have had to go to the then, $350 60CSx to get that.

 

Not only that but you will have a compass that doesn't kill the batteries and a very bright colour screen with a built in Basemap. This gps will keep you happy for years to come. There's lots of other benefits as well. $90 difference between very mediocre and state of the art. You'll probably save more than $90 in batteries over time as well. If you got the Summit for example you would not have any choice but to buy rechareable batteries but you could get away without that with the HCx. If the Summit is worth $130 then the true value of the Vista HCx would be about $500 not the paltry $220 you can get it for.

Edited September 14, 2007 by gallet