Ima Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Just wondering what everyone thought of the etrex Legend HCX, I am to new to all of this and I am really excited about starting Geocaching, and was thinking this may be a good one to start with. Any advice would be great, Thank You Quote Link to comment
prairie guy Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Just wondering what everyone thought of the etrex Legend HCX, I am to new to all of this and I am really excited about starting Geocaching, and was thinking this may be a good one to start with. Any advice would be great, Thank You Hi You've asked a very open ended question. I have recently purchased the HCx Legend and I'm very happy with it so far, but I have to admit that I've barely used it so far. I bought it because for the price and function I didn't think there was a better GPS on the market. If you read other threads on this board you may find that people prefer other (often more expensive) units, but you will rarely see anything negative about this GPSr. (Note I waited to purchase it until the odometer "bug" effect was minimized.) For geocaching there are very easy methods for downloading selected caches to your GPSr and then off you go. Cheers, Quote Link to comment
Smac999 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) for $20-$30 more get the vista HCX instead Edited January 25, 2008 by Smac999 Quote Link to comment
+3 Hawks Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Legend HCx....Vista HCx..... For the average new cacher, you can't go wrong either way. They are both great units and you will be happy either way. Quote Link to comment
+smthng Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Just wondering what everyone thought of the etrex Legend HCX, I am to new to all of this and I am really excited about starting Geocaching, and was thinking this may be a good one to start with. Any advice would be great, Thank You You didn't list any specific requirements, so we can't directly address anything you're looking for. But, I can toss my two cents out there... I recently had a Legend HCx and it's a great unit for geocaching. Fast startup, excellent screen, very accurate positioning, easy to use, durable, excellent battery life. Generally it would pin down any cache to within about 10 feet, which is far better than any of my previous Garmin units. It's also small and fits in my hand easily. The geocaching and calendaring functions are nice too. Spend the extra money for Topo 2008 maps (on CD/DVD) and buy a cheap 2Gb microSD card for storing them. The detail helps a lot when trekking through the woods. I actually returned it and bought a Colorado, but I would recommend the Legend HCx for anyone not willing to deal with the "teething issues" of the Colorado units... they really shouldn't have been released in their current state. As a side note, there's no difference between the Legend and Vista HCx other than the Altimiter and magnetic compass. Many have reported that the compass is "significantly less than accurate" and that it eats batteries, so neither of those functions were enough to make me want to pony up the extra bucks for the Vista version. The Legend HCx is a great little unit. Quote Link to comment
Ima Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 I didn't list any requirements, because I'm not sure what I need, I have been doing a little research and it seemed that the legend HCX was a good unit for the money. Also when I buy the legend I can also buy the topo or metroguide for half price when purchased with the legend. so I will buy the topo map? Is there anything else I might need? THANKS. Quote Link to comment
+ergomaniac Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Since you are in Canada, you have some interesting map options. You have to decide what you are going to be using your GPS for before you pick a mapping product. Topo Canada is great because unlike the US version it supports auto-routing. Topo Canada uses the same road network as Metroguide so no problem with roads. The difference is that Metroguide will auto-route to and address (house address) and Topo will only auto-route to a geographic feature or waypoint (like a cache). Metroguide also shows the parks better (shaded green areas) which is nice for geocaching. If you hike/backpack go for the Topo. Both Metroguide and Topo Canada are completely unlocked (no license key issues). City Navigator has the advantage of full auto-routing for all of North America so if you travel alot it's the best choice. CN is also more up to date than the other two products. The problem with CN is that it doesn't cover the rural areas of Canada very well and it's requires a license key. Check out GPScentral.ca if you are going for the Topo. They offer a really good price on the units and bundle Topo with the GPS at the time of purchase for a really good price. They also offer Metroguide "unpacked" for $60 which is a really good price. I use both Metroguide Canada and Topo Canada all the time and wouldn't be without either one of them. By the way... I recommend spending the extra $40 for the Vista. You can turn off the electronic compass if you don't like it but I bet you would be glad you bought it! Quote Link to comment
k1w1t1m Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) I love my Legend HCx. This is my third Legend, I started with the old blue Legend (B&W screen), traded up to the Legend Cx, and now to the HCx. The additional sensitivity is very noticeable when I have it on in the house or car. With both older Legends if they weren't near the window they'd loose satelite lock. I anticipate caching under tree cover or in the concrete canyons will be a lot easier come summer. I feel I should point out that I traded up for the improvements not because there was something wrong with the older units. I hope their owners are having as much fun with them as I did. Edited January 25, 2008 by k1w1t1m Quote Link to comment
Ima Posted January 26, 2008 Author Share Posted January 26, 2008 (edited) Ok, here is what I have. I checked out GPScentral and also Radioworld they seem to have the best prices.(Canadian) ****************************************** GPScentral Legend HCX $239.95 Vista HCX $279.95 Canadian Metroguide $ 59.95 (reg.$99.95) Canadian Topo $ 89.95 (reg.$119.95) Shipping $ 15.00 ******************************************** Radioworld Legend HCX $219.00 Vista HCX $269.00 Canadian Metroguide $ 69.00(reg.$129.00) Canadian Topo $ 69.00(reg.$129.00) Shipping $ 15.00 ******************************************** The Topo and Metro are marked down when you buy a GPS also. Can both these maps be used at the same time, like switching back and forth, have them both installed on one micro sd card. Would I be better buying City Navigator North America DVD V8.0 ($129.00-149.00) instead of the other two and just use it. would that work? Will be used mainly for Geocaching. Again Thanks ANY & ALL help appreciated. Edited January 26, 2008 by Ima Quote Link to comment
Broncoguy Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Ok, here is what I have. I checked out GPScentral and also Radioworld they seem to have the best prices.(Canadian) ****************************************** GPScentral Legend HCX $239.95 Vista HCX $279.95 Canadian Metroguide $ 59.95 (reg.$99.95) Canadian Topo $ 89.95 (reg.$119.95) Shipping $ 15.00 ******************************************** Radioworld Legend HCX $219.00 Vista HCX $269.00 Canadian Metroguide $ 69.00(reg.$129.00) Canadian Topo $ 69.00(reg.$129.00) Shipping $ 15.00 ******************************************** The Topo and Metro are marked down when you buy a GPS also. Can both these maps be used at the same time, like switching back and forth, have them both installed on one micro sd card. Would I be better buying City Navigator North America DVD V8.0 ($129.00-149.00) instead of the other two and just use it. would that work? Will be used mainly for Geocaching. Again Thanks ANY & ALL help appreciated. Best price on City Navigator NT is $102.92 at http://www.thenerds.net/ Quote Link to comment
LegendHCx Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Ok, here is what I have. I checked out GPScentral and also Radioworld they seem to have the best prices.(Canadian) ****************************************** GPScentral Legend HCX $239.95 Vista HCX $279.95 Canadian Metroguide $ 59.95 (reg.$99.95) Canadian Topo $ 89.95 (reg.$119.95) Shipping $ 15.00 ******************************************** Radioworld Legend HCX $219.00 Vista HCX $269.00 Canadian Metroguide $ 69.00(reg.$129.00) Canadian Topo $ 69.00(reg.$129.00) Shipping $ 15.00 ******************************************** The Topo and Metro are marked down when you buy a GPS also. Can both these maps be used at the same time, like switching back and forth, have them both installed on one micro sd card. Would I be better buying City Navigator North America DVD V8.0 ($129.00-149.00) instead of the other two and just use it. would that work? Will be used mainly for Geocaching. Again Thanks ANY & ALL help appreciated. Legend HCx is actually CAD 214.95, Vista $278.95 at another Alberta store. GPSCentral will match those prices. Talk to George Valentine form GPS Central. Do NOT forget that buying from Alberta you will pay only one tax, plus S&H. Calculate before you buy. RadioWorld has no return policy only exchange if gps is broken. Unfortunately I have no good experience with RW since there work some old farts who think they have the best prices, the best service, the best knowledge, etc. in the world. But it is good store to play with gps before you buy from somebody else. LegendHCx is the best buy at least for me. Vista? Do you really need electronic compass or barometric altimeter? For all these years since first eTrex Legend (black & white) I never ever had a need for those. Metro guide Canada v4.0 is absolutely obsolete map plus with so many errors. Buy City Navigator North America 2008 NT or non-NT. Topo Canada is old too, but I do not remember that something has been changed since that release (no earthquakes, A-bomb explosions, aliens, etc.). If you want to see ‘map at work’ before you buy it, let me know area you are interested in and I will send you screen print from any map you want. It could be topo, metroguide and city nav. Provide e-mail. Once you buy map there is absolutely no returns no matter where you buy from so think twice before you flash your credit card. Quote Link to comment
+ergomaniac Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 ... Metro guide Canada v4.0 is absolutely obsolete map plus with so many errors. Buy City Navigator North America 2008 NT or non-NT. As I mentioned in my previous post, decide what you are going to use the mapping for and where you will use it. City Navigator has newer coverage but for rural areas of Canada the coverage can be poor. Metroguide provides more detailed info in these areas. You will also be key locked with CN so if you change GPS's or want to load up more than one you can't. Metroguide is unrestricted. Check out Garmin's site, you can see samples of each of these products and decide for yourself which will meet your needs. I've attached a sample of a rural area that I go to quite often and the CN coverage is bad. This is fairly typical of CN so check your area out carefully or you may be disappointed in CN if you buy first and check latter. http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/ Quote Link to comment
QuigleyJones Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I wouldn't buy the topo, when you can get it for free http://www.ibycus.com/ibycustopo/ Quote Link to comment
+ergomaniac Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I wouldn't buy the topo, when you can get it for free http://www.ibycus.com/ibycustopo/ I really like the work he's done on making that custom topo mapping available to everybody (for free) but I like the Topo Canada because you can auto-route with it. Quote Link to comment
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