Best Magellan

[+lastparrot]

I have been a garminite for a while now and I am looking at getting a magellan. I am making this decision because it seams that Garmin is getting further away from NMEA. So here is the big question, which magellan is the best. The reason i come here is because i don't want to get the Triton, but between the sport trak and the explorists i am confused as to what is best for geocaching.

[+hukilaulau]

I have been a garminite for a while now and I am looking at getting a magellan. I am making this decision because it seams that Garmin is getting further away from NMEA. So here is the big question, which magellan is the best. The reason i come here is because i don't want to get the Triton, but between the sport trak and the explorists i am confused as to what is best for geocaching.

I've had both the SporTrak and the eXplorist 200/500. I love the eXplorist 500. There is some question about whether you can still get directroute mapping for it, though. If you don't care about that it's a great unit. Oh, yeah... and some people have had trouble getting the USB cord. And you have to assume you have no support or tech help from Magellan right up front.

[+Arrow One]

I have the Magellan Explorist 400 and it works great for geocaching. I've been using it for 2 years and 3 months and have no problems. Its easy to use and a great gps.

[+Corp Of Discovery]

My Meridian Gold did good by me for four years. I finally broke down and brought a new unit- another Meridian Gold. I like the Sport Trak Map I use as a backup too.

[Pinon]

I too have a Meridian Gold and a Sportrak Pro. Two great units. Have NEVER had a problem with either unit. I will admit that I just bought a Garmin Venture HC for $129. Nice unit too. One can never have too many GPS units...lol

[+good lookin']

Best Magellan in my opinion is the Explorist 500 le. Color screen, sd compatible, good geocaching features and good functionality. Mine has proven every bit as accurate as the Garmin 60csx my buddy has.

BP

[+gargamouse]

I personally like the Magellan eXplorist 210 for the following reasons (I use my GPS solely for geocaching). I was previously using the 200 and got tired of manually inputting geocaches.

 

1. Geocache Manager.

2. Good price.

3. Great satellite reception/accuracy.

4. Geocache icons match geocaching.com.

5. The unit is small enough to fit in the shoulder strap pocket in my backpack.

6. Good battery life.

7. 22 MB of internal memory for digital storage.

 

I was considering the 600 for the color screen and altimeter / barometer and thermometer but decided that more than double the price than the 210 wasn't worth it.

 

Also check out the below forum topic for many other who share my opinion.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=120036

Edited February 13, 2008 by gargamouse

[+embra]

Both my Meridian Platinum and Explorist 500 were very reliable units. I liked the smaller size, the color screen, and the rechargeable Li-Ion battery in the 500. If you're looking for a Magellan, I can commend both of those--with a few caveats.

 

1) If you want to do autorouting, you'll find that they don't do it as well as your Garmin probably did (this threadfrom a few years ago still applies).

 

2) Unless you get a Triton, you'll be getting a device that is no longer supported. You can get some nice deals, but if there's something wrong with 'em that's pretty much it. In a way, that's not a big deal because any tech support they could offer you would likely suck. Magellan customer support has a poor reputation these days.

 

3) Do investigate the availability of mapping software you may want. I presume that Topo3D and DirectRoute are still available, but unsupported models don't always have software sold for them.

 

4) My Magellans are in the past now...I'm giving props for the Delorme PN-20 which you might want to consider. Great maps, great customer support, and I'm *pretty* sure it's good on the NMEA. If you want to do a lot of autorouting, you might be happier with Magellan, which does faster route calculation.

[cowboyshootist]

SNIP

 

2) Unless you get a Triton, you'll be getting a device that is no longer supported. You can get some nice deals, but if there's something wrong with 'em that's pretty much it. In a way, that's not a big deal because any tech support they could offer you would likely suck. Magellan customer support has a poor reputation these days.

 

SNIP

 

On the other hand it might be a way to get a Triton as a steal of a price. From what I have heard once the Explorist breaks down on you then Magellan will send you a "comparable" Triton since they can't repair or replace the Explorists.

 

Of course I am joking, but some posters have reported this happening. You only have to take a chance that the Explorist might actually work for a period longer than the warranty (again...joking).

 

I've seen Explorist 210s at Walmart for $56 USD. At that price it's almost a throw away unit anyway.

[+geodarts]

>>>>>On the other hand it might be a way to get a Triton as a steal of a price. From what I have heard once the Explorist breaks down on you then Magellan will send you a "comparable" Triton since they can't repair or replace the Explorists. <<<<<<

 

I had to send an Explorist 600 in to Magellan a couple of weeks ago, and got a replacement unit back yesterday. No one offered me a Triton, which was just as good because I would not have wanted one.

Edited February 14, 2008 by Erickson

[+JohnnyVegas]

>>>>>On the other hand it might be a way to get a Triton as a steal of a price. From what I have heard once the Explorist breaks down on you then Magellan will send you a "comparable" Triton since they can't repair or replace the Explorists. <<<<<<

 

I had to send an Explorist 600 in to Magellan a couple of weeks ago, and got a replacement unit back yesterday. No one offered me a Triton, which was just as good because I would not have wanted one.

But the Tritons do not work. I would two explorist 500 and keep one as a back up.

[+Walt Jabsco]

But the Tritons do not work.

 

Mine does.

 

[cowboyshootist]

>>>>>On the other hand it might be a way to get a Triton as a steal of a price. From what I have heard once the Explorist breaks down on you then Magellan will send you a "comparable" Triton since they can't repair or replace the Explorists. <<<<<<

 

I had to send an Explorist 600 in to Magellan a couple of weeks ago, and got a replacement unit back yesterday. No one offered me a Triton, which was just as good because I would not have wanted one.

But the Tritons do not work. I would two explorist 500 and keep one as a back up.

 

Sounds like you got yours in before they ran out of new or refurb units. I'll have to search around to see if I can find the posting where someone sent in an Explorist and was sent a Triton back. Might have been an anomaly.

[cowboyshootist]

But the Tritons do not work.

 

Mine does.

 

 

Do I detect Photoshop at work here? LOL...Just kidding. Which model is that?

[+briansnat]

I have been a garminite for a while now and I am looking at getting a magellan. I am making this decision because it seams that Garmin is getting further away from NMEA. So here is the big question, which magellan is the best. The reason i come here is because i don't want to get the Triton, but between the sport trak and the explorists i am confused as to what is best for geocaching.

 

Ther Sportrak hasn't been made for several years. I guess you can get a used one, but the Sportrak didn't really catch on even in its heyday, because the Meridian was far better and didn't cost much more. If you are going to buy an obsolete unit you are better off with the Meridian.