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Lowrance Endura touchscreen series


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*Yawn* August 5th for the Out & Back? Amazon is reportedly shipping in 1-2 months. I'm really starting to wonder...

Hmmmmmmm, wondering here as well. Perhaps they are holding release to ensure that it is totally bug free. Bug issues certainly would sully one's reputation. Drat, until then we sit and twiddle our thumbs hoping for a stellar unit which is user friendly and free of issues. ( bug free is probably an ideal and no where near reality for any product from any manufacturer at initial release )
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I think they must be shipping "somewhere".

 

On the Lowrance website - it no longer says "in stores July 2009". Not updated to a new month either - the text just dropped. A few reseller websites are saying early Aug available. At least one still says it will be available by late July. I was hoping to put one through its paces on my Vacation but that starts next week - so I doubt I'll have one.

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Just heard from a friend of mine that the Out&Backs are sitting on store shelves in Bass Pro Shops for $199.

 

Yes the Out&Back lists as "in stock" on there website! Also they have the Safari model listed as "low stock / back ordered" for $349, and no mention at all of the Sierra model. Still, that's a start :)

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We just got a Bass Pro sale ad, sale starts 7 August, that includes the Out&Back ($199.99) and the Safari ($349.99). They also list the Oregon 200 ($249.94) and the DeLorme PN-30 ($259.99). I haven't seen the Safari anywhere else. I still have a Sierra on back order.

Edited by Colonial Cats
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Does anyone know if I can use MapCreate 7.0 to load a microSD card with detailed map data for usage with the Endura Out&Back. I've sent an e-mail to Lowrance Support with the question, but I can't get through on the phone.

 

If I find out that I can use my existing mapping software, then I'll be ready to pull the trigger on this one. I love my iFinder M&M and am ready to upgrade.

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Just to confirm for everyone, all three Endura models seem to be hitting store shelves. Bass Pro has the Out&Back and Safari in their glass case (I bought the Out&Back) and Cabela's lists all three as in stock on their website. I am sure there are others that are receiving their new Endura's as well.

 

Has anyone purchased and used a Safari or Sierra yet? I am curious how good the mapping is on both.

 

Also, I have transferred geocaching files to mine (very easy by the way) but am curious if this can also be done easily with trail files from say Backpacker.com, etc. I like to combine geocaching in with my hiking and mountain biking trips.

 

Let me know.

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Just to confirm for everyone, all three Endura models seem to be hitting store shelves. Bass Pro has the Out&Back and Safari in their glass case (I bought the Out&Back) and Cabela's lists all three as in stock on their website. I am sure there are others that are receiving their new Endura's as well.

 

Has anyone purchased and used a Safari or Sierra yet? I am curious how good the mapping is on both.

 

Also, I have transferred geocaching files to mine (very easy by the way) but am curious if this can also be done easily with trail files from say Backpacker.com, etc. I like to combine geocaching in with my hiking and mountain biking trips.

 

Let me know.

 

Can you drop a whole PQ in at a time or do they have to be one at a time?

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So, does the Endura series still use Lowrance's .USR file formats??

 

Can you transfer Pocket queries via their GPStoUSR program? The list doesn't show any Endura's(?)

 

http://www.lowrance.com/en/Downloads/GPXto...ng-Application/

 

You just copy the GPX file to a folder on the Endura. It shows up as a mass storage device on your computer. See StarBrand's initial review topic. These details are also in the manual, which is now on Lowrance's website.

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Received my Endura out & back Yesterday [8/5/09].

Initial impression was: "ohhh shiney!"

After several hours and 20 or so miles of hiking the impression is "ehhh"

 

I'm not comfortable writing a in depth review on the Out & Back just yet if ever but, I will say I'd hold off on an impulse buy until some further data/impressions are available.

 

Does seem to have decent battery life.

Start up time is short [compared to the unit it's replacing]. A minute or so.

Case is sturdy as advertised but, the battery cover is an annoyance when the batteries are installed.

Screen is very good.

user interface is well done.

Does seem to suffer from the lack of a compass and if I'm correct here; the missing compass "feature" may be the source of my budding dissatisfaction in the navigation dept.

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and Cabela's lists all three as in stock on their website.

 

Nope, not Cabelas. I just checked, again.

 

Backorder Alert! The item below is currently out of stock. Click on the Add to Cart button if you would like to backorder this item. Item

 

Lowrance Endura Sierra GPS

Item number:XK - 229985

$499.99

This item is on backorder. Cabela's estimates it will take 0-1 week to ship this product.

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Received my Endura out & back Yesterday [8/5/09].

Initial impression was: "ohhh shiney!"

After several hours and 20 or so miles of hiking the impression is "ehhh"

 

I'm not comfortable writing a in depth review on the Out & Back just yet if ever but, I will say I'd hold off on an impulse buy until some further data/impressions are available.

 

Does seem to have decent battery life.

Start up time is short [compared to the unit it's replacing]. A minute or so.

Case is sturdy as advertised but, the battery cover is an annoyance when the batteries are installed.

Screen is very good.

user interface is well done.

Does seem to suffer from the lack of a compass and if I'm correct here; the missing compass "feature" may be the source of my budding dissatisfaction in the navigation dept.

 

I'm not sure your complaint about the compass is justified. If I recall the Out & Back is not advertised as having a compass.

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Several websites I checked today show all the Endura models as being IN STOCK and ready to ship! I even checked with their customer service and got confirmation. Cabelas website seems behind though - their customer service said they had it in stock even though I found it cheaper elsewhere and just ordered a Sierra.

Edited by wahoowad
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I'm not sure your complaint about the compass is justified. If I recall the Out & Back is not advertised as having a compass.

You recall correctly and yes I knew that when I pre-ordered. =)

 

I should have used a few more characters to explain I'm not complaining about the lack of a compass so much as the fact that the O&B does a poor job of staying on target without one [ without good reception so, pretty much anywhere I'd be inclined to look for a cache or hike ].

While I'm not certain this poor performance is due to the lack of an electronic compass that'd be my admittedly uniformed guess.

I'm not sure how the O&B calculates direction I'll assume triangulation based on satellite positions to some degree.

 

I was trying to avoid bashing the O&B because I know Lowrance makes good GPS units [boating experience] and this is new territory to some degree, I expect growing pains.

After using the O&B quite a bit more yesterday and early this morning, I stand by my "ehhh" feelings.

 

Do you mean there's no compass screen, or that there is no electronic compass?

There is neither a compass screen nor an electronic compass on the O&B model to the best of my knowledge.

But, far as I can tell a compass screen would be essentially useless in the woods. Take your Silva/brunton etc... along.

 

The only thing I have to compare the O&B to is my explorist 210. I'd say it's a wash in the reception area. Yup, sorry my old beat up explorist 210 has kept pace with my friend's newer garmin unit for the past two years; at any rate I'm not seeing any improvement in reception.

The screen, paperless caching ability, quicker start up time, and interface are obviously a plus for the O&B.

Battery life is a tie using 2100 mAh Ni-MH.

Explorist 210 came with a bunch of somewhat useful software CDs where the O&B has nothing [not a big deal to me as gpx files etc... are drag and drop].

The Explorist walks me in circles around caches when it has poor reception while the O&B will just stop updating the screen and allow you to walk on past the cache until it finds a couple satellites. Both of these quirks are annoying. The O&B quirk can be mitigated somewhat if you are more interested in looking at your GPS screen than the scenery. Watching the distance to target and speed displays will clue you in that it's lost.

If I stop and wait a few minutes my explorist will eventually update the screen showing me where I am in relation to the target. The Lowrance seems to require movement in order to update the screen with any accuracy so, I end up retracing my steps as best I can to where I figure I lost reception and then on past it until the screen updates and then a little further so I can turn toward the target and get another screen update as I walk in that direction. I'm sure this is exacerbated by the fact that I have the detail level set to high and have some of the other display options such as trails turned on.

 

Bottom line is I do enjoy the O&B on some levels and I will continue to use it with the hope that I just need to get used to it's quirks however it's no great improvement where finding caches is concerned thus far.

additionally I reserve the right to come back again and recant. I'm not getting out the masonry chisel just yet.

Apologies for being long winded.

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I'm waiting patiently for opinions and thoughts on the Safari and Sierra and would appreciate any useful input. While the Sierra is more expensive initially, it does come fully equipped with mapping. In regards to the Safari, when you take into consideration the cost of downloading online maps it appears to me that the Safari could quickly match or exceed the Sierra in cost. Am I missing something here?

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I'm waiting patiently for opinions and thoughts on the Safari and Sierra and would appreciate any useful input. While the Sierra is more expensive initially, it does come fully equipped with mapping. In regards to the Safari, when you take into consideration the cost of downloading online maps it appears to me that the Safari could quickly match or exceed the Sierra in cost. Am I missing something here?

 

The Safari does come with detailed road maps, just not as detailed topo maps with trails etc. So if you are looking for just street level mapping I would not see any reason it would cost more to add maps.

 

My funds to make an initial purchase of one of these had to be used for other purposes as Lowrance pushed the release back 3 mos so I am going to have to wait a bit to get one.

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I'm waiting patiently for opinions and thoughts on the Safari and Sierra and would appreciate any useful input. While the Sierra is more expensive initially, it does come fully equipped with mapping. In regards to the Safari, when you take into consideration the cost of downloading online maps it appears to me that the Safari could quickly match or exceed the Sierra in cost. Am I missing something here?

 

The specifications in the Endura users manual show the contour interval of the preloaded topo maps of the Sierra to be 100 feet and 500 feet for the Safari. The Out & Back is blank in this regard since it does not contain any preloaded topo maps. From what I can tell, the down-loadable topo maps offered at the mapselect.com site have a contour interval comparable with 24K topos which in my region (southern Indiana) is 10 feet. I was under the original impression that the Sierra's preloaded maps were the same as what is available for download from mapselect but this does not appear to be the case. Input and/or corrections from owners of any of these models would be greatly appreciated.

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Very interesting unit, looking forward to reading some reviews about it. I wonder if the touchscreen is going to cause direct sun readability issues? I'm guessing yes, since most touchscreens have that problem (both my car units, my PDA, and the Garmin Oregon, to name a few), but who knows, maybe they found a way to lessen the issue? Looks like a nice form-factor, just a touch smaller than the PN-40, but a little bigger screen. If I had the money, I might think about adding another handheld to the stable!

 

their touchscreen looks different than Oregon/colorado. It looks more like units PN40 and 60CSX

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Very interesting unit, looking forward to reading some reviews about it. I wonder if the touchscreen is going to cause direct sun readability issues? I'm guessing yes, since most touchscreens have that problem (both my car units, my PDA, and the Garmin Oregon, to name a few), but who knows, maybe they found a way to lessen the issue? Looks like a nice form-factor, just a touch smaller than the PN-40, but a little bigger screen. If I had the money, I might think about adding another handheld to the stable!

 

their touchscreen looks different than Oregon/colorado. It looks more like units PN40 and 60CSX

See this post and the few following it...... http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...t&p=4013373

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