Swapping a Garmin 62s for Magellan 610 or 710?

[+zpyder]

Apologies for what could end up being a rant and long winded post. I've got a few questions regarding non-garmin units. But first a bit of back story.

 

I'm an environmental researcher at a University in England. Garmin being the market leader, is what I have used when doing fieldwork and needing to log survey points etc. My first GPS unit was actually a bluetooth gps unit for my Pda, soon followed by a 60CSx, which I loved.

 

Annoyingly last year I got suckered by the old "New-improved!" marketing regarding the 62. I thought it would be an upgrade from the 60, and really looked forward to the prospect of birdseye imagery, especially for when I was going to the lake district later in the year. However I've pretty much hated the unit since I got it, and have grown to not trust Garmin at all. The list of issues I have had so far:

• Birds eye imagery for the lake district, when I needed it, was just blanket cloud, seriously, one of the UK's most popular walking/hiking destinations, and the satellite imagery was one massive cloud. I asked garmin for a refund as it wasn't fit for purpose, and they refused.
  
• The material the unit is made from just isn't as rugged as the 60 series. I managed to get a massive scratch in the screen the first week I had the unit, the 60 series units weren't scratch proof either, but the material was far tougher and scratches didn't show as much. Garmin wouldn't replace the screen and instead wanted £130 to replace the whole unit :/
  
• The unit will shut down if knocked "moderately". If it's clipped onto a bag, dropping the bag on the ground is enough to turn it off, so is it swinging into your chest if on a chest strap. I assumed it was a loose battery connection but on further investigation I think it's actually a fault with the unit.
  
• Garmin wanted proof of purchase to repair/replace the unit, despite it being listed as in warranty on their website, and COMING FROM GARMIN (as it was a replacement unit) anyway. It should have been on their system as being supplied by them, but sadly now the unit is out of warranty and I don't want to pay Garmin to fix the unit which was faulty when they originally sent it out
  

 

Ok so the gripes with Garmins customer service could have maybe been sorted if I was a bit more proactive earlier on (maybe), but it's still rather annoying… lately I've had some dealings with examples of excellent customer service from other "leading" outdoor/tool brands - Leatherman and Lowe Alpine. Leatherman has a 25 year warranty on it's products, which I didn't know about. I've had a Leatherman tool in my drawer for years as it was broken about 7 years ago. When I found out about the warranty, I sent it in, and less than a week later I had a brand new replacement in the post. Not only that, but as my tool was discontinued, I received the newer titanium version. This didn't cost me anything, and I didn't even have to provide proof of purchase. With Lowe Alpine, I emailed them as part of my chest strap on my bag had fallen off, the next day they'd sent a replacement strap out for free. All the while any communications I received from the companies was polite and helpful, which is more than can be said of Garmin, who just weren't interested.

 

Ok, so rant over.

 

I wish I’d kept my 60 CSx, but given the lack of support from Garmin, I’m not tempted to just downgrade back from the 62 to the 60. I’ve been looking at the Magellans, and was wondering whether anyone out there has had the chance to use both the 62 and the 610 and/or 710 “in the field” (rather than just in a shop?) What they felt about the units etc. What are the other main contenders to Garmin at the moment?

 

I'm liking the idea of a touch screen unit, as it might make marking locations in the field a bit easier if I have some form of keyboard, rather than having to use a directional pad to select each individual character, but how do the magellans fair in terms of signal and position accuracy?

[+Wyomingguy]

I never used the 62S, but I did use a Garmin Colorado 400T for about two years. I never got comfortable with it. Just over a year ago I bought a Magellan Explorist 610 and I have been totally satisfied with it. I use it primarily for geocaching. The simple "User Guide" that comes with it is quite lacking, but I downloaded a forty two page "User Manual" from Magellan for free.

[+Indotguy]

I never used the 62S, but I did use a Garmin Colorado 400T for about two years. I never got comfortable with it. Just over a year ago I bought a Magellan Explorist 610 and I have been totally satisfied with it. I use it primarily for geocaching. The simple "User Guide" that comes with it is quite lacking, but I downloaded a forty two page "User Manual" from Magellan for free.

Edited March 5, 2012 by Indotguy

[+Indotguy]

Apologies for what could end up being a rant and long winded post. I've got a few questions regarding non-garmin units. But first a bit of back story.

 

I'm an environmental researcher at a University in England. Garmin being the market leader, is what I have used when doing fieldwork and needing to log survey points etc. My first GPS unit was actually a bluetooth gps unit for my Pda, soon followed by a 60CSx, which I loved.

 

Annoyingly last year I got suckered by the old "New-improved!" marketing regarding the 62. I thought it would be an upgrade from the 60, and really looked forward to the prospect of birdseye imagery, especially for when I was going to the lake district later in the year. However I've pretty much hated the unit since I got it, and have grown to not trust Garmin at all. The list of issues I have had so far:

• Birds eye imagery for the lake district, when I needed it, was just blanket cloud, seriously, one of the UK's most popular walking/hiking destinations, and the satellite imagery was one massive cloud. I asked garmin for a refund as it wasn't fit for purpose, and they refused.
  
• The material the unit is made from just isn't as rugged as the 60 series. I managed to get a massive scratch in the screen the first week I had the unit, the 60 series units weren't scratch proof either, but the material was far tougher and scratches didn't show as much. Garmin wouldn't replace the screen and instead wanted £130 to replace the whole unit :/
  
• The unit will shut down if knocked "moderately". If it's clipped onto a bag, dropping the bag on the ground is enough to turn it off, so is it swinging into your chest if on a chest strap. I assumed it was a loose battery connection but on further investigation I think it's actually a fault with the unit.
  
• Garmin wanted proof of purchase to repair/replace the unit, despite it being listed as in warranty on their website, and COMING FROM GARMIN (as it was a replacement unit) anyway. It should have been on their system as being supplied by them, but sadly now the unit is out of warranty and I don't want to pay Garmin to fix the unit which was faulty when they originally sent it out
  

 

Ok so the gripes with Garmins customer service could have maybe been sorted if I was a bit more proactive earlier on (maybe), but it's still rather annoying… lately I've had some dealings with examples of excellent customer service from other "leading" outdoor/tool brands - Leatherman and Lowe Alpine. Leatherman has a 25 year warranty on it's products, which I didn't know about. I've had a Leatherman tool in my drawer for years as it was broken about 7 years ago. When I found out about the warranty, I sent it in, and less than a week later I had a brand new replacement in the post. Not only that, but as my tool was discontinued, I received the newer titanium version. This didn't cost me anything, and I didn't even have to provide proof of purchase. With Lowe Alpine, I emailed them as part of my chest strap on my bag had fallen off, the next day they'd sent a replacement strap out for free. All the while any communications I received from the companies was polite and helpful, which is more than can be said of Garmin, who just weren't interested.

 

Ok, so rant over.

 

I wish I’d kept my 60 CSx, but given the lack of support from Garmin, I’m not tempted to just downgrade back from the 62 to the 60. I’ve been looking at the Magellans, and was wondering whether anyone out there has had the chance to use both the 62 and the 610 and/or 710 “in the field” (rather than just in a shop?) What they felt about the units etc. What are the other main contenders to Garmin at the moment?

 

I'm liking the idea of a touch screen unit, as it might make marking locations in the field a bit easier if I have some form of keyboard, rather than having to use a directional pad to select each individual character, but how do the magellans fair in terms of signal and position accuracy?

 

Have you considered Delorme? (Sorry, I just realized Delorme does not offer GPS map products for the UK).

Edited March 5, 2012 by Indotguy