Etrex 30 or Vista HCx decision

[gallet]

Ok I'm getting rid of my Colorado as it's bigger than I like and the battery life is not so hot. I lost my old Vista HCx some time ago and I miss the nice compact size of it, therefore I'm in the market for a new one which I'm somewhat surprised to see they still sell considering the new etrex have been out for a while.

 

I don't really care about the caching software that either unit may or may not have, it's purely mechanical as far as I'm concerned.

 

I see the battery life in the 30 appears to be the same 25 hours as the HCx, is this true. I only ask because I would have thought the more complex display on the 30 would have been more power hungry. I don't mind the HCx screen but if it does not use any more power then I suppose the 30 is nicer having got used to the colorado.

 

I'd like to bring up the old issue of the HCx rubber surround. Is this issue regarding it's propensity to unglue in warm whether, fixed. And as the 30 appears to also have some sort of rubber surround, is this an issue that I should worry about on the 30.

 

On the face of it it would seem that the 30 might be the way to go seeing as it's a bit smaller, however I wonder why the HCx is still sold.

 

I would appreciate any thoughts on this particularly about the rubber surround on the 30, or any other mechanical issues I should be aware of.

 

thanks.

 

G

[gallet]

OK thanks that about determines it for me then etrex 30 it is then.

[tr_s]

OK thanks that about determines it for me then etrex 30 it is then.

 

Ensure you get it at a place with a good return policy in case you find the many software bugs annoying, though!

The HCx's firmware is much more mature. On the other hand that receiver has the rubberband ungluing annoyance.

[tr_s]

Yes save yourself some bucks and get the 20 if you don't see any use for a barometric altimeter and/or a wireless link feature. The compass in the 30 is so jumpy it's hard to make use of.

[Forkeye]

The compass in my 76csx was just as jumpy,I use a real commpass.

Lots of people have complained about the map writing speed,it will be slower than the Vista,but I have found with my slightly older Garmin topos it is acceptable.

Maybe someone can awnser this for me,with my 76csx I can pan the map,press enter and mark a waypoint where the panned map arrow was,the Etrex 30 wont do that,it marks my current location,and another thing I dont like is when you look at a waypoint in waypoint management it wont tell you how far that waypoint is ,just its elevation and bearing.

[tr_s]

The compass in my 76csx was just as jumpy,I use a real commpass.

Lots of people have complained about the map writing speed,it will be slower than the Vista,but I have found with my slightly older Garmin topos it is acceptable.

Maybe someone can awnser this for me,with my 76csx I can pan the map,press enter and mark a waypoint where the panned map arrow was,the Etrex 30 wont do that,it marks my current location,and another thing I dont like is when you look at a waypoint in waypoint management it wont tell you how far that waypoint is ,just its elevation and bearing.

 

When you pan the map and have pressed the clickstick at the location you want, press the Menu button. Voila!

 

My waypoint manager, as of 2.80, shows distance and bearing (with direction letters). So if you don't, it gotta be a setting I don't know of or a firmware fault.

[Forkeye]

OK thx I see that when I first hit waypoint manager it displays waypoint name ,distance and elevation,if I then select a waypoint from the list with the click stick,it no longer shows distance on the next screen,no big deal I guess,dont seem to be able to change fields on that sreen.

[gallet]

I never used the compass on my old vista or colorado so I may as well get the 20. Thanks for the replies.

[+Postholedigger]

As an owner of a GPS with an electronic compass (not an eTrex though), it is a nice feature to have. Especially if you navigate using the map in the "top forward" setting.

 

Up till a few months ago, I had been using a GPS without an electronic compass and had not missed that feature at all.

 

However, now that I've been using it for a bit, I miss it when I don't have it at my disposal or when it's not calibrated.

 

If you are buying from REI, I'd say try out the 30 and if you don't like the cost/benefit ratio, return it and downgrade.

 

I have a buddy who got himself a 30. Seems to like it pretty good. The only complaint he has is that the joystick/clicker accidentally presses when he has the GPS in his pocket so it creates odd waypoints and tries to get you to navigate to them instead of the original destination. I also concur that the "rubber molding" issue prevalent in previous eTrex units is not an issue with the 10/20/30 as the rubber-looking areas on the sides of the unit are hard plastic. The unit feels very compact in the hand and light to carry.

[Forkeye]

It comes with a belt clip and if you put it in the Garmin case the joy stick is pretty well recessed,so I kind of doubt it would get pressed by accident ,you can also get a caribiner clip.