Etrex 20 or 62s

[WVski]

I had my heart set on a 62s for the longest time. Then i've been reading about the Etrex 20.

 

I have nobody close to me that has both to compare them.

 

All I need it for is geocaching and the occasional Hike/Bike trip. Both are fairly close in price. I think the 20 is $165, 30 $240 and the 62s is $249.

 

Any advice/options/reasons to pick one over the other?

[+ShaunEM]

This might help make up your mind:

 

http://www.gpscity.ca/garmin-gpsmap-62s.html

 

It is on for $199 CAD.

 

I have the Etrex 20, its great... but the additional buttons for navigation would be nice. Other than that I have heard they are very similar.

 

Shaun

[jholly]

etrex20 does not have a magnetic compass or altimeter the etrex 30 does. Both use a joystick for command input. The 62s has buttons for command input and the magnetic compass and altimiter. The 62s haw bigger screen. The 62s has a NEMA 0183 input if that is needed, the etrex's do not. Memory size is the same on all three, all three take a micro SD card. Battery life is approximately equal. I have a 30 and like it.

 

Oh yes, the etrex's use both the GPS satellites and the Russia GLONASS satellites, the 62s uses only the GPS birds.

Edited December 31, 2013 by jholly

[+BlackRose67]

I purchased an eTrex 20 back in December 2011, and used it to find just over 1500 geocaches.

 

I recently took advantage of a Black Friday deal and upgraded to a GPSMAP 62s.

The main reason I got the 62s was that it has a 3-axis compass, supports chirp, and has a larger screen.

 

I could have spent the same money and got an eTrex 30, but I figured if I'm going to buy another GPS I may as well get something different from what I already had.

 

As jholly noted, the eTrex 20/30 supports both GPS and GLONASS, while the 62s just supports GPS.

I was concerned about losing GLONASS support, but the quad helix antenna works great.

[Forkeye]

62S also has a battery saver mode, where the display shuts off until a button is pressed, but the receiver keeps tracking your position, to help save on battery consumption, a ribbon style menu should you desire it, and also an external antenna jack. I have the 62SC and the Etrex 30 and both are on a par as far as reception and accuracy go. The weight difference is barely noticeable, but there is a size difference, and the user interface (buttons) are different. Etrex have a much slower cpu speed which probably gives some of the power savings, you can really see this when you try to pan a map, but when you are actually navigating with the map I don't think you will notice it. The Etrex because of its size is nice for hiking/biking, but the larger 62 screen size is also nice. Very happy with both units.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Forkeye

[WVski]

Thats a pretty good price on a 62s. I think i made up my mind. 62s it is.

 

Now to talk the wife into letting me drop $200+ on a new gps when I already have 2 older units and a brand new NUVI...lol

 

She doesn't understand that an old GPS V isnt the best for geocaching.

[+luvvinbird]

Thats a pretty good price on a 62s. I think i made up my mind. 62s it is.

 

Now to talk the wife into letting me drop $200+ on a new gps when I already have 2 older units and a brand new NUVI...lol

 

She doesn't understand that an old GPS V isnt the best for geocaching.

Good choice. Don't feel guilty about buying another GPSr (I have nine and use them all). My wife enjoys buying clothing which I rarely see her wear more than once and several visits to the hair stylist throughout the year kind of evens things out, lol.