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Garmin eTrex 30X or Touch 35


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When I first started geocaching, I was the proud owner of a Garmin eTrex 30. Now I'm in the market for a new GPS and in doubt between the Garmin eTrex 30X or the eTrex Touch 35.

 

I'll only be using the GPS for geocaching, so that's my main focus. What I disliked a bit about the eTrex 30, is that is was quite slow when navigating the map and had a habit of freezing a bit.

 

My doubts between the 30X and the Touch 35 are: 

 

  • the battery life (25 vs 16 hours)
  • and the extent to which the touch screen of the 35 is faster than the joystick-screen of the 30X.

 

And while I'm asking for your opinion of which GPS to choose, I also like to ask: Garmin TopoActive map or OSM, which do you prefer?

 

Thank you in advance for your input.

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Personally, i would skip the 30x and go with the new 32x. But i also prefer touch screens. I haven't used a touch 35, but i have an Oregon 600 and it's quite fast. Consider this... Touching the screen doesn't require scrolling a cursor. It's a direct touch, which to me is more efficient.

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I have both the eTrex 30x and Touch 35 models. 

 

The 30x has a higher resolution screen than the Touch, but the Touch is far more responsive, especially when scrolling the map, etc. And I do not find the lower resolution display on the Touch an issue. Between the two, I would choose the Touch first.

 

Having said that, the Touch still has some bugs that Garmin are dragging their feet on to resolve. Some of those bugs should have been corrected in beta, before the unit was ever released, and I am stunned they have not corrected them to date.

 

The x0x models also have some very real issues that need immediate attention, and now that the 22x and 32x are out, they may not see any further support.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see a newly updated Touch with the TopoActive maps, but who knows what the Garmin Gods have in store for us? Actually, my Touch 25 has TopoActive loaded on it, but not for North America.

 

Which brings me to... What about comparable models?

 

The Oregon 6x0 is long int he tooth, but pretty solid, about the size of that eTrex Touch, but with far more capability. If you can find a NOS or NIB unit, you would be way ahead of the game compared to the eTrex models.

 

GPSCity just put the Oregon 700 on sale for under $300, a screaming deal. It's an Oregon 6x0 on steroids! This is likely one of the best deals going right now. And the Oregon 7x0 series was my all time favorite geocaching GPSr for a long time.... Until I started using a GPSMAP 66, which is twice the price. I still love my Oregon 7x0, It is my #1 backup, should I need one 8^)

 

 

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First of all, thank you all for your reply and time.

 

I'm from The Netherlands, so prices may vary a bit. So I made a list to compare a few Garmin models:

  • Garmin eTrex 30X - €206
  • Garmin eTrex 32X - €249
  • Garmin Touch 35 - €249
  • Garmin Oregon 600 - no longer available
  • Garmen Oregon 700 - €345

Both the 32x and the Touch 35 go for the same price. The Oregon 700 is ruffly an additional €100 (€1 is a little over $1).

 

What holds me back about the touch screens, is the battery life. I do however agree with skipping the 30X and going straight for the 32X if I do choose so to go with scrolling a cursor.

 

So, basically it goes between the 32X, the Touch 35 and maybe, if someone has some persuasive arguments to offer, the Oregon 700. What would you suggest when you look at the following preferences:

  • Easy to hold
  • Fast system
  • Good image resolution
  • Excellent for geocaching
  • Decent to good battery life
  • Reasonably priced

Also, wondering how you all feel about my remaining question: Garmin TopoActive map or OSM, which do you prefer?

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Even at $100 more, the Oregon 7x0 wins hands down for me. The GCLive capability alone is worth the price of admission. You did say Geocaching was the primary function you intend to use the GPSr for, and nothing outperforms the Oregon 7x0 for this purpose.

 

How old are you? How are your eyes? I have to squint to see the tiny eTrex thumbstick screens.... the Oregon 7x0 display is almost the perfect size.

 

TopoActive just became available here in the USA, so I can not say yet which might be better. I am unable to locate any meaningful documentation to indicate just exactly how Garmin improves the OSM mapping data the TopoActive are based on.

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2 hours ago, Sprookjesbos said:

First of all, thank you all for your reply and time.

 

I'm from The Netherlands, so prices may vary a bit. So I made a list to compare a few Garmin models:

  • Garmin eTrex 30X - €206
  • Garmin eTrex 32X - €249
  • Garmin Touch 35 - €249
  • Garmin Oregon 600 - no longer available
  • Garmen Oregon 700 - €345

Both the 32x and the Touch 35 go for the same price. The Oregon 700 is ruffly an additional €100 (€1 is a little over $1).

 

What holds me back about the touch screens, is the battery life. I do however agree with skipping the 30X and going straight for the 32X if I do choose so to go with scrolling a cursor.

 

So, basically it goes between the 32X, the Touch 35 and maybe, if someone has some persuasive arguments to offer, the Oregon 700. What would you suggest when you look at the following preferences:

  • Easy to hold
  • Fast system
  • Good image resolution
  • Excellent for geocaching
  • Decent to good battery life
  • Reasonably priced

Also, wondering how you all feel about my remaining question: Garmin TopoActive map or OSM, which do you prefer?

In The Netherlands where everyone rides bicycles a GPS that can be used one handed may handy (groan). I used to have mine on a lanyard but now  I have a neat little holder zip tied to my bike's handle bar. The holders are only a few dollars on ebay.

 

 

 

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48 minutes ago, colleda said:

In The Netherlands where everyone rides bicycles a GPS that can be used one handed may handy (groan). I used to have mine on a lanyard but now  I have a neat little holder zip tied to my bike's handle bar. The holders are only a few dollars on ebay.

 

I would no longer dare to hold anything in my hands when I'm on my bike, that €90 fine would be such a waste of money:ph34r: I do however push a pram about 98% of the time I'm out, so handhold, easy to attach to something or to carry around in any other way would be great (those darn curbs everywhere don't make pushing the pram one-handed any easier though<_<).

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55 minutes ago, colleda said:

I can easily afford to upgrade my 20x but it does all I need so no point really, for me. It checks all the points on your list, as a 32x would, except some say it is slow which I can agree with but what's a few seconds?

 

With the 30 it wasn't so much that the slowness was bothering me all that much (although it did get annoying sometimes), but the freezing was a pain. I no longer posses my 30, so I thought, why not orientate on a new GPSr by asking some user experiences at the place where people do what I want to use the GPSr for: right here (and while I'm at it, maybe upgrade a bit, thus my question between joystick vs touchscreen)B)

Edited by Sprookjesbos
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On 8/14/2019 at 2:32 AM, Atlas Cached said:

[...]

 

GPSCity just put the Oregon 700 on sale for under $300, a screaming deal. It's an Oregon 6x0 on steroids! This is likely one of the best deals going right now. And the Oregon 7x0 series was my all time favorite geocaching GPSr for a long time.... Until I started using a GPSMAP 66, which is twice the price. I still love my Oregon 7x0, It is my #1 backup, should I need one 8^)

 

I went with your advice and got the Garmin Oregon 700. It was on sale, so quite a good deal! Can't wait to get out there again! :D 

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Just now, Atlas Cached said:

My Oregon 700 is arriving today!

 

Hope you enjoy yours! 

 

Keep in mind, it has a learning curve....

 

I remember the learning curve with the 30X, but since it's been a few years, I already notice my knowledge is out of date. Geocaching live? No idea. Is it possible to adjust the range of distance so that more caches will be shown in the list (right now I only see the caches within 500m of my home location)? Again, no idea. This stuff wasn't available yet years ago, so it's all new to me.:ph34r:

 

At least I know how to upload the OSM-map when the microSD gets here tomorrow.;)

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Some information on connected features at GPSrChive > Oregon 7x0 > Features > Connected Features.

 

The Geocache List tab will show caches within ~100 miles of current location. If you are only seeing 500m, you may not have anything loaded beyond that range from current location. How did you get the caches loaded to the device? When in doubt, always apply the 'Show All' filter.

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44 minutes ago, Atlas Cached said:

Some information on connected features at GPSrChive > Oregon 7x0 > Features > Connected Features.

 

The Geocache List tab will show caches within ~100 miles of current location. If you are only seeing 500m, you may not have anything loaded beyond that range from current location. How did you get the caches loaded to the device? When in doubt, always apply the 'Show All' filter.

 

The caches loaded on the device by registering it. Luckily for me, this was an easy one to figure out: just move the map a bit and it sees all the other caches in your surrounding.

 

Somehow it doesn't like it when I turn the 'battery save' mode on. After blacklight timeout is over (right now in 15 secondes), the screen turns off (as it's supposed to), but getting it back on is not an option. I can press the on/off-button and the screen will turn bright white, but there's no way to get it working again, except for turning the whole device completely off and on again and quickly turning the 'battery save' mode off again.:wacko:

 

I'm hesitant to do anything right now, as I prefer waiting for my microSD so I can load OSM (which I did already download, using new style. No idea if it adds anything, but oh well) on the GPSr, as well as a PQ (because, even though I'm rusty when it comes to current GPSr's, I do know that Geocaching Live won't include waypoints and PQ's will).

 

Right now I have my eye on a multi, so I'm doing some research, such as locating the coordinates on the map on the Garmin.

Edited by Sprookjesbos
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6 hours ago, Atlas Cached said:

Which firmware is your 700 running? Mine came with 440, and I just updated to 470.

 

I just checked: software version 3.80. Downloaded Garmin Express right away and updated to 4.70 and lo and behold: the white screen is gone.B)

 

This GPSr has quite a steep learning curve, but that's mainly because it's been quite some time for me since the last time I used a GPSr (it wasn't as fancy as this one, the Geocaching-website and software in general was designed quite differently).

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5 hours ago, Sprookjesbos said:

 

I just checked: software version 3.80. Downloaded Garmin Express right away and updated to 4.70 and lo and behold: the white screen is gone.B)

 

This GPSr has quite a steep learning curve, but that's mainly because it's been quite some time for me since the last time I used a GPSr (it wasn't as fancy as this one, the Geocaching-website and software in general was designed quite differently).

 

Interesting.  

 

Firmware v3.70 was released December 6, 2017.

Firmware v3.90 was released January 9, 2018.

 

Firmware v3.80 was never published, and did not have a very long life span! I suspect the Battery Save issue was quickly corrected for v3.90, even though it was not a published 'fix'.

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