Garmin GPSMAP 76 vs Magellan GPS 330

[Guest BigJim]

I am looking to upgrade my Magellan 315. It seems to me that the 76 and the 330 are very similar units with regards to features. Actually, the only advantage I can see is the 76 has a better screen resolution. For use in GEOCACHING do either of these machines provide a significant feature the other one does not?

[Guest morganw]

I had a 330M for a few days before I got my MAP76. The 330M was surely a nice unit, but I preferred the larger, higher resolution screen. I do like the layout of the 330M more than the MAP76... But if $ is no object, I see no reason not to get the 76

[Guest morganw]

I had a 330M for a few days before I got my MAP76. The 330M was surely a nice unit, but I preferred the larger, higher resolution screen. I do like the layout of the 330M more than the MAP76... But if $ is no object, I see no reason not to get the 76

[Guest faithwalker]

I have the Map76 and love it, I know the 76 is water proof and floats. I had a Vista and returned it for the larger screen and rocker pad. Got caught in the rain last Saturday and had no worries about the map76, thats a good feeling as the Street Pilot had to be put under cover. The screen is large enough and very readable and with all the configurations of the info on each page you should have no problem with setting up a very good unit. I haven't used the Mag so I can't help ya there. All I can say is I'm very happy with the Map76... ...faithwalker...

[Guest mcb]

I would definitely go for the GPSMAP 76. I think that the 330 is a fine unit but I think you will find that the Garmin GPSMAP 76 is a far more versatile and capable unit then the 330. If you don?t mind check out the review Jack Yeazel and myself wrote. http://www.gpsinformation.net/waas/g76/g-76-map.html

 

Make sure you click on the picture at the top there is more information on that page and a link to a bunch of screen shots. I think you will get what I me when I say flexible unit from those screen shots.

 

Also I would suggest downloading the manuals from Garmin and Magellan?s web sight for the two units.

 

mcb

[Guest gstrong1]

I've also got the MAP76 & its a fantastic unit.I have never owned or used a Mag., so can't be of much help in a comparison. I've got the eTrex Vista,III Plus & the MAP and except for the III Plus getting a bit better satellite fix under heavy tree cover, the MAP76 IS the unit. .

 

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Gary "Gimpy" Strong

Rochester,NY

[Guest gstrong1]

I've also got the MAP76 & its a fantastic unit.I have never owned or used a Mag., so can't be of much help in a comparison. I've got the eTrex Vista,III Plus & the MAP and except for the III Plus getting a bit better satellite fix under heavy tree cover, the MAP76 IS the unit. .

 

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Gary "Gimpy" Strong

Rochester,NY

[Guest Khao Mun Gai]

My business partner and I are both new GPS owners. He got the Magellan 330M and I got the GPSMAP 76.

 

We used them side by side on two caches on Saturday for a few hours. Here are some thoughts:

 

1. Feature-for-feature they seem to be comparable in terms of what they can do and what they offer. I don't think the Magellan has the "highway mode" that the Garmin offers but they both have comparable screens, the ability to customize what appears on the screens and comparable base data.

 

2. Both units allow for download of map/waypoint data into the units. I think the Magellan has 7 meg of memory available, the GPSMAP 76 has 8. The Magellan COMES WITH the US data cd. This is available at (significant) additional cost as an option only for the GPSMAP 76.

 

3. The Magellan does not yet have non-US data available for it. The GPSMAP 76 has some foreign data available - notably for Western European countries.

 

4. Both units did well in the woods with tree cover. It appeared that the GPSMAP 76 lost its signal in the woods more frequently than the Magellan, however we realized that this may be an unfair comparison as the GPSMAP 76 beeps and warns you when it loses signal while the Magellan does not. Both units have the ability to recover from lost signals quickly.

 

5. For one cache, both units did comparably well for accuracy, with a slight edge, perhaps, given to the Magellan. For the second cache, we both got into the general area of the cache just fine (under heavy tree cover). We never ended up finding the cache, so we can't really say which was more accurate. The Magellan ended up leading to a fairly focused area while the Garmin was unable to get me in a circle tighter than 100 ft away from the [never located] cache.

 

6. The Magellan is hands-down smaller and lighter.

 

7. The Garmin has a larger screen with superior resolution.

 

We are both very pleased with our choices and I don't think either of us regret what we chose. The European map data is important to me while it is less so for my partner. The 330M supposedly has a great deal of marine data available which is of no importance to me, but important to him. Now that I have the superior screen resolution on the GPSMAP 76 I would find it hard to give it up but I did spend significantly more for the Garmin than my partner did for the Magellan.

 

We both purchased from Amazon.com.

[Guest BigJim]

Khao thanks for the detailed comparison. I have been flip-flopping over which one to get. Was leaning towards the Map 76 based on the passion by which people respond about their 76's. However, based on your review, it seems like for geocaching, the 330 is probably the better value. As I am sure you two will be geocaching together again, writing about your future experiences would be appreciated. Thanks again!