Magellan Vs Garmin

[harry_nerdo]

i'm looking to spend about £200 on a GPS and was wondering what is better, i.e. pros/cons.

 

is the etrek Summit woth the extra 100ish pounds to get the better compas/altemeter (sp?? )

 

any feedback would be great

 

thanks in advance

[vagabond]

This question has been going on since almost the beginning of the forums, and it pretty well boils down to personal preference

[+WAAS-up]

You say first GPS... does that mean you are just starting with geocaching? If so, I recommend buying a sub $100 basic mapping GPS (from Magellan, Garmin, Lowrance, etc...) for your first year of caching (stay away from the Magellan eXplorer series -- no data cable connection for uploading waypoints). I would also pick up a $10-15 compass and a detailed street map book. After 1 year, the price will be $100 lower and you will still be ahead.

 

If you already have a PDA I'd find a free or shareware application that will allow you to do "paperless" caching.

[+Prof_Fate]

I chose a Garmin eTrex Vista, about $170US. The cheaper models ($100US) did not have a basemap or download capabilities.

 

The only feature that seems to be missing is a true built in compass. I don't feel that this is much of a loss...a compass can be had for $2-$20US and when moving the unit has a compass display.

 

chris

[harry_nerdo]

i have a good compas and an extensive range of maps.

 

I have been caching a few times with my friend and i tried it one just using a map and compass (that was a bit hard ) so i have clocked up 5 altogether.

 

this unit would also be used for walking/cycling/whatever so...

 

are the Etrek Yellow (aprox £115) one and the Mag. 100 (aprox £150) Sport Trak the only real "CHEAP" gps' around or are the other makes which add another model into the equation (that are avaiable in the UK)?

 

thanks for all feedback

[+Tail of Two Cachers]

GPS V continues to get lower in price. Didn't search too hard, but is $284.00 on Amazon and contains mapsource software and cords to hook up to computer (which is extra with some units). It's 299 at a lot of land stores.

 

IMO, it makes a great first GPS and gets your feet wet in caching as well as car navigation.

[+Night Stalker]

My first GPS was a Magellan SporTrak Pro. I was very satisfied with this unit until the new Garmin 60CS came along. I had to have one. There is no advantage as far as accuracy is concerned, but auto-routing to a cache in an unfamiliar area has saved me lots of time. I agree with vagabond. It is going to depend on personnal preference.

 

[+Riddlers]

We used our yellow garmin for our first 400 and to place our first caches. We have found that it works really well while moving compared to someone right beside us with a magellan. They would have to wait for it to catch up while we were usually faster to the cache. Now that is unless it was under the trees and theirs worked better. For less than $100, yellow is a wonderful way to start and then if you find you are addicted as we are you can move up to ones that connect to the computer with built in maps and all the bells and whistles, and share your old yellow with someone else just starting out.

[+Fitzdawg]

If you want basic maps, go with a Garmin etrex legend or magellan explorist 200 (the cheapest in their respective lines with basemaps). If all you want is something to point the way, try an etrex yellow or explorist 100. I have to agree with some of the previous posts, don't bother with bells and whistles that you don't need to get started. If you want truly better performance rather than unnecessary toys (i.e., compass and altimeter), you'll have to spend significantly more than what the above mentioned models will cost. As to the brand debate, my suggestion would be to go to a store that will let you test them out, or at least view the various screens, then pick the one that you feel the most comfortable with.

Edited October 17, 2004 by Fitzdawg

[+jollybgood]

Find a store where you can put your hands on some working demos of various makes/models.

 

Hold them in your palm. Play with the buttons and view the menus and so forth. As someone else posted peference when it comes to a GPS is very subjective and differs from person to person.

 

I love the feel/look of Garmin uinits as well as their intuitive interface. My Magellan-loving buddy feels the exact same about his GPS.

 

We argue all the time about which is best. The truth is it's all personal preference. We both find the caches about the same time with the same ease. So it's not so much about one functioning better then the other.

 

I really think it comes down to bells and whistles, look and feel.

Edited October 18, 2004 by jollybgood

[Neo_Geo]

All subjective emotions aside, Garmin is far more superior to Magellan in all respects! Customer support, software products, firmware updates, Web site navigation (as in finding the information you're looking for)...

 

You name it, Garmin beats Magellan at it hands down!

 

If you prefer to call 'em "Freedom Fries" instead of french fries, there's another reason to buy Garmin.

 

Now, stay tuned for the big show!

THIS OUGHTTA BE GOOD!!!

 

Edited October 18, 2004 by Neo_Geo

[+embra]

All subjective emotions aside, Garmin is far more superior to Magellan in all respects! Customer support, software products, firmware updates, Web site navigation (as in finding the information you're looking for)...

 

You name it, Garmin beats Magellan at it hands down!

...such as expandable memory, for instance?

[+GOT GPS?]

Get the Meridian GOLD now, then worry about Memory cards and GPS mapping at a later time.

 

The other's, like the Garmins are either pretty expensive or not expandible like a Meridian Gold.

 

I like the GPS 60C for other reasons but it was expensive and not expandible beyond it's built-in 56 meg memory.

[+briansnat]

i'm looking to spend about £200 on a GPS and was wondering what is better, i.e. pros/cons.

 

is the etrek Summit woth the extra 100ish pounds to get the better compas/altemeter (sp?? )

 

any feedback would be great

 

thanks in advance

I wouldn't spend the extra money for the Summit's altimeter and compass. I'd go with the Legend for mapping. The Legend is an excellent unit. Compact, easy to use and durable. The electronic compass and barometric altimeter are nice to have, but unless you are a mountaineer, an altimeter is more of a curiousity thing and the compass's duty is easily and better performed by a $10 hand held model.

 

I'd stay away from the eXplorist that was mentioned by one poster for the simple reason that eXplorist line doesn't come with a data port and can't hook up to a PC. This makes it unsuitable for serious geocaching, or serious use of any kind.

 

While the expandable memory offered by the Magellan is another nice thing to have, I've never run out of memory in my eTrex Vista (24 meg) and I have every place I frequent, in several states, loaded on it. I only think the expandable memory would come into play if you were someone who traveled far and often.

 

Someone mentoned the GPS V, which would be an excellent choice. It was a great unit when it sold for almost $500 (US) and has come down significantly in price since the 60 line and other color units have come out. The great thing about the GPS V is that it comes with City Select already on it, so if you figure that in it is a real bargain.