Vista C Vs Legend C - Compass/altimeter Helpful?

[SeekAboveCol31]

OK, Santa is bringing me a GPSr for Christmas, but he said he needs a little help deciding on the unit...

 

I THINK I've narrowed down my request to either the Vista C or Legend C. Looks like the price difference at a couple of online stores is about $40. The Legend C is about $280, and the Vista C is about $320. Just about the only differences that I can see, other than price, are that the Vista has the electronic compass and altimeter, and the Legend has an additional 16 hours of battery life (probably because it has no compass.)

 

Now, I'm a gadgety sort of person, so the additional features in the Vista appeal to me, but I have a hard time coming up with a situation where I would really use those features. I use a manual compass just fine, and it doesn't take batteries! So, for you experienced geocachers out there (I'm a letterboxer only so far), in what situations have you found either of those features helpful, if at all? I USED to do some high-mountain backpacking, but with one toddler and another baby on the way, I doubt that will happen in the near future. My parents still do, but they already have a separate altimeter anyway.

 

I guess what I really want to know, is would the Vista features add some value over time and justify the further battery drain from the Legend?

 

Thanks a bunch!

 

Seek A. Bove

[Culprit99]

Col 3:1 is a great verse!

 

I'm in a similar situation - getting a GPSr for Christmas. I'm asking for the Vista (not the color) because of the added compass feature. Like you, I rely on a traditional compass, but I've broken a few of them in the past (Marines can be a little hard on gear sometimes), and the comfort of just knowing that I have some redundancy is wonderful.

 

God is Semper Fidelis,

Culprit99

Edited November 28, 2004 by Culprit99

[+snowd]

While I have just the Vista, which has the compass and altimeter in it, I find both to be very usefull.

 

For me when I am navigating to a cache (or any other location) the compass is what comes up for me. It provides arrow heading to location as well as degree information, with middle of arrow offset to indicate direction and distance off of being inline with location. It won't give precise distance of inline offset but a good general idea which to adjust to, the further out of position the greater the distance out, as well as a change in gray scale reflecting the same info. This works well for getting into general area then it's back to eyes and thinking about where I would of hidden cache given the area.

 

The altimeter is also usefull if a cache/benchmark is noted with a specific height that it was placed or set at as this will generally aid in finding that matching height.

 

The use of both doesn't seem to make a big difference in battery life so I leave them both turned on, but can turn them off if need arises.

[SeekAboveCol31]

Heh, so I guess if I'm getting out of my comfort zone as far as cost goes, perhaps I should be thinking about b+w versus color? The only problem with that is, I want the capability to have turn-by-turn trip mapping IF someday I buy the City Select software. I can see how it would have been useful on some of our road trips in the past. I don't believe the regular Vista has that feature, no?

 

Are there any black and white models that have this feature, even going to Magellan? (I don't truly have a preference at this point - I have just found it much easier to navigate Garmin's site than Magellan's to compare unit features.) Really, $280 is about as much as I'd like (to have Santa) pay, but...if I can get a couple of useful features for just $40 more, I'll probably do it.

 

With baby #2 coming next year, this is probably the last Christmas we'll have the option of paying the additional money for a neat toy - perhaps I'm talking myself into it.

 

Anyway, thanks for the replies, I appreciate the help. And Culprit - yes, I've always liked the verse. I came upon it again the same day I was looking for a trail name and it seemed appropriate.

 

Seek A. Bove

[+snowd]

Heh, so I guess if I'm getting out of my comfort zone as far as cost goes, perhaps I should be thinking about b+w versus color?  The only problem with that is, I want the capability to have turn-by-turn trip mapping IF someday I buy the City Select software. I can see how it would have been useful on some of our road trips in the past. I don't believe the regular Vista has that feature, no?

 

No the regular vista does not have the auto routing and turn by turn navigation available to it. If it's a feature you'd like to have in future then it means your buying up the line more as far as Garmin's are concerned. I really can't speak to the abilities of the Magellan lineup concerning auto routing as I'm not familar with them, so will leave that for those that know.

[Culprit99]

If you find the regular Vista in the package deal with the US Metroguide CD (maps/software), or if you buy the CD separately, then you will have autorouting available on your computer when you are building routes before downloading them to your GPSr - but it won't be available on the GPSr unit itself after you leave home. I don't know about the turn-by-turn routing.

 

I saw the regular Vista package deal with the CD online for $325. The CD was listed by itself for $100, so the package deal basically gave about half off the price of the CD. I didn't look at a lot of sites to shop around for the best price yet. I think my 'Santa' will probably get the best price at Wal Mart.

 

Semper Fidelis,

Culprit99

[+Searching_ut]

As an avid hiker, somewhat occasional geocacher, I love my Vista C. My own thoughts are that the added features of the Color eTrex units are worth the cost over the B/W models. As for the compass and altimeter, that might be a little harder to justify cost wise. I love the altimeter because the altitude portion of tracks is notoriously bad when logging mountain hikes. You'll often get data showing altitude gains and losses almost double what really took place. (The main use of my unit is hiking/peak bagging and recording tracks) The altimeter pretty much takes care of that problem. The compass is nice if you're working through heavy deadfall in an area where reception is tough, and it helps when you're not moving of course. I used units without a compass in them for almost 10 years though and never really considered the lack of one to be an issue.

[+robert]

The compass is nice if you're working through heavy deadfall in an area where reception is tough, and it helps when you're not moving of course.

this is a key feature for me with my 60CS over a 60C.

[SeekAboveCol31]

Thanks for the input, all. I do think I might find the compass helpful for a couple of the reasons listed, so I think Santa is going to have to spring for the extra $40 bucks.

 

I happen to know Santa personally and he's all about getting the most bang for the buck out of toys, so I don't think he'll have a problem with it.

 

Thanks again,

 

Seek

[+TXRangers]

I just picked up a Vista C last week to replace my Garmin GPS III which I handed down to the kids. I love the Vista C and have not touched a compass since I began using it. If you set up the data fields to show the heading, bearing, and throw in the pointer you can't miss.....

[Neo_Geo]

I happen to know Santa personally and he's all about getting the most bang for the buck out of toys, so I don't think he'll have a problem with it.

Must not be the same Santa I know...

[SeekAboveCol31]

Yeah Neo, despite the press, Santa simply cannot be all things to all people...

 

Well, I guess I decided that these features WILL be helpful as the order for a $319 Vista C went in today! This will definitely help Santa navigate this Christmas.

 

Seek