Garmin eTrex Range Review
Whether you are a seasoned hiker, fell walker or just a novice, and are wanting a GPS to be able to not only track where you are walking so you can either re-trace your steps, or to be able to plot where you walked on a map, then the Garmin eTrex range of Handheld GPS Receivers is a good start. Prices range from £100 upwards depending on which features you require.
Garmin eTrex Features
Features covered on all eTrex model's:-
- Waterproof
- Supports up to 500-1000 waypoints
- Minimum of 1536 Track Points
- 12-22 hours Battery Life
10 Saved Track Logs- Trip Computer
- GPS Accuracy to 15 meters, 95% typical
- Built-in Patch Antenna
- 2x AA Batteries (not supplied)
- Size 11.2 x 5.1 x 3.0 cm
- Weight 150g with batteries
- Display 5.4 x 2.7 cm high-contrast screen
- LCD with bright backlighting
The Garmin eTrex range are small, lightweight and a great addition to your hiking bag or coat pocket. Without Garmin MapSource CD's, the eTrex will show a base map of the UK, when you are using it away from a road, it will log your start position and track you with a bread crumb trail across the screen to show your current physical position in relation to your start position. You can then use the Track Back feature to re-trace your steps back to your start position, save the track for later use, or download this to a PC and plot it to a map.
You can also set waypoints on-screen to mark particular points of your walk, allowing you to later navigate straight to these, or to remind you where they are. These GPS Receivers are great for novice GPS users, and superb for geocaching!
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 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
eTrex |
Camo |
Venture |
Legend |
Summit |
Vista |
|
| Battery Life | 22 hours |
22 hours |
20 Hours |
18 Hours |
16 Hours |
12 Hours |
| Saved Tracks | 10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
| Number of Tracklog Points | 1,536 |
2,000 |
2,048 |
10,000 |
3,000 |
10,000 |
| Waypoints Supported | 500 |
500 |
500 |
1000 |
500 |
1000 |
| Electronic Compass | No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Barometric Altimeter | No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Memory available for MapSource | 0 mb |
0 mb |
1 mb |
8 mb |
0 mb |
24 mb |
| Screen Resolution (Pixels) | 128 x 64 |
128 x 64 |
288 x 160 |
288 x 160 |
128 x 64 |
288 x 160 |
| WAAS Capable | No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Hunting/Fishing Calculator | No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Celestial Information Page | No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Built-in Calendar | No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
The Garmin eTrex GPS Receivers are about the same size as most mobile telephone's, the more advanced eTrex GPS Receivers like the Summit and Vista are much better for hiking, fell walking or orienteering because both of these models have an electronic compass and a barometric Altimeter
Electronic Compass (Summit and Vista Only)
An Electric Compass is different from a standard GPS Compass. A GPS Compass will remember the co-ordinates you were at, and watch the co-ordinates you are walking to, as the Lat/Long will change, it can calculate whilst you are moving, which direction you are traveling in. This is only if you have a GPS Fix and are walking. An Electronic Compass differs from this as you do not need GPS to be able to see the direction you are facing, and it works like a conventional compass. Most Electronic Compass' prefer to be held still and horizontal. An Electronic Compass is best for orienteering or when you really need to know which direction you are traveling in and do not have a compass at hand.
Barometric Altimeter (Summit and Vista Only)
Barometer Altimeter is basically a barometer that can give you the altitude at which you are. It's ideal if you are hiking, fell walking or mountaineering and will show you a change in pressure when you are ascending or descending. GPS Altimeters are usually based on the data you are receiving from satellites and can be a good 50-100 feet off, so this is where a Barometric Altimeter can come in handy. Note that Barometric Altimeter's are not usually good to use in a plane or something with a compressed cabin as it will not be able to detect pressure accurately.
Screenshot's
Below are the Screenshot's that you will see across the eTrex range including the Electronic Compass and Barometric Altimeter.
Click the above image to be taken to a graphical comparison where you can
select the eTrex handheld and explore it's features.
Conclusion
Whether you are a novice or a seasoned GPS user, the eTrex range is light, compact and extremely useful. If you are looking to have an altimeter or electronic compass, then you will need to look at the eTrex Summit or eTrex Vista. If you are looking to purchase Garmin MapSource CD's to download roads to the handheld GPS, then you really want to look at the eTrex Vista.
