I'm a simple guy, with simple desires. One is to not get lost while out in the thick of it. Been there, done that, don't recommend it.
I'm also not looking to spend a lot on helping to prevent that situation again, so I did a quick search and came up with this unit. It doesn't do a lot and I don't need it to. Mark the camp, go for a hike, peace of mind that camp is "over there". See something cool, mark that too, find that cool thing again in the future.
It does other things, mimics my trail, but I haven't fully played around with everything. I only care about that one thing and it does that one thing well.
Really love this for outdoor activities!
How I most often use it: after the initial setup when I arrive at the trailhead/parking lot (or the bike path etc) I turn it on, clear current track, reset the trip odometer, then add a waypoint and that's it. Since I have it set to automatically record tracks there's nothing for me to do until I get to the end of the trail. At which point I then save the track and then use the backtrack feature to guide me back to the car/trail head.
This comes with a *very very* basic world map with only major cities (Los Angeles, San Diego etc) as landmarks so don't expect street names or shops, banks, gas stations, restaurants etc. But great for backpacking, hiking, biking and even as a backup for wheeling/offroading (though I use a tablet based GPS for that).
First off, this is an old model. Possibly obsolete. You cannot expand the memory or add much to the unit. It doesn't have a magnetic compass, it relies on GPS to find your heading. It is a monochromatic screen. The base map is very much basic. The ETrex 20 would be your next stop if you require anything greater than any of these. With that said, this unit is quick, fairly accurate, compact, and fairly durable. The screen is reportedly easy to scratch, so invest in a $7 pack of screen protectors for it. The UI is easy to familiarize yourself with and change, and it does whatever your basic handheld GPS does. It runs on two AA batteries and lasts a fairly decent amount of time. If all you need is something to give you coordinates, this is probably your most cost effective option. Besides using your GPS enabled cell phone.
I feel the etrex size is too small to really take advantage of terrain maps both in detail and scroll speed, so for hiking, simple open water navigation or backwoods purposes, an eTrex 10 is all that I need to complement a compass and paper map; I use it like old style radar, follow the blip to a target using whatever route you visually survey is best. A key use is marking way-points and toughness under field conditions [ cold, rain, mud, heat, drops], to later port that data to a larger map on paper, tablet or PC, once at a rest stop or base station. For safety, its 'trackback' provides a simple way to return to base in poor visibility.
Pros
built tough and water resistant for hiking purpose, so no case needed. I dropped it 10' many times to rug and dirt, in a bathtub of water, without issue
Easy, fast single click marking of waypoints separate from tracks
Tracking is automatic and uses little memory
joystick & button navigation is easy to operate with gloves on
B&W screen great in sunlight
Power consumption is >=30% _less_ than color eTrex [ 10 draws 60mA; the 30 or 20 is 90 mA, no maps installed, lights off, GPS+GLONASS+WAAS ON and active satellites tracked]
If GPS alone is used, eTrex 10 draws only 45mA
easy to learn without a manual
improved accuracy via WAAS and GLONASS support, as close as 6' with waypoint averaging
Fast re-acquisition of satellites once initial acquisition is obtained
Upgraded to latest firmware via Garmin Express easily
Lots of support from Garmin website or 3rd party websites or blogs
Easy exporting data to Google Maps and Earth via BaseCamp
>50 continuous hours on 2x Lithium AA [ test batteries were not yet exhausted]
33 continuous hours with 2000mAH NiMH, 41 continuous hours if GPS only, GLONASS and WAAS OFF
Cons
No maps
No beeper or buzzer for alarms
B&W screen less sharp vs color but works in all lighting conditions
not enough documentation in the shipped manual
No clip or lanyard included
Note, most ads for the eTrex 10 state is has 'no memory'. What they mean is no memory to store maps, it has 7.5 MB/10MB free [ the rest is use by the system] to store tracks, waypoints, caches etc., onboard. You can store several 1000s of these as the data size is very small and by then, it gets unwieldy to search and manipulate.
Nothing more to buy beyond a belt clip Garmin Carabiner clip.
Amazing little device. Years ago I had an early version of this so the new features and joystick are great additions to me. I mainly use this to track my windsurfing. I hang it around my neck and off I go. I'm mainly curious about my speed and overall distance during an afternoon of windsurfing which this easily keeps track of an more... top speed so far is 31.4 mph and distance one afternoon was 26 miles - enough to sail over to Catalina Island, something I think would be fun to do with the right wind.
Once connected to my computer I can bring the gpx file from the eTrex into Google Earth and there are my tracks, detailed speed info, detailed elevation info, distance traveled, waypoints and more. You can see exactly how fast you were going throughout the entire track so in my case I'm trying to come out of my gybes as fast as possible and I can see all of it. There are other apps available that can do this but I haven't tried them.
The one drawback - no lanyard. It was easy to add one so no big deal.
Feature Product
- Rugged handheld navigator with preloaded worldwide basemap and 2.2-inch monochrome display
- WAAS-enabled GPS receiver with HotFix and GLONASS support for fast positioning and a reliable signal
- Waterproof to IPX7 standards for protection against splashes, rain, etc.
- Support for paperless geocaching and Garmin spine-mounting accessories. Power with two AA batteries for up to 20 hours of use (best with Polaroid AA batteries)
- See high and low elevation points or store waypoints along a track (start, finish and high/low altitude) to estimate time and distance between points
Description
The eTrex 10 makes a great choice in handheld navigation for the budget savvy outdoor enthusiast. This eTrex model is equipped with a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, a 2.2-inch monochrome display, and a worldwide basemap making it easier than ever to see where you are and where you have been. Garmin Connect compatible (online community where you analyze, categorize and share data)
I have been using this GPS for Geocaching for a few month now and have been very impressed with it. Can log finds and view logs on it, durable product and I would recommend this to a beginner Geocacher (like myself). This works a lot better than the app on my iPhone. I have coverage in the strangest of places....
Its okay...I chose it for the price, so I got what I paid for. It takes it a while to catch up to me when I am walking. Its not a bad device, but it could be better. Took a day and a half to figure out how to put geocaches on it, and then realized I put the wrong ones on the next day, deleted them, and now I cant get them back on there as geocaches, they are just there as waypoints, so that is VERY annoying, but it will due. I mostly use it when my phone cant quite get me there so I just quickly pop in the coordinates and go that way. I would not say its a good device for someone that has already owned a GPS, but it was my first. Go for a newer version that already has geocaches preloaded (if thats what youre buying it for).
This is an ideal hiking GPS paired with a smart phone map or topographic map. I was recently able to test this out in the woods and bogs of Vancouver Island and it performed flawlessly. Yes, it does not have a great map included but the track back capability and waypoints are perfectly suited to help you get "unlost".
The battery life is amazing. While you may need to charge your phone multiple times on a hike, I used this unit on the same set of batteries for over 16 hours and it still has life! You could easily do a week on 2 or 3 sets of AAs.
Recommended for anyone comfortable using a smart phone as some of the menus are convoluted.
Much much better than the eTrex. I bought the eTrex about 8 months ago, and although it gave me the bread crumbs I was looking for, the distance measurement was low about 10%. That is not bad in short distance, but in a 10 mile hike, you are off by 1 mile. I bought the eTrex 10 recently and have taken it out a couple of times, 1 10 mile hike and one 7.5 mile hike, and the distance was right on for both hikes. I took both my eTrex and eTrex 10 - side by side, and it proved my suspicions of the low readings of the eTrex . The eTrex 10 also comes with far more information at your finger tips, than the earlier version eTrex, and the eTrex costs about 1/2 of what the eTrex cost. I feel I won all the way around.
I've been using GPS units for the past decade. Long story short, it all depends on what you want in the unit. This is a cheaper model that does similar things expensive models do but with a few short comings.
Pros:
(i) Connecting to satellites isn't an issue. It's very similar to the expensive GPS's.
(ii) Battery powered - I've always bought battery powered GPS's due to the fact you're in a remote area and don't want to rely on a charge. The battery has lasted several days to a week as long as you keep the backlight on low and turned off after ~10 seconds.
(iii) Weather resistant - I work in the tropics where the humidity, rain and temperature are extreme. This unit has held up over several years, but I do take care of my GPS. If you left this out overnight or in the rain I can't say it would do live up to my review.
Cons:
(i) Caution for the inexperienced - If you've never used a GPS before then this unit might not be for you. The most difficult part of this GPS is navigating with the button they provide. If you know how GPS's work then this shouldn't be a problem, but if this is your first unit then you might want to reconsider. They 'joystick' to navigate can be fussy at times and an inexperienced user would have troubles figuring this out.
(ii) Screen Size - The screen size and text/logos can be difficult to see unless you have the backlight on. It's very similar to other GPS units in the aspect. I wouldn't recommend for user with poor eyesight.
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