Garmin eTrex Summit HC Handheld GPS Receiver

Pros:

 

Cons:

 

I am a mountain biker and suffered with having to make frequent stops to get a map out of my back pack and then spend a few minutes working out where i was........painful! The etrex became choice number one because of price mainly, i was not too sure how it would work on the trail but other reviews seemed favourable. Linked up to some decent software it performs like a dream, one minor problem is spending too much time "Heads in" looking at it to find out where on the planet you are, not ideal on a bike!! When loaded with a route it is dead easy, the compass page gives you a big red arrow to point to your direction of travel, and you get an audible beep when approaching a change of direction. Plusses are price, functionality, connectivity, battery life and ease of use even for a biff like me. Minus point is the fact that you get a bit engrossed in it when hurtling downhill!!!!!!

read more

Pros:

 

Cons:

 

I bought this unit for use on hikes, bike rides, and other similar outdoor activities. I've had it for a few months now, and overall, I'm only somewhat satisfied. Here's a list of pros and cons that have stuck with me so far:

Pros:
-easy to read/see color screen (even in bright sunlight)
-highly customizable screens (types and amount of data shown on each screen)
-fairly easy to learn and operate
-many features, including barometric altimeter and electronic compass

Now, the cons to this product may not be specific to this unit. It may be more a function of the limitations of GPS:

-inaccurate (sometimes highly) "tracking" of horizontal position or trail actually traveled (I've compared to trail maps and Google Earth visible trails, and some of my tracks are inexplicably way off)
-inaccurate barometric altimeter (sometimes hundreds of feet off. I've turned it on, and had elevation readings of -200 feet!!) which must be constantly calibrated. Also, if you calibrate at the bottom of a climb, by the time you reach the summit, it may be over 100' off.
-very inaccurate odometer data, and inconsistencies in the data. For example, I recently hiked Half Dome, which is 4800' vertical gain...this unit only registered 1500' total ascent, but the begin elevation and end elevation shown were well over 1500' different. Also, on the same Half Dome hike, the odometer read 5 miles hiked, but the track total registered a more accurate 8.3 miles.
-very "stiff" buttons.

Again, the inaccuracy may be a function of the limitations of GPS, but the odometer inaccuracies in terms of total distance, total ascent, descent, etc. was disppointing. Perhaps Garmin needs to come up with another way of calculating these values. I think a lot of these values are calculated using current horizontal and vertical velocity, which may be inaccurate at any given moment. With inconsistencies at any given moment, it is difficult for the unit to calculate the actual horizontal and vertical distance traveled.

In any case, overall, I would recommend this product for simple trail and waypoint marking. But it should be understood you will only get "general" information, and not anything resembling very accurate data.

**EDIT** Garmin released a firmware patch in Feb of '08, and it has really helped with the accuracy of certain data. The total ascent data is much more accurate now, often within 100' of actual climbed distance (that may not seem so great, but it was horrible before). Also, the distance measurements are better. When I save a track, the distance per the track is much more close to the odometer reading, usually within a mile for a 10-15 mile hike (which again, is just ok, but better than before).

Overall, the unit does seem to be more accurate in all ways now, perhaps due in part to this firmware update. Also, tracks seem to be more accurate in terms of comparing visually to maps. I'm more happy with the unit now, and would probably give it 4 stars if I reviewed it today.

read more

also from this reviewer 4.0 Great Camera with a lot of Flexibility

5.0 Good

4.0 Take time to program it

5.0 Samsung 14" DynaFlat TV

4.0 Fujis s2 pro

Pros:

 

Cons:

 

I'm quite pleased with this GPS. It's easy to use, accurate,compact, lightweight and has a very viewable screen. It can be viewed without the backlight sometimes and requires only a very low setting on the backlight when it is needed. The poor basemap is to be expected and I wanted a detailed topo anyway so got a Garmin topo map of the western coastal states.

The GPS comes with Mapsource software and the map comes with Basecamp. They perform similar functions but are different. Figuring them out will take some time to sort out. Garmin wasn't much help- said which one you use is user preference. Mapsource seems better at organizing tracks and routes, but Basecamp is much better for printing up maps.

I like having the altimeter, both for being able to more accurately measure my altitude (if I've been able to calibrate recently) and for being able to measure barometric pressure. The GPS altitude seems to be within about 30 feet and varies considerably (I live at about 1325 feet and have seen GPS altitude readings range from 1295 to 1345 feet. With the altimeter, it can detect if I've got the GPS on the floor or if I'm standing up with it. However you need to be able to calibrate it frequently at known altitudes to have reliable accuracy. If you don't want the altimeter, the Venture HC could be a good alternative.

Although I'm very satisfied with the Summit HC, unless I could get one at the price I got ($120), I think I'd go with the Vista HCX. Its superior battery life and extra memory capacity (once you buy a micro sd card) would be worth the small price differential that exists currently.

read more

also from this reviewer 5.0 connector