User Review: Garmin eTrex

Garmin eTrex
Above: The current eTrex, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed December 11, 2008 by Wyatt Lichter

Rating:
Price Paid: $75

Still one of the best lightweight 12-channel GPS receivers on the market. Ideal for go-lite hikers that can read a map and plot coordinates. It's extremely light, compact, waterproof, and still has one of the best energy use rates on the market (22.5 hours in energy-save mode on a single pair of AA batts - I've verified this). I use it for desert hiking as it works best in open sky (thick forest overhead canopy can sometimes affect ability to get a sat lock).

It doesn't have a built-in map or other battery-wasting accessories like an electronic compass (does anyone actually use those when you can get a more reliable and accurate magnetic baseplate compass for $20?), but I have little use for such items. Map displays on GPS receivers as small as the eTrex seem especially useless to me. While my friends painstakingly page through their bulky GPS units, zooming in and out between scales, I've already marked my position on the paper map and am on my way.

Some people prefer state-of-the-art GPS receivers that cost many times as much. That's fine if that's what you want to spend your money on, but end up being the company's technological guinea pig when glitches occur. Meanwhile, my old yellow eTrex keeps on going. Given the build quality of today's electronics, that virtue alone has made it a wise purchase.

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