Customer Reviews

Garmin Foretrex 201 Hands-Free GPS Navigation with Rechargable Lithium Ion Battery

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Foretrex 201 is a general purpose version of the Forerunner personal training device. It lacks the personal training features (and PC software) of the Forerunner and replaces them with a general purpose GPS feature set derived from Garmins successful "Geko" models.

Note that Garmin describes the Foretrex as being similar to a Geko 201, but the Foretrex is missing a few features (no games) and the user interface is substantially different in a few areas.

There are two Foretrex models currently. This model, the 201, has an internal rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery which means the unit is .3 inches thinner than the model 101 which takes two AAA batteries. Currently the 201 can only be recharged using the (included) AC adapter and "cradle" bracket, so the advantage of the 201 is its smaller size, and the disadvantage is that you need to be near AC power and have the charger and cable along if you run low on power. This could be an issue for backcountry use. The other difference between the 101 and 201 is that the 201 is dark green (it's more green than is obvious in the pictures) and the 101 appears (I haven't seen one) to be silver. Each will appear equally dorky on your wrist if you wear it as a watch.

The 201 is very light, actually weighing .1 ounces *less* than the watch I usually wear. The strap is comfortable but wide. It adjusts to a surpisingly large range of wrist sizes (even fairly skinny ones). There's an extension strap provided if you want to wear it around your forearm.

The screen is very high contrast (more so than other Garmin GPSs I've seen) and easy to see.

The 201 has four gold contacts on the back at one end and it comes with a charging and data "cradle" (basically a clip that attaches to the back from end to end (works with the strap attached) and provides two small connectors for power and serial data.

It comes with a serial cable but no software. It will work with Garmin's Mapsource products (though without downloadable maps) and there's lots of shareware/freeware out there for managing waypoints, track logs, geocaching, etc. Note that the serial cable is only about three feet long, which can be somewhat inconvenient.

Battery life appears good. Garmin claim 15 hours, but I haven't run it down far enough to know what's realistic. After five hours of constant use in "normal" mode, the battery gague was still at 3 out of 4 dots. Charging takes a couple hours and displays "Battery Charging in Progress" bouncing around the display while it's going on.

Software updates can be downloaded from Garmin's web site (there's a minor update already available) and installed using the included cable.

Performance is about what I expected from a wrist-mounted GPS. The receiver performance appears to be identical to the other current Garmin models even at this small size. When walking around outdoors with my arm at my side, it does a good job of tracking the satellites that aren't obscured by my body and track logs downloaded from the unit are usually very good. There certainly are times when it can't see enough sats or just barely gets three of them or gets some ugly multipath reflection from somewhere and as a result you can get some track points that are really out in left-field. Overall it does better than I expected it to and you can just hold it up like you're looking at your watch to give it a better sky view if you want to take a more accurate fix.

The navigation data display page consists of a number of user-selectable fields in various (fixed) sizes from one to four per screen. These are arranged in a sort of virtual strip that you scroll up and down through. It appears to me that none of the time displays will show better than minute resolution. The "digital" style font used is pretty ugly.

There's a "timer" page which only supports count-down timing.

It has the Hunt/Fish and Sun/Moon data pages from the Geko and most of its other features except for the games as mentioned. Most of what you can do with a Geko you can do with this model, so check out the Geko 201 reviews as well.

It would be nice if it had a "watch" mode which would allow it to display the time and date with the GPS off and get a few days of battery life in this mode, but no such luck.

It's very well made and feels very solid as do most Garmin products. It should be very reliable as long as you don't prang the screen on something while wearing it as a watch. It's easy to operate the buttons with your other hand.

So, I could certainly recommend this model for someone who needs a basic (non-mapping) GPS and for whom the wrist/arm mounting option is desirable. It's probably the most functional way of carrying an active GPS on your person without resorting to a separate antenna or some similar complexity.

G.

From a sailor's perspective ... this thing rocks.

My class does not permit electronic aids for racing, so I cannot mount a GPS on the boat or put a speedo through the hull. I needed a way to get knots feedback during training. I gave this a try. I am happy. The unit provides just what I wanted: quick feedback on trim / crew position when there are no other boats to race.

Features that work for me -- waterproof, WAAS accurate to 17feet, knot meter only lags about 2-3 seconds on actual, adjustable countdown for starts, manual magnetic/true heading adjustment, manual tacking angle input (really cool - it beeps on VMG layline), adjustable display screens, easy to read.

If your hands are busy and the cockpit is wet - consider this model over handheld or mounted alternatives. Did I mention the BIG NUMBER 5 minute countdown feature with easy reset/adjustment to cmte-boat sequence? Good engineering on this one. My strongest recommendation.

The Foretrex 201 should receive many of the same kudos that the Forerunner 201 received even though it is a slightly different model. The track log of the Foretrex 201 will allow you to record horizontal and vertical track profile information to be downloaded and viewed on MapSource software. I recommend the Foretrex for cycling since it can interact with MapSource Trip and Waypoint Manager. The map page works great...never to be lost again and the track log drops breadcrumbs as you travel. This track can be based on `DISTANCE', `TIME', or `AUTO'; which allows you to drop a track point based on feet, seconds, or automatically (up to 10,000 trackpoints)-Absolutely Awesome! I purchased the Foretrex 201 in April 2004 and have been extremely happy with its operational capability. I have noticed that the unit is difficult to recharge; however, Garmin agreed to replace my AC Charger. Additionally, the cradle has a slot cutout for the wrist strap to stay on the unit while charging; however, a better connection seems to be attained when you slip the cradle beneath the strap (there is enough room). I hope that one of the two solutions above will solve any future recharging problems. Occasionally, the unit will turn on while plugging the AC cable into the cradle. Again, other than the minor hassle mentioned earlier-the unit operates as advertised. Unfortunately, no software is included with the Foretrex even though they provide a serial connector with each unit. This caught me by surprise since I now have to purchase software such as Garmin's MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager, which Garmin sells on-line (but can be found cheaper through other vendors). In my opinion, this software should come standard with each unit. I was also hoping that Garmin would include something similar to the Forerunner 201 Logbook software, but it is not compatible. It would be nice if the "unit" could display the total vertical climb and descent without downloading it via the software. For those that want the luxury of changing batteries-get the Foretrex 101, otherwise the rechargeable lithium battery comes standard in the Foretrex 201. Positional and altitude readings have been well within acceptable tolerances! Still learning, but seems to be everything I wanted plus more!

This is my third Garmin GPS, after a GPS III Pilot & E*Trex Vista. It is a good product if you want a robust, fast acting, low power consuming GPS you can wear on your arm! The displays are highly customizable in terms of wanting 1, 2, 3, or 4 key fields on the display at one time. Some may want more than 17 hours battery, but this is a LEAP forward for GPS & this light unit. And satelite reception is FAST & accuracy is as good or better than my 2 previous & reliable Garmin units which are much larger.
FUNCTIONS: I was waiting for 3 key functions: ability to show Speed & VMG in big, easy to see letters, & to be able to "project waypoints" & GOTO them. It also has a sailboat racing timer that is easy to syncronize at any whole minite. This unit does these things well.
SOFTWARE FRIENDLY: It uploads & downloads tracks, waypoints & routes with Garmin's MapSource software or freeware like the excellent "G7towin" program. Easy with my windows 2000 computer.
MAP: I'm not used to having a map with nothing on it except the waypoints you save or upload. I may find this helpful. Maybe in 2 years they'll be packing high res. maps into these also!
But it's easy to upload a route into the unit & simply watch the compass arrow point you in the right direction, while showing things like total distance remaining & eta. With G7towin, it's easy to download tracks to your PC & zap them into Delorme StreetAtlas to see exactly where you were.
Menus: The menus seem well designed to quickly get to any screen or customize anything you want. The only thing I had trouble entering was "owner info.". The alphabet scrolls at a nice fast speed, but entering words & spaces I did have some confusion and backtracking to get things right.
All & all, it does want I wanted and seems to work very well.

201 works great for mtn biking--very sturdy using bike-mount (extra purchase). Elevation is very accurate w/ WAAS turned on (I compared to map survey pts & found 201 to be spot on). Would be nice if unit displayed total elevation gained / lost without having to download track to GPS software to get these figures (Garmin are you listening?). Overall I'm extremely pleased with product & highly recommend it to other bike/hiking folks.

I have been using the Foretrex 201 for over a year in Iraq. This mini GPS is an excellent peice of equipment that gives you that essential ten figure grid on the move whenever you need it, without having to physically pull it out of a pocket. It also has a basic but functional track system which memorises your routes between your own inputted points. Its simplicity, generous functions and potentially life saving feature of just like being another watch, make this an essential peice of equipment for those of you who need to know exactly where they are at the flick of a wrist. awesome, would'nt go out without it

I love this GPS. The GOTO function is especially usefull, I set the GOTO point to my LZ and off I go, just flying around without having to keep track of where I'm going. I just enjoy the scenery and when it's time to return this little gem tells me which way to fly to the LZ. I have distance and time to destination on the GOTO screen, that way I know if the fuel I have left will get me to the LZ based on the known consumption of my motor, or if I have to start looking for an alternate LZ close to the road for easy retreival. Other screen is configured to show altitude, ground speed and vertical speed as well as Lat and Long.

I turn the unit on just prior to launch and off just after landing, I do this for each flight I take. When I get home I download the track information to my Garmin mapping software, trim the non-flying parts from before launch and after landing and save the track to a file, that way I have an electronic record of every flight I take for future reference.

The one thing I would like to change would be the ability to scroll both ways through the available screens so I wouldn't need to scroll through all the screens to get to the previous screen, but that's a fairly minor peeve. The waterproof case is great and the rechargable Lithium Ion battery life is plenty for a week-ends worth of flights as I don't fly for more than about 2 hours at a time. All in all an excellent product.

I have found this tool invaluable for paragliding. I get an accurate altitude and speed as well as many other great features. The bird crumb trail is also great if you get lost up there. Since it doesn't have it, a ground map really wouldn't matter much in the air. I'm sure some would beg to differ. The option for a large readout is also great. You can view four fields at the same time! I use Altitude, Speed, Distance and Time. It also has an arm strap. I put it up on my forearm because or the angle of my wrist while using the brake toggle. This was a very carefully thoughtout device!

I love my Garmin GPS devices. I own enough of them. However, this device makes no sense. If you are going hiking with this device and have no way of changing batteries, you may end up like those dumbasses in the "Blair Witch Project", wandering in the forest with no way of getting out. Get something like the Foretrex 101 that allows you to change batteries.

This has been a solid GPS receiver for general situational awareness and logging trackpoints. After several years of pretty heavy use while hiking, walking, mountain biking, commute biking, and the occasional trip up in a model airplane, the receiver still works fine and has decent battery life. The only problem I've had with it is that sometimes the display will get corrupted on a button push and the system will require a reboot - I honestly can't tell if it's a software or hardware problem, but I've never had any trouble working around it.

Even with the extension strap it was too bulky to wear on my wrist, I typically leave it attached to the top of my backpack or put it on my handlebars.

Modern GPS receivers have slightly better acquisition and sensitivity, but for the kinds of things that I use this one for I have not been bothered.

I handle the lack of a user-replaceable battery by adapting the charger connection to accept a standard 5V USB plug for charging; I carry a 5V-regulated USB-interface power source and can re-charge and power on the go if necessary.

A GPS alone is never a sufficient plan to keep yourself found, but I've been impressed by how much you can do with just a tracklog and waypoints. I would consider carrying just a datalogger with better battery life and such but the basic interface here is just helpful enough to make it worthwhile.