Customer Reviews

Garmin GPS III Waterproof Hiking GPS

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A recent TV commercial shows a guy walking around the house with his new GPS from Amazon.com mumbling things like, "at this rate it will take me XX days to get to XYZ" after which his wife comments, "I should have bought him the tie." It's cute, my wife loves it and emphasizes, tongue in cheek, how much guys love gadgets, but these things really are useful!

I own the Garmin GPSIII and the new eMap. I have found these GPS units to be extremely useful, competent and entertaining. I've used them for sailing, vacations, business trips, commuting and motorcycling. For motorcycling, I find using a GPS unit to be indispensable, especially when traveling in unfamiliar areas. Pulling over to the side of the road to look at a map requires taking off my gloves and helmet, which is time consuming and frustrating. With a GPS unit, I can preprogram a 1,000+ mile trip and never have to pull over to look at a map, never miss a turn, always know how far and how long it will be to my next rest / fuel stop, etc. It's also nice at the end of the day to precisely know how long you've been traveling (with the eMap, your moving, stopped and total time), your average and top speed, and miles covered. Should you have a problem requiring service, you can communicate your exact location. If you have children, you can answer that perennial question, "are we there yet" to the minute and tenth of a mile.

I was going to upgrade to the GPSIII Plus for its ability to import maps from my computer but learned Garmin had produced a new model, the eMap. Having had a GPSIII (i.e., GPSIII Plus without the maps) for years, I knew how well made, reliable and valuable the unit is but was intrigued by the eMap. The eMap is slightly lighter, definitely thinner and has a screen that is 20% larger than the GPSIII Plus. It is also less expensive. I also liked the fact that the eMap has memory cartridges in 8 or 16 meg sizes whereas I've read that the GPSIII Plus has only 1.5 megs of internal map storage (not upgradeable), considerably smaller. On the plus side for the GPSIII Plus it is significantly more water-resistant (an absolute necessity for water activities), your information can be displayed on a number of different "pages" or screens and it is much more user configurable.

Although I love my new eMap, I'm not getting rid of my GPSIII. As between the GPSIII Plus and the eMap, I would say this. For the vast majority of people using a GPS, especially those new to GPS, the eMap is THE handheld GPS to have. If things like VMG ("velocity made good") are important to you, if you want a unit that can be configured for a number of specialized applications, if you aren't bothered by the memory limitation of the GPSIII Plus, then I'd highly recommend that unit. You could hardly go wrong with either.

First, let me correct an earlier entry. The III+ does come with an external antenna. One can remove and replace this with an active antenna if they'd like. A good active antenna that is optimized for gain and low power consumption (remember - without a 12v cigarette lighter adapter, you're at the mercy of 4 AA alkalines!)will cost around $55.00 - not $100! This is my second Garmin, my first was a III model. I upgraded to the III+ as the base map is more detailed. For example, on major highways, it'll tell you what services are available, if any, at the exits. These "services" can be further defined: another screen will tell you the names of the places! And this is standard equipment! Various CD's are available that allow one to upload more detailed street-level maps of most of the cities and/or towns in the US. CD World Atlas and Topographical maps are available as well. I've used the unit in the car and on aircraft and have always found it to be incredibly accurate. Battery life is good, even with the active antenna attached. The only improvement I'd desire would be a rechargeable NiCad battery pack!

This is just a quick note to remind people of the realistic capabilities of the gps 3 series and all other units. In the amazon/usps TV ad, the guy is running around his house playing with a new gps3 or 3+. These units function great, and will tell you how far it is to cleveland etc, but they DO NOT function inside buildings. GPS satelite signals are very weak, and even when you are outside, if you are near a large building or under lots of trees, your reception can be poor. The is not the unit's fault, it is the radio frequencies assigned by the gvt. If you use it in areas that recpetion is poor, the gps3 series is a good choice because it has an easily removeable antenna which can be placed on an extension cable for a small improvement, or replaced with an amplified antenna for a big improvement.

If you are looking for one GPS unit that you'd like to use while driving, hiking or flying, then this is it. Smaller screen than the eMap, but this unit can remember up to 20 routes and 500 waypoints. (The eMap supports only one route). Also, the US military discontinued SA (Selective Availability - Intentional scrambling of GPS satellite signals for civilian use) as of May 1, 2000. So this unit, along with many others becomes highly accurate !

I love the trip meter on it. Sometimes I take it along while I jog (It's small enough to hold in one hand) - fun to watch how fast I jog, how many miles I jogged and the time it took.

Mounted on a Velcro strip on your car's dashboard, it neatly shows you where you are, which way you are heading and your speed (All this is configurable, and it has at least 8 pages with different views and tons of statistics) In fact thanks to the GPSIII+, I discovered that my speedometer was off by about 5mph ! (I verified this with a couple of friends, all armed with FRS units and going at the same speeds on the highway!)

It has 1.5M of memory (Re-Writable) in it, apart from the base US highway map built into it. I also bought the MapSource CD that contains the detailed maps of the US. I can plot a route very easily on my PC with the Map Source software and upload it to the GPS. With memory becoming cheap and small, I expect future GPS units to have anywhere from 64Meg to 1Gig of memory.

It has great finish. Beautiful and crisp LCD display. The buttons are nice to the touch. It will be very intuitive to use after the first 5 minutes.

It has support for DGPS, making it accurate almost to the sub meter level where DGPS is available.

It doesn't do auto-routing. That is, if you punch in an address or coordinates, it will not do the routing. None of the GPS units in this price range do that. Magellan NAV 750 or Phillips Carin are good ones that do that kind of thing. They cost about $2k and are strictly for auto-navigation.

Carrying the Garmin GPS III+ is like having a map that always shows a 'You are here' arrow. I've used this in the car, while walking through the streets of Boston, and while hiking in dense forest in the mountains of New Hampshire. In all cases, this GPS device has proved extremely useful. I used to get lost ALL the time--it's no longer a concern for me.

Now, before I travel to a new location, I look up the address and enter the latitude and longitude into the GPS 3+. The device doesn't have routing capabilities built-in (it won't find the shortest driving route to a destination), but it does tell you what direction you need to go and how far away it is. For me, that's enough.

I've purchased the US Roads and Recreation CD, which allows you to download detailed road information to the GPS 3+. The maps are accurate, and the GPS device has enough memory to store the entire greater-Boston area (3 or 4 counties).

I bought this GPS about 2 months ago and I take it everywhere I go! The GPS III+ is a great all-around unit that has capabilities to send you anywhere in the world with amazing accuracy AND that fits in the palm of your hand. The unit includes a 12-parallel satellite receiver which can lock your position in about 10 seconds (depending on your position in the world) and with about 50 feet accuracy. Other features include: detailed basemap (roads, coastline, cities etc), illuminated variable light display (adjustable lighting), heading, altitude, sunrise/sunset, speed information, highly informative timer system, and much more. The casing on the unit is very durable and the display glass is scratch resistant (nice feature). Along with all of this, the unit is also waterproof rated to 30 feet (wouldn't try it though, the battery compartment cover seems a bit cheesy).

The GPS III+ is perfect for any outdoor activity you throw at it and is great for driving too. There is an optional set of maps called MapSource maps you can download on the gps from your computer to add more detailed information on the gps. Keep in mind however, if you do buy the mapsource map set, you won't be able to store much on the gps because of limited memory space. (usually only holds about one large city at a time). If you primarily want a gps for driving purposes, get the Emap GPS which can store MUCH more information and is made primarily for driving.

Overall: Well-rounded GPS, Fun to use, Efficient (runs about 36 hours on 4 AA), Practical.

The Garmin III+ does everything the ads say it will and It's fairly easy to use. Some book work is needed ,but it's fun stuff. If you like maps and navigating you would have to look pretty hard to do better than this model. Now the bad. The software you might have to buy is way too expensive and the ads lead you to believe you get a external ant. You do not. It costs almost a hundred bucks and you need to have it to get the most from the III+ model.

A GPS Story

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I was showing my GPS to a woman friend of mine. After a couple of minutes, she said to me, "Mac, this is just a toy for men!" I started to argue, but then I said, "Ya' know...you're right!"

But, what a useful toy (tool) it is!

My Background

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I am a systems/software engineer currently working on (trying to win a development contract for) the next version of the Military hand-held GPS receiver. It is called DAGR (Defense Advanced GPS Receiver, current version is called PLGR, Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver).

What we hear from our user groups (The soldiers) is that they want Garmins. (A lot of them buy them with their own money!) I have to agree with the soldiers. That's why I spent my own money on a III+.

How I Use My Garmin III+

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I have been using mine (first a III, then I upgraded to a III+) for about 1.5 years. I have hiked, biked, driven, and flown with it. I have the 3 Map CDs that are available as well. (US Road, US Topo, World Major Roads)

Here are some common ways that I use mine...

Navigating to an Address after getting the coordinates from Mapblast.com

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(1) Get the coordinates of virtually any address in the U.S. (and UK) by going to the "Map" section of Mapblast(http://www.mapblast.com/mblast/mAdr.mb) and typing in the address. You will get a map and the coordinates of the "X" that marks the address of the address that you typed in. (2) Take your Garmin and create a new waypoint with the coordinates from MapBlast. (3) Press the "Goto" Button, select your waypoint, and the unit will give you bearing and distance to your waypoint.

(Note: The Garmin eMap allows you to look up addresses on the unit (If you buy the data cartridge and Map CDs), but it doesn't have nearly the configurabiltiy that the III+ has. I'm waiting for the combination unit! Wireless connection to an address database would work too! Then I won't need MapBlast (and a computer) to get addresses.)

Giving (Pretty) Accurate Estimated Time of Arrivals (ETAs)

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You can set up your Garmin to display ETA based on your current speed and bearing. This really only gives good estimates if you are traveling more or less in a straight line to your destination or if you have input a route with all your turns. I have gotten pretty good at estimating when I will arrive somewhere, whether the distance is pretty large (ie: LA to SF) or small (20 miles or so).

Marking Where the Car is Parked.

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Whenever I hike or bike, I mark the place where the car is parked before I head out on the trail. Then, I set up the Garmin to point to the car. This way I always know how far I am from the car.

Also, I usually clear the track log (and the Trip Computer) before I start out so that I can use the TrakBack feature to tell me how far I am (actual trail distance) to the car or to direct me back, as the case may be.

Last Word

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I am very happy with my Garmin III+. Engineering types like me will almost certainly be as well.

I waited nearly a year for the introduction of the "plus" model and it has been well worth the wait. The folks at Garmin are extremely helpful (even if they consistantly promise delivery dates far sooner than the actual ship dates) and knowledgeable. The unit itself is built quite well. The screen is clear and the backlighting is more than sufficient. Make sure you update the unit's ROM with the most recent version from Garmins web site since they frequently improve the product's capabilities. Also, spend the extra $100 and get the US Roads and Recreations CD ROM. It lets you upload (via a PC) all streets and street names down to the level of dirt roads. For interstates, it has exit info which inlcudes not only whether there are hotels, food and gas there, but which hotels, which gas stations and the names of restaurants....incredible. Otherwise, I use it on my motorcycle, in my car, hiking, that was impressive as you knew exactly where you were and the unit will calculate when you will arrive. It's IMPOSSIBLE to get lost with this unit and for about $400 bucks, you can't beat it or have more fun.

I left Denver International Airport with my Garmin GPSIII Plus. I put it close to the window by my seat and watched. It was remarkable how every turn of the jet in the airport was faithfully reported by this unit and when we took of it showed the liftoff speed etc. Climbing out of Denver, it showed just where we were, our speed, ETE, ETA etc. Arriving in Chicago, I had to change planes to a smaller jet. Upon taking off, it was a real trip to watch Lake Michigan both out the window as well as on the GPS. The visual display and the look of the lake and the cities by the lake looked pretty much the same on the unit or out the window. It was fun and informative to watch how the Air Route Controllers do not direct the planes to the the destination by the most direct route. Anyway upon reaching Washington D.C it was a real nice to have it with me to navigate our nation's capitol. It is pricey but worth it. On the down side, the software did not show some of the streets in my suburban neighborhood and the software should have been a little more up to date when I bought it.