Customer Reviews

Garmin Quest 2 Portable Weatherproof Handheld GPS with MapSource City Maps

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Ok here is an expert review. I looked at speed in recalulating, speed in changing directions, voice and brightness. I give all a 4 to 5 rating.

1. The unit is slow recalulating, infact at times my GPS V was faster. Here is the trick. The memory(hd) is super large in this unit and all maps are install. All you have to do is go into the maps and uncheck the maps you do not need. I live on the east coast therefore I unchecked all westcoast, midwest and canada. Did speed test now unit is Twice as fast as my GPS V. Simple... When you need the other maps loaded just go in and check them.
Vocie is clear and loud. I am looking for a way to install into a fm modulator.
Screen is bright.
This unit is small and compact and works for me, I have a GPS 3plus, GPS V and now Quest 2 and use them all on diff. vehicles. and ATV. I recommed the Quest 2 over the 1 no need to carry a laptop anymore. Better then the Streetpilot and faster if you uncheck several unused maps.

I bought this because even though I never have had difficulty reading maps, it is a royal pain to do it on a motorcycle! I have the Quest II mounted on the handlebar by the left grip ('91 BMW K100RS) with the RAM mounting system. Though it is has an integral battery, I opt to power it by the motorcycle battery, because I like to leave the background light on all the time at night when driving. I bought the Garmin motorcycle accessory mount for this which provides power and audo connectibility.

I was a little concerned at first when I saw the screen size, 'cause I thought it a bit small, but it is not a problem. When it is time for a turn, the screen zooms in and increases the type size so it's no struggle at all to read. However, I also have the audio hooked up to my AUTOCOM Intercom system so I also hear the voice alerts. Very impressive. It tells you (both visual and voice) well ahead of time that you will have a turn coming up to the right, so you then have more than adequate time to move over into the right lane. The next audio alert allows much time for braking and signalling. I look at the screen to confirm (I'm just that way), and it's never been wrong yet. I took a trip to Asheville (NC) this weekend and punched in the address for the restaurant we wanted to go to, and when it was time for dinner I hit "find" and it routed correctly through three freeway changes, tricky on-off ramp routing and one-way streets to basically a back-alley address. Incredible. I know that even with great map-reading skills a master navigator couldn't have done the same so efficiently with the kind of maps most of us carry (state, not city, maps).

If for some reason the map CD is not included in the box (because the map is preloaded on the unit they say), contact Garmin and they will mail you one (free). Advance route mapping is so much easier on your computer than trying to do it on the unit itself. This is especially important for motorcycle riders who usually do not want to go from point A to point B in the most direct manner (we like the scenic routes).

I'm into maximum bang for the buck. This is it. You can spend twice as much, but why?

UPDATE 7/13/07:
I still love this unit. Yes, prices are coming down on other (fancier) units, but what makes this still a winner is that you can use it with the internal battery as well. Example: Mount it in a car or on a motorcycle like normal (powered by 12 v adapter to have voice audio guidance available). At end of days journey, take GPS only inside hotel and use again (internal battery power) when you're wondering where the closest Chinese restaurant is that you can walk to. Go to restaurant, realize you need to visit ATM, whip GPS out of pocket and use it to guide you while walking to the ATM machine that's listed as being .28 miles away. Personally, I like being able to do all that with one pocket-sized, reasonably priced GPS.

We purchased the Quest II as a 2nd unit because we like our Quest I so much. Quest II is a *big* disappointment for one simple reason -- it's too slow. Garmin tech support says Quest II is 10-15% slower than Quest I due to the larger memory chip; we ran side-by-side comparisons with both versions, and our experience was more like 200-300% (we even tried another Quest II w/ same results). The Quest II is frequently late in announcing/displaying directions when there is a sequence of closely-spaced instructions; when you miss a turn in a city (where there's lots of data), the recalculation is too slow (it announces/displays instructions *after* you've passed the street to turn on, even when traveling at 5 mph); the screen redraw in a city is also very slow, sometimes so slow that you can't see upcoming streets and landmarks until it's too late. We offered recorded video to show to Garmin, but they simply acknowledged the performance and suggested that we purchase the Quest I instead. So we did. You should, too. The new features in the Quest II don't come anywhere close to making up for the poor performance, but the Quest I is a great unit: small footprint for pedestrian use, voice instructions and reasonable screen for car use, int'l and topo maps available, etc.

Firmware v2.6 greatly increased overall speed of this unit. I was a little doubtful in February when I bought this, but it is now amazingly fast on POI search as well as route recalculation.

I really hoped this unit would work out for me. And initially it did. The software was good, directions good, POI good... but the deal-breaker? It's very slow in calculating and rerouting. In fact, its unusably slow. And the unchecking of the maps as the other reviewer stated DOES NOT WORK. I tried the same by unchecking everything but Texas, where I live and guess what. Still slow. The problem with speed isn't so much with the initial routing... sure. you could sit in the parking lot for and extra 30 seconds while it figures out where you need to go. The problem that was really serious is the map drawing and redrawing which is especially problematic when you are taking multiple turns in a row. The graphics can't keep up with your actual location. Furthermore, when you miss a turn it takes a good 30-60 seconds to recalculate which is unacceptable in real-world driving situations. Even worse.. if you continue driving while it recalculates, chances are you'll pass where it wanted you to turn during the recalculation forcing it into yet another recalculation. From my "testing" of the unit over the last month, you really have to stop the car and wait for it to recalculate in order for it to work correctly. Another annoying feature is the speaker which is connected to the car charger. The voice prompts will only function if you plug the unit in. So if you want to run it on batteries instead... tough luck. All you get are beeps. After much thought, i've decided to return the unit...very disappointed that it didn't work out for me.

It is small and light weight, probably perfect for hikers. I think the battery is supposed to last 5-8hrs away from the car. The software is pretty versatile and it lets you do a lot. My biggest complaint is that it is very slow. I'll be typing in a name to help filter my destination choices, and if it is more than 5-10 miles away, it takes forever for it to show up. I end up not knowing if the destination (say McDonalds) doesn't exist nearby, or if I just spelled it wrong. Additionally when I pass up a turn I don't want to make, it goes into "Recalculating...". Then it finishes in time to tell me to turn right just as I'm driving through the intersection...."Recalculating..." again. I think she does it on purpose. This product would probably be fine for anyone who drives at half the speed limit.

I bought the Quest 2 after researching all the Garmin products, plus the products from Magellan and Dell (Dell's PDA/GPS is not going to be continued).

I was literally able to open the box and set up the unit on battery power. The maps are pre-loaded, so finding locations is a matter of setting state, city, and address. Everything has worked, mostly..

The but part..the documentation is not as complete as I'd like it, and some things, like how to charge the internal battery (or if it can be charged), are nonexistant.

I mapped a trip to my folks in Arkansas, and it did a lot of recalculating when I knew the shortest route and it didn't. And it had their house on the wrong side of the road.

Locally, it had me turning onto streets that didn't exist.

I will look for map updates (and hope they exist) in the future. I'm a month into ownership, and so far, I'm impressed.

Disappointed. It works great in the suburbs if there aren't a lot of streets close together. Way too slow calculating/recalculating in larger towns and cities. Also, my unit's antenna stopped working after a month. I bought an external antenna and it works fine, but I bought this unit for the compact size. I wish I bought something else.

I have used several Garmin GPS units in the past and was really undecided over the Quest II or the more expensive units. Once I received this unit it did all and more than what I was expecting. Unit is fast in calculating routes as long as you select what regions you will be traveling to, is very user friendly and highly recommended if you understand using GPS units.....I am very satisfied with this unit!

1. The hardware is unbelievable, fantastic, etc.
2. The software is so-so; it needed an immediate factory upgrade, and appears to work satisfactorily after.
3. The manual is rather unsatisfactory and incomplete ('secret' instructions), and much detracts from a superb product.
4. The controls are not so much non-intuitive as anti-intuitive. I would guess they came about as successive layers of patches, work-arounds and second thoughts. One wishes Garmin had hired someone from Apple to design the interface with humans.
5. The technical support I contacted was knowledgable and very helpful.
6. Of course there are minor glitches - a sanguine attitude is helpful.