Customer Reviews

Garmin eTrex Venture Cx Waterproof Hiking GPS (Yellow)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I drove my wife crazy spending several weeks worth of nights researching which GPS to buy for my upcoming elk hunting trip in Colorado. After reading several reviews on Amazon about Magellan and Garmin, I decided to focus on Garmin, especially after my old Magellan stopped locking on.

The price of the Venture Cx immediately jumped out at me. As did one of the Amazon reviews about buying the Venture instead of the Legend Cx. So I started comparing features of the various units on Garmin's website. Should I go with the Legend or Vista or Venture, or spend another $200+ on a top of the line GPSMap 60CSx? I soon realized the Venture Cx had ALL of the features of the 60CSx except an altimter, compass and the new top of the line SIRF II chipset/receiver. So I figured I would buy the Venture Cx and try it out hunting in the dark timber and deep canyons of the West Elk Wilderness, and if I kept losing the signal I would return it and upgrade to the expensive 60CSx.

Well, needless to say, I am back from my week long hunt and was blown away that the unit never lost a signal in the deepest of dark timber, and I mean deep! Sometimes it would jump around a bit as you walked, but it always corrected itself in a second or two and never lost the signal. Before I left I bought a 512MB micro SD card for $15, the US Topo for $75 from Amazon, loaded the maps for the area I would be hunting, and I always knew where I was and even what road I was quading on. My other friends all had GPS's but not the mapping kind. They were also blown away by the mapping accuracy and how quickly the unit would start up and acquire a position, even in the dark forest. I kept the unit on most of the time as I hunted so it would leave my track in case I wanted to back track, and I still have 2 of 3 bars on my rechargeable NiHM batteries after 7 days.

So, bottom line, if you want an incredibly feature rich, mapping GPS, don't waste your money on the more expensive Legend or Vista Cx, nor the top of the line GPS Map60 CSx. Go with the bright easy to find yellow Venture Cx, buy your own USB cable (or use the one that came with your digital camera like I did) and buy a higher capacity Micro SD card (the Legend Cx only comes with 64MB), buy the US Topo from Amazon and you are rockin and rollin for geocaching, hunting/hiking in deep dark timber, and turn by turn navigating around your home city and the USA.

I been using a standard eTrex for years and always liked it. But plotting positions on a map became a hassle, so I started looking for a mapping GPS. I was surprised to find a unit like this for $[...] after rebate. The rebate form was uncomplicated and I received it promptly within the time frame specified. Amazon shipped the same day that I ordered and I received the product ahead of schedule.

I'm very impressed with this unit. Sharp display, intuitive operation, long battery life, very good reception, and more features than I can list here. The base map included in firmware includes all interstates and major bodies of water, plus information of amenities available near interstate exits; hotels, restaurant, service stations, you name it. But to take full advantage of it's capabilities, you'll need to upload detailed maps from disk, available separately. If you plan to use the device both on the road and afield, I'd recommend the USA Topo mapping software as it contains both roads and detailed topographics for the entire US.

The unit does not come with a mini USB cable or a memory card. I found this to be no problem as the cables that came with my PDA and camera work fine with this unit. If you don't have a mini USB cable you can probably buy one for a few bucks as it's a standard configuration. I'd recommend updating the units firmware (a free download from Garmin) as soon as you get a cable.

The lack of a memory card (Micro SD, 1 gigabyte max) isn't a problem either as it allows you to pick out the size you want. A 512 megabyte runs about $20 and will hold the topo maps for about half of the USA.

Some people have complained that Garmin should have included the cable, software, and memory chip with the unit. If you want everything in one package, consider the eTrex Legend Cx, which is esentially the same unit with those items included. I prefer this unit because it will work right out of box; you can try it out and decide which accessories you want later. The bright yellow case makes easy to find.

The combination toggle lever/enter key makes entering data quick and easy, but it has a drawback; if you carry the unit in your pocket it's prone to get moved about taking you to different screens. This isn't a major problem as you can return to the previous screens with a few presses of the page/back key, but can be a nuisance.

I like the fact that this unit requires just two AA batteries; they're cheap and available everywhere. My tests have shown 29 hours of battery life with the backlight off.

Finally, the small high resolution screen is very detailed, but if you have trouble reading fine print this might not be the right unit for you.

Overall, this is an outstanding unit and the price makes it a best buy.

This is my first GPS unit. I bought it mostly for hiking around in the wilderness, as well as measuring my speed while in a car (it is more accurate than a typical speedometer, like 1/10 of a MPH in the right conditions).

The Venture CX feels very solid. One tiny detail I was not thrilled with is that the microSD card slot was not machined very well. I had to push the card (not included, of course) to get it in place harder than I do on many other devices I've used (Mp3 players, digital cameras). With a tiny microSD card, as fragile as it feels, it bugs me, but since I connect to my computer through a (albeit slow) USB interface, I don't have to take the card in and out.

The included basemap is very weak, don't expect much. I had a 2004 version of Mapsource Metrosource 6.0, and using Metrowizzz (free) I am able to load the maps onto the unit and have the Venture CX calculate turn by turn directions to any address I enter. The cool thing about navigation is it tells you the distance between you and the next turn, and it beeps once in advance to tell you the turn is coming up, then when you're very close to it it beeps twice and tells you to turn (i.e. a message on the LCD "Turn left onto Main St.").

Also, you can adjust the backlight level, and set the amount of time the backlight stays on. When you turn on the device and then turn the backlight on, it will go off on its own in the amount of time specified. If you are in navigation mode, when the unit beeps to tell you about an upcoming turn, the light comes on automatically. It's really a clever design and allows you to focus on the road, and not burn up battery power by running the backlight unnecessarily.

The one major knock is the documentation, which is bad (a discussion forum search finds that the Venture / Legend CX are not alone when it comes to bad documentation). The manual tells you what the options are, but does not bother to explain them! An example is that you can choose a "battery saver mode". The manual does not explain, not even one lousy line, what this mode does (after doing a web search, I found out that it refreshes location every 5 seconds instead of every 1 second). There are other examples of this poor/missing detail. For that, I'm knocking one star off. I would hope that Garmin, whose GPS units are found in airplanes and boats all over the world, would like to tout the neat features of their GPS units by fully explaining to their owners how to use them.

In summary, I love the unit and even though I haven't had it in the wilderness yet, it is such a fun gadget to have that I wonder how I got by without it! Loving gadgets, I like to know how they work and how to use them to their fullest and I think Garmin needs to seriously improve the documentation of these units.

This is a great unit, the whole GPS thing is better than sliced bread. That said, the base maps with this unit suck. That may not be fair if you only use major highways or for hiking but I was very unimpressed. I had access to City Navigator v8 since I have the Garmin GPS 18 set up on my laptop (my first GPS) and used for major auto trips. I purchased a 2 GB microSD (they can be had for south of $25) and loaded the entire USA on about 83% so IMHO getting the more expensive eTrex with the (tiny) microSD Card and data cable is a waste (if you have a digital camera you probably have the needed data cable). Battery life is unbelievable about 30 hours on 2 AA and for $10 one can find a car plug. A small unit like this won't give you verbal directions, it does beep to let you know that "something" is up but to be honest in a car you can hardly hear it. I've not really used it outdoors much for other than to track just how far I walk (workout) and tried (found) a Geocache for grins. A $14 motorcycle mount works very well on my bike Sportster 883XL (stock handlebars) and you do NOT replace the back of the unit, just add the clip that comes with the eTrex. That "new" back that comes with the bike clip won't even fit a Cx unit due to the microSD card and it's not waterproof, toss it.

I don't need a GPS daily, if I'm going on a major car drive I'll set up my GPS 18. This unit the eTrex (Venture Cx) is my handy dandy quick grab and it's a compromise but can be used for the car, my bike or on foot. My wife and I recently had to go to a family thing in NC I'd never really been there, so this was my first real use of this unit and I was impressed. Prior to leaving using my computer (camera data cable) and my Garmin Mapsource I located the hotel, event location, and the house we needed to go to. I should have input the Airport (could have done it there but just didn't think about it) but the unit bailed me out (more on that later). It does take the unit a bit to "log on and lock" maybe a minute or two so it's not a big deal. Once locked on I lit up the hotel waypoint and the little unit took us there. I just held it (or handed it to my wife) and although a small screen it gave me the next turn, distance all the things a GPS is suppose to do. Later my wife found a restaurant and when I hit the find button with POI there it was and off we went, no muss no fuss. On another occassion we went out to another restaruant with a local who rode with us and took us in such away as only a local can. Dinner done we wanted to go back to our hotel and since his wife met us there we were going to be on our own, it was dark and we were clueless as to where we were. Not a problem, lit up the GPS and on our way, made a wrong turn at the start and missed a turn in a dark rural area but the unit just recalculated and took us on in. My wife who hates all these gadget but clearly does not want to be lost was impressed. On the way back to the Airport was a bit off only because I did not create a waypoint. Using the "find" button it kept finding the closest one which was not the one I wanted. Not a real problem, I got on the highway headed towards the right airport and about 10 miles out hit the find button, went to transport and there was a list of Car Rental places, even better. Found my rental office and the unit took me in the front gate. So I have to say this unit has the potential to be great but as I started out the base maps suck. It's not a perfect car/camp/bike GPS but it "can" do all those things well plus slip in your pocket. Since I already owned the map and could install it to the micrSD card that was a good thing, if I had to pay an extra $125 for a decent map, well that's another. I hope to return to Europe for a bit of an adventure but a decent map of Europe is like $225 from Garmin, nice to have but a bit steep for a few weeks travel. It's not quite as bad a buying printer for $30 then having to get ink for $300 someone should start a Map Library, seems if you can rent a movie why not a map. "Help Me Will Robinson"

Just arrived yesterday and this is only an intro review, but I was surprised that this 200buck device doesn't come with the USB cable needed to connect it to your PC. It uses a fairly standard mini-usb connector that you can buy at a gadget store but annoying that this is the case. Be sure to get a cable when you buy if you want to upload maps and create waypoints.

It also bears mentioning that the device comes with absolutely no software on CD at all. You get a very basic world map built into the device and that's it for maps. Any additional maps must be bought from garmin and cost 80-100bucks each.

This model uses microSD memory cards which is a nice upgrade from previous models. There's now really no limit to how much map info you can store in the device if you buy a large capacity microSD card.

I like the device, but Garmin is really nickle and diming the consumer of its products. For the cost, there should be a USB cable in the box. Maps should cost no more than 50bucks tops.

I purchased the Garmin Venture Cx specifically for geocaching. I had originally purchased the Garmin Legend Cx, but quickly realized that the price difference does not add up. The Legend Cx is essentially the same unit with a 64MB microSD card, a mini USB cable, and the Waypoint Manager CD. You can currently find 1GB microSD cards for under twenty dollars, most digital cameras come with a mini USB cable (I use the cable from my Blackberry phone), and the Waypoint Manager software is not really required (if you purchase maps later the software is included). Also, depending on the application, there are plenty of shareware programs that do a fair job of transferring data to your GPS. Also, I like the fact that the Venture Cx is yellow, as it is much harder to lose if you set it down while hiking. In my opinion, the only trade up for the Venture Cx is the GPSMap 60Csx.

The Venture Cx has excellent accuracy, the only improvement being the 60x/76x line with SiRF technology. I occasionally get some settling issues in heavy tree cover or when close to tall buildings, but this is OK since geocaching in Austin, Texas, is much different than in other regions.

I loaded City Navigator v8 on my GPS after some frustration with geocaching in San Antonio (mostly not knowing which streets to turn down) and have been pleasantly surprised with the autorouting capabilities of the unit. If I make a wrong turn it will calculate a corrected route. The unit beeps when I get within 0.1 miles of a turn, then beeps twice when the turn is within 100 feet. Incredibly handy!

At first I was hesitant to purchase a Garmin based on the navigation button layout, since Magellan moved their buttons to the front of the unit and the buttons are clearly labeled. However, after trying out an Explorist 400, I realized the Garmin is right for me. It really comes down to a preference in interfaces. The Garmin seems more like the icon-based systems I am used to, whereas the Magellan is more folder based (Windows versus DOS is the only way I can describe it). This is not to be rude to the Magellan, as it is a fine unit as well, just different.

The Venture Cx is also the lowest priced GPS unit with a color screen. This is a very attractive addition once you add maps to the unit. Color lines help delineate roads from rivers, and really help differentiate waypoint icons (restaurants, banks, hospitals, geocaches, etc.).

The only thing missing is an electronic compass and barometric altimeter. These features are included in the Vista Cx. However, if you are going to make the jump to the Vista, you may as well get the GPSMap 60Csx or 76Csx.

I read every review I could find on this product before buying it. I guess I should have heeded the "doesn't work well in canyons or in heavily forested areas" ones. Most of my hiking is around the Pacific NorthWest. Somehow I thought that I was only hiking in not-so-heavily forested areas. Apparently I was wrong. Even on the top of a smallish mountain, the highest point for miles around, I didn't get a strong enough signal for the GPS to locate me. I could see that it was getting a signal from about 6 satellites, but they weren't strong enough to do anything with.

So if you hike in the forest, don't expect this to be able to keep track of your location. My electronic breadcrumb trail was non-existent.

Also, Garmin's products are among the LEAST Macintosh-friendly GPS units out there.

Otherwise, everything else worked as advertised. But if I buy another GPS unit, it would probably be the 60Cx which has the better receiver.

The other problem I had was that the first unit that I bought (directly from Amazon, not some other retailer or used seller) had been opened and used. It was covered with pocket lint, was missing the screen-protector sticker, and the screen was covered in fingerprints. I also ordered the memory card that Amazon suggested I buy. Bad idea! It told me to buy a MiniSD card, but it should have been a MICROSD card. That's entirely my fault for not double-checking, but still, Amazon shouldn't have suggested it. That card was direct from Amazon and was supposed to be new, but had been cut open and used.

Luckily, Amazon customer service sent me a replacement for both immediately! I was happy about that, but not so happy when I opened the new shipment and realized that the Venture they sent me was even MORE used than the first one! The memory card had also been used.

The Venture CX is a great mapping GPS. I used it on a trip to Peru and Bolivia (including an 8 day trek through the Andes), and I have no complaints.

Note that it has the same hardware as the other Garmin CX models, lacking just a few things that are all unimportant or easily worked around. Compared to the Legend CX and/or Vista CX, the Venture CX is *lacking* the following:

- Electronic compass. This is only needed if you're standing still; otherwise, the Venture CX figures out which way you're facing by which direction you're heading.
- Barometric altimeter. The Venture CX can still determine your altitude from the GPS signals. It might be less accurate than a barometric altimeter, but I didn't notice any horribly inaccurate readings during my trek through the Andes, which ranged from about 5000 to 13,500 feet.
- 64MB MicroSD card. Getting a separate 1GB MicroSD card is about ten dollars these days, and 64MB is fairly small for storing things like topo maps, anyway.
- USB cable. It uses a standard mini USB plug, so I just used the cable that came with my digital camera.
- MapSource software. Several different free applications (including Google Earth) can be used to move data to or from the GPS. Garmin's MapSource software might be nice, but it's not necessary for most things.

The unit itself is great.
- Its battery life is excellent: I routinely got four or more days (~7-8 hours a day) of track recording out of a pair of alkaline AA cells.
- Fine reception. On an 8-day trek, I only lost the signal a few times, total, never for more than a few minutes, and usually in extremely steep canyons. I was carrying it in a cargo pocket on my pants, which isn't the best place for signal strength, anyway.
- The screen was clear and bright; it is transreflective, so there is no need for the backlight at all during the day. At night the lowest backlight setting was perfectly adequate, which helps the battery life.
- Lots of useful built-in features. It is my first GPS, so I can't compare it to others in this regard, but I enjoyed things like the "trip odometer," which records time moving and stopped separately, giving average speeds for each, along with lots of other data. That was great for keeping track of our pace while hiking.
- And the most important to me, though a bit esoteric, was the ability for me to load custom-made topographic maps. The process is fairly involved, requiring many different applications (all free downloads), but if you're up for it, know that it is possible to download digital elevation data (produced by NASA) for almost any region on Earth, produce a high-quality topographic map, and upload it to this GPS. You can't even buy topo maps for most of the world for this unit, so being able to make and use them for free is a great feature in my opinion.

My first GPS and I have had no problems at all. Bought primarily for geocaching, but working well for car navigation as well. Able to get out caching right from the box. Still have more to learn, but has been a great first GPS.

After careful evaluation of several reviews I chose this gps as the one to buy and Im glad I did. I also purchased mapsource US Topo to go with it, for back country hiking, driving or just knowing where you are it will do everything you could ask of a gps. It is accurate down to 7' which isnt bad, itll tell you elevation, speed, verticle speed, direction and a whole lot more. My only gripe is the little screen but I have excellent vision so its not that bad, however someone with bad eyes may find it a stuggle to read the screen if you have the device on the dash of a car while driving down a country dirt road, I love this thing. Dont buy the vista or legend buy this, then by the 512mb card to go into it and then get mapsource US Topo and youll be set. Oh ya, one more thing, more than half of the United States will fit on the 512mb card with detail on high! NICE!~!!