Customer Reviews

Garmin eMap Deluxe Hiking GPS

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

 

 

I have used the eMap on several driving trips along the east coast and found it easy to use and the base map fairly accurate. BUT, I purchased the Roads & Recreation CD-ROM and found that maps in the North Carolina region are over 5 years old. I contacted Garmin and they confirmed that no updates have been published and they have no policy regarding providing updates to the maps! While I like the functionality of downloading more detailed maps into the GPS, investing $100 in obsolete maps and a company who doesn't seem to view this as a problem bothers me.

About 3 months ago I bought myself a Garmin eMAP gps and I amstill amused by it. It really amazes me how I can be holding a toolabout the size of my hand that could take me around the world with close to pinpoint accuracy. To think, only 5 years ago, this would be impossible without severe chart plotting and hours of time (GPS time: about 15 seconds).

The eMap in my opinion is better than the GPS III+ in a couple of ways. The eMap is cheaper, has more memory, and is more useful for the average person. Features include: 2AA battery compartment(up to 14 hours operation), high-resolution display, illuminated light background, 500 personal waypoint storage, 12-parallel satellite capability, powerful antenna, splash resistant, highly detailed basemap, and a satellite status page. This GPS comes with other nice features, but ill let you play with those.

If you do end up purchasing this item, I would highly recommend getting the leather carrying case for it. It is not too expensive and will prevent the GPS from getting scratched or damaged.

The eMAP is ideal for driving. Its basemap includes highways, freeways, off/on ramps, buildings, *residential streets, beaches, coast lines, and much more. If you plan to use this gps primarily for driving, I would also recommend getting the "MapSource Roads and Recreation CD" to add even more detailed info on the GPS (however, it is quite expensive at about $100).

Overall Evaluation: A Great well-rounded capability, durable, fun to use!

*= only with the MapSource CD END

Purchased about 3 weeks ago and have used it alot. I liked the keys on the bottom of the unit, you can use them and see the screen at the same time. The detail is nice but it requires you to purchase an 8mg card and download an area's detail and then it will give a fairly detailed street level info for a given city or region. Forget trying to load more than one city or region at a time with the 8 mg card. City like Houston takes up the entire card's memory. Really like the automatic tracking feature, and its "track back" feature. The instruction book is not all that good, I have found some features are not very clearly explained in the material. But in all, for the price, and for my frequent road trips (200 -400 miles) is a nice tool. One other thing, the GPS comes really with nothing. Recommend the buyer also by the carring case, at least the 8mg card, PC cable (if you buy the softeare for detail downloads), and car battery charger.

The Emap is simply the best personal mapping GPS available.The screen is very legible and the base map is fairly complete withmost Federal and State highways. It also shows services available at interstate exits such as gas, food, and lodging.

Emap supports downloadable maps, but you must get the propriatary Garmin software which is pretty expensive. To get the most out of the Emap, you really need to get either the Roads and Recreation or the MetroGuide software. Both provide street level detail for the entire U.S. including all city streets and local roads.

The Roads and Recreation maps are downloaded on a county by county basis. You can select up to 99 counties to load, although the 8MB cartridge can only hold about 40-45 counties. The MetroGuide software downloads entire 8MB sections, so you can only use one section at a time. If you do much traveling outside your area, you will need extra cartridges for additional MetroGuide areas.

MetroGuide does offer address finding and area points of interest that Roads & Recreation doesn't, but for most people, R&R will be enough.

You owe it to yourself to check out the map viewer to see which software package you need. The map viewer shows exactly the information that will be downloaded to the Emap. Keep in mind that only one section at a time can be downloaded from the MetroGuide unless you have the 16MB cartridge.

Overall, this is an excellent map unit for travel use. It doesn't offer route planning, but you can manually set up waypoints along your route and it will tell you which direction they are and when you are getting close. I just wish that other mapping companies' maps could be downloaded rather than depending on the pricy Garmin software.

As someone without a built-in sense of direction - well, ok, I've got one, but it's only right about 50% of the time - I can honestly say that the E-Map is a really useful tool. There are things that could be better, but what you get in small device is pretty amazing. I've been using the E-Map on my motorcycle during the commute to and from work and it's given me a lot more confidence to go explore alternate routes (like when traffic is heavy). I've always been one to cruise around neighborhoods and side streets anyway, and there's something reassuring about having that big arrow on the E-Map pointing in the direction you should be heading.

Here are some things I've learned that might be helpful:

- The E-Map is smaller than I thought it would be. It's closer to the size of a TV remote control than a palm pilot. More elongated, and not very thick. It's very comfortable in the hand, and easily fits in a normal jacket pocket.

- It's more solid than I was led to believe in reviews that I've read. When you pick it up, it's got a nice "heft" to it. Definitely no loose electronics rattling around inside it or anything like that. Solid, professional feel.

- The built-in road data, while pretty cool in principal, didn't have the resolution that I'd hoped. While the larger streets are shown, most of the neighborhood streets I use were not.

- Garmin's handlebar mount does work, but it's not the most solid thing in the world. For a bicycle, it's fine. For a motorcycle, be sure to mount it out of the wind and put the lanyard around something just in case. (that being said, I haven't had any problems with it yet).

- As another poster mentioned, battery life isn't so great. I get 4-6 hours of use out of it with a pair of new duracells.

- I had no problems using it at night. The backlight is more than sufficient.

- If you load the Metro Guide data (which I highly recommend) for a region, the main navigation screen will not only display the map of where you are (scrolling as you drive), but will also display the name of the cross streets before you come to them (usually, anyway). This is a really handy feature if you're looking for a particular turn.

- The user interface for examining one of the "points of interest" on the screen is a little tedious (because of the way you have to move the pointer), but using the "find" feature to look up a point of interest works pretty well. In general, the controls are pretty easy to master and you get to where you can handle most functions with one thumb.

Overall, I've got no regrets about purchasing it. For someone like me who needs help navigating now and then, it's perfect.

This is a nice unit, and it is interesting to read the glowing reviews of customers who have owned the Garmin eMap for two or three weeks. I have owned the unit for over a year. It works well in the US. It will not guide you street by street to a location, but it will guide you "as the crow flys." You get a straight line between you and the destination. It works.

It does not work well in Europe. I purchased the UK and French CDs. I installed them on the memory card and used them in England, Wales, and all over France. The first problem is that the Garmin eMap just doesn't pick up or hold on to the GPS satellites in Europe very well. It may be that they are too far south or that the antenna is designed for use in US latitudes. I have no explanation but if you intend to use this in Europe, look for another unit.

The second problem is that even after loading the UK and French MetroGuides, when you press the Find button you get a list of US cities. I disabled the US city maps and I still got the list of US cities. You cannot "Find" and navigate to a foreign city. The only way to navigate is to know where the city is, then scroll to it on the tiny eMap screen and click on it. If you don't know where the city or tiny Welsh village is, then you are completely out of luck. Very frustrating either way. Again, if you are travelling out of the US you should steer clear of the eMap.

My other problem is with Garmin's service. I could not get my eMap to communicate with my laptop. It communicated with three different workstations, but not my Dell laptop. Garmin tech support insisted that there was obviously something wrong with my laptop. I even read them the error messages from the MapSource program, which cited program line numbers with errors in them. They insisted that the problem was my laptop, not their software. I own my own software company, so I know a software problem from a hardward problem. My modem and PalmPilot work on the laptop but the Garmin does not. Garmin's support staff refused to help or even acknowledge that there was a problem. They refused to bring the problem up with a senior support person or a programmer. I got the same answer no matter how many times I called and no matter who I spoke with. A year went by and I got along by using a workstation. Recently Garmin made an update available for their MapSource program that fixed a communications bug with some laptops. I downloaded it and magically my laptop started communicating with the eMap.

If you never need customer support, and you won't travel out of the US, then the eMap is a product you should seriously consider.

This is one GREAT little mapping tool! I bought about 3 weeks ago and am loving it. It is very east to operate and has many features. It is a GPS that you can slip into your shirt pocket, and the controls are simple to use. Although there are most features necessary for navigation, there are a few shortcomings. For one, it is not rated water submersible. In fact, it is not sealed and is just rated "rain resistant." This could cause problems when using this unit anywhere around water or if hiking during a bad thunderstorm. It does not do an automatic address to address routing. Although, with a MetroGuide map loaded with the information you need, you can "Find" a specific address and the eMap will point it out to you. It records the altitude but that page is embedded several layers deep. In the map display, you cannot see the map section boundaries at zoom levels less than 30 miles. Several maps (on CD) are available from Garmin for downloading. I bought the MetroGuide USA, World Map, US (including Alaska & Hawaii) Topo Map, MetroGuide Italy and Roads & Rec. Italy. I will take this to Italy with me in Sept. and to China in Nov. I love it. It has a lot of neat features. Also bought the cigarette lighter adapter, dash mounting bracket and external antenna. I have not hooked up the external antenna yet but have not had any problems getting reception in the pickup with the built-in antenna. Cannot get reception indoors. The MapSource maps are pricey but are complete. Would probably not need two maps for Italy.

I think this is a great GPS and would recommend it to anyone who wants an easy-to-use "Shirt-pocket" size GPS map.

I recently took my E-Map on a 3400 mile motorcyle trip. The GPS worked well with some notable exceptions. First, the battery capacity of the dry cells are greatly over estimated. The first day out, which was cool, I coaxed 6 hours out of new batteries. The second day, which was in the high 90's, I could only get 2 hours use out of new batteries! Once it cooled in the evening, the batteries did come back on line. I quit using it after I ran out of batteries. If using the light system you get even fewer hours of use. Clearly the only solution is to use the power capable, available at an extra charge.

The road network available on the system is generally adequate, but when you get onto rural State roads, they are often not covered. Then the GPS just shows you in some gray wasteland.

The good news is, it is very accurate! At times I could tell what side of the road I was on! The ability to use lat/longs has also made a good backup for my boat and a primary GPS on some small boats. Very limited for hiking because of the battery problems. I have not purchased any downloadable programs yet.

I would purchase this GPS again but only with the power cord.

I wanted a GPS primarily for driving and finding addresses. The Garmin EMAP deluxe does exactly for that purpose, and does it extremely well!

First of all, if you want to find specific addresses, you need to get the metroguide CD and download detail map info into your GPS. Otherwise, all you get is major roadways and highways. You won't get lost, but if the house you're looking for is located on some local road, you won't find it. You need a data cartridge to hold the detail maps. The emap deluxe comes with an 8 mb cartridge. 8 MB is sufficient, although I think it should've come with 16 MB.... You also need a PC interface cable, which also comes with emap deluxe.

8 MB will hold detail maps for approximately a radius of 25-30 miles. If you're driving across states, bring a laptop and the cd.

The screen is sufficiently large so that you won't have to scroll painfully. The display is clear, and the backlighting is very nice in that you don't lose any contrast. You can look at the thing in pitch blackness and you'll see the map extremely well.

This gadget is extremely fun to watch, and very satisfying-- i.e. you won't be disappointed in terms of what it can do-- whether those functionalities are worth (the price), that's a different question. If you drive a lot and get lost a lot, or if you wish you can find shortcuts if you're stuck in traffic, it's definitely worth it. Also keep in mind that the metroguide CDs cost (extra).

I wrote a review on the emap a while back in April and am now reviewing from a long-term perspective.

The emap is still SO much fun to use. I use it every time I go off-roading, cruising, bikeing, or hiking. I have not yet had one glitch in the unit and it still runs as good as day one! It hasn't gone through much toruture because it has been mounted in my SUV, but it has held up very nicely!

Since my last review, Garmin has updated the software on the emap which adds a sunrise/sunset/moonrise/moonset feature which is VERY NICE! It gives you an attractive little diagram of the earth and where the sun and moon are along with written info.

I have used the emap to its capability and would still HIGHLY recommend this GPS to anyone because it is very adaptable to any lifestyle. Garmin even makes a handle bar mount for you to take it on your bike or atv. There are just endless possibilities with this little contraption.

Overall Grade: VERY recommendable! If you want the technical info, look at my APRIL review.