Customer Reviews

Garmin eTrex Vista Handheld GPS Navigator

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I bought the Meridian Platinum and the Garmin Vista to do a technical comparison. They are both great units with similar price and features. I also tested the next level down: Meridian Gold and the Garmin Legend with similar results. Here's my take:

If small size and high resolution are important to you, buy the Garmin.

If you prefer a larger screen, larger buttons, a floating unit, or something that can be viewed beyond an armslength away, get the Magellan. If you require reading glasses, avoid the Garmin.

Here is a list of specific comments:
- Size: Garmin fits easily in a shirt pocket. Magellan is 114% larger by volume and is better suited for a fanny pack or large coat pocket.
- Weight: Magellan is 51% heavier.
- Display: Magellan display is 66% larger, viewable beyond an arm's length. Garmin not viewable beyond an arm's length.
- Pixels: Garmin has over twice as many pixels.
- Resolution: With the smaller display and higher pixel count, the Garmin screen resolution is about four times greater.
- Both are waterproof. Magellan floats...Garmin doesn't.
- Reception: Magellan had slightly better reception, probably due to larger internal antenna.
- Screen protection: Magellan has a raised frame around display to help prevent scratches, but it also collects lots of dust on the screen as a result.
- Maps/waypoints: Low resolution for the Magellan made small map features difficult to discern. Garmin much easier to read with a large variety of highly detailed map symbols/icons.
- Features: Similar for both, but the Magellan had a few extras I liked: audible alerts for turns, a "windshield" navigation view with waypoints drawn in the "distance", a "speedometer" view with dial, sun and moon location displayed on the compass dial.
- Buttons/knobs: Garmin's buttons are all on the sides and are very small. You won't be able to operate them with gloves. I like the little joystick for the left thumb very much, but folks with clumsy hands will not. Magellan's buttons are large, easy, and labelled.
- Magnetic compass: Garmin must be held flat for this feature. Magellan's compass works in any position. (With motion, separate heading indicator works at any orientation on both units.)
- Battery life and accuracy: About the same for both.
- PC cable/DC car adapter: Garmin slides onto the back. Magellan has an awkward screw-in device.
- Mapping Memory: Garmin has 24 MB ready for upload from mapping software (sold separately). Magellan requires additional memory card...
- Owner's Manual: Garmin provides complete owner's manual. Magellan only provides a quick-start manual. Complete manual is electronic and divided into two files.
- User interface: I found the Garmin software and menus to be slightly more intuitive.

Result: I wanted a small unit for outdoor activities and occasional automobile travel. I like small, high-precision devices with lots of detail. I kept the Garmin.

I also ordered the car dash mount, DC auto adapter, belt carry case, and MapSource MetroGuide USA CD. I have been very pleased with each of them.

As a business traveler, I've been privy to some very cool emerging technologies. One of these gadgets are the GPS devices that are appearing in rental cars. The company from which I rent provides an in-car GPS that has more advanced features than what you'll find in a handheld, but the maker of the product is Magellen. With this in mind I set out to get a GPS of my own.

I didn't need fancy talking directions; I was looking to this device for play. I live in the Rockies, and my wife and I like to explore dirt trails on the weekends. A little off-roading can lead to hours of fun, but it can also get you lost in a hurry. As well, I wanted something for Geocaching. (...) This being my first GPS, I wanted to also make sure that the GPS I selected would grow with me.

With the name Magellen in mind, I quickly found an array of devices here on Amazon. The reviews proved mixed, so I headed to another review site for back-up. Reviews there were mixed too, and one individual even suggested the Garmin outright. I talked to a few friends, hit a few sporting goods stores, and in the end, the Garmin eTrex series fit the bill.

The Vista in particular is the top of the eTrex line, and you won't be disappointed if you're looking for the same qualities I was. As GPS screens go, it was sizeable and clear. Though built for left-handed individuals (and I'm right-handed), the QuickStick feature provides complete one-hand operation after you get used to it. The Vista also has the most memory of the eTrex line allowing you to hold more detailed maps should you decide to purchase them from Garmin. Don't get me wrong; the maps that are included are pretty thorough in their own right.

Among the top features that sold me on the Vista over the other eTrex devices, were the altimeter and the compass. The altimeter is nice, especially in the Rockies, but probably not the most useful feature for flatlanders. The compass is gold. If you tell a GPS device where you want to go, it will give you an arrow that points you in the right direction. However, that arrow only works while you are moving. If you want to stand still and either (a) know what direction you are facing or (b) move very slowly to fine tune your hunt, then the compass is a must have feature. I cannot stress this enough - it makes Geocache hunts exceptionally accurate.

And on accuracy, I find that I get a lock of about 20 feet. Depending on the cloud conditions or the foliage, it may vary but I typically max out at around 50 feet. I was sitting in the back of a taxi, headed back to the airport and I was easily able to track the road I was on, the direction, the speed the driver was going, how far we went, and so on - the Vista had no problem keeping up.

Keep in mind that GPS signals do come from the sky, and if clouds or other obstacles block the sky, then the accuracy will weaken. On a rainy day in Oregon, I couldn't get reception.

As batteries go, I've found that the Vista gives me about 12 hours on two AA batteries. This can vary depending on how much I use the more advanced features (WAAS, and the compass). I turn the compass off while I'm tracking a Geocache, and when I get within 100 feet, I turn it back on. Oh, and in terms of Geocaching, Garmin has provided waypoint icons for Geocachers that can be added to your Vista.

If you leave the GPS on during a hike, the TrackBack feature will leave a breadcrumb trail to follow back at just the click of a button. I've used this feature several times, and it will guide you back without flaw. For hikers or hunters using the GPS in heavy foliage, it may be a better practice to set occasional waypoints in clearings. This will give you the most accuracy, and save your battery.

In reviewing my initial desires for a GPS, I was looking for assistance in the back woods, Geocaching fun, and room to spare. All the features make outdoors fun more enjoyable - and safe. In terms of Geocaching, the accuracy of this device and the compass (gold) has made getting to the target a snap. And with the extra memory and firmware updates (such as the Geocaching icons), this device will be sure to keep up with me for years to come. I'm eager to see how it holds up this winter in backcountry snowmobile trips.

Before purchasing my eTrex Vista, I had never owned or used a GPS Unit but I had read a considerable number of articles on GPS and before I finally made the decision to buy, I spent several weeks reading whatever I could find with respect to user reviews, editorial reviews and so on! Simply put, the eTrex Vista is a super handheld GPS Unit. It is easy to learn & use and it has the best features of any comparable unit. It's very small & weighs only 8 or 9 ounces with batteries but don't let the size fool you, it's a powerful unit and performs beautifully in open country, desert areas and on the water. It does have it's problems in heavy cover, as do all other hand held units. In the open country, desert or on water, this little beauty locks on to five or six satellites every time. From what I now know, the only other unit I would recommend is the eTrex Legend and that's only if you feel you have no need for an electronic compass or an altimeter. Personally, I love having the electronic compass available and I have found that I enjoy using the altimeter as well. You already know all the features this unit has or you would not be trying to make a decision on buying it but I'll touch on a few of them. The built in 24 mb of memory is great. It's just enough to download detailed mapping software for one state or for two or three large cities and their metro areas. I find the electronic compass very useful when trying to return to a Waypoint, especially when hiking or wandering around in open country or a desert area. Following a route backwards is no fun and can be boring as well. Note, the electronic compass can be turned off when not in use, to conserve battery life. I rarely have it on, except when returning to or trying to find a Waypoint. "Battery Life" that's an issue that no one seems to cover honestly but I will! If you turn on the unit at the start of a field trip, hike, whatever and leave it on, which maybe necessary if you start out trying to locate a previously marked Waypoint, etc. and you leave the electronic compass on, as well, you will get a max of between 10 & 12 hours of battery life. That's a Fact! If anyone tells you different, it's BS! I now know several others people with Vistas and that fact is consistent with everyone of them. If you turn the compass off until you need it, if you need it at all, on a particular outing, you can extend the battery life to about 14 or 15 hours. If you don't start out trying to find a Waypoint and you only turn the unit on to mark your starting Waypoint and possibly a few other Waypoints along the way and then turn it on for your return only, you can count on between 15 & 18 hours of battery life. But either way, let's get real people, batteries are cheap, even quality alkaline batteries. Hell, if you buy them at one of the super stores, you can get them in packs of 24 or even 48 for about .45 cents each. That's darn cheap and they certainly are not so heavy that you can't carry a half dozen extras on your person. Two final observations. One, as mentioned, this unit works great in open country and on the water, etc. but it's not the right choice for use in a vehicle. Certainly it can be used in that capacity but if that's primarily what you will be using it for, I suggest you look for a unit that is designed for that purpose. Two, I'd be willing to bet that whoever design the Vista is left handed because the so called "Click-Stick" is on the left side of the unit which makes it almost impossible to use one handed, with your right hand. The reason being that the thumb on your right hand covers the screen when using the "Click-Stick" and you must be able to monitor the screen when using the "Click-Stick". Fortunately for me, I was able to teach myself to use it one handed, with my left hand. It was awkward at first but to my surprise, it didn't take very long to get comfortable with it. Since most of the population, by far, is right handed, I'd say that Garmin definitely screwed up, placing the "Click-Stick" on the left side of the unit! All in all, I love the eTrex Vista. It's a little pricey but then again, how much is your safety & peace of mind worth to you? If the "Click-Stick" was on the right side, instead of the left side, I would have give this unit a strong five star rating!!!

I have had GPS receivers for several years. I use them for hiking, bicycling and car navigation. What I discovered in the eTrex Vista is about every feature one could ask for in a hand-held GPS receiver: rugged design (it will take a dunking), a digital compass, barometric altimeter and the capability for loading additional detailed map data.

The Vista also has WAAS capability. This means it can receive a special signal from a WAAS-designated GPS satellite that gives you more accurate positioning (currently enabled for North America). I can't always receive this satellite, but I recall on one occasion when I did, my Vista indicated it was accurate to within 8 feet! Normally, the Vista is accurate to within 50 feet or so, depending on satellite conditions. For recreational use, that is as accurate as I need, certainly as accurate as other similarly-priced GPS receivers on the market.

The map and digital compass work well together. On a recent hike, after ascending North Carolina's Table Rock mountain a friend asked me "What lake is that over there"? I didn't know, so I pointed the Vista at the lake and turned on the digital compass to get a bearing to it. Then I displayed the map page. I remembered that the map can be displayed with 'north up' or 'track up'. When I set the map for 'track up' while not moving (and the compass turned on), I discovered the map turned to orient itself to north (just as you would orient a paper map). After adjusting the zoom level, I could clearly see the lake displayed. Then I panned the map pointer to the lake to get its name and distance. "That's Lake James," I told my friend, "and it's 8 1/2 miles away".

At the time, I was displaying topographic map data that I had downloaded from Garmin's 'MapSource' Topo USA CD-ROM set. When navigating by car, I display MapSource MetroGuide data (MapSource CD-ROM's are sold separately). However, even out of the box, the Vista has useful map detail, including state/country borders, lakes, rivers, coastlines, major streets and roads, and interstate exit information (gas, food, lodging, etc.).

When you download MetroGuide data to the Vista, you add minor street and road detail, many local businesses and points of interest. You can enter an address (within a metro area that you downloaded) and the Vista will find the location for you. You can also find intersections or points of interest by spelling their names (or the beginning of a name to narrow down the list, then select an item from the list). As with other GPS receivers, you can add your own waypoints, label them (with up to 10 characters), give them special symbols, and easily look them up later.

MapSource CD-ROM sets come with a program that will let you load, save and edit your waypoints and routes (the Vista itself comes with a serial port interface cable). The program works with nearly all Garmin GPS receivers, so I was able to back up the waypoints and routes from my older Garmin GPS receiver and copy them to the Vista.

The Vista does not have address-to-address route planning, but you can buy software that does this, then load the route into your Vista. You can manually enter or edit routes on the Vista's graphic map before your trip, easily selecting waypoints or intersections by pointing at them. The Vista can then guide you along your chosen route as you travel (a great feature for finding unfamiliar rural roads in the dark). The Vista has a nice back-light for the high-res LCD display (I recommend getting the cigarette lighter power adapter and auto mount if you intend to do car navigation).

A feature that hunters and fisherman might like is a calendar that lets you look up the optimum times for hunting and fishing for a particular day and location. There is also an animated graphic display of the sun and moon to accompany the sun/moon rising/setting time display, which can also be accessed from the calendar.

Garmin occasionally updates the software for their GPS receivers. You can download it from the Garmin web page yourself, then load it into the Vista. I have easily done this myself a couple of times.

I have just a few quibbles: they should have given the Vista more than 24 MB of memory so you could download more than three metropolitan areas at a time from the MetroGuide CD-ROM set. Also, my other Garmin GPS receiver has an 'active route' page, which is a nice feature missing on the Vista.

Otherwise, it's hard to imagine a more powerful personal navigation tool. Imagine holding a compass, altimeter and detailed map in the palm of your hand, that also shows you where you are, where you are going, how far it is and how long it will take to get there! The Vista is excellent!

I had a trusty eTrex Summit which I used for bicycling and hiking. I read about the new Vista version, and decided "why not?" since I liked the idea of having maps as well. After two weeks of using the new Vista, I am totally convinced that Garmin has surpassed its already wonderful design. The eTrex Vista not only has surprisingly useful mapping, but the entire operating system has been updated significantly, making this tool very powerful and very easy to use. A dozen small touches make you appreciate the refinements.. things like customizable information displays (on a bicycle I care about average moving speed. When hiking, I may care more about estimated time of arrival. When geocaching ...I care about distance to the secret treasure. ) The new Vista lets you customize the display to show just what you want. You can have a small font with many readouts, or a large font with fewer. The satellite page now tells you clearly the number and strength of each satellite, which helps you find the best spot for a start reading. And the map! I was surprised at how well it worked... I worried a lot that it would be hard to control, but the new addition of a small joystick works WONDERFULLY and makes it easy to control. [This same joystick makes navigating information displays easier too.] It is a perfect size and comfortable to use.

I give the Vista an enthusiastic "thumbs up". The...price seems a little high at first, but after using this gem, I have to say its worth even more. Garmin has made one of the coolest electronic gizmos I've ever used.. and I own one!

I have used my eTrex Vista for over 200 miles of geocaching now. I really like everything about this product except the compass. In order for the compass and direction finder to be accurate, you must hold the eTrex perfectly level. This can be very annoying, especially when walking or on a slope. And folks, the direction finder is a very important feature of any GPSr--you might say it is the reason you get a GPSr. If I get another GPS unit, it will be a Magellan brand with a 3-axis compass. You can hold those at an angle and the compass is still accurate. If you bike a lot, get the Garmin handlebar adapter--turns your eTrex into the world's greatest bike computer!

I'm a novice at GPS so didn't know where to start in shopping. I asked around but not that many people have these type of units.

I read all the reviews and did side by side comparisons as best I could. I wanted a device to go Geocaching so was looking for rugged, handheld, and easy to read. I chose the Vista model by Garmin and I have been well pleased. It was easy to learn, handy to use and I had my son using the device in a short time.

I used it on a 1200 mile trip and found the maps and information included with the unit to take care of our travel needs. We especially liked the services at exit feature for our travel along the interstates.

I was impressed with what these devices can do and how convenient they are to use. I ordered the cigarette lighter/serial attachment and it works fine. I also got the carrying case but I doubt that we'll continue to use it as it is hard to read thru the plastic window. We used the belt clip that is attached to the carrying case but usually let the case dangle when the device was in use. I bought a small pouch for carrying our cords, the device, and batteries. I would recommend this model to anyone wanting to get around and discover the fun of this way of travel.

I read the complaints about left handed positioning but didn't find that to be a problem. I also read about tree cover being a problem for blocking satellites. We would simply look for a small opening in the trees and could usually pick up 3-4 satellites.

I appreciated shopping at Amazon and the help that they could give with these reviews.

The eTrex Vista has all the features one would want in a small hand-held GPS. The small size is nice, and the 24 MB was enough storage to put in my US TOPO for MA, ME, and most of NH. Couple problems with the unit - the small display makes for difficult reading when moving - I used it on a boat and basically had to stop to see what was on the display - also it is just too small a display to see in the car (although it does fit nicely in the steering wheel between the air-bag and the outer rim) The big complaint is that the small size makes for a small antenna, and poor reception. I also tried to use the unit for mountain biking un-marked trails in western Maine, and it just doesn't do well in tree cover - 75% of the time it just said "need clearer view of sky" - so my path was marked with way to few waypoints to be useful. I found the same results when hiking in the woods around my home in Lunenburg. I tried downloading the latest firmware, but it made no difference ... I returned the unit and plan on trying the Garmin 76s - it has the same feature set (a few more), and a much larger display and antenna - it also accepts an external antenna which the the Vista does not.

Another reviewer here said it best: don't let the misleading negative reviews of this product prevent you from taking a good look at the Garmin eTrex Vista. (Honestly, what are some of these people wanting to do with a GPS device? Fix a waypoint on a specific part of a cow patty in a farmer's field somewhere?)

This is the first GPS handheld I've purchased after carefully reviewing other models from other brands at a local store with true "hands on" comparisons. I thought the Garmin products were by far the most intuitive and user-friendly of the GPS handhelds I played with. Great features and an excellent value for the money. (...)

Looking at the less expensive eTrex Legend and the Vista and wondering which to buy? Well, the Legend is great but it lacks the Vista's electromagnetic
compass or air-pressure altitude indicator if that is important to you. It also has much less memory capacity (8MB) for storing detailed Mapsource maps.

I have loaded my Vista with topo maps from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and it took up all 24MB of memory (of course, it really is a lot of detail we're talking about here). I would think that the memory capacity of the Legend could be a significant limitation if you are looking at getting into extra topo or metro guide maps. If you have no use for extra maps or an electromagnetic
compass and altimeter, then the Legend might be the way to go.

Personally, I think the Vista represents a better overall value for the dollar.

Ignore the naysayers and compare the GPS units for yourself. I'm very happy with the Vista and would have made the same purchase if I had to do it all over again.

Cons:
-screen is small
-screen detail is somewhat pixilated
-panning/scrolling on map is slow. Screen goes blank for a moment. Then it takes it awhile to redraw the map.
-occasional loss of satellite lock when under moderate tree cover (although this is probably true of all gps)
-designed for left hand use if this is an issue
-data cable is included but car adapter is not
-must be outside of backpack in order to receive signal (I guess gortex is too thick)
-cause an accident by watching the gps rather than the road

Pros:
-compact
-good intuitive use of menus except for marking waypoints
-excellent trip data: distance, elevation, average moving speed time or overall average, how long you have moved or stopped for, elevation, current speed and direction and more
-works inside the car
-excellent car navigation
-excellent hiking navigation
-has altimeter and compass
-detail on base map gives major hwys and roads
-detail on extra map excellent (eg., will give street numbers of individual houses)