Customer Reviews

Magellan SporTrak Map Waterproof Hiking GPS

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is my first handheld GPS. I'm using it for my new hobby - Geocaching. This unit works great. Use free software to download waypoints into the GPS, and then just follow where it points. The unit is small (fits in my pants pocket), and light, and has all the features you might need, including back-tracking if you make a wrong turn. It holds plenty of waypoints (locations) and 20 routes, which seems about standard for handheld units. It has several different ways of displaying navigation information, so you're bound to find one that works for you. If you're looking for something with lots of built in maps, then this may not be the right unit for you, as it only has a 2Mb base map and 6Mb for downloadable maps. For in-car navigation, I plug this little guy into my portable computer and run Microsoft Streets And Trips and get a whole computer full of maps. When going off-trail, I take just this unit, where maps aren't much help anyway. I've used it to locate 3 "geocaches" so far, and it has put me within a couple of feet every time. The WAAS support is great for getting good accuracy.

By the way - don't purchase the add-on memory SD card accessory - this GPS doesn't take add-on memory cards.

I've had this GPS for five months and am extremely satisfied with it. I've never before owned a product that gets better as time goes by as this one does. Magellan continues to update and improve the software. Their latest software revision added two of my favorite functions, average speed and maximum speed. It also can show you the terrain ahead, only Magellan offers that feature.

There is no question that it takes some study to learn all the possible functions this unit is capable of, and the users manual is marginal at best. But there are many other resources available. There's a Yahoo group devoted specifically to the SproTrac series. Folks there are willing to help with any question. If you are into newsgroups, check out sci.geo.satellite-nav. And a great place to begin your research into GPS's is at gpsinformation.net

I have a poor sense of direction and wanted a portable GPS unit to (1) use when traveling in unfamiliar places, and (2) to be able to map out some places by plotting points. I haven't plotted points yet, but have taken it on the road a fair bit.

I looked seriously at units from Magellan and Garmin, but decided on the SporTrak Map primarily because of its features and a ... rebate.

I have owned this unit for a little more than a month now, and really have enjoyed it. It has a nice "breadcrumb" tracking feature which will let you save a route previously traveled. It has plenty of memory for my uses, though I have not purchased map additions yet. The basic map included has major interstates, US highways, airports, cities and some other details.

I also purchased a cigarette-lighter power adapter for use on the road. The backlight feature has two levels of brightness, and I had been traveling for a little over two hours with the power adapter and the unit on "bright" when the backlight went off. It wouldn't come back on again despite pulling power, removing the batteries and reinitializing the unit (wiping out all memory). I got a return authorization from Magellan, sent the unit back via ground freight and got it back within a week, also via ground freight. The service was exceptional. Magellan even threw in a couple of goodies with my returned unit for my trouble.

I certainly recommend this unit, and the only reason that I didn't give it five stars was because of the light failure. Other than that, I have been very satisfied.

This is truly an awesome product for the price. In addition to the unit, the package includes the user manual, computer link cable, wrist strap, and batteries. The main manual is easy to follow and is very descriptive. I had the unit up and running in just minutes. After I had initialized the unit, I had had a 3D satellite signal with WAAS within 10 seconds. The unit's reception was very good. The satellite tracking map allows you to see all of the satellites and WAAS stations in your area and the signal strengh. The unit worked well under all of the outdoor situations I tested it, even under large oak trees. I was even able to maintain reception inside my two-story brick and stone house. The unit is easy to use and quick to learn. It is very easy to switch between the screens you want and the included basemap shows major roads and various points of interests across the country such as parks, airports, lakes, rivers, etc. It is very simple to zoom in and out of the map and the unit contains a handy panning feature which lets you view areas around you. Creating waypoints and tracks is also very simple. You can even designate the icon you want to represent each waypoint as well as type in notes about a specific waypoint. The unit can tell you exactly where you are to within three meters and will also tell information about your altitude, speed, heading, eta, distance, sun/moon orientation, backtrack, waypoints, etc. Every time I use it, I discover more features. You can even check the phases of the moon for your area and see when the fish will most likely be biting for anywhere on the planet. The unit is even useful for nightime operation. It has two different backlight intensities, depending on your preference. I spent a long time researching various GPS units and this is by far the best value, especially with the rebate offered by Magellan. I would definetly suggest this product to anyone who needs (or wants) a GPS unit. I can't wait to try out Geocaching!

I bought this unit about a week ago. It only took USPS three business days to get here after I ordered it. It came with batteries, a pc cable with a serial port connection(Serial port connection meaning one of those doohickies with 9 little holes and two bigscrews on the side, as opposed to a USB cable or printer port), quick setup instructions, and two manuals, one in English and the other in French. It was up and running quickly, and had a fix on my position within minutes, which maybe says something about the poor construction of my apartment building, because a friend with a similar model, the Sportrak Pro, had to go outside his brick house to get his first satellite fix.

The Sportrak Map comes with a 2MB base map, and more space for loading maps that you have to buy separately from Magellan. The base map seems to have all the interstates, all the old US routes, and a good number of state roads in the vicinity of the larger cities. The map's default detail setting is medium. At the highest level of detail, you get all sorts of icons for airports, national park land, and the names of places and rivers. The sun/moon feature is nifty, giving the times for sunrise/set and the same for the moon, as well as the moon's phase. Useful for figuring out how much time you have on a trail before it's going to get dark. It also calculates the best times to hunt or fish, although I don't hunt or fish, so I couldn't tell you how accurate that feature is.

What this unit is useful for: Camping, boating, Geocaching, and figuring out what direction you are heading (Don't laugh. I'm from New Mexico, where we may not have a lot, but we have terrain such as mountains and we give our streets different names. In Central Florida the land is flat, the highways are lined with identical trees from Pensacola to Tampa, the sun is often behind clouds, and, as in many places in the South, you can find yourself at the corner of 8th Ave and 8th St, when you really want to be at 8th Place.)
What you won't be able to use it for: Driving directions. This is not a unit where you can plug in "Kansas City" and it will tell you to take i-75 for so many miles, then turn left by the dead cow. Maybe the mapping software, available separately, does this, but all the device itself is going to do is draw a straight line across the map and tell you how far and which direction it is.

I had a hard time coming up with anything negative to say about this cool gadget. It seems very well built and I found the screens easy to figure out. I think the only way a person could be disappointed in this unit is if they expected it to be something other than it is. If you want something that is going to lay out step by step maps for you, I think you are looking for something else. (the sportrak pro has a much bigger memory and a bigger basemap, although again I think you need to buy extra map software) We're more of an "off trail" family, so all the extra mapping wasn't for us.

This is a very accurate handheld GPS. I work in Geographic Information Systems and work with different GPS units. I recommend this to anyone looking for a fun and inexpensive unit.

I have had a Sportrak Map for almost 3 years now. At first I was very pleased with the unit. That changed about a year ago.

The unit started to "lose" the satellite almanac. The satellite status screen would show a blank. I went to the Magellan website, and the site recommended a total memory clear. I did that and it did nothing but remove everything I had programmed into the unit.

Next I did a software update, as recommended by the Magellan website. This made the problem worse. The unit wouldn't "remember" where any satellite was. After sending an e-mail to Magellan, I sent the unit to them for repair. Magellan said the satellite almanac had to be re-installed.

Upon receipt of the "repaired" unit, I now found that the GPS receiver took at least 10-15 minutes to establish its position, this under clear skies with no obstructions. In addition, I found that the EPE, estimated probability of error, or how far off the unit thinks it might be, had increased from 10-20 feet to upwards of 300-600 feet. To be sure, the unit would at first, after "finding" itself, give an EPE of 10 feet or so. After about 20-30 minutes of use the EPE would climb to astronomical numbers, rendering the GPSr useless.

There are also reports on the Geocaching.com website forums of sportraks having stress cracks on the rear where the screws hold the front and back together. These cracks compromise the watertight integrity of the unit.

After checking the Geocaching.com website and the geocaching forums, I found this situation to be more commonplace than I had imagined. In addition, I found out about a trait specific to Magellan units called "boomerang". What this means is that after you enter a waypoint, when you navigate to that waypoint you will have to walk at least 100 feet past the waypoint and then wait for the GPS unit to decide to locate itself and track back to the entered point. Whether this is due to position "averaging" or just a bug, the result is aggravation.

In addition, this boomerang effect means that when you try to use the backtrack feature, the unit will lead you all over the place as it has no real idea where it was, and is just making a best guess. I don't need a GPS to make a guess for me, I can do that on my own!

I wouldn't recommend this unit, and in fact I have edited my "So you want to.." guide to reflect my disappointment with the unit.

Don't buy it, don't even consider it. You will waste your money.

I took this product to Iraq with me it got me out of a jam a time or two. It took a beating and still works perfectly. It even floats you just can't beat it.

Nice working unit but I wouldn't buy one now. The new topo software for the sportrak units (topo 3d USA) doesn't work with the sportrak map. The older mapsend topo USA is no longer in production. Kinda stinks that the software is obsolete while they are still selling the hardware.

I have been thinking of buing a GPS for over 3 years, after I heard about Geocaching a couple weeks ago it was enough to make be jump to get one. Did not know much about them in the beginning and I guess I am still learning. I paid ... for mine last week and this week it is less,... it really is quite a deal.

I like that it is small, light and compact...it seems smaller than some of the other magellans that I have seen others with. The screen is good size and the menus have been pretty simple to get around with. My 9 year old picked it up in about 15 minutes and my 5 year old used it to create a breadtrail.

Yesterday I used it for the first time geocaching and it took me within 8 feet of the cache box each time. Features it does not have is average speed and more memory would be nice.

Nice unit for the money