Customer Reviews

Magellan SporTrak Pro Waterproof Hiking GPS

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I did a lot of research before purchasing a GPS receiver. The choice came down to Garmin's eTrex Vista and Magellan's SporTrak Pro. I purchased both with the intention of returning one. There was definitely a difference, not only in quality, but also in price. I am VERY pleased with the SporTrak Pro. Let's face it the two things that matter most in a receiver is 1) ability to pick up and hold satellite signals, and 2) accuracy. For this reason, I was VERY disappointed in Garmin's eTrex Vista (which I will be returning).

From my experience, the SporTrak Pro is far more accurate than the Vista and I rarely have problems holding satellite contact (even in our home). The Vista, on the other hand, kept losing my position even in minimal tree coverage. The SporTrak directed me right to the position I was searching for (within 1-5 feet). The Vista had me far off the mark and my position kept jumping around. When you do lose satellite contact with the Vista, it does not track your route. The SporTrak fills in those gaps if you lose contact.

The Vista is definitely "cooler" looking and a bit smaller, but smaller is not always better. Save yourself money and headaches and choose the SporTrak Pro.

NOTE: One reviewer noted that his SporTrak pro made a humming noise when the backlight was on. I have noticed that too, but it's not that loud and it does not bother me.

After researching handheld mapping GPS units for weeks, the choice came to this or the Garmin Etrex Vista. The latter got eliminated after I read all the horror stories about the problems it has catching satellite signals. The Garmin unit has a couple of extra features (such as "road lock" and an aneroid barometer), but also costs at least [more money]. And anyways, I couldn't understand what the point of having those extra features was if I was not going to pick up any satellite signals!

This is one impressive piece of hardware. It is very ergonomical and has a good feeling in one's hand. You can operate it with one hand, and the wrist strap comes in handy so that you don't have to worry about dropping it. The buttons are laid out very logically and the operation is simple and easy to understand. The screen is easy to read and you can adjust the level of detail on the map screens to eliminate unwanted clutter.
The unit is amazingly sensitive and manages to get signals from 8 or 9 satellites under most circumstances (including inside my house). It is frighteningly accurate both in terms of position as well as speed. Backtracking back to my vehicle after a long walk was a breeze with this unit (though, to be honest, I already knew the route. I just used the GPS for fun and made sure it wasn't asking me to do stupid things!).
You do have to remember that this unit can not do automatic routing for you using its built-in or uploaded maps. If you want units with those capabilities, you have to go for dash-mounted units that cost $$$ more. But the map information in this unit is good enough for most reference purposes. The 9MB basemap is quite detailed with most major roads and highways well-marked. The 23MB additional space for maps uploaded from Mapsend CD's is quite spacious. I uploaded the rectangular region bounded by Milwaukee in the north, Peoria in the south, Galena in the west and Grand Rapids in the east into the unit and it occupied only 11MB (it did take 20 minutes to do the upload because of the slow serial connection).
My only complaint regarding the unit is that it sometimes shows me driving where there is no road, and then the road gets displayed when I go into a higher level of zoom. I don't know what the criteria are for whether a given road is displayed at a given level of zoom, but the algorithm is not very intelligent or adaptive.
Also, make sure you stock up on rechargeable batteries. I have to recharge my batteries after every 10 hours of use (the manual says 15 hours, but I think that is only with alkaline batteries).
Bottomline: I think this is the most capable GPS unit at this price point.

I just received my Magellan SporTrak Pro GPS unit, and after about three hours of non-stop twiddling with it, I can safely say "WOW!" I powered up the unit for the first time INSIDE my house, and it started acquiring satellites. Pretty amazing.

Highlights:

- Easy to use
- Dead accurate
- Surprisingly detailed base map
- Well worth the money

The only Down Sides I've noted are:

- PC cable securing screw has a small, floppy D-ring-type handle on it, which makes securing the PC cable to the GPS somewhat finicky. The same type D-ring is used for the lanyard loop/battery compartment screw. It's OK, but nothing I'd design.

- Magellan doesn't make a carrying case for it, but a slightly modified Nokia 5160 leather case works very well!

- The backlight makes an annoying hum. It is barely noticeable at the Low setting, but on High, it sounds like a mosquito. Good thing I detest backlights to begin with.

If you want a GPS, go buy this unit. Don't mess with the "toy" GPS systems that only use "patch" antennas. The quad helix on the Magellan systems is FAR superior.

This is my third GPS and I generally like the features and screens. The built-in map, however, is terrible. It contains major errors that are inexcusable. For example, the Parks Highway - the main route from Anchorage to Denali is labled as another highway. Roads and trails in Denali also way off. Near our home in Arizona, the Map calls the Verde River the Salt River, which is nearby, but way different for navigation purposes. Mapsend maps are better - but not good enough to rely on 100%, which is what you want in a GPS. Magellan could solve this problem by spending a little more for higher quality maps.

I was trying to decide between the Meridian Gold and SporTrak Pro - finally deciding on the SporTrak Pro. The Meridian series is expandable with extra memory - but you need to purchase extra memory. The SporTrak Pro comes with 23 MB available memory. I felt this was the best compromise for the money. I also purchased MapSend Streets and Destinations. Some reviews I read complain about the accuracy associated. Since I sell Geographic Information System software I know what the cost is associated with compiling this type of data. Believe me, the accuracy that you get with MapSend is well worth the money. Sure address ranges aren't perfect, and newer streets are missing, but think about the amount of data that IS there! I was able to create waypoints and upload half of New England to my SporTrak Pro - using only 8 MB.

I do wish Magellan would expose some of the advanced aspects of GPS: such as the PDOP, satelite health, etc. This information is helpful in determining how accurate your position is being reported.

So far I am quite happy with my selection.

First of all, the Sportrak Pro is a total joy to use and one of my favorite electronics that I own. I have used Garmin, Military GPSs, and Lowrance. They all work. But I wanted to make sure that the one that I bought would not site in my backpack and not be used. The Sportrak Pro is the most comfortable to use and was the almost instantly easy to operate straight out of the box.

I bought the GPS for one reason. I am deployed to Iraq and do frequent moves where knowing where your exact location is a matter of life and death sometimes. Not to be dramatic, but that is why I bought one. I wanted a machine that I could count on everyday that fits in my pocket and is responsive in all conditions. So far it is a champ.

In my book

Pros
Accuracy (dead on)
Ease of use
Larger screen
Navigation screens that make sense
One-button waypoints
Backtracking (easy). I can get back the exact way I came.

Cons
Software. If you need an extensive suite of GPS software, go somewhere else. You can still use great programs like ExpertGPS, and others. Mapsend needs some work. It is expensive for the accuracy and quality of the maps in Mapsend. If they get that fixed, watch out.

If Mapsend were better, this machine would get 5 Stars all the way.

Bottom line: I love this machine. Would I buy it again? In a minute.

This is my first GPS and I am very pleased with it. I have mainly used it for geocaching. It is very easy to use. The manual is straight forward. I have been in the woods with a lot of tree cover and rolling hills and it still kept a good lock on the satellites. The basemap is pretty good with just a few small inaccuracies. But from researching other units, that seems to be common. The display is very clear in the sunlight or shadows. I have downloaded the software update from Magellan. It added two new navigation screens. Overall a great product. I have not really noticed any flaws.

One of the biggest questions that I had when I was trying to decide between GPS units was, just how much map data will each GPS hold? From a total newbie to GPS standpoint when they said that 23 Mb will hold a lot of data I didn't know how much was "a lot". Well from the Mapsend Topo Software (1:100,000 scale) you can fit all of Utah (including that little patch of wyoming thats included when you draw a square around UT, and 2/3 of Arizona in 23 Mb. That includes full topographic data and all the points of interest. Some have said that the topographic software doesn't contain very many trails. It's true, but the topo data is of the greatest worth since you can upload routes outlining your custom trails. Since the topo maps are digital you can zoom in mroe than what you could visually see so you can get distinction of the topography in particularly steep areas. Some of the points of interest like summits can be pretty close to where they're supposed to be topographically, or from what I've seen up to 1/5 of a mile off in the topo software. A comparison of the street map where I live compared to the GPS coordinates put me within 0.03 miles of the actual location, so I'm assuming that if the street data is close, then the topo data should be as well. The inaccuracy of the points of interest are a different story.

After a couple hours of playing around with it I'm very satisfied with my decision. The unit is fast and very responsive. It displays a high amount of data quickly, and pans and refreshes the onscreen data acceptably.

This is the second GPS receiver I've owned. I started out with a Magellan 315, which was perfectly good for most purposes. (I actually have no REALLY good reason to have a GPS receiver, but I've always loved orienteering and maps and related stuff ever since I was a Scout, many years ago.) However, lately I discovered geocaching, and the 315 just didn't seem to do the job, whether it was because of cloud cover or tree cover or my own inexperience, so I upgraded. I like this one very much. It feels "natural" in your hand, and the grip is secure (and it has a wrist loop, just in case). Under most conditions where I've used it, it's extremely accurate, particularly when it can set up WAAS averaging.

I gave it four stars. One, no Mac compatibility, although I understand there's a work-around. Two, I drive a principal highway regularly, and the track, compared with the base map, always shows me at least 50 feet off the highway. I left tracking on for a dozen trips, and my track was always about 50 feet off their base map. Fifty feet is quite a bit when the claim is accuracy within three meters. (And yes, I'm using Magellan's default map datum, so it should correspond with their base map.)

All that being said, I'm very pleased with the device. BTW, if you use it in the car, spring for the cigarette lighter external power cord. A data cable comes in the package, so PC users can download or upload waypoints, or even track their route on a laptop in the car, but I find the power cable more useful. There's a combination cable, too -- both data and external power.

I didn't spend a lot of time researching GPS units, just an afternoon googling around the web. The Magellan looked pretty good, features and memory wise, so I bought one. They were just on the market, and I stole one cheap because it wasn't a Garmin, and of course it couldn't be as good, so a couple of early ones sold cheap. That was in June, 2003.

At first, I just enjoyed owning one and being able to download detailed maps from my laptop that would cover a whole state at a time. It only has 24mb of memory available for map loading, but it turns out to be plenty. I usually never used it unless I was lost in a strange city.

I bought the 12v car adapter and started using it like a car GPS, small screen but it was useful. I gradually began to notice some other funtions, like the built in speedometer that seemed to be more accurate than the one in the car. From what I understood of civilian GPS accuracy, that shouldn't be right - then I found about WAAS, and the increased accuracy it offered, and gee whiz - the Sportrak already had it built in.

Gradually, I started looking to do more with GPS, and I had a German friend tell me about using the unit with a laptop as a really big screen in car GPS unit. Hmmm... I was given some old Microsoft map software (Mappoint) and figured I was going to have to buy a new unit to make that work.. but pushing a few buttons .... good grief this thing has the NMEA 2.0 function built in too! It can talk to Mappoint and all kinds of other aftermarket software. After looking around for an updated package, I bought Delorme Street Atlas which is an amazing talking package. It doesn't cost much, and the detail and functions are great.

I started to get interested in Geocaching, and lo and behold on one of the GPS nutcase sites, I found a test of the Sportrak where it basically trounced a Garmin 76s for positional accuracy. http://gpsinformation.net/mgoldreview/sportrak-pro-rev.html

SO I'm still trying to figure out if I need another GPS. The Sportrak Pro is certainly a great deal, and superior especially for accuracy to any other unit in it price range, even today. Since a already own a laptop, I have a very sophisticated GPS unit that I load in the car for vacations and business trips, and that cost me far far less than the $700 to $1000 a good in car unit costs.