Magellan eXplorist 210 Waterproof Hiking GPS

by Magellan

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2 x 4 x 1 inches ; 5.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BGVYYE
• Item model number: 980771-72
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description The Magellan eXplorist 210 proves that powerful and reliable GPS navigation can be affordable. With a compact, shockproof and water resistant design, this baby is built to withstand whatever the back country can throw at it. At a mere 6.1 ounces, and with the ability to download and store up to 22 megabytes of maps while providing precise three-meter positioning, this pocket-sized 14-channel WAAS GPS receiver is an outdoors enthusiast's dream.

Map screen in position mode. View larger.

GOTO route screen. View larger.

Customize map information. View larger.

The Magellan eXplorist 210 delivers GPS navigation in a rugged, handheld device. View larger.

If you have a passion for the outdoors, there's no reason you need to be a GPS expert to be able to take advantage of GPS tracking capabilities. The eXplorist 210 features Magellan's easy-to-use operating system, so you can concentrate on your activities without compromising your safety. When you connect the unit to your PC, the folders on the eXplorist 210 can be accessed just like any drive on your computer, and from there you access the information as you would a folder on your own computer. In other words, if you know how to navigate your PC, you'll feel right at home with the eXplorist 210.

The unit offers 32 MB of memory, which includes 10 MB taken up by the basemap of major highways, airports, interstates, parks, rivers and lakes across North America. The remaining 22 MB is reserved for you to download and store Magellan MapSend programs and maps, or specific waypoints, routes and tracks for your next excursion. A USB PC cable is included, which will allow you to perform software updates, as well as download additional maps. This convenient feature allows you to download exactly the maps and data that you need for your excursion. If you're hiking a section of the Grand Tetons, you'll want to have the area's hiking trails, ranger stations, and elevation contours at your disposal. The eXplorist 210 lets you fine tune the data that you'll need for your trip.

And don't let its compact size fool you. This handheld -- at a mere 2.2 x 4.75 x 1.3-inches (W x H x D) -- will let you create and store up to 190,000 personal points of interest and waypoints, 150 files with 20 routes each, and 150 track logs with 2,000 points each. The included Magellan MapSend Software DVD will help to optimize and manage your data and keep track of updates to new versions of MapSend maps. In other words, Magellan couldn't have made it much easier than this.

The eXplorist runs on two AA batteries that last up to 17 hours. A large, 2.3-inch grayscale, backlit display features an amber glow that makes it easy to read at night. Other features include a vertical profile, a celestial table, and a best-fish and hunt-time calculator. The eXplorist 210 comes with a one-year manufacturer's warranty.

What's in the Box
Magellan eXplorist 210, user's manual, quick start guide, and PC interface cable.

Product Description

The Magellan eXplorist 210 from Thales expanding on the popular line of Magellan GPS handhelds, the eXplorist 210 brings map expansion capabilities to the entry-level range of eXplorists with its high-speed USB data port. The Magellan eXplorist 210 is the only GPS handheld in its price range to offer users the ability to download and store up to 22 MB of maps from compatible software. The new Magellan eXplorist 210 proves that powerful GPS navigation does not have to be expensive. A large 2.3” grayscale display, precise three-meter positioning, high functionality, and a shockproof and water resistant case combine with simple handling to make the compact GPS an indispensable navigation companion for all outdoor activities, from mountain sports and backpacking to cycling, hunting, and fishing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Value PC Compatible GPS, Scratchable Display Plastic, January 17, 2006

By 

Naniyab Izniss "LLC" (Hapiville, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magellan eXplorist 210 Waterproof Hiking GPS (Electronics)

I have not had this device long, but we did spend a day geocaching with it. It performs very well.

I chose this model because I wanted a GPS unit that I could access with my PC through USB and this seems to work very well. Included is a small application that will convert .loc waypoint location files to the .gs files that this unit uses.

When I plug the USB cable into the unit and then into my USB hub and power up the GPS unit, it appears as drive H:/ and I can move/rename/copy/etc. the files in the GPS unit without having to use the GPS interface, which is a time saver.

It has a nice readable map that can be zoomed out to see the whole planet, or zoomed in to a 100ft scale. It recognizes primary roads and highways in my town and knows the name of the lake I live near. Apparently I can also purchase and download custom maps from mapsend, but I haven't tried that yet.

Without even reading the manual, just by fiddling with the gizmo, we were able to figure out how to find our geocache destinations, set a route, add waypoints, and choose custom icons for the waypoints from a selection of maybe 20 or 30.

I can't comment on battery life because I haven't worn out a set of batteries yet, but I think other people have commented on that.

This unit is accurate enough that it can tell when I *turn around in place and face a different direction* which is pretty amazing to me. I am very pleased with the performance.

I did take one star off because already the clear plastic over the display has gotten scratched. BE WARNED: the display is VERY EASY to scratch. I'm going to have to find a little leather case or cloth bag or something for it. As a comparison, I have carried my nokia cellphone around in my pocket with my car keys for about three years and there is no significant scratching on the display, but with this GPS unit, whatever plastic they chose, it got scratched up quite a bit with just a few hours in my pocket (with carkeys). I realize that wasn't too bright of me, but I know there are more durable plastics out there because of my experience with my nokia, so... just be careful! Now the screen looks like its got dust on it that can't be wiped off... :-(

Other than that, I am very pleased and feel that this unit is a good value.

64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Low Cost GPS with USB Connectivity, October 25, 2005

By 

GaPitViper (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magellan eXplorist 210 Waterproof Hiking GPS (Electronics)

I have owned the Explorist 210 for 3 weeks and have no complaints. The accompanying Geocache Manager is simplistic but effective for loading geocache data into the GPS. It certainly beats entering it by hand like the 200 and 100 models require. The unit is light and the dual level amber backlight is effective in low light situations. I have not taxed the reported 22M of memory yet. I bought this unit specifically for geocaching and it definitely fills the bill.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Geocaching GPS, July 6, 2006

By 

S. Holmstead "heptaventurers" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magellan eXplorist 210 Waterproof Hiking GPS (Electronics)

I bought the explorist 210 primarily for Geocaching. I have had it for a month now and it works very well for Geocaching, and the included Geocaching software is easy to use. You can download .loc files from geocaching.com and open them directly into the Geocaching software which is a big time saver. I manually copy over the hints since they don't come as part of the .loc file so I can geocache without paper copies of the cache details.

I wanted a unit that was accurate but not so costly I would be afraid to let my kids use it. The 210 fits the bill perfectly. I let my kids direct us to the geocache and get the thrill of finding the cache. My six year old can even read the screen and point which way to go.

The unit is dead on accurate with WAAS and I can usually get 10-12 satellites of reception. I even get 3 to 4 satellites indoors. I am usually never more than 10 feet from a cache when the unit says I have arrived.

Most of the other Magellan and Garmin models do not have built in Geocaching abilities. For models that do, you have to spend much more than for the 210. The 210 shows geocaches right on the map and treats geocaches separately from waypoints or points of interest.

I read other reviews about the 210's screen being easy to scratch, so I took a screen protector for a Palm Pilot and put it on the screen and haven't had any problems even with kids using it.

Battery life is excellent. I use rechargeable AA batteries. If you don't use the backlight, you can cache an entire day on one set of batteries. The backlight is excellent for night time caching, however.

There are several low cost add-ons you can buy so you don't need to buy the high cost Magellan add-ons. You can buy most any low cost USB car charger (mine was around $7 with shipping) to power the unit while you are driving. Just connect the cable that came with the 210 into the 210 and plug the USB end of the cable into the USB car charger. The unit will NOT charge the batteries when plugged in, but the unit will use power from the USB cable instead of from batteries. You can also buy the Radio Shack A/C Vent Wireless Phone Mount (Part # 17-548). It looks like it was made for the explorist.

I have not used the unit for turn by turn driving yet. For this the unit seems adequate but does not shine. From reading the manual, you do NOT get automatic route calculating (if you miss a turn the unit will NOT recalculate a route). All legs of the route point directly to the next waypoint (as the crow flies) and do not follow the roads. Before you leave you must download the route into the unit and the unit will prompt you for each turn, though not with any sound - just with an on screen message. The basemap is decent with all state roads and interstates. You can use MapSend Topo to add more detail to the unit (not sure about other MapSend maps).