Solid little gps, does exactly what it’s suppose to do. This is my 4th Garmin gps in the last 22 years and the best yet. Very fast to acquire the satellites even in the house under a tin roof. My other older gps and my 2 year old car gps won’t acquire the satellites unless I go outside. I did have to go outside the first time I turned it on but worked in the house every time after that. Garmin’s basic functions hasn’t changed much since 1995. There are a lot of switching pages depending on what you want to see but so did all the others I owned. This is a small screen gps and not a big screen tv so it’s impossible to put all the info on one page. The trick is to play with it and learn it’s as much as possible.
My only major complaint is the instruction manual, it sucks big time. I give it 1 star for manual. I would say it’s impossible for a first time user to learns anything useful about the gps, Garmin sure has gone downhill when it comes to instruction manuals. Thanks to the Internet, there is a useful solution for this. YouTube contains all kind of useful instruction video for this model, enough to get you going out and use it with confidence.
A major complaint I have seen in the reviews is “battery life”, most people find it is too short on two AA batteries. All my older models (3) took 4 AA and the battery life wasn’t that much longer than this unit. The big difference 2 batteries make is the size of the unit. Take my older model Garmin 12XL. Used 4 batteries and the unit was at 30% bigger but the screen is only about 5% bigger. I used to change my batteries every day before heading into the bush. I recommend you also order from Amazon a pack of ENELOOP batteries made by Panasonic. You get 4 rechargeable batteries that contains 2100 mah (stored power). 2 batteries runs the unit for a solid 24 hours,(first thing I tested), you bring the other two for spares. Never leave home without spare batteries regardless the type you use.
No downloadable maps is another complaint I read often, if you want topo maps on your gps, do not order this unit, go for the etrex 20.
I did see some videos on YouTube that shows how to download some maps on the unit but I found the quality of the maps were not worth it. I always carry a good quality map and a compass with me, gps or not. Much easier to plot a course with a map and compass then load the coordinates on the gps. I used to hunt in deep bush far from civilizations in northern Canada with gps, map and compass and I can say I have never got lost and have always made it out of the bush. Hope the review helps you.
| Product Dimensions | 5.4 x 3.3 x 10.3 cm; 141.75 g |
|---|---|
| Item model number | 010-00970-00 |
| Batteries | 2 AA batteries required. |
| Is discontinued by manufacturer | No |
| Display size | 2.2 Inches |
| Warranty | 1 year limited warranty |
| Supports Bluetooth | Radio Frequency |
| Voice command | Buttons |
| Department | Unisex-Adult |
| Manufacturer | Garmin |
| Place of Business | Saint-Laurent, QC H4S 1Y2, CA |
| ASIN | B00542NV32 |
