Garmin eTrex Vista Handheld GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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List Price: Our Price: $65.00 You Save: $234.99 (78%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin eTrex Vista Handheld GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Nice little machine...
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this thing ostensibly for a overall navigational aid, but it was really to go geocaching. Since then, I have ended up using it all the time. I keep it with me in the car, on the motorcycle, on the bicycle and on the trail. Very handy to have around. Kept me from being lost in the woods a couple times and being lost in San Jose once.The downloadable maps set is a great addition, though ridiculously expensive, in my opinion. I have noticed a couple of problems with the maps. At first, I had trouble downloading maps from my PC to the unit. A couple on e-mails to Garmin, (Their customer service is great), and I got a new cable. That seemed to work, though I soon noticed that the old cable started working as well. Might have been a PC problem...not sure. But now, it refuses to let me load much more than a couple of MGb of data without freezing. I'm on the case with that, and hope that it can be fixed, but it is a problem. Especially with a unit that claims to hold 24 Mgb. Not sure if all that is a map problem or a Vista problem.
Past that, it has worked like a champ. I have had great reception, even under fairly heavy tree cover. The thing does eat a set of batteries in a long day. But you can tweak a few settings and they will last a bit longer.
Overall, I love it. Nice, compact design and a good feature set. A few faults, but nothing too major.
Customer Review: Garmin Etrex Vista
Summary: 5 Stars
Garmin eTrex Vista Handheld GPS
Bought it for a road bicycle, and I love it! Bought it with the bicycle mount. Received it and started using it the same day. It has a million features, so it takes a bit of reading to setup all the options. Oh...you have to buy MapSource to fully utilize the unit. I tried the cheaper method of uploading and downloading to the unit. Could not get to work with Google Earth Plus, I did get to work with other 3rd party software. But I finally coughed up the $100 bucks (almost as much as the unit) and bought MapSource North America.
Now I was cooking was gas! Uploading, downloading, mapping, graphing, analyzing my ride. It is incredible all the information that can be gleamed from the interface with MapSource.
Now that I have used it for a bit, I love it even more. You can plan routes, or not. Use the tracks you created, later. The graphing on the altimeter is wild! The maps are incredibly detailed. I could go on and on about all the features, for the price this unit is the BOMB.
I had a sneaky suspicion that I might need to buy the software. So I chose the Vista. However, I am so pleased with the unit that I wish I had bought the colored more sensitive(GPS wise) higher end model.
Customer Review: Reception
Summary: 1 Stars
I am in the mlitary and the use of this GPS was solely in a field environment. I orginally purchased this product when I went to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, CA. As a tank commander, I used it only when I was dismounted. There is no external antenna attachment so it was obviously useless inside the tank, even with the hatch open. A buddy of mine had a magellan in a Bradley and his worked and my Garmin did not. The next test was in Iraq. I deployed with 2/2 ACR out of Fort Polk, LA. All we had was HMMWVs so I thought the Garmin would work great. To much disappointment, the etrex would not get a signal in the HMMWV unless I had it propped up in the window. Fortunately, I had a plugger and FBCB2 so it really wasn't that big of a deal. The most usefulness was for marking UXO cluster bombs that had not exploded in civilian areas. I would mark the spot with a 10 digit coordinate and pass it on to the engineers. After about 6 months in the Iraq heat and extreme weather conditions, my screen started messing up. It had all these lines and I had to squeeze the sides so the screen would come into view again. It was very frustrating. I would not recommend this version for military personnel traveling in vehicles or needing something that is rugged.Customer Review: Thought is would perform better
Summary: 2 Stars
This is my first GPS and I really thought it would perform better. The signal acquisition was poor unless clear sky was found and the boot up took way too long. The screen is really too small to be very useful however when used with TOPO & Metro-guide a lot of information is available. Maybe I still need to work with it but the GPS location shows on the Satellite screen not on the Map page so you need to switch between the two. the Altimeter is based on air pressure but can be calibrated based on GPS... Why not just use the GPS altimeter unless GPS is off. As for the Compass, forget it if any Iron is around (Car, train, ship...)
I purchased this for an Alaska trip and was less than thrilled. On the Plane I needed to hold it to the window and only occasionally got a lock, on a train I needed to be outside and on our cruise ship it only worked on the top deck. a full 360 degrees view of the sky was needed... It lost signal when in a valley if there were tall mountains around. But It did work on the Jeep dashboard contrary to other reports. Maybe they have metallic windshield tint that causes a block signal. (Most GMs, Lexis, saturn, saab, etc.)
But it did go everywhere as it fits into a pocket.
Customer Review: Good Results - but you need perfect eyes!
Summary: 3 Stars
The E-Trex Vista is a fully packed product that delivers everything promised EXCEPT viewability. Unless you are blessed with far above average eyesight you will find the product frustrating. I also have a Garmin GPS - 12 and thought the mapping ability of the Vista would be great. With eyes like an eagle you will be very happy - otherwise you will be driving around blind trying to see the tiny letters on the maps. I spend considerable time zooming in and out just to get rid of all the clutter on the small screen and then relocating myself in the bigger picture. One other problem is the "Track Back" is almost impossible to distinguish from the other lines drawn on the screen. I don't have a suggestion for improvement but just don't depend on using "track back" on streets or in any congested area.Also, be aware of the current $50 rebate for purchasing the Vista and Map Source Software. I missed it by 2 weeks and feel like I wasted $50. Oh well.
Bottom line - the machine has bells and whistles that a techno geek like me appreciates. They ALL work - you just can't see it to appreciate what the capabilities are.
Next time I will not go for small size - I'll go for the largest practical screen!