![]() ![]() Yet, Garmin went insane with dozen or more applications from different years and generations called BaseCamp, Topo, Map Updater, this and that and 6 flavors of something else. Even if it were straightforward, it would not be particularly good or advanced. Recently on Hayduke trail, where I used to get confused very often about navigation with Etrex, with a phone it became just plain trivial. Even with this, after having used Etrex for 10 years, I have almost completely switched to using a smartphone. The only redeeming qualities of an Etrex is 1. In order to change or lose or recover a basemap some really strange incantations and dances are required around the Etrex.Įven if you have a map loaded trying to figure out what’s going on is not easy. Etrex device may all of sudden lose a map, or cease to boot or go into a reboot loop when something non-obvious happens to its internal filesystem or external storage. The way Garmin packages maps and manages external storage (microSD card) is a joke and incredibly arcane and broken. The screen is tiny, the software is very slow to pan the map. Maps are awful, especially outside the US and very expensive anywhere. I have had Etrex Legend, Etrex Vista HCx and Etrex 20. In all this time I think I downloaded my running data twice, maybe.Įtrex series will work fine, but you will hate the device if you are used to using a smartphone. All I used it for was to run for 45 minutes for a couple of years and now the battery is completely dead. Inconvenient to download data, very slow GPS lock, bulky as a watch, lots of fuss to recharge. It’s just not a good device in any respect. Mine has a dead rechargeable battery after 2-3 years of use. I’m also curious of what tools you prefer for editing gpx files, as I haven’t ever done it other than by editing with a text editor :) Yes, this is expensive, but if I plan to get it anyway, it negates the need to get anything else for logging tracks. Could I actually use this to accurately log tracks as well? And could I do it without a service plan, just connecting it to a computer to download the tracks? (I would only activate the freedom plan on my relatively infrequent long trips, thus the question). – Most expensive: Quite apart from this project, I am tempted to buy a DeLorme Inreach for two-way communication when I go on longer trips. (Also haven’t looked into what maps would be available for it in Asia, where I am based) Could double as a real GPS, but not sure how much I would use the extra functionality, as I tend to use a smartphone if navigation aid is needed, due to the nicer/bigger screen. – Midrange: A handheld GPS unit like the eTrex 10/20/30. Do these work well? Battery life may be a concern though. – Cheapest: a GPS-enabled watch like one of the garmin forerunners, which go for under $50 for older models on ebay. ![]() I don’t want to spend a lot of money on this, and I was thinking of three possibilities: Using it for navigation is not really necessary. I’d like to get something better, which will create gpx tracks that I can view/edit afterwards on my computer. I normally use my smartphone’s GPS, but I actually find accuracy to be pretty poor, especially under tree cover. I’m contemplating a little exploration project for which I would need to log GPS tracks accurately. ![]()
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