Garmin eTrex Legend HCx Personal Navigator

This is the second mapping GPS I have owned, and it is nearly perfect for my needs. I can't believe how much better this eTrex Legend is than my old eMap unit. First, the bright color display is clear and readable in direct sunlight. My laptop wouldn't even be visible in those conditions. Battery life - there is no comparison! I haven't yet changed the alkaline batteries in 4 weeks of use (modestly heavy as it is a new toy). Finally, it is so sensitive that it has never failed to get a satellite position while indoors. Again, the HCx is a major improvement over the previous model where I could lose reception inside my car with glass all around and in open countryside. Pros: Light weight, small size, fits great in one hand. Can be operated completely with one hand. Display is amongst the sharpest and brightest I have ever seen. Very intuitive and simple to use for anyone except possibly a newbie to GPS navigation. Battery life seems endless. Ability to map a route to a destination address entered at the unit with the City Navigator software installed - the entire U.S. and Canada detailed road maps and POI fit on a single 1 GB micro-SD flash card. Useful in your car or outdoors for hiking, boating, fishing, snowmobiling, motorcycling, etc. A true all-in-one GPS solution for a low price. Cons: Small display compared to Nuvi series and other non-outdoor GPS units. No voice directions - it has two types of tones to alert you to pending and imminent turns. You need to add $120 worth of City Navigator mapping software to enable the auto-routing by address or point of interest functions. The click-stick 5-way joystick navigation device is not the easiest thing to use to move around the maps and menus. Overall I am very happy with my purchase and I expect to get at least 5 or 6 years of good use from this before I will be looking at replacements. Garmin quality and service has been excellent in my opinion; my eMap still works, though it will likely be relegated to a desk drawer.

This is a very well made item with nice, long battery life and reasonably intuitive controls. I used it on a very cold backcountry hut ski tour in Colorado and it did a great job of tracking our location. It was really fun - and comforting - to see that every time we were skiing on a known trail or driving on a known road, the GPS unit was right on the money. It picks up satellites reasonably quickly, and can be operated reasonably well even with gloves. I dropped it on the parking lot and it didn't show a scratch or suffer any internal damage. It has a nice, rubberized feel to most of it, and intuitively placed controls. You will absolutely need a separately-purchased topo map and an SD card to make proper use of its many features, and the installation process can be a little daunting for non-technophiles. But if you do some internet searches you'll find several sites that help take you through the process. It's much easier to create all your trails and waypoints on your home computer and then load the data onto this unit. Rather than spend mega-dollars on an official Garmin topo map, go online and search for free Garmin topo maps and you'll find several options. There are also very reasonably priced commercial topo maps out there with more features. I wish it had the ability to perform with Garmin's fitness tracking software, but unfortunately it doesn't. This is a perfect unit for hikers and backcountry skiers, but trail runners might be disappointed. (Then again, I don't know if the purely-running Garmin units do such a good job with displaying topo maps and the like.) As usual, the Mac side of the software features seems a little bit left out, but I'm enjoying using this with my Macbook and look forward to not being lost anymore - or at least not nearly as much. (Serious note: Never count on a GPS unit alone. Always bring along a hard-copy map and a compass, take along extra water and clothing, and tell someone where you're going and when you expect to be back!)

It is a great GPS, but the software maps are HORRIBLE and extremedly EXPENSIVE. I got this GPS to be able to go hiking. I have a wife and a 14 months child. We go to the ocassional weekend hike and I don't want to get lost. I also have a Garmin Quest, and I thought I could take advantage of the same manufacturer. what a waste. It is an expensive piece of technology and still you are going to need to buy paper maps and carry them with you. Garmin's TOPO maps don't even show the paths in the national parks!!!! Creating routes is a pain, as it is with all garmin products. Saving routes from tracks, which should be a one click deal is also just impossible (when are these guys going to start listening to the users?). My car maps from Garmin (for the Quest navigator) just don't work and they never will, so I still need to take my other unit with me to get to the parking lot. That or buy an extra set of maps for garmin for even more $$$$$$. But they are a rip off. They are inacuarete, they tell you to drive trhoug private propierty, they insist that you go trhoug areas that have been closed due to construction and it is really difficult to convince tha GPS that it needs to recalculate the route avoiding that particular spot. I have to admit tha the GPS reception is great, but for wat? Most my hikes are in state or national parks following quite well marked trails, and my other GPS unit also gets good reception even under some folliage. This extra unit is a luxury and Garmin doesn't make it worthi trying to force me to pay hundred of extra dollards in maps. How much is going to cost me each excursion? I am going to send this one back until this guys come down with the price of their Software.

This is my first time buying a GPS unit. I wanted it for mostly geocaching- and then for hiking, biking and running. It has worked great for me. The base map on it are very minimal-so buying the TOPO maps are worth it. Which is why I bought this GPS because I was including the price of extra map software when I was comparing it with other units. The screen is large enough and bright enough. I have always gotten satellite connection even in cloudy weather. Getting to a point, the GPS usually gets me within 3 to 10 ft of a point depending. It's light weight. The battery life has been great. It's rugged enough to withstand me dropping it and tossing it in my backpack. (I did get a case for it though) The menus and navigation of the GPS are easy to understand. Overall I'm really pleased with my purchase and think it's a great GPS for any one who looking for a good practical model without over complicating the fact that it's a GPS. I don't use it for road navigation because that's not what it's made for--they make models for the car. If you want that-then don't bother with the eTrex. This is a handheld, get out into nature and find a trail GPS.

I've been using the HCx Legend for about a month now and I've been very, very pleased with it. I use this unit mainly for hiking and backpacking; anywhere from well established trails in state parks to the deep back-country of southern California. This is not a unit I would suggest for use while driving. Maybe in the hands of your navigator, sitting shotgun, but this not a drivers GPS unit in my opinion. For hiking, and some casual Geocaching, it's been an excellent companion and tool. Some of the things I really like about it are, for one, that the buttons are located on the side of the unit near the top. This becomes particularly relevant when the unit is actually in use IN your hand. Your fingers are at the top, the display is at the bottom and you can manipulate the buttons without your hand blocking the display. This may sound like a minor thing, but it's not. Another thing I've come to appreciate is it's relatively small size and... well... "roundedness". The Legend doesn't have one of those protruding antennas which, for some reason, always seems to be a problem for me somehow; always poking something or taking up space. The Legend is small, round and "pockets" easily (yes, I'm using a noun in the verb tense, deal with it; you know what I mean). Let's see... What else to say about this unit. Well it's got WAAS. Believe me, you want that in a GPS unit. It acquires satellites quickly and I've never been at a loss for a good, solid signal (very confidence inspiring when you're deep in the back country). The color display is nice, details are easy to read and work with. The little thing that looks like a button on the top left of the units display is actually a tiny joystick, or mouse, that you use to move the pointer on the display and/or make menu choices by pressing down (much like a mouse-click). I find this a niftier solution than using buttons or a scroll-wheel sort of thing. Battery life seems pretty good to me using either alkaline or NiMH (I prefer to use the latter) and there's a setup option where you can choose which type of battery you're using in the device since the two types of batteries have different discharge profiles. Sweet that it also accepts SD cards for additional map storage. Regarding the use of 4GB memory cards: Previously my review stated that this unit worked with 4GB memory cards. Well, now it appears that while the unit will in fact ACCEPT a 4GB card, it will only RECOGNIZE 2GB. That's still a ton of maps but a little disappointing nonetheless. However, just to give you an idea of how many maps that is: I have 24K TOPO maps for ALL of CA, NV, UT and AZ, as well as street level maps for just over half the United States (west to east from California to around Kansas and border-to-border north to south), all loaded on a single 2GB card with around 300MB of memory remaining on the card. This is using Garmin TOPO maps and free street-level maps from gpsfiledepot dot com (an awesome source for free maps for your Garmin GPS by the way). If you like to go geocaching this unit should get your consideration. Lots of options specifically for geocaching in particular. I can easily upload cache locations right off geocaching dot com, modify the entry if I need to, add a quick note and be off 'caching in no time. The Legend also has a lot of cool features that are just plain sweet to have even if you don't use them every day. The only thing missing on the Legend that I can think of that some of the pricier units have is the Altimeter. The Legend has the Compass, the Tracking/Backtracking options ("bread crumbs"), the Odometer, a Proximity Alert... All the cool "bells-and-whistles" type stuff. Map facts you should be aware of: 1) The unit ships with a VERY basic install of maps. By this I mean interstates and major through-streets and that's about it. If you want TOPO maps and/or city navigation (residential & side streets, points of interest, stuff like that) you'll have to buy, and install, Garmin map products. 2) Garmin map products are NOT cheap. You might want to research how much they get for their TOPO maps and/or City Navigator software packages if you're new to the whole GPS thing. With a little research you can also find places that offer Garmin-compatible maps that are (legally) free to download and install. The proprietary nature of GPS units and the maps they work with is not unique to Garmin either. If you go with, say, Magellan, you'll need Magellan map products; you can't "mix and match" as far as I know. All in all I love this unit. It does it all and does it with a nice, compact form-factor. I really can't see spending more on a GPS unit. This one does so much for the price it really feels like I hit the sweet spot between price and performance. Pro-Tip: Get a screen protector, one of those tough plastic sheets that people put on their iPods and such. The ones designed for the Microsoft Zune work well, even if a bit too small to cover the entire display, they do protect the essential part you really need protected. A set of protectors will set you back about $8 or so. That's pretty cheap insurance. Regarding the use of 4GB memory cards. It appears that while the unit will ACCEPT a 4GB card, it will onlyr recognize 2GB. That's still a ton of maps but still a little disappointing I guess. Still, to give you an idea of how many maps that is: I have 24K TOPO maps for ALL of CA, NV, UT and AZ as well as street level maps for just over half the United States (west to east from California to around Kansas and border-to-border north to south) loaded on a 2GB card) with around 300MB left over.

This GPS unit is light, compact, bright and fairly easy to use. It's my first GPS, so I don't have a lot of background with comparable models. There are a few key features that stand out about this Legend HCx unit though, listed here as the pros. Pros: One handed operation. The unit is easy to use with one hand, leaving the other free to do whatever is needed. Bright screen. With the brightness all the way up, the screen is easy to read, even in direct sunlight. The zoom gives a good clear visual of your position. Strong antennas. The unit gets a good signal in deep woods (tested rigorously this hunting season) and will even catch a decent signal in my living room. The menu options are pretty intuitive and fairly easy to navigate, but this brings me to the cons of this unit. Cons: Instruction manual is HORRIBLE. There are very few detailed instructions, other than on how to insert the battery. Most of the instructions focus on MapSource data, which is not something that comes standard with the unit. The basemap is OK, but the instructions give virtually no good information on how to use the unit. The QuickStart guide is just as detailed as the manual, which was very frustrating for me as a new GPS user. You have to purchase MiniSD cards for map additions. You can buy the preloaded cards, which are very detailed and accurate (I used the Mountain North with good results) but it's an additional cost and you cannot transfer maps from the MiniSD cards to your computer for route/waypoint management. I suppose the alternative is to buy a blank card, buy the maps from Garmin, and manage it all on your computer, but that seems a little inelegant. All in all, it's a nice unit that works well. I'm still figuring out all the bells and whistles, but after a few days of use I feel very confident with the Legend HCx.

Good device, but elation turned to disappointment on finding the supporting software was not MAC compatible, and, therefore, the USB interface capability, useless.

This is a very capable, powerful device. As my first GPS, I don't have prior experience to go with, so keep in mind my review might fit what better what a new owner would be seeing, rather than an experienced person. The instruction manual is somewhat helpful, but a bit disappointing. Mostly, I found that just playing with the unit taught me much better than the manual did. The good news is that the way this thing works is pretty logical, and a little practice makes it pretty easy, as long as you take time with it BEFORE YOU NEED IT....that takes the stress of being in the middle of nowhere, and trying to make sense of things off of you. Secondly, the basemap is nearly useless. It shows Interstates, and major state highways, but the rest of the country on the basemap is a blank, featureless space. Expect to buy maps. I bought the 2009 Topo, which gave me topographic maps of the entire continental US. As a nice bonus, city streets are also part of the map, at least in my town. Battery life isn't quite the 25 hour time the instructions say, but the unit will run all day on a set of fresh Duracells...but if you're going into the woods, keep a fresh spare set. Bottom line: A good device, easy to use once you've spent some time with it prior to critical use. Be prepared to buy maps, you'll need them. One final thing. This unit uses a micro SD card, instead of relying on a tiny amount of internal memory. I bought a 2 GB card for mine, which seems to be the largest amount of memory it can access. I loaded a map that covers portions of 7 states around where I live...plenty of room still available, and now I have a map loaded that covers almost anywhere I'm likely to be 99% of the time.