Garmin Etrex Legend GPS Receiver

User Review: - ok out in the open
My first GPS. Initially had some trouble with software often crashing locking up the unit. But it's works problem free since I updated the software. Which I might add is pretty straightforward. The only issue that I have with the unit is that it doesn't track well in densely wooded trails. It's performance is spotty. Eats batteries, so bring extras out on the trail. I've gotten used to it now, it's helpful not to wear the unit on your belt, but rather up on the strap of your backpack. That makes it a little more reliable. Originally, I picked it up for just for safety and it's fine for that. Though it doesn't work well enough for mapping purposes it works well enough to save way points for reference. It often looses the signal of satellites behind hills. I hope to replace it soon with a newer HIGH SENSITIVITY unit soon.

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User Review: - Bare bones GPS with no feature improvements in last 5 years
I bought an Etrex legend 4 years ago, for the last 18 months I've had intermittent problems with it not working.
Now it's dead.

Negatives:
Not very durable
Very poor reception under tree cover, Magellan is better here.

Bare bones map, for a good map you pay $100 more.
Minimum memory, only 8 MB, so if you do buy the map, you can only put
a small portion in at any given time.

Comes with a serial cable, most USB to serial adapters don't work
so if you don't have a serial port you have a problem.

If you're using it for geocaching, you can't mark which ones have been
found.
Also the screen shows the gc.com GCxxxxx code which isn't helpful.
You need to have a PDA or paper printout of all the caches prepared
ahead of time

Drilling down thru the menus to get to the trip computer page is a pain if there are several caches nearby & you'd like to see some info on each of them.
After 5+ years Garmin should improve the features,
they have done nothing.

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User Review: - It was ok for geocaching but...
I bought the eTrex Legend three years ago to replace an older model that I passed on to my son. The price was right and it came with Garmen's software, a car lighter power cable and a protective case. A big improvement was the ability to run the unit off of the car's DC power while driving toward the final location and then run off of battery while on foot. However, I did notice that it seemed to be less capable of getting a good signal and would frequently bounce all over the place in the woods. Now it has a propensity to lock up after a few minutes of usage. I've read from earlier postings that this has something to do with outdated WAAS protocols. Clearly if this is not something that Garmen has fixed in the firmware, the product will be useless. I found that the only way to unlock the unit was to remove the battery cover and pull out a battery and replace it. Sometimes the "reboot" and reacquire process takes a longer period of time than the unit will function before locking up again. I am now looking for another replacement, hopefully one that will make it easier to go paperless.

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User Review: - great for geo-caching
I bought the Garmin Etrex for basically an extra GPS for myself. We have gotten hooked on the geo-caching and a GPS is important to have. My husband has a Garmin 350 and what is bad with that is that it is a touch-screen, so when you are walking with it in your hand, you will most likely hit the screen. So it's really a pain. With the Garmin Etrex, that won't happen. You have to push a button in order to move from one screen to the other. I have used it now eight times and the coordinates were right on the money!!! Would recommend it if you are wanting to geo-cache!
V. Longworth

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User Review: - best value
This is my 2nd one. The 1st one has been pounded for 3 + years on the handle bars of an ATV and still working. Of all the lower priced GPS pocket units this one is a great value.

NOTE: Get the Mapsource TOPO software to take full advantage of this unit !

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