Description With its built-in basemaps, marine navaids and WAAS accuracy, this portable navigator will find the quickest route out of town or back to the dock!. Precise positioning using data from the Wide Area...
Reviewed by: Gary (Unregistered User)
,
Backpacker
, from The Great Outdoors
Price Paid:
$0.00
Summary: The Map 76 is great for vehicle use. The displays are great for road travel. Took it on a backpacking trip and discovered it's not too practical. It's heavy and large and uses a lot of battery power, and the maps need more detail for hiking crosscountry.
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Reviewed by: Todd (Unregistered User)
,
Backpacker
, from Maryland
Price Paid:
$400.00
at Amazon.com
Summary: This is my first GPS (I actually got the 76S) and it is great. I intended it for backpacking trips but I have also found it great for driving (road data is somewhat limited - but still helpful). It helped find a campground in the middle of the night in West Virginia on dirt roads that we never would have found otherwise. I also use it to make maps of local trails (on MTB) for fun. Has pretty good reception and great features. As a plus it comes with a computer cable. I use it with Delorme Topo 4.0 with good results. Wish I could download map data though (I will have to try Garmins own software for that). I would also like to get an external attena as no I could not get a signal with the unit in its case (I did not expect to but I did try).
Customer Service: Downloaded latest firmware which updated all the glitches and have had no problems.
Similar Products Used: On a recent backpacking trip we had this unit and an etrex (the yellow one). I have to say the etrex did well (especially for the price) but it was not nearly as usefull.
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Summary: Having never owned a GPS unit, and needing a unit for paddling, hiking, hunting and driving, the store clerk was the biggest single reason for buying this brand and model. This unit does everything I need, and everything it promises. From finding addresses with the mapping CD, to tracking, storing waypoints, and espescially floating, since I do alot of paddling and boating. I couldn't be more happier. A little pricey, but I wanted alot of options, and capability of downloading maps.
If you want a unit to drive with, and to use on the lake, stream or trail, this is your unit. 5 stars all the way.
Customer Service: None needed as of this date.
Similar Products Used: None
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Summary: An excellent gps that really does pretty much everything you could want. I use mine for a number of things including doing a lot of mapping for a local mountain bike association. This unit has everything you could ask for including:
- map display with address lookup and other goodies
- plug for external powered antenna
- waterproof and floats
- robust casing with rubber protection strip
- light weight and respectable size for tripping use
- WAAS capable
- large enough memory to handle a large amount of tracks and points
- external power ability with a very wide range of input voltages
Accuracy and locking ability are top rate, I believe the antenna is noticeably more sensitive than those in the etrex series. The large display and good keypad layout make it easy to use Garmin's menues in real conditions since you don't need to fumble around for tiny buttons.
For anyone interested in doing mapping then this is the unit to get. With an external antenna (I use a Mighty Mouse II) and a pretty simple rig you can get really accurate data in a number of real-world conditions. The only better way would be using a differential set-up and that can be done with this product.
Garmin's Mapsource is, sadly, the only map data available for these units and their coverage for Canada is really sparse. However, with additional software such as GPS Utility and Fugawi you can construct your own, more detailed, "maps" using tracks. Hopefully some other companies will develop better base maps for up here to use the full capability.
Customer Service: Garmin posts new software updates regularly and appear, with the latest release, to have fixed all of the bugs.
Similar Products Used: Older Garmin etrex and the tried-and-true compass with maps.
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