Anyone care to point out pro's and cons of this model?

ta

Well, I've had one for about a year now. Obtains signal fairly quickly and holds onto it so much better than my previous basic eTrex.
Battery life and memory plenty sufficient for my purposes. Robust enough to survive longs rides in the rain and the occasional stack. Has all the functions that I need, though there have been a couple of occasions when a built in compass would have been useful.

Does what it says on the tin really

My main gripe with Garmin is the quality of the mapping, not the units themselves.

when a built in compass would have been useful.

It has one, if you know where to look.

Agree about the mapping, but something like toastytalk maps are good enough. Far better than the Garmin Topo maps.

where are thes toasty talk maps you mention?
Yes I tried Google

Maps

mark – top right button. Press it until you see the compass 😀

Pretty good unit – I'm very happy with it and the open source mapping is great. It isn't OS in your pocket, but it is more than good enough to nav by.

guys, what about the battery life? I take it you just have to use AA's?? How long do you get out of a set of rechargable batteries?

Also, what about the altitude, can you make an altitude profile using the GPS altitude?

Think I'm going to buy one tomorrow but am trying to talk myself into a more expensive model! Stupid!!

I was thinking of the Dakota. I've got maps that will definitely work with the Legend but will they work with the Dakota?

mark – top right button. Press it until you see the compass

Ok, I badly phrased that…I mean a non-GPS compass that actually works when you're standing still 🙂

Ok, I badly phrased that…I mean a non-GPS compass that actually works when you're standing still

They are called a 'compass'. Mine works when static – moving a couple of feet to check doesn't seem that arduous either 😕

Don't bother buying the more expensive one. The management software for your PC shows a profile of the ride with the click of a button too.

cheers for link neil b67

Mine works when static

Funnily enough, so does mine – but it doesn't necessarily point in the right direction!!! 😆

Pro's?: They turn around replacement units in about a week

Cons: Get on first name terms with Garmin support staff.

Ooooh good shout on the toastymap site. I wonder if they work with my Etrex Legend (the black and white one)

You'll need to be able to fit an SD card, otherwise no it won't work.

Hope I'm not hijacking a thread here, but I'm sort of interested too…..
I've been digging around a bit, and it seems it's the model that's better than the basic etrexH, but also it's starting to get into the 'nearly as much as the mapping' new ones, oregon, dakota etc. The vista's almost as much.
From my limited knowledge, am i right in thinking that using toastymaps etc. you get a basic vector type map using a Legend?
…which is easier to use than an OS type map on such a small screen of the mapping gps's?

What are the differences between the Legend and the more expensive Vista?
i.e. is the Vista worth the extra?

cheers
Q

i.e. is the Vista worth the extra?

No. You could probably do everything you need with a Venture – one down from the Legend. You don't need a barometer and an altimeter, and you'll probably never use them if you have them. Don't forget that whichever unit you buy the visible screen is comparatively tiny, and the maps you get are really only useful for confirming where you are at a given moment when stationary. Trying to follow them whilst riding is almost impossible, whatever maps you have in front of you.

Chatsworthmunsters:
Thanks, good points.
Q

I like the altimeter. It helps give a 3D location and you can look at height climbed and descended – seeing the profile of a ride is useful/interesting/a bit geeky.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/compare.do?cID=145&compareProduct=8701&compareProduct=8707&compareProduct=8703

You can get GPS altitude on the ones without a barometric altimeter. The ones without the magnetic compass only need to be moved a foot before they display north so neither feature is really an issue with the lower spec models. Also worth noting that the magnetic compass runs the battery down much quicker when it's turned on.

The difference between the 24Mb Venture and the Legend is the x (no micro SD card slot) so you will find it difficult to load the free talky toaster maps on the venture as you need 239Mb of removable storage.

If you don't want mapping or colour display get the Etrex H

If you want vector mapping get the Legend but if you can find a Vista, Colorado or Oregon at a good price go for it.