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Garmin eTrex Venture HC

Price range:

$119.19 - $220.95

Summary: This model has been tested by our experts.

7 people have reviewed this model.

See all 7 user reviews

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User Reviews

Consumer Reports User Reviews

Other User Reviews

Doug K

from

Denver CO

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

good gps, painful software

10/29/2011

Pros

Accurate

Reliable Reception

Cons

Best Uses

Hiking

Comment:

bought this for going off-trail in the dark woods. It acquires the satellites quickly and has never lost reception, so very good there. The interface is counterintuitive, not easy to use - keep a copy of the manual with the device, since I can't remember the long sequences of unlabeled button presses, that are required for most functions. The MapSource software for the PC looks like a 90s-vintage program, in bad need of an update. It works OK though, and transferring data to/from the GPS unit is easy. Note it is possible to find free topos online. I'm using one of these and it's working fine.

How long have you owned it:

One-to-three months

Bottom Line

Yes, I would recommend this to a friend.

Outdoors Guy

from

Ottawa On.

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Good Unit Overall

9/2/2011

Pros

Reliable Reception

Cons

Best Uses

Cycling

Geocaching

Hiking

Comment:

I have used this unit for hiking, biking and Geo caching and have been pleased with it's overall performance. I use Topo maps with it which are slow to load,the 24 MB memory limits how much of the maps you can load at one time, but included software makes the process easy. Recently, I have brought the unit fishing and marked the sweet spots to return later; great for determining how fast the old outboard propels the boat too. Rubber band is starting to come off after over two years of use but apparently Garmin will replace it free of charge if you send the unit in.

How long have you owned it:

More than six months

Bottom Line

Yes, I would recommend this to a friend.

from

Seattle WA

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Good value

2/24/2011

Pros

Reliable Reception

Cons

Best Uses

Cycling

Hiking

Comment:

This is about the minimum that will do for hiking; it is a good bit of safety equipment. It has very good reception in heavy Pacific Northwest forests and Utah canyons such as the Needles. It keeps the trail when stored in the top of a backpack. The battery lasts 24 hours. I use this without internal maps; I do not believe the internal maps are an adequate substitute for a high quality topo map. It takes some care to translate from coordinates to a printed map, and it is possible to make a mistake, but you can easily tell what's what within 1/2 a mile of a wrong turn. The tracking feature is useful even without a map for out-and-back trails.

How long have you owned it:

More than six months

Bottom Line

Yes, I would recommend this to a friend.

The Garmin eTrex Venture HC is part of the GPS test program at Consumer Reports. The Garmin eTrex Venture HC GPS features and specs include Topographic maps, Electronic compass, Battery life (hrs.), Screen size (in.). In our lab tests, GPS models like the Garmin eTrex Venture HC are reviewed on Extras, Geocaching, Guidance, Portability, Power, Display, Overall score. Consumer Reports subscribers share reviews of the Garmin eTrex Venture HC based on personal experience. The Consumer Reports user reviews of the Garmin eTrex Venture HC include star ratings, pros, cons, best uses, and a bottom line review to help guide your purchasing decision of the Garmin eTrex Venture HC.

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