Contribute  Loading... Parents Loading... Gear
| E-trex Vista   | 
| Page Type: Gear Review Manufacturer: Garmin
| Page By: Front Runner Created/Edited: May 2, 2002 / May 2, 2002 Object ID: 272 Hits: 564 Loading... |
Top of the range Etrex model. Features barometric altimeter, electronic compass, 24Mb of memory capable of holding very detailed downloadable maps - as well as the usual waypoints, tracks, routes, etc, etc.Images |
Reviews
| Front Runner | Untitled Review | | Voted 4/5 | If you're going to buy an etrex, you might as well go for the Vista. Anything else will leave you disappointed when you find out the many useful features of the Vista. One downside is the battery life. Despite claims of 12 hours, I find this is only possible with the new Duracell M3s. Some cheaper batteries last less than four hours. I can't understand why Garmin doesn't use mobile phone technology and provide a decent rechargeable battery with all its models.
The base maps on the Vista are surprisingly good - my European model covers South Africa.
If you are UK-based the price for this model is an astronomical £400. Don't be tempted to get one for less than this from the US as they have different base maps. The US one is useless in the UK unless you spend another £100 on a MapSource CD.
Make sure you download the latest flash upgrades from the Garmin site (www.garmin.com) to add even more useful features to your Vista. | | Posted May 2, 2002 2:16 am |
| jacksonr | Untitled Review | | Voted 3/5 | Rating is average of good and bad. This unit is small, lightweight, has large memory, and a good screen. Battery life is poor and the antenna is not very good. I also found the Vista controls hard to operate. I also have a Garmin III+ with a great antenna, smaller memory, heavier, four batteries (great batter life), and no compass or altimeter - I kept the III+ and sold the Vista. Your mileage may vary. | | Posted Sep 29, 2002 11:05 am |
| danielbriggs | Untitled Review | | Voted 4/5 | I used the Vista extensively in Afghanistan last year to navigate the desert where no good maps were to be found. The following suggestions might helpout: If you put the user mode, found in the setting menu, to "battery saver" it really helps. Instead of updating every second, it updates every 2 for an extra 4-6 hours of life. Using the Energizer lithiums almost doubled the life. When the unit gets too hot (around 100-110 for us) the screen goes bonkers. You must protect it from direct sunlight in those conditions or it takes an hour to cool off enough to use. It will give the error reading "external power lost" when too hot. The Garmin web site has great updates that are easy to download, and identifed software problems are fixed often. Be extra careful when putting the unit into a case as the little rubber knob on the control ripped off four of our 6 units.
Overall, the Vista was an excellent tool when combined with solid land navigation skills of a map and compass. | | Posted Jan 21, 2003 5:00 pm |
| bigwilly | Untitled Review | | 
Voted 4/5 | I really like this product. It's features are very handy and click-stick makes it very easy to use. It is also very easy to use with computerized map programs. Packed with extras and lots of memory space. The only reason for its four star rating is the battery life. I use this with rechargeable batteries and it drains them in no time. Also it can take a while for it to find the satelites at startup. | | Posted Apr 12, 2005 3:51 pm |
| Dustiano | Bargain basement price... | | 
Voted 2/5 | ...but inconsistant lock of sats. Loses signal in the forest very easily. Small size is nice in the pocket, but advances in GPS technology have come a lot further in the last 7 years. | | Posted Jan 22, 2007 6:52 pm |
| KirtDavis | Super | | 
Voted 4/5 | My first GPS, and it has served me well. My only complaint is the 'click stick' has worn out, and sometimes wont move the cursor. | | Posted Feb 20, 2007 4:49 pm |
| rayray | Overall solid performer | | 
Voted 4/5 | I have the Vista and Legend models. Both units perform reliably (purshased the Legend over 3 years ago). They are compact enough to take anywhere. With rechargeable NiMH batteries, I usually get about 10 hours of run time. The menu and general operation of the unit is user-friendly and simple.
My only gripe is that the control stick (on both units) is sometimes erratic. This can be frustrating when you're trying to enter a waypoint, pan the map, or toggle through the menu. Aside from this shortcoming, which is an inconvenience but not a show-stopper, the eTrex is the perfect product that I won't travel without. | | Posted Apr 27, 2007 3:42 pm |
| thephotohiker | Good GPS for Open Country | | 
Voted 4/5 | I owned a Garmin eTrex Vista for several years and used it over all kinds of terrain. It was used in conjunction with Terrain Navigator (computerized Topo software) to plan each outing, then, download waypoints along my proposed route. After each outing, I moved my actual track from the GPS to Terrain Navigator to serve as a permanent record.
As a general rule this worked well in open terrain; however in heavily forested areas or in deep canyons, the eTrex Vista often lost contact with available satellites. This caused it to record very erratic tracks, which then had to be corrected in my Topo software by hand – a very tedious affair, to be sure.
Battery life with the Garmin eTrex Vista is suspect. During warm weather (above 70 degrees Fahrenheit) you can expect the batteries to last all day, and then some. But, if the temperature drops below 50 degrees, expect to replace the batteries every 4 hours or so. The eTrex Vista has a battery life icon on the main menu page. I always watched that closely (after the first couple of hours) during cold weather to see if it was time to retrieve warm batteries from my pocket.
Over all, I have to say the Garmin eTrex Vista served me well. It performed perfectly on every climb I made to the summit of a Colorado 14er and on many hikes through open or lightly forested terrain. It was only after I moved to Montana and began hiking and climbing in and through deep forested canyons that I discovered its limitations.
Though the suggested list price for a new Garmin eTrex Vista is $214, a used unit can generally be purchased on eBay for between $90 and $125, which is what I suggest if you decide this is the GPS for you.
| | Posted May 13, 2007 6:36 pm |
| bblack99 | Solid GPS for first-timers | | 
Hasn't voted | If you're new to hiking and don't want to sink several hundred dollars into a state-of-the-art GPS, the Vista was meant for you! The unit has plenty of storage and a fairly intuitive user interface. When WAAS is disabled and the unit is in power saver mode, battery life is more than enough for a full day's hike, even on rechargeables. Accuracy is passable, and the barometric altimeter is a nice touch if you need the extra motivation of chasing altitudes on your way up!
Massive downside -- the antenna strength is poor. Be comfortable using a map and compass to navigate when in medium to heavy cover, as the Vista seems to lose signal very easily. | | Posted Dec 15, 2007 3:44 pm |
|
|
