Name: Outdoor 4
Location: Colorado Springs, CO USA
Date: 2006-11-11
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Blown Away
Comment: I drove my wife crazy spending several weeks worth of nights researching which GPS to buy for my upcoming elk hunting trip in Colorado. After reading several reviews on Amazon about Magellan and Garmin, I decided to focus on Garmin, especially after my old Magellan stopped locking on.
The price of the Venture Cx immediately jumped out at me. As did one of the Amazon reviews about buying the Venture instead of the Legend Cx. So I started comparing features of the various units on Garmin's website. Should I go with the Legend or Vista or Venture, or spend another $200+ on a top of the line GPSMap 60CSx? I soon realized the Venture Cx had ALL of the features of the 60CSx except an altimter, compass and the new top of the line SIRF II chipset/receiver. So I figured I would buy the Venture Cx and try it out hunting in the dark timber and deep canyons of the West Elk Wilderness, and if I kept losing the signal I would return it and upgrade to the expensive 60CSx.
Well, needless to say, I am back from my week long hunt and was blown away that the unit never lost a signal in the deepest of dark timber, and I mean deep! Sometimes it would jump around a bit as you walked, but it always corrected itself in a second or two and never lost the signal. Before I left I bought a 512MB micro SD card for $15, the US Topo for $75 from Amazon, loaded the maps for the area I would be hunting, and I always knew where I was and even what road I was quading on. My other friends all had GPS's but not the mapping kind. They were also blown away by the mapping accuracy and how quickly the unit would start up and acquire a position, even in the dark forest. I kept the unit on most of the time as I hunted so it would leave my track in case I wanted to back track, and I still have 2 of 3 bars on my rechargeable NiHM batteries after 7 days.
So, bottom line, if you want an incredibly feature rich, mapping GPS, don't waste your money on the more expensive Legend or Vista Cx, nor the top of the line GPS Map60 CSx. Go with the bright easy to find yellow Venture Cx, buy your own USB cable (or use the one that came with your digital camera like I did) and buy a higher capacity Micro SD card (the Legend Cx only comes with 64MB), buy the US Topo from Amazon and you are rockin and rollin for geocaching, hunting/hiking in deep dark timber, and turn by turn navigating around your home city and the USA.
Name: T. Sanville
Location: Wisconsin
Date: 2006-11-10
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Great unit, a best buy.
Comment: I been using a standard eTrex for years and always liked it. But plotting positions on a map became a hassle, so I started looking for a mapping GPS. I was surprised to find a unit like this for $[...] after rebate. The rebate form was uncomplicated and I received it promptly within the time frame specified. Amazon shipped the same day that I ordered and I received the product ahead of schedule.
I'm very impressed with this unit. Sharp display, intuitive operation, long battery life, very good reception, and more features than I can list here. The base map included in firmware includes all interstates and major bodies of water, plus information of amenities available near interstate exits; hotels, restaurant, service stations, you name it. But to take full advantage of it's capabilities, you'll need to upload detailed maps from disk, available separately. If you plan to use the device both on the road and afield, I'd recommend the USA Topo mapping software as it contains both roads and detailed topographics for the entire US.
The unit does not come with a mini USB cable or a memory card. I found this to be no problem as the cables that came with my PDA and camera work fine with this unit. If you don't have a mini USB cable you can probably buy one for a few bucks as it's a standard configuration. I'd recommend updating the units firmware (a free download from Garmin) as soon as you get a cable.
The lack of a memory card (Micro SD, 1 gigabyte max) isn't a problem either as it allows you to pick out the size you want. A 512 megabyte runs about $20 and will hold the topo maps for about half of the USA.
Some people have complained that Garmin should have included the cable, software, and memory chip with the unit. If you want everything in one package, consider the eTrex Legend Cx, which is esentially the same unit with those items included. I prefer this unit because it will work right out of box; you can try it out and decide which accessories you want later. The bright yellow case makes easy to find.
The combination toggle lever/enter key makes entering data quick and easy, but it has a drawback; if you carry the unit in your pocket it's prone to get moved about taking you to different screens. This isn't a major problem as you can return to the previous screens with a few presses of the page/back key, but can be a nuisance.
I like the fact that this unit requires just two AA batteries; they're cheap and available everywhere. My tests have shown 29 hours of battery life with the backlight off.
Finally, the small high resolution screen is very detailed, but if you have trouble reading fine print this might not be the right unit for you.
Overall, this is an outstanding unit and the price makes it a best buy.
Name: Kyle Horton
Location: Austin, TX USA
Date: 2007-01-10
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Best Bang for the Buck!
Comment: I purchased the Garmin Venture Cx specifically for geocaching. I had originally purchased the Garmin Legend Cx, but quickly realized that the price difference does not add up. The Legend Cx is essentially the same unit with a 64MB microSD card, a mini USB cable, and the Waypoint Manager CD. You can currently find 1GB microSD cards for under twenty dollars, most digital cameras come with a mini USB cable (I use the cable from my Blackberry phone), and the Waypoint Manager software is not really required (if you purchase maps later the software is included). Also, depending on the application, there are plenty of shareware programs that do a fair job of transferring data to your GPS. Also, I like the fact that the Venture Cx is yellow, as it is much harder to lose if you set it down while hiking. In my opinion, the only trade up for the Venture Cx is the GPSMap 60Csx.
The Venture Cx has excellent accuracy, the only improvement being the 60x/76x line with SiRF technology. I occasionally get some settling issues in heavy tree cover or when close to tall buildings, but this is OK since geocaching in Austin, Texas, is much different than in other regions.
I loaded City Navigator v8 on my GPS after some frustration with geocaching in San Antonio (mostly not knowing which streets to turn down) and have been pleasantly surprised with the autorouting capabilities of the unit. If I make a wrong turn it will calculate a corrected route. The unit beeps when I get within 0.1 miles of a turn, then beeps twice when the turn is within 100 feet. Incredibly handy!
At first I was hesitant to purchase a Garmin based on the navigation button layout, since Magellan moved their buttons to the front of the unit and the buttons are clearly labeled. However, after trying out an Explorist 400, I realized the Garmin is right for me. It really comes down to a preference in interfaces. The Garmin seems more like the icon-based systems I am used to, whereas the Magellan is more folder based (Windows versus DOS is the only way I can describe it). This is not to be rude to the Magellan, as it is a fine unit as well, just different.
The Venture Cx is also the lowest priced GPS unit with a color screen. This is a very attractive addition once you add maps to the unit. Color lines help delineate roads from rivers, and really help differentiate waypoint icons (restaurants, banks, hospitals, geocaches, etc.).
The only thing missing is an electronic compass and barometric altimeter. These features are included in the Vista Cx. However, if you are going to make the jump to the Vista, you may as well get the GPSMap 60Csx or 76Csx.
Name: Mark
Location:
Date: 2007-07-11
Customer Rating: -
Summary: A great GPS for trekking - no need to get the more expensive models
Comment: The Venture CX is a great mapping GPS. I used it on a trip to Peru and Bolivia (including an 8 day trek through the Andes), and I have no complaints.
Note that it has the same hardware as the other Garmin CX models, lacking just a few things that are all unimportant or easily worked around. Compared to the Legend CX and/or Vista CX, the Venture CX is *lacking* the following:
- Electronic compass. This is only needed if you're standing still; otherwise, the Venture CX figures out which way you're facing by which direction you're heading.
- Barometric altimeter. The Venture CX can still determine your altitude from the GPS signals. It might be less accurate than a barometric altimeter, but I didn't notice any horribly inaccurate readings during my trek through the Andes, which ranged from about 5000 to 13,500 feet.
- 64MB MicroSD card. Getting a separate 1GB MicroSD card is about ten dollars these days, and 64MB is fairly small for storing things like topo maps, anyway.
- USB cable. It uses a standard mini USB plug, so I just used the cable that came with my digital camera.
- MapSource software. Several different free applications (including Google Earth) can be used to move data to or from the GPS. Garmin's MapSource software might be nice, but it's not necessary for most things.
The unit itself is great.
- Its battery life is excellent: I routinely got four or more days (~7-8 hours a day) of track recording out of a pair of alkaline AA cells.
- Fine reception. On an 8-day trek, I only lost the signal a few times, total, never for more than a few minutes, and usually in extremely steep canyons. I was carrying it in a cargo pocket on my pants, which isn't the best place for signal strength, anyway.
- The screen was clear and bright; it is transreflective, so there is no need for the backlight at all during the day. At night the lowest backlight setting was perfectly adequate, which helps the battery life.
- Lots of useful built-in features. It is my first GPS, so I can't compare it to others in this regard, but I enjoyed things like the "trip odometer," which records time moving and stopped separately, giving average speeds for each, along with lots of other data. That was great for keeping track of our pace while hiking.
- And the most important to me, though a bit esoteric, was the ability for me to load custom-made topographic maps. The process is fairly involved, requiring many different applications (all free downloads), but if you're up for it, know that it is possible to download digital elevation data (produced by NASA) for almost any region on Earth, produce a high-quality topographic map, and upload it to this GPS. You can't even buy topo maps for most of the world for this unit, so being able to make and use them for free is a great feature in my opinion.
Name: K. Newton
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Date: 2006-06-30
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Great GPS
Comment: In June my family and I went a family vacation to Yellowstone. Usually when we go on an outdoor vacation we go hiking and such. I purchased this unit because my brother and I had discussed going on a 15 to 20 mile hike and I wasn't sure how well the trails were marked. The GPS was a great peice of equipment, it shows you everything you would want to see while hiking like speed, distance time, and most importantly where you have been so that you can find your way back. It also shows things like elevation and compass heading. The screen was easy to read and without being bulky. We also mapped our way around from Yellowstone to the Grand Tetons and all the way to Salt Lake City. It is kind of like having "mapquest.com" at your fingertips. If I had to say anything negative it would be that it does use batteries pretty quickly, the 32 hours that was specified on the spec sheet was not what I experienced, it was more like 12 to 14 hours, even so for the detail and peace of mind it is a great piece of equipment.
|
Larger image or other views
