Handheld GPS Reviews - Customer reviews - Garmin Etrex Venture HC GPS Receiver

Manufacturer: Garmin

List Price: $199.99
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Used Price: $129.99

Average Customer Rating: -

Product details

Offers (68)

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Name: Peter Iannuzzi
Location: Savannah,GA USA
Date: 2007-11-11
Customer Rating: -

Summary: I love this GPS
Comment: Great GPS for Biking even though it doesn't show all of the streets but it shows and directs to where you are, and Great Service from Amazon when they told me that i had a defected one before this one. Thanks amazon

Name: a viewer
Location: USA
Date: 2008-07-28
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Great unit for geocaching!
Comment: I purchased this unit several weeks ago, have used it a lot so far, and I'm very pleased with its performance.

I began geocaching several months ago and had been using my Nuvi 350 Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech for that. It worked well (and is fantastic for driving), but I was afraid I would damage it or that it would get wet from so much outdoor use. I wanted a unit that was more durable, with an excellent satellite receiver, but economical. Therefore, I ordered a Garmin eTrex Venture HC, just to use for caching. (It would probably also work well for hiking, etc.; I've only used it for geocaching.) This is the current basic eTrex model that has the new receiver (H), color screen (C), USB connection, but no card slot (x).

This little GPSr has all the features I need for geocaching, and a good many that I've still not used.

*Small size, shaped to be handheld, has a lanyard, is lightweight and easy to carry, very convenient to use
*Waterproof and durable for outdoor use
*Easy to read screen in sunlight
*Simple to use, with lots of features
*Locks on satellites quickly and holds signal very well, very accurate
*Has geocaching mode with ability to mark caches as found (not a necessity, but nice)
*Two screen choices to look for waypoint/cache--map screen and compass pointer screen
*Batteries last a long time--I've just now changed out the first set of regular alkaline batteries. I've found a couple dozen caches, placed a couple, and worked with the unit at home a lot to learn its features, usually with the backlight on, on one pair of regular AA's.
*Connects to computer with USB cable, can send brief cache info directly to unit by clicking on "Send to Garmin" on geocaching website. You can also enter the info manually, and there is space for some brief notes.
*Great price--around $115 here the last time I checked.

I really can't think of any cons. I was afraid the screen might be too small on this smaller-size unit, but it's big enough and not a problem at all. I wish it had a setting to automatically turn the backlight on each time, but it's very easy to turn it on so that's no problem.

The maps are very basic without much detail (as on most of the "outdoor" units), but I use the Nuvi if I need driving directions. After parking, I use the eTrex to find the cache and haven't needed maps for that. I haven't loaded any extra maps (I don't do wilderness caching) or used any of the 24 MB of internal memory. Forums have indicated that this is enough space for loading a good many topo maps, but not for many driving navigation maps. If you want to buy & load City Navigator for driving, you'd need a model with a card slot. For me, the Nuvi 350 and Venture HC make a great combo to cover all bases better than a single unit would.

One of the friends that I often cache with has the more expensive 60CSx, and our units usually give almost identical information. I know there are technical differences, but the eTrex performs very well in comparison.

This is the Venture HC, not the older eTrex Venture model. The more expensive eTrex units (Vista HCx, etc.) have features like an additional electronic compass & altimeter and a card slot, but I haven't needed those. I think those are the major differences in the newest eTrex models, they basically work the same and have the same receiver. Garmin's website lets you compare features on different models, and you can read the manuals there.

If you need a great unit for caching, consider the Venture HC.

Name: TJ
Location: MO
Date: 2007-12-31
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Great GPS
Comment: I bought my Venture HC this fall and it's great. Picks up sat quickly and keeps working in the woods. This isn't a routing gps, If I wanted a routing gps I'd buy a nuvi. I also bought the TOPO 2008 which is great.

Name: Patricia J. Dons
Location: Fallon, NV
Date: 2008-03-20
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Happy Again
Comment: We had gone Geocaching last year and then wondered if we were going again. Rather than have the Garmin we had sit around while we made up our mind we sold it. Decided earlier this year that we really did like the idea of the electronic treasure hunt we decided to purchase another GPS. We bought a Magellan Explorist 500. After using it for a short time we were very unhappy with it. Sold it and bought the Garmin again. The Garmin is far more user friendly. You can download the coordinates directly from Geocache.com without having to use another program. Also find that the Garmin seems more accurate. Very happy that we went back and bought the Garmin.

Name: B. Gensel
Location: Valparaiso, IN
Date: 2008-06-22
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Great for geocaching
Comment: I did the research for a first-time geocacher gps and decided on this model. I haven't been disappointed, although my 13 year-old son is the expert on using the gps. It locates satellites quickly and is very accurate. On one trip, my son was frustrated because the unit said we were right on top of the cache. Turns out we were, in fact right on top of the cache. Can't go wrong with Garmin. We use the car nuvi 660 to get us in the area and the etrex to take us to the cache.

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