Garmin eTrex Vista
| Ease of Use |
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(4/5.0) |
| Value |
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(5/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(5/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(5/5.0) |
Reviewed By: J Hanzlik - Cheyenne, WY
Personally I have not used my Garmin very much yet. I love to hunt and we just moved to Wyoming and I was told not to go to the mountains without a GPS. I did some research and was told Garmin is the way to go. I am excited to be able to play with my new toy! I bought it for a Christmas present for my husband and look forward to using it. I plan on getting a second so we both have one.
Vista sets it's sights high, and delivers.
| Ease of Use |
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(5/5.0) |
| Value |
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(5/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(4/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(5/5.0) |
Reviewed By: Erik Walum - Portland, OR
As the top of the Etrex line of Garmin handheld GPS devices, the Vista truly is the cream of the crop. It's incredibly light, fits in your hand, comes fully loaded with a basemap of interstates and highways, cities and towns. It communicates seamlessly with the PC with the optional serial cable, fits nicely on the dash of your car with the optional dash mount kit and generally does a nice job of doing everything you'd expect out of a handheld GPS. Now add 24 megabytes of RAM, GPS and pressure gleaned Altimiter, GPS and magnetic electronic compass, Altitude log with visual display, superb backlit display, and you've got yourself a swiss army approvable survival tool whether you're traversing the concrete jungle or the amazon.
What's more, Garmin continuously updates the firmware, adding features, fixing bugs and keeping things up to date. The Vista automatically keeps a track log of where you've been, holding approximately four hours of driving time. Reverse your route and find your way home, no problem. Even the price is right, if you're lucky enough to get the fifty dollar rebate good through the end of the year.
Installing photo quality Lithium Ion AA batteries greatly increases the battery life. The optional Auto adaptor which plugs the Vista to the cigarrette lighter to the serial port on your laptop means you don't even need batteries when you're driving with the Vista, saving your batteries for when you're out on the lake fishing or up hiking in the mountains.
The only drawbacks I've found are that the memory is not expandable, so I can't take advantage of a 16 hour track log or upload a ton of maps to my Vista. Acquiring sattelites can take a while, depending on your location and the tree and cloud cover, but that's to be expected when you consider the size and relative accessability of this handheld beauty with an internal antenna.
By all counts, this baby is highly reccommended.
Garmin etrax Vista
| Ease of Use |
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(5/5.0) |
| Value |
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(5/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(5/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(5/5.0) |
Reviewed By: Gerard Zazzera - Carbondale, PA.
I bought my etrax vista basically to know where I am in the woods, explore new areas for hunting, to get back to cabin or car, And once game is found to mark the route and save it and get back to that place, Simply to enhance my sport. The unit performs great for this purpose with a whole lot of other options I am having a ball exploring. I will never go on or off road without it.
Awesome package!
| Ease of Use |
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(5/5.0) |
| Value |
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(5/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(5/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(5/5.0) |
Reviewed By: L. Goodwin - Mojave Desert, CA
Having had several GPS units in the last 10 years I can honestly say this is an awesome unit. The memory capacity alone is amazing being able to quickly load several states worth of topo maps and zoom in 10x on any of them. The built in digital compass allows for heading fixes without moving. When travelling on road, the Vista is able to receive accurate fixes within 15-20 ft. without an external antenna. Small as a cellphone,rugged water resistent case,accurate as hello,tons of memory- hey- I'm impressed!
Garmin eTrex Vista gets A++
| Ease of Use |
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(5/5.0) |
| Value |
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(5/5.0) |
| Performance |
|
(5/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(5/5.0) |
Reviewed By: Lisa Van Der Weert - Montgomery, AL
The Garmin eTrex Vista was not only priced to sell, it arrived via UPS several days after ordering it. It is so easy to use that I didn't really need to instruction manual to figure it out. It comes with a handy quick start guide that summarized basic operations. The Garmin eTrex Vista has been an excellent companion on a recent trip out of town as well as a camping trip. Completer with altimiter, trip info and downloadable memory, it was great!!! It far exceeded my expectations. I'm even considering buying one for my sportsman father as a birthday gift. Won't he be impressed!!! I sure was!!
Garmin etrex Vista
| Ease of Use |
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(5/5.0) |
| Value |
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(5/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(4/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(5/5.0) |
Reviewed By: Peter Procopio - Gallup, NM
I was using this GPS almost immediately after receiving it. It is very straight forward in its operation, logical and well designed. This is my first attempt at operating a GPS.
GARMIN etrex Vista
| Ease of Use |
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(4/5.0) |
| Value |
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(5/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(5/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(5/5.0) |
Reviewed By: Chris - Sparks, NV
Awesome GPS. Gives an outdoors person everything he/she needs. Would recommend to anyone wanting the top of the Garmin Line for outdoor products.
Garmin eTrex vista
| Ease of Use |
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(1/5.0) |
| Value |
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(5/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(5/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(5/5.0) |
Reviewed By: Mark Hallman - Atlanta, Georgia
I purchased this GPS as a toy for my son and me to enjoy the new sport of Geocaching. I decided on the vista because of all the additional features and memory. The unit is fun and very intuitive...my 8 year old son can operate most of the functions! It is lightweight, compact, and fairly durable. The display may be small for those requiring glasses, but "is" extremely crisp. For the money, the vista is a good value.
garmin vista gps
| Ease of Use |
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(4/5.0) |
| Value |
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(5/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(5/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(5/5.0) |
Reviewed By: J. McLaughlin - eugene, oregon
the vista is all i had hoped for being a avid outdoors person my concerns were ease of operation, compact and lightweight and sturdy construction this unit is a must for anyone in the boondocks.
the service at vanns was top notch mike was outstanding to deal with. many thanks J. McLAUGHLIN OREGON.
Garmin Vista
| Ease of Use |
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(5/5.0) |
| Value |
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(5/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(5/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(5/5.0) |
Reviewed By: Murray McDonald - New Smyrna Beach, Florida
I purchased the Garmin "Vista" to be used recreationally and for work purposes.
The unit has the capabilities to download 32 mb. of additional map information into the unit. This feature surpasses any other hand held unit on the market. For search and rescue opperations this allows a lot more freedom to acurately navigate and plot large search areas on land without the necessity to stop and down load frequently from a computer.
With the Barometric feature tracking weather changes can allert the user of rapid weather deterioratiion.
Using the unit to plot courses and navigating is done with ease.
This unit is chalked full of features for both the hunter and fishermen as well. It is compact and light weight, making it easy to pack.
The Garmin Vista is well worth considering for both the novice or professional navigator. Feature for feature This is a fine unit.
Know where you're at with a Garmin's eTrex Vista GPS
| Ease of Use |
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(4/5.0) |
| Value |
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(4/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(5/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(4/5.0) |
Reviewed By: Spin Shaffer - Truckee, Ca
Being out in the middle of the woods, or desert, with no idea of where you are and only a faint idea of where you have been, can be extremely frustrating. To help solve this problem, the great and almighty Cartographer blessed us with maps. However, having a map does not help if you can’t tell where you are on the map. Introduce a GPS unit. Now you’re styling. However, not all GPS units are created equal.
Having used Garmin’s GPS III Plus for the last few years, in both wooded and desert environments, I realized it had a few flaws. The fist flaw was that I had to carry a compass so I could properly orientate my topo maps, then use the GPS to set a point off in the distance that I wanted to go to. With the built in compass in the Vista, I no longer have to carry the compass. Second, I found that in certain circumstances, it would have been helpful to know the elevation. Unfortunately, our esteemed cartographers are not always accurate in their map creation. On a few occasions, the GPS unit would “say” I am suppose to be right here on my 7.5 map, but my physical surroundings would not match what the topo map was displaying. Having the 3rd point of reference (elevation) establishes a 3 dimensional waypoint. Since we live in a 3 dimensional world and not a 2 dimensional world as it is on the map, it just makes sense, and navigation easier. The only downside of the Vista was the smaller screen. But the newly added features which also include more memory and some other bells and whistles, outweigh this minor problem. If you are only using your GPS for driving on the streets and highways of the world, then there are better choices for a GPS unit than the Vista. However, if you are out in the woods and deserts, where roads don’t exit or are very minimal, then the Vista is a nice light weight unit that has a lot of functionality that makes knowing where you are easy.
Garmin Vista handheld comparison
| Ease of Use |
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(3/5.0) |
| Value |
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(3/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(3/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(3/5.0) |
Reviewed By: James Okamoto - Fresno, CA
I purchased the Garmin Vista after having used a Garmin 3plus for a number of years. The Vista was an improvement in function in many ways, however after a few years of really limited use my unit developed an intermittant joystick problem and a display fault. Now out of warranty the Garmin flat rate repair charge exceeds what I believe the unit would resell for. Ive heard of other emap based units having similar joystick problems and noticed the new Garmin models using different pad type joysticks. I also found the track display difficult to see and the side mounted buttons at times difficult to manipulate.
I have since accuired a used Garmin GPS V, discontinued production model, off of ebay & found it to be a great lower cost solution. The unit is quite sturdy and will also autoroute street addresses with the appropriate Garmin software. It looks to be a popular unit for use on motorcycles where vibration damage can be a problem.
I would shy away from the latest automotive type units for handheld use since they tend to have nonremovable, nonservicable batteries and limited battery life as well as questionable shock and water resistance.
The new Garmin 60Cx would be my ultimate choice for a robust handheld unit with car map navigating functionality. The 60Cx seems to be a popular unit with the Geocaching crowd with its fast response and high accuracy SiRF-III reciever chip. This unit has a base map but for maximum functionality would need optional Garmin map software. Garmin software tends to be pricey but is known to be quite accurate and detailed. I have to also commend Garmin for having an 800 number tech support which is both readily available and knowledgeable.
Garmin eTrex Vista
| Ease of Use |
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(3/5.0) |
| Value |
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(4/5.0) |
| Performance |
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(2/5.0) |
| Overall Rating |
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(3/5.0) |
Reviewed By: Bill - Corpus Christi, TX
I received the GPS on time from a very courteous
sales person."5 for Vann's"
After using the GPS one day in the car it does not seem to be as accurate as claimed. Of course the problem could be poor reception but I have a convertible and the signals should pass through the fabric of the top.
I drove out and back 6 miles on a straight road, the track was 120? to the side of the road when the GPS said it was within 25?. After turning around the track shifted 300? from the outbound track and 420? from the road on the map. After about a mile it went to where it should be 20? to the side of the outbound track.
I bought this for coastal marine navigation and it does not look like it will do the job.
This is my first experience with GPS so I may be expecting too much. I will contact Garmin on Monday.
