My personal experience with the eTrex 20

[boogyman]

It's six weeks now since I started using an eTrex 20, so I thought I'ld share my experience with you.

WITH WHAT DO I COMPARE?
This is my third satnav in the eTrex series: my first was an eTrex Legend H (it's display died), then an eTrex Legend HCx (still working but it's accuracy suffers badly, completely my own fault), and now I went for the eTrex 20. Here-below are a few conclusions, after having used it more or less "seriously". Please note that these are just my own personal findings, they are not the results of extensive lab-tests.

THE GOOD.
1) Speed of location fix as well as accuracy are (very) good. I should mention that I have enabled GPS and GLONASS satellite reception, as well as WAAS.
2) Display quality is fair in sunlight to good otherwise.
3) Speed of processing: from time to time you notice that the device has only just enough, or maybe just not enough cpu power. For example when redrawing the map, or when handling stored tracks. But you have control over this, by enabling only the map(s) that you need, by storing only the track(s) that you need, and by setting the level of map detail to display.

THE BAD.
4) Handling capability of the device is not good.
4a) Garmin moved the joystick to the top-right corner of the frontpanel - which is really the worst place, when you handle your satnav with your left hand (which I always do).
4b) The mounting system does not allow you to detach nor re-attach the device with a single hand. Unless you are sleight of hand, maybe.
5) The build quality feels a lot less robust as that of the older eTrex models. Concrete examples:
5a) It is really easy to close the battery lid "in a wrong way", almost certainly leaving the unit all but watertight (but as you can imagine, I have not checked this).
5b) The locking mechanism of the battery compartment: you would expect it on a toy, not on an outdoor device.
5c) The slot holding the microSD card is just too fragile, compared to where it is located (underneath the batteries). I am not that clumsy, but when changing batteries I have to be really careful not to open the slot holding the microSD card accidently -- when your hands are cold, I bet you might have trouble.

THE UGLY.
6) When you want to use GPX files on your device, you'ld better be sure that your GPX files are written "the Garmin way". Just writing well-formed GPX files is not enough: GPX files which work perfectly well for any (other) app may still go wrong on the eTrex 20. Worse, they might confuse the device and make it misbehave. If you can prepare your GPX files well in advance, using the "correct" tools, that is not a problem. However, when you are in some sort of emergency situation and cannot choose everything you'ld like to, this might make the device miss its goal altogether...

[ianj37]

Thanks for sharing boogyman, a very good idea to post reviews like this so others can get an impartial view. So is your overall experience a thumbs up or down?

I have moved from SatMap to Garmin 62 about 4 weeks ago (well, I say moved but my SatMap Active 10 is still here and it's demise is not as certain today as it was when I bought the 62s!). I share your concern/frustration with GPX files - to get the 62s to use any of the GPX files that the SatMap was happy with I had to convert them to .map format and then back to GPX,  I've had the unit crash twice part way through a route because it suddenly didn't like the GPX file and yesterday when I connected it to Basecamp I got a message saying that 3 GPX files that I hadn't changed for weeks were causing communications problems so I had to delete them. As you say 'ugly'.

Have you used any of the Birdseye products? I downloaded a select map covering the Dark Peak but I found that the 2011 OS changes hadn't been applied.

I'll follow your example and post something about my experience with the 62S  in a week or so when I've got a bit more use out of it.

Ian

[Pete McK]

We have stuck with the Etrex H, mainly due to lack of funds and yet interestingly, because we have to use the device with a map, we find it really keeps our basic navigation skills honed.

[boogyman]

Before posting my experience with the eTrex 20, I was pondering whether or not to add a conclusion. I decided not to, but since you ask: The eTrex 20 does not give me sufficient confidence to recommend it. If I would have known six weeks back what I know now, I would not have bought it myself. I guess that translates to a thumbs down.

As for the Birdseye product: no, I have not yet used it.

Looking forward to read your experience with the gpsmap!

Chris.

[Lyle Brotherton]

I trialed the 20 & 30 series Boogyman and agree entirely with your conclusion and consequently stick with the 62 series, which whilst far from perfect, is the best compromise. Interestingly Pete McK, the electronic navigational aid I trust most is my old eTrex H, it has never let me down and I agree with you that it is both more pleasurable to use a printed map and stops my skills fade.

In my opinion, somewhere down the line Garmin's marketing people (those folk who wear blazers and boat shoes to work) stopped communicating not only with their customers, but also their engineers. A Garmin development engineer, who I dealt with extensively when writing the book, told me of lots of innovations and product improvements he and his team were working on, yet none, if any, have seen the light of day. As a firm, they have both the technological expertise and financial might combined with manufacturing experience and market presence to create a world class (read beating) handheld satnav, and yet they continue to miss the mark? 

[Oakleaf]

Picking Lyle's point and being at risk of a bit of mission creep. 

There has been a sea change in what could arguably be called 'ethics' in terms of business models. The Accountants rule and the Marketeers become the business leaders.    Engineers become very inconvenient.

Now there is a balance otherwise you end up with the superbly made but hopelessly insolvent  Finnish Varberger/ Lakelander rifles or closer to home the really nice Roger Hale of Parker Hale, the quality of whose product is only now ( decades after demise ) being realised.

In their place we have Toyota that has been forced to recall 52% of its production over the last 4 years. We had to let go Sue's 950cc Yaris T reg ( 1999 ) with 210,000 miles on it last year - and we cried  the whole day. The newer Yaris bears no comparison and wont be around at 130,000 miles I suspect.

Sako produced the M75 and a finer hunter rifle its hard to find. Berretta took over, ousted the craftsmen and hyped the M85 with features no one knew they wanted. Prices near double and after a decade the glitches are just about resolved - largely by making it more and more like a M75!

And just let's not even peek at the floatation of Royal Ordnance/ Sterling Arms/ SA80/ L85 A1 debacle!

And it goes on.  Whilst risks being very, very depressing. I believe that there's little can be readily done to change the ethos anytime soon. BUT - on the extremely large positive side it focuses us on using 'traditional skills',  plus  preserving and using products that were made by someone who gave a darn.  Which otherwise we may have forgotten.

Sermon endeth! 

[Callum]

Spot on Reverend Oakleaf! The aluminium belay devices i personally use as a descender  for abseiling, sometimes called rappeling, are an excellent case in point. It is a simple "8" shaped device that allow fast but controlled descent on a rope. They are easy to set up and are effective in dissipating the heat caused by friction and are as cheap as chips. In my humble opinion, for experienced mountaineers, this item of kit developed during WWII has never been surpassed.

I would go so far as to say that the newestdevices for abseiling from Petzl are over-complicated, awkward to use and very expensive.