Etrex summit heaven | GARMIN 010-00633-00 Etrex Summit HC GPS Receiver

Garmin eTrex Summit HC Hand Held Receiver with Built in GPS Patch Antenna | GARMIN 010-00633-00 Etrex Summit HC GPS Receiver

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	• GARMIN 010-00633-00 Etrex Summit HC GPS Receiver Garmin Garmin average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Decent, but Expected More

I bought this unit for use on hikes, bike rides, and other similar outdoor activities. I've had it for a few months now, and overall, I'm only somewhat satisfied. Here's a list of pros and cons that have stuck with me so far:

Pros:
-easy to read/see color screen (even in bright sunlight)
-highly customizable screens (types and amount of data shown on each screen)
-fairly easy to learn and operate
-many features, including barometric altimeter and electronic compass

Now, the cons to this product may not be specific to this unit. It may be more a function of the limitations of GPS:

-inaccurate (sometimes highly) "tracking" of horizontal position or trail actually traveled (I've compared to trail maps and Google Earth visible trails, and some of my tracks are inexplicably way off)
-inaccurate barometric altimeter (sometimes hundreds of feet off. I've turned it on, and had elevation readings of -200 feet!!) which must be constantly calibrated. Also, if you calibrate at the bottom of a climb, by the time you reach the summit, it may be over 100' off.
-very inaccurate odometer data, and inconsistencies in the data. For example, I recently hiked Half Dome, which is 4800' vertical gain...this unit only registered 1500' total ascent, but the begin elevation and end elevation shown were well over 1500' different. Also, on the same Half Dome hike, the odometer read 5 miles hiked, but the track total registered a more accurate 8.3 miles.
-very "stiff" buttons.

Again, the inaccuracy may be a function of the limitations of GPS, but the odometer inaccuracies in terms of total distance, total ascent, descent, etc. was disppointing. Perhaps Garmin needs to come up with another way of calculating these values. I think a lot of these values are calculated using current horizontal and vertical velocity, which may be inaccurate at any given moment. With inconsistencies at any given moment, it is difficult for the unit to calculate the actual horizontal and vertical distance traveled.

In any case, overall, I would recommend this product for simple trail and waypoint marking. But it should be understood you will only get "general" information, and not anything resembling very accurate data.

**EDIT** Garmin released a firmware patch in Feb of '08, and it has really helped with the accuracy of certain data. The total ascent data is much more accurate now, often within 100' of actual climbed distance (that may not seem so great, but it was horrible before). Also, the distance measurements are better. When I save a track, the distance per the track is much more close to the odometer reading, usually within a mile for a 10-15 mile hike (which again, is just ok, but better than before).

Overall, the unit does seem to be more accurate in all ways now, perhaps due in part to this firmware update. Also, tracks seem to be more accurate in terms of comparing visually to maps. I'm more happy with the unit now, and would probably give it 4 stars if I reviewed it today.

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Etrex summit heaven

I am a mountain biker and suffered with having to make frequent stops to get a map out of my back pack and then spend a few minutes working out where i was........painful! The etrex became choice number one because of price mainly, i was not too sure how it would work on the trail but other reviews seemed favourable. Linked up to some decent software it performs like a dream, one minor problem is spending too much time "Heads in" looking at it to find out where on the planet you are, not ideal on a bike!! When loaded with a route it is dead easy, the compass page gives you a big red arrow to point to your direction of travel, and you get an audible beep when approaching a change of direction. Plusses are price, functionality, connectivity, battery life and ease of use even for a biff like me. Minus point is the fact that you get a bit engrossed in it when hurtling downhill!!!!!!

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Garmin eTrex Summit HC Hand Held Receiver with Built in GPS Patch Antenna

Product Hardware: 9/10
User Interface : 9/10
Scale-ability : 7/10 (No Memory card Slot)
Precision : 6-11 mts in normal conditions.
Supplied Software and MAP: 9.5/10
Overall : Justifies the cost paid.

Other Advantages:
Power Supply: The best part is that it is powered by 2 AA cells which can be obtained anywhere. We can use chargeable cells.

Electronic Compass: Though does not function well, when unit is stationary, but extreamy helpful. You don't have to carry a compass.

Altimeter: Very good feature. I found it pretty accurate.

Final Reccomendation: Go for a slight higher range model which has SD card slot. For daily users, this model is more than sufficient.

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Best on its Price

This is the best GPS that you can find in its price range, it has all the capabilities of a Etrex Vista for less price, the only difference between this and de Summit HC is the memory, Summit has 24 Built in Memory and Vista you need to buy a SD card for it.

Great Handheld GPS

I purchased this GPS for hiking. The GPS quickly aquires satelites (Much more quickly than my antiquated Garmin III Plus). The Barometric altitude feature is great for anyone interested in hiking in the high country. Very Accurate! The electronic compass is a nice feature as well.

Over all a great product from one of the leaders in GPSr.

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A staple among outdoor enthusiasts, eTrex Summit HC features a high-sensitivity GPS receiver for peak performance in any environment and includes 24 megabytes (MB) of internal memory, a detailed basemap, crisp color screen, barometric altimeter and electronic compass.With its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, eTrex Summit HC locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. The advantage is clear - whether you're in deep woods or just near tall buildings and trees, you can count on Summit HC to help you find your way when you need it the most.eTrex Summit HC has a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing information even while you're standing still, and its barometric altimeter tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. You can even use the altimeter to plot barometric pressure over time, which can help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions.eTrex Summit HC's basemap contains lakes, rivers, cities, interstates, national and state highways, railroads and coastlines. Summit HC also includes 24 MB of internal memory, so you can load waypoints and routes from the included MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager software and add map detail from Garmin's entire line of optional MapSource mapping products. Its 256-color, sunlight-readable display makes it easy to distinguish map details - even in bright sunlight.

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