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Garmin eTrex 20 GPS

$179.95

(27)

Item # 825491

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The Garmin eTrex 20 GPS features an full-color display, expandable memory and geochaching to offer a fun and easy GPS experience for outdoor enthusiasts.

Comes with a built-in worldwide basemap with shaded relief that helps you navigate with ease
Features a 2.2 in., 65k color display can be viewed in bright sunlight;
WAAS-enabled receiver locates your position quickly and maintains reception under heavy cover
Compatibility with Russian Glonass system allows about 20% faster and more reliable satellite acquisition, helpful in challenging spots such as deep canyons or tall buildings
1.7 gigabytes of memory make it easy to add maps; choose from Garmin TOPO U.S. 24k maps, BlueChart® g2 marine maps and City Navigator® road maps (sold separately)
Supports geocaching GPX files for downloading geocache locations and details straight to the unit using the high-speed USB connection
Stores and displays geocache location, terrain, difficulty, hints and descriptions—no more manually entering coordinates or toting around paper printouts!
MicroSD™ card slot for storing additional data
Operational buttons are located along the sides of the device for easy 1-hand operation
2 AA batteries (sold separately) provide up to 25 hrs. of use of the Garmin eTrex 20 GPS
Waterproof design meets IEC 60529 lPX7 standards (can be submerged to 1m for up to 30 min.)

Please note: Garmin products can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.

Imported.

Item 825491

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Garmin eTrex 20 GPS Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Garmin eTrex 20 GPS

3.5

(based on 27 reviews)

69%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Rugged (18)
Lightweight (15)
Stable (10)
Easy to set up (9)
Accurate (5)

Cons

Difficult to set up (6)
Complicated controls (3)

Best Uses

Back country (11)
Hiking (9)
Geocaching (5)
Cycling (4)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Intermediate (8), Advanced (7), Beginner (6), Enthusiast (6)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (24), Yes (3)
- How are you with directions:
- Great w/directions (6)

Reviewed by 27 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-10

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Feb

2013

(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Accurate, long battery life, tricky UI

By Spencer SF

from San Francisco, CA

About Me Enthusiast

See all my reviews

Pros

Accurate
Long battery life
Quick Signal

Cons

Complicated Controls
Difficult To Set Up

Best Uses

Geocaching
Hiking

Comments about Garmin eTrex 20 GPS:

I use the etrex 20 for logging my hikes (and rarely bike rides) and also as an additional navigation tool in addition to map and compass. I prefer map and compass because it means I look around me a lot more and get a feel for the landscape I'm in, but having GPS is good peace of mind!

The main reason I got it is that my iPhone with MotionX GPS is great, but using it all day kills the battery. The etrex makes 2 AA batteries last a really long time. For example, I used it on a 5 hours day out to track our route and see it on a map later. The battery meter didn't even go down to 2 out of 3 bars (without the backlight on). I use eneloop rechargeable batteries with it.

Another reason I got it is that it's waterproof to an extent. If I'm out in the rain I don't want to take my iPhone out and get it wet, but there's no worries with the etrex.

The screen is clear enough to read for my purposes. If you're looking for beautiful maps and navigating on the map itself you might not like it as the built-in maps, and the ones you can get free online are fairly low detail compared to, say, a google map. I prefer using the compass screen to navigate to waypoints.

It's really small and light. Fits in a pants or backpack pocket and fits in the palm of you hand pretty nicely.

The only qualm I have is the menu system. It's a little weird because it's *so* customizable. Once you get your head around it, it's really good, but at first it's pretty confusing. The good news is that you can't really 'break' it, so you can play around with it a bunch and reset it if you get it too crazy!

The software it comes with for your computer (I'm on a mac) is pretty good. Again, not the best user experience and a little confusing at first but once you get your head around it, it makes sense.

Overall, I really like it now I have it set up how I want it. I can pull it out of my pocket and see where I'm going at a glance. It was a little pricey, I guess, but it's not like it'll need replacing every year or anything like that and it seems built to last, which I'll hopefully make it do!

Comment on this review

Feb

2013

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Good, not Great

By Gregg-G

from Severance, CO

About Me Enthusiast

See all my reviews

Pros

Accurate
Quick Signal

Cons

Complicated Controls
Difficult To Set Up
Not intuitive
Poor Documentation

Best Uses

Hiking

Comments about Garmin eTrex 20 GPS:

Purchased this device for hiking after reading a lot of mediocre reviews. I went with this particular GPS because I wanted to get my feet wet (I normally just hike with maps and a compass) with a GPS unit.
After using it a few times, I find the navigation somewhat complicated, and the screen size a little small. For wilderness hiking, I feel like I need a bit more of the map at once.
The resolution is good, and I had no problem reading the screen in any light. The batteries have a good life span as well.
The documentation is terrible, but I have noticed that with the newer releases of the Garmin Base Camp and other software, the interface is getting more intuitive to use.
In all, I will be purchasing an Oregon unit to replace this one shortly - more map and a more intuitive interface. For other sports such as geocaching, this unit would probably suffice - accurate and inexpensive.

Comment on this review

Jan

2013

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Great little GPS

By backpackermatt

from Corvallis, OR

About Me Enthusiast

See all my reviews

Pros

Accurate
Intuitive Menu
Quick Navigation
Quick Signal
Reliable Reception
Simple Controls

Cons

Best Uses

Hiking
Jogging

Comments about Garmin eTrex 20 GPS:

This is a great little unit as stated. I use it all the time. It is quick to find reception and very accurate, and does everything it is expected to do as a GPS and then some. The expandable memory is great as I can load up a ton of maps and tracks without worry of running out of space. Build quality is also great which you can't say about too much these days. Not much else to say I would highly reccomend it to anyone.

Comment on this review

Jan

2013

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Great for mapping trails

By Dalek

from Columbus, Ohio

About Me Enthusiast

See all my reviews

Pros

Accurate
Intuitive Menu
Quick Signal
Reliable Reception

Cons

Best Uses

Fishing
Hiking

Comments about Garmin eTrex 20 GPS:

I didn't buy the eTrek20 for naviagiton as much as I bought it for generating documentation. I have used it to record several trails and city hikes. It was easy to use and the maps produced by the BaseCamp software were accurate and easy to produce for other hikers. I am looking forward to documenting fishing holes this summer. It is exactly what I wanted.

Comment on this review

Dec

2012

(5 of 7 customers found this review helpful)

2.0

Extremely Unreliable

By JDM949

from Las Vegas, Nevada

About Me Enthusiast

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Complicated Controls
Hard To Read
Unreliable

Best Uses

Paper weight

Comments about Garmin eTrex 20 GPS:

This unit consistently over calculates a trip distance by as much as 20%, sometimes even more. When on a wilderness hike/climb with no trails, having a unit this inaccurate is not only inexcusable, it can be outright dangerous. The map function is almost useless, as the scrolling and redrawing is insufferably slow. When zoomed out, the maps lose all useful detail. I would never recommend this to anyone who needs to know how far they've gone, what their elevation is, and if you're in mountainous and trail-less terrain (which is pretty much all I do), the inaccuracies can be life threatening, as I know from experience.

Comment on this review

Dec

2012

(10 of 10 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Very nice for the price

By cltinseattle

from Seattle, WA

About Me Enthusiast

See all my reviews

Pros

Quick Navigation
Quick Signal

Cons

No Base Map Really
Slow Map Load Time

Best Uses

Geocaching
Hiking

Comments about Garmin eTrex 20 GPS:

For less than $200.00, compared to the other GPS units out there, this is a very nice unit. I haven't had it long so I am only commenting on using it for a couple of weeks. For geocaching or hiking on established trails I am very happy with this eTrex 20. However, I already had the US Topo 24K DVD with WA, OR, CA, and NV to load maps onto it. If I didn't already have that it would have cost over $100.00 for the map. The base map that comes with it is pretty useless.

The Users Manual is also pretty useless. I am able to figure out how to use it because this is my 3rd Garmin eTrex. Previously I had an eTrex Venture HC and an eTrex Vista HCx. These have been passed down to other family members but if I hadn't had previous experience with them I'd be scratching my head trying to figure out how to use this one.

I did give this 4 stars so I'm not going to just say negative things about it. The things mentioned above are things to be taken into consideration though.

Now for the good stuff. This is a nice compact rugged little unit. I get pretty good battery life from it. It has a lot of nice features that my previous GPS's didn't have. I like how easy it is to change the back light and set day and night color themes. For geocaching the paperless geocaching is really nice. Personally I do feel that having the GLONASS satellites helps a lot. It has been very accurate for me. It seems pretty water tight as well. I keep mine in the Garmin case that costs around $15 and it hangs from my neck most of the time so I haven't experienced the bumping of buttons that others have mentioned.

Overall, I am very happy with this eTrex 20. I suppose it all depends upon what your intended use is. For geocaching and on-trail hiking this is a great little unit. I don't doubt that if you are into more serious mountaineering or out-of-bounds skiing or whatever more high-end needs you might have then you would probably want to spend more money on a unit designed for those purposes, and also spend the money on the appropriate maps. I am thinking of my family members who went to Mt. Everest this past year - I would not recommend this GPS for something that serious.

However, for most of us who want a GPS for "normal" stuff I would recommend this eTrex 20 very highly. Personally I love it and those other family members who now have the older Garmin's are very jealous of mine when we are out hiking.

I don't know if this review helps you or not, I just hope it helps put things into perspective. It is a great "normal" use GPS. If you venture into those places where no man has gone before then I'm sure you'll want to spend more money on a higher end GPS.

Comment on this review

Aug

2012

4.0

Fantastic value

By Erik from Key West

from Key West, Florida

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy To Set Up
Flexible
Lightweight
Rugged
Stable

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Garmin eTrex 20 GPS:

I recently used the eTrex 20 on a 10-day trip in the Alpine Lakes with the added topo map chip. It was my first hiking GPS experience.

For a basic no-frills hiking GPS, this Garmin is fantastic value. I found it to have better than advertised battery life. The chip setup took one minute.

The only niggling negative is an overly sensitive toggling selector that sometimes take repeated re-positioning to select the desired command.

No altimeter, but you have GPS altitude and the map contours to provide that with adequate accuracy. No compass, but who cares?

Priced as it is under $200, I heartily endorse the eTrex 20.

Comment on this review

Aug

2012

(0 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Wonderful Gift Idea

By khevly

from East Wenatchee, WA

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy To Set Up
Flexible
Lightweight
Rugged
Stable

Cons

Best Uses

Back Country
Cross Country
Extreme Conditions

Comments about Garmin eTrex 20 GPS:

This was a gift for my daughter who is a wildlife biology major and her fiance. They love it!!!

Comment on this review

Aug

2012

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Pretty Awesome GPS

By jollyjolls

from Marysville, MI

About Me Intermediate

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy To Set Up
Lightweight
Long battery life
Micro SD Slot
Rugged
Stable

Cons

No Detailed Map Included
Not Rechargeable

Best Uses

Back Country
Backpacking
Biking
Geocaching
Hiking

Comments about Garmin eTrex 20 GPS:

The only thing that made me hesitant about buying this GPS is that there is no default detailed map. Detailed maps are quite expencive. I bought the "TOPO U.S. 24K - Great Lakes" which is $99, as most TOPO maps are around that price & higher. So after a map purchase, this is really a $300 GPS (give or take a few dollars). This GPS does come with a very vague map of the USA.

The micro SD slot is pretty handy, as the internal memory really isn't that much.
I use rechargeable AA batteries, they work out rather well.

I love using this GPS for hiking, backpacking, geocaching, etc.

Comment on this review

Jul

2012

(3 of 10 customers found this review helpful)

2.0

not of much value

By jerrye

from temple city

About Me Intermediate

See all my reviews

Pros

You can have waypoints

Cons

Difficult To Set Up

Best Uses

Back Country

Comments about Garmin eTrex 20 GPS:

You can make waypoints, which get you back to where you started. But, if you expect anything more than that, you'll be dissappointed. There seem to be other features, but they're not of much value. You can save ALL your waypoints i.e. Utah, Calif., and only delete ALL of them. This device is more of a novelty or toy for a youngster who has outgrown walkie-talkies. I'm not convinced it's very accurate. We'll see. I've taken it to Utah - all over, and the San Gabriel Mtns. It's really confusing. the salesman should have cautioned me rather than to tout how great it was, but then that's some salemen.