Garmin  Foretrex 601 GPS

The pan track in this thing is awesome. It creates a breadcrumb trail as you walk. And of course you can set as many way points as you need. I would map out areas and take different paths each time I would go back to an area. I began to see how that area wove together. This thing has helped me find my way out of places not so well marked more than once. And this thing would get signal anywhere! I have gotten 4 days out of it. I would say after 2 days of continuous use, I would change them out. So awesome and not that expensive.

The display is excellent in both direct sunlight and lowlight. Lowlight is enhanced with backlighting. The operation, programming and menu structure is very similar to the 401. I can tell there is more processing horsepower in the 601. Everything seems faster. Being able to use 3 different satellites constellations for gps means very fast satellite acquisition, around 30 seconds indoors. There is Bluetooth connectivity with the iPhone but you still need to connect to a computer to upload and download track, route and waypoint data. Overall, I'm very happy with the upgrade from the 401.

I bought this GPS device to record the latitudes and longitudes of sites where I made biological sample. It took a very long time (excess of 10 minutes) for it to lock onto satellites, the coordinate readings were unsbable on a scale of seconds by degrees, and the readings disappeared entirely for several minutes from the screen. State regulation required me to record coordinates where I made samples. I was the failure of this device placed me in violation of my Alaska State permit. I returned it without any problems about 10 days after I bought it, but it created a major problem for me. I have had several other Garman devices that worked well, and I have no way of knowing whether this is a bad product or I got a bad one, but I certainly cannot recommend it..

Stop complaining. This is meant to put a grid in and get to it, rinse and repeat. You want maps, get a full GPS system built for it. Stop downgrading things because you purchased the wrong item for your task. This works excellent to get from point A to B,C,D....in a hurry. Works excellent.

I wear this to both hike, run and out in the field (military). Nice piece of kit and battery life is good. Got the wrist strap for 401 and it fits well with a little wiggle but easy to deal with. Syncing with all three satellites is great. Still working with the software and uploading tracks but so far so good!!

I recieved this as a gift. I wasn't sure how to use it as I have never felt that I needed GPS before. I am super comfortable with map and compass. The reviews were generally good so I decided to keep it. Big mistake. I should have returned it immediately as REI has a very limited return policy on electronics. There is no map feature on this device. You have to down load maps at Garmin's base camp ,then lay down a route, and then transfer it to this device. You will only have the route and waypoints. There is no data about surrounding trails, roads, or terrain. The Gaia app on my phone is way, way more useful than this device. I wish I had returned it for a store credit.

This GPS is very easy to use because you wear it like a watch. It is highly legible and can sync to your phone for messaging. Three satellite systems and a barometer/altimeter are a plus. Great battery life which can save your life (at least twice as long as other units I have used)!

I‘buyed this device as a replacement for my older Foretrex 401, which was and still is a reliable gps device. The 601 compared to the 401 is not at all what has been promised, e.g slow update of display data (speed, direction, etc. ). With the high resolution of te display the lines are to much to small, so it‘s not easy to see them like the 401 was. The battery lifetime is much better, but it looks like they sacrified the speed to gain better battery time. I‘m very disatisfied and hope e future firmware update will fix at least the issues mentioned

I have a garmin 130 garmin Oregon 600 with topo maps a garmin 310xt and a garmin 305 that I brought with me today on a 13 mile wilderness trail run. Until my purchase of the 601 I never had a problem with garmin products This is my second 601 that has poor gps reception. On return back to home gives reading that are off the scale. Will not clear total miles so on return or back to start. The previous miles are added to the current mileage . Cannot clear total miles. I called garmin and there customer service was horrible they wanted $87.00 dollars for a unit purchased on March 22

I love Garmin, and I love Foretrex’s. But for some reason this unit refuses to detect ANY satellites. It sat outside for hours with various GPS settings on/off. Nothing. Not even POOR reception. It’s almost like it doesn’t have an antenna. I don’t live on a remote Pacific island. I live in rural Maryland. Gonna have to return it. I’m going to exchange it for another because it deserves a second chance. We’ll see.