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.

I have had many Garmins, unfortunately Garmin does allow me to design the perfect handheld unit... I have the Etrex 30 also, I'm always looking for better battery life. I don't need an electronic compass. I am impress with the battery life, especially with the back-light turned down low... I do miss the sharing wirelessly feature that the 30 has but a minor inconvenience. For my purpose this is about as good as it gets. I use it for pre planning my hike, tracking my hikes, geocaching -paperless- Off all the garmins I have had, about 8, this is my favorite. This device also picks up the Russian satellites

I purchased this unit expecting to have a nice piece technology. However this little box has a screen reminiscent of a 1990's cell phone and the controls function in the same clunky fashion as one as well. The base map is useless as it only provides main highways. If you want additional maps (24k topo) expect to shell out an additional $100. If you would like the satellite imagery as well, it's an additional $30. That $130 only covers 2 states! I can only assume that the lack competition has allowed Garmin to charge ridiculous prices for essentially nothing especially when you consider that a smart phone is a mini computer with GPS built in. I was expecting much more than what I received for $180.

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.

Picked this up from REI as soon as they were finally available and I'm glad I waited. Easy to download files from Geocaching.com for paperless Geocaching. Comes ready to go out of the box. You navigate around with a toggle and side buttons, which take a while to master but feel solid and responsive. Battery life seems good, screen display is bright, colorful and clear. We prefer the compass navigation with the big bright arrow and easy to read distance to cache display. The maps are good too but not as easy to follow out in the field, especially for the kids. This is a very nice unit that takes a while to get up to speed with. Recommended

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!

I bought this Garmin GPS to take with me hiking in Yellowstone. I bought a CD of maps to download the ones I needed. The manual that came with the unit had absolutely no instructions on how to load maps onto the unit. What good is a GPS if you can't load maps onto it? Fortunately I called the REI store and they put me in touch with someone who told me how to load the maps. If you go to the Garmin website, there is no directions on how to load them. Their technical support is really poor and their manuals are totally useless. Machine works great, but no technical support. Would never buy another Garmin product,

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.

I bought this specifically for backpacking and hunting in areas that are too thick with vegetation and lacking significant geographic features to be easily navigated with a map and compass. When you factor in the trips out/back for hunting in the dark, and difficult terrain in marshes and swamps, I didn't want to rely on a map & compass to navigate safely. The eTrex 20 fills the bill nicely. When some of the free map software (Google search for it) is downloaded, boundaries for public/private lands are readily available, base maps for various areas are there to be had, and overall the set-up and running of the eTrex 20 is easy to do. It's small, lightweight, and the battery life has been very good. Coverage, even in tight vegetative cover, has been excellent and plenty fast enough. For a basic GPS that will get you there, mark your waypoints accurately, and get you back safely, the eTrex 20 has everything you need and none of the fancy (expensive) options you don't.

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.