Magellan eXplorist 200 Water Resistant Hiking GPS by Magellan
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Digital camera reviews of Magellan eXplorist 200 Water Resistant Hiking GPS
Digital camera Review: Superb quality! Great buy!
Summary: 4 Stars
You will not find a better built and performing entry level Gps for the money. I have always been pleased with the 200 and found that while geocaching it's simple to operate and easy to carry around. Small things like being able to float and the rubber armor are nice. The only two things that come to mind I wish the 200 had, is a dc power connection and more detailed maps (why I gave it a 4). Other than that, can't beat it. If you find yourself needing better maps and dc power you will have to upgrade to another level of Gps such as the Explorist 210,400 and above.Digital camera Review: Terrific GPS for Family Geocaching
Summary: 5 Stars
My 8-year old son read an article about Geocaching and really got excited. I wanted to get a GPS handheld that offered great value and ease-of-use. I tried the Garmin eTrex, eTrex Legend, Geko and the Magellan eXplorist 200 (a local Geocaching club let me field test the units) and I downloaded the manuals from the Garmin/Magellan websites and poured over them.
The verdict -- I bought the eXplorist 200. The base map gives you the major freeways, highways, and cities -- even parks and national landmarks. The buttons and functions were the most intuitive of any of the models tested -- very important when you have children operating the unit. The LCD screen is as big as the expensive models and highly legible in ambient light. My son loves it and the entire family is getting lots of hikes and geocaching done in the great outdoors.
What happens next? I will save up for a more powerful unit with a PC connection, map software, etc, now that we are hooked on GPS navigation. The eXplorist will remain with my son -- like cell phones, it is always a good idea to have an extra one around...
Digital camera Review: Undetailed, and a bit slow
Summary: 3 Stars
My best friend owns two of these GPS system things. So, yeah, I'm a newbie at this GPS thing. I turned it on, and it took 10 seconds for it to go to the map. Then, 10, 20, 30...60...100 seconds...why aren't the satellites connecting?...200, then finally a satellite was connected, and I was outside. I zoomed all the way in, and it was very confusing. I could only see three roads, one being the I-10 freeway. And no, Tucson is not a small city. Actually, it's pretty big, the second biggest city in Arizona, and Phoenix being the biggest, and due to all of the northwest area construction, that's not saying much. The map was very unclear, showing two main roads, I-10, and this big circle saying Flowing Wells. And Flowing Wells was actually misplaced, and should have been a little more southern.
It does have it's high points. At least you have specific numbers, on how far and fast you are walking, but once again, slow.
It does what it's supossed to do, but it does it in such a below-average way that I can not recommend.
Digital camera Review: WARNING
Summary: 1 Stars
I don't have a clue how this item works - I just took it out of the box. What I can tell you is that it does NOT accept a cigarette lighter adapter, as one might conclude it would, given that Amazon and other dealers include a cigarette adapter as an accessory.Digital camera Review: excellent for entry level geocaching
Summary: 4 Stars
I've tried several GPS receivers, mostly loaned from friends, and settled for this one for various reasons. The main activity was going to be GEOCACHING with my children, and was planning to give it to them for use. I fully expect that the children will eventually break it, either from a fall, or whatever. I tried a friend's Garmin 60cs, which is a marvel of electronics and usability, but quite frankly, if my child was going to break it, its cost of over $400 would have given me a heart attack. I noticed that both Magellan and Garmin are pushing color displays, but at twice the price of the grayscale displays. That is really only needed for maps, to discriminate a state road from a local road. For geocaching, grayscale is good enough. From reading the previous reviews, one good comment made was on the fact that the 200 does not allow uploads or downloads (you'll need a 210 for that). But is it worth it $100 more ? the electronic compass can be replaced by a regular $10 compass, and the barometric altimeter is subject to atmospheric nuances that can make its reading inaccurate with a margin of error of 10 meters anyway. So I don't consider these two features a must-have. Also noted is that the color displays drain batteries much faster. Another reason for choosing this model. Also noted was that on long camping trips away from a rechargeable-from-car appliance, a model that uses disposable batteries is better than rechargeables. From reading the reports and reviews, I had some concerns on the time-to-first-signal (could be too long) and the accuracy of the position given, and loss of signal. It proved to be not a problem. As for the uploading of geocaching data, I am printing the pages describing the cache, printing a topo map, and then, entering them manually as I start a trip. Entered 20 coordinates in 30 minutes, and the joystick interface worked out great when picking the alphaletters to name the mark, better than with a Garmin. One beef I do however is that the names of the mark cannot be more than six chars long. The 210 allows up to 20. Life ain't perfect. To summarize, my biggest determinant on chossing this model was price, since I completely expect that the kids will break it. If it takes a year for that to happen, a hundred is a price I can live with for a year of activity. More than a hundred, I would get upset.