Garmin eTrex Legend Review

The Garmin eTrex Legend is an entry level mapping receiver. A good choice for the outdoor enthusiast, the Legend can accommodate products  like MapSource USA TOPO for backcountry maps and MetroGuide to show points of interest on the road, but it will not provide turn-by-turn automatic routing. You'll need to step up to the Legend C for that.

If numbers are any reflection of its popularity, that can be seen by the fact that well over 100 people have reviewed it at Amazon, where they gave an average 4 out of 5 star review to the eTrex Legend. Amazon's editorial review says... 

"...one of the most striking attributes of the Legend is its comfortable and efficient design. While it rests easily in the palm of either hand, it's most suited for the left hand, where its handy click-stick can be manipulated with the thumb. The click-stick works like the pencil-eraser nubbin on laptop PCs and is handy for moving through screen icons and menus. It also works as a button when pressed down...

...The internal trip computer of the Legend provided a range of data about our hikes and drives, including current speed, average speed, trip distance, and time traveled (both moving and stopped). For those interested in checking out their foot pace and distance traveled, it's a handy GPS to have in hand."

Compare prices on the Garmin eTrex Legend

Here's what other people are saying about the Legend:

• One of my favorite sites, GPSinformation.net, has this review of the eTrex Legend, Vista and Venture.
• At OutdoorReview.com, 16 people gave a 4.19 out of 5 rating in their Garmin eTrex Legend review.
• Over at CNet, 15 people gave an 8.2 out of a possible 10 rating in their Garmin eTrex Legend review.

Here are some additional resources that may prove useful:

• For a detailed look, check out this PDF version of the eTrex Legend manual.
• Want to see how the Legend stacks up against other handhelds? Use this handy Garmin GPS comparison tool.
• And here is a link to a very active etrex message forum on Yahoo.

Compare prices on the Garmin eTrex Legend at these merchants:

• Check the current Garmin eTrex Legend price at Amazon.com.
• Find the low price on an eTrex Legend at GPS Now.com.
• Check the deals on Garmin GPS receivers at REI.com.
• Get the Garmin eTrex Legend for an amazing price at eBay.

Product description from the official Garmin eTrex Legend page:.

With the eTrex Legend®, Garmin has loaded a full basemap of North and South America into one small unit. The Legend is also designed to provide precise GPS positioning using correction data obtained from the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). This product will provide position accuracy to less than three meters when receiving WAAS corrections. The basemap contains lakes, rivers, cities, interstates, national and state highways, railroads and coastlines. The eTrex Legend is also equipped with additional memory totaling eight megabytes. The added memory allows the eTrex Legend to accept downloaded map data from Garmin's entire line of MapSource® CD-ROMs, including U.S. Recreational Lakes with Fishing Hot Spots. The eTrex Legend comes in a brightly-colored translucent blue case that really makes the unit stand out. New to the product design, Garmin will include marine aids to navigation in addition to the basemap. These navigational aids will be pre-loaded into each unit from the factory.

Recommended accessories:

• Garmin TOPO U.S. 2008
• Eneloop rechargeable batteries
• invisibleSHIELD screen protector
• SanDisk 2 GB MicroSD card

Other reviews:

• Garmin eTrex Venture
• Garmin eTrex Vista
• Garmin eTrex Legend C
• Garmin eTrex Legend Cx

Technorati tags: GPS