Garmin eTrex Venture HC review

The Garmin eTrex Venture HC is the entry-level mapping receiver in Garmin's eTrex H-series lineup. With a high-sensitivity receiver for superior reception under canopy, a bright color screen, and the ability to load topo maps (purchased separately), this is an excellent backcountry GPS.

The Venture HC has 24 MB of memory, and will accommodate 500 waypoints, 50 routes and 10 saved tracks.

Compare prices on the Garmin eTrex Venture HC

Here's a quick look at closely related models in the H-series line:

• The Summit HC is identical except that it adds a barometric altimeter and electronic compass.
• The primary differences between the Venture HC and the Legend HCx are twofold -- the Legend HCx has an expandable micro-SD memory card slot instead of on-board memory. It is also routable, allowing you to generate turn-by-turn directions when optional highway maps are loaded.
• Going the other direction in features, the monochrome Garmin eTrex H cannot accept maps and, unlike other eTrex units, doesn't come with a cable for transferring data between the GPS and your computer. It also lacks the click-stick of the other H-series models, making for a less user-friendly interface.

More Garmin eTrex Venture HC reviews

• Hands on Garmin eTrex Venture HC reviews have been posted by  buyers at GPSNow.
• Numerous consumer-authored Garmin eTrex Venture HC review has also been posted at Amazon.
• Consumer Reports reviews the Venture HC.
• There is also a Garmin eTrex Venture HC Color Hand Held GPS Receiver review posted at Tiger GPS.
• And a Garmin eTrex Venture HC GPS Receiver user review at REI.com.
• I'll be posting more hands on GPS reviews as they appear, but in the meantime, here are some...

Other Garmin eTrex Venture HC resources

• The Garmin eTrex Venture HC owners manual in the language of your choice.
• Compare the Venture HC to other Garmin mapping handheld GPS receivers.
• There is a dedicated Garmin eTrex message forum on Yahoo Groups.
• The official Garmin eTrex Venture HC web page
• Check out my Legend HCx review for a more detailed look at the eTrex interface.

Compare prices on the Garmin eTrex Venture HC at these merchants:

• SPECIAL NOTE TO BUYERS: Don't confuse the Venture HC with the discontinued Venture or the Venture Cx, which does not have the high-sensitivity chipset.
• Find the low price on a Garmin eTrex Venture HC at GPS Now, where shipping is free on orders over $99 (and the upgrade to overnight shipping is dirt cheap!). Order by 5 p.m. Central Time for same day shipment.
• Check the current Garmin eTrex Venture HC price at Amazon.
• Get a great deal on the Garmin eTrex Venture HC Color Hand Held GPS Receiver at Tiger GPS, where you get free shipping on orders above $250.
• Buy the Garmin eTrex Venture HC GPS Receiver at REI.com, where satisfaction is guaranteed and members get 10% back on eligible purchases.
• Get the Garmin eTrex Venture HC for an amazing price on eBay.
• Check out our GPS deals site for current specials and rebates on a wide range of GPS receivers

Recommended accessories:

• Garmin TOPO U.S. 2008
• Eneloop rechargeable batteries
• invisibleSHIELD screen protector

Related posts:

• Handheld GPS buyers guide
• GPS for hikers
• GPS for geocachers

Comments

[Eli]

How much map data will 24 mb hold? I'm looking to purchase either this GPS or the Legend HCx. It sounds like the biggest difference for me is how many Topo maps I could load. Can you give a rough estimate of square miles of detailed maps per megabyte?

[Rich Owings]

Eli,

What state or area are you in? I'll see how much of the region will fit and report back.

[Brian]

Can the etrex series (specifically the Venture HC) display the cool elevation shading effects? I see screen shots of it on the Colorado and Oregon series and it makes it so much easier to read then just a bunch of contours.

Another question too. I noticed on Garmin's web site it says the battery life for the Venture HC and Summit HC is 14 hours, but the Venture HCx and Vista HCx say 25 hours. Why such a big difference in battery life?

[Rich Owings]

No, the eTrex series won't do this, nor will the 60/76 series, just the Oregon and Colorado models.

In regards to your second question, it's a great question, but I have no idea!

[Brian]

I just got the Venture HC and thought I'd give my two cents now that I've played with it a bit.

1. Saved track logs are "simplified" this means they reduce the number of points (primarily by leaving out points that were all in a straight line) and don't contain timestamps. If you want all your points or you want timestamps you have to leave your data in the active track log. This isn't so bad, the active track log is where your breadcrumb trail goes automatically anyway and 10,000 points is more than enough (100 miles even with the highest setting of a point every .01 miles). My complaint is that when using it on multiple day hikes I would like to be able to save a separate track for each day, BUT I want the timestamps so I can automatically geotag my pictures. I'm out of luck with the Venture HC. It turns out that the Vista HCx and Legend HCx let you save track logs WITH timestamps to the microSD card, which would be nice.

2. I knew this before I bought it, but it still kills me. Garmin quotes a 14 hour battery life for the Venture HC and Summit HC, but the Vista HCx and Legend HCx have a 25 hour battery life. I haven't come across any explanation for this, but it is a substantial difference. But I figure the $70 price difference between the Venture HC and the Legend HCx can buy me a lot of batteries.

Other than these two minor gripes I absolutely love my Venture HC. It's easy to use, has great reception, and the 24Mb of built in memory is enough to hold 1:24k topo maps for about a third of Colorado, which is more than I will ever use in a single outing. For a basic hiking GPS you can't go wrong with the Venture HC.

[Rich Owings]

Brian,

Thanks for sharing that. BTW, almost any mapping program that downloads tracks will preserve the full, untruncated track, along with timestamps.

[adam]

I have a Venture HC myself. Does anyone know if there are any city mapping discs that will work with this device. The old 2008 discs wouldn't. Or at lease I couldn't get them to. When you select a region, in my case SoCal, it highlights a whole portion of the region that would exceed the 24 MB by 1 or 2 MB is some cases. Anyone know anything different about 2009? Is topo still the only thing available? Was there a way to minimize something other than tracks with mapsource included software to flash over to device rather than selecting these entire regions?

[Rich Owings]

I *think* the non-NT maps have smaller segments. I'd call Garmin and ask. You might also try these maps, which do have smaller segments...

http://www.ibycus.com/ibycususa/

[M Lin]

I got the Venture HC for a week and later found out that the save track function does not save all samples (only 500 samples in my experiment), and no timestamp. I found this out after I bought the unit.

Yy primary usage for the this unit is geotag the photo, it does not work well for a multiple days trip as I will have to bring a laptop and download the data daily.

I saw previous posting that Vista or Legend can log the entire track and timestamp to MicroSim, I would trade-up. The unit is well built, if you don't mind for the "de-graded" track log save function, it is a good unit.

[Rich Owings]

This is true for most Garmin units (though I believe it has changed in the Colorado and Oregon).

The problem is with "saving" tracks. It gets rid of timestamps and truncates to 500 points. But as long as you download the active track, it will retain timestamps and up to 10,000 points. Don't hit save!

[Brricken Ca]

I am looking for a advise to which GPS I should purchase. I have no experience with a GPS. I am looking for one that I can use for marking my fishing spots, hunting locations (so I don't get lost), and use for directions while driving. Can you recommend one?
Thank you

[Rich Owings]

Its difficult to get a GPS to serve as both an auto and outdoors unit. There are inevitable compromises. If you do get a dual purpose unit, you might go with a handheld and pay extra for highway maps, but it won't be ideal for use on the road.

A better solution might be a low-end handheld, like the Venture HC AND a low-end auto unit, like the nuvi 200.

[Jim]

The old Garmin Legend had a key combination that (on startup) would tell you the temperature of the unit and other stuff. It doesn't seem to work on the HC. Anyone know of any test key sequences?

[Rich Owings]

Try this...

Start the GPS by holding down the joystick and pressing the on/off button on the right at the same time. Once the system flashes on you can then release the buttons and it should go right to the diagnostics page.

Pasted the above from... http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=206913