New Hampshire Bound
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
We are moving to rural New Hampshire, surrounded by magnificent woods. This Garmin product will help us while hiking and getting back home. Really quite invaluable!

Awesome reception, well worth the money, but one feature does not work
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I purchased the venture HC because it’s new chip provides top notch reception deep in the woods which renders all the other units without the “H” worthless, unless you operate in wide open area. My concern is that under Map Setup-General I have the option to “Lock on Road” but upon turning the feature on nothing happened to my route from one city to the next. The route is a straight line from one city to the next(as the crow flies). Lock on road is supposed to do just what it says it does lock the route on the roads, but nothing happens when I turn this feature on. The Garmin support line followed my every screen on the same unit over the phone and they said there is no “Lock on Road” option under Map Setup-General. Oh yes there is and it isn’t locking on any roads. So Garmin took down my email and added me to the list. Great unit buy above all the rest as long as you don’t need it to follow the roads.

Terrific sensitivity, lots of features, typical (poor) user interface
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The etrex Venture HC is an outstanding GPS. I could tell from my first week of using it that the Venture was sensitive and could get a signal in some difficult environments. However, I was really surprised at its performance on a recent trip to Washington, DC. My previous experience with GPSs in commercial aircraft led me to expect that I would probably have to hold the unit against the bottom of a window at exactly the right angle to have a hope of getting a lock. In contrast, the Etrex Venture HC locked onto its location within two minutes while I was sitting in an aisle seat of a Boeing 717. I was delighted. The unit had no difficulty keeping its lock onto the satellites for the entire trip (until time to power down all electronic devices).

At a more practical level, I loaded the locations of the Washington Metro stations from a (free) POI database before the trip. That turned out to be quite useful despite the fact that I only have the factory-installed base map so far.

The USB cable works well with the GPS, my tablet PC, and Microsoft Streets and Trips. I use the GpsGate software ($12.95) to convert the proprietary Garmin protocol to the open NMEA protocol so that a complete array of free and commercial software will work with the Garmin.

My main criticism is that the user interface takes a while to learn. The push buttons are black with nearly-invisible black identification symbols. The rocker key is very sensitive and appears quite fragile (time will tell). The sensitivity of the rocker key leads to many inadvertent button presses. Finally, the menu system has a maze-like logic similar to Jorge Luis Borges’ “Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge.” That is, the user interface is no better and no worse than that of most consumer technology.

All in all I am very pleased with this device.

Advanced GPS
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought the eTrex Venture on sale over christmas as an upgrade for some Geo-caching

with my kids. The new unit is very sensitive — showed 7 locked sattelites while indoors– on the ground floor of a large 2-story house and locked in about 15 seconds.

I especially liked he averaging mode for fixed waypoints — allowing a high precision fix (down to about 15M 3-d) at my location after 15 minutes. The screen was easy to see in daylight (why I bought this model). I like the pointed stick and

most of the menu org.

Quibbles: Default backlight lifetime is far too short for a novice user of the interface, figuring out how to fix it generated a lot of issues for a child (10 year old) user. (First time — he thought he had broken it…) Does not come with socketed sd port — I know this is the market point for the $100 higher version — but as a designer of electrical equipment, also know the ‘real’ cost. Given the choice, should have a GB built in…

Good Product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I received this product and was up and running after just a few minutes with the manual. I had to spend an hour or so to understand all the functions. This was not bad considering this was my first time with this type GPS. I use this product for Geo Cacheing and it is terrific. I have found the accuracy to within 5 ft most of the time and I do not even have the WASS capability turned on. The unit picks up the satellites very fast when first turned on and I have had no trouble even under dense tree cover. This unit comes USB capability which is great for downloading GPS coordinates or Geo Cacheing locations.

Please with Garmin GPS but instruction are somewhat complicated
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have used my Garmin Venture GPS several times with good results. Overall I am very pleased with its performance but the instructions are very difficult to work through at times. A step by step format would probably be better. I still have difficulty with some of the functions without having the instruction book handy. I have a Garmin Forerunner 201 as well as the Venture. Instructs for the Forerunner are much more clearly written. I will continue to use Garmin products.

Nice unit with a color screen for under $120
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Picked this up because we were interested in geocaching. The geocaching mode makes it easy to go from one find to another, and Garmin’s website makes it a snap to load new caches to your unit. The color screen looks great and it appears to be very accurate since we’ve been able to locate most of the caches we’ve searched for. This unit does not do turn by turn road directions and doesn’t have removable memory so if those are features you want, choose another unit. The internal memory lets you load a fair amount of map data although I have been able to fill it up. The base map that comes loaded in the unit is just that…basic. If you want streets other than major higways, topographical or waterway maps you’ll have to buy those separate. For the cost of the additional maps they should give the units away…lol. Battery life is decent, maybe 12-14 hours on a pair of AA’s and thats with using the backlight at 100% most of the time.

excellent hardware, software getting better
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
As many others here said, the reception on this is excellent. I was able to pick up several satellites when I turned it on while on the ground floor of my 2-story house! I would give it 5 stars, except the OS X software is still getting going- there is a working beta version of a waypoint organizer called “Bobcat” that a Garmin person poitned me to, but it’s not easily found on their web site. But what I actually use most of the time is the “Garmin Communicator” plug-in, which allows one to download coordinates from the geocaching website directly into the unit with just a press of a button. There is an OS X version of that which works fine, but again, it took me a while to find it. This is my first GPS unit, so I have nothing to compare to, but I wish the menu system was a bit better organized as well, or would remember better where one left off in the “find” and “trip calculator” menus. Overall I like it quite a bit.

Excellent entry-level GPS for geocaching
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have wanted a handheld GPS for some time to do geocaching and for having with me when hiking. The Venture HC is an excellent entry-level handheld GPS. It has a nice bright adjustable screen and lots of easy to use features. Features include a Geocache mode where you can easily upload to your Venture geocaches from geocaching dot com. It has a trip computer, remembers routes, and you can easily set waypoints and delete them.

It also has some other useful features, a basic calculator, calender, stopwatch, fishing feature (given your location and date it lists the best times for fishing) and a celestial calender with sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset.

It also, for a lefty has a neat feature. The joystick that you use quite a lot for selections and manuerving happens to be set-up for the left thumb. Living my entire life in a right-handed built world, I quite enjoyed this. Not to say for the 90% of people out there not left-handed that it will be hard to use, just pointed it out since it is so unusual (and nice for a lefty).

What it doesn’t have is an SD card feature. I thought this was no big deal and for basic geocaching it isn’t. However I downloaded some free Texas topo maps (quite cool just do a web search) and I could only download the topos for Central Texas in the 22 mb (avaiable storage). I knew that limitation coming in, but if you think you are going to want to have a lot of map layers you probably do not want this. It also doesn’t have a compass feature for when you are standing still but this is not really a problem and should not be a deciding factor for you since as soon as you start moving you get your orientation.

For me the one thing to consider is do you hike/camp a lot OR do you think you would want to try geocaching. The cool thing about geocaching is that it is not just for state and national parks. There are a lot of caches right in urban areas. And it is something the whole family can do. So far I have mostly gone to ones around my house and I already have discovered a few parks I did not know existed. It is a great way not to get lost hiking but also to discover a lot of cool areas where you live. Just remember to use geocaching dot com since it is set up to easily upload geocaches right to your Garmin. Note 5 stars if no need for an SD card. Also I recommend the Garmin cover noted in the product listing. The Venture is sturdy but the cover is a nice snug fit and gives some added protection and a belt clip.

Garmin Venture HC
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I love this GPS handheld! Take note though, in the picture provided from Garmin, you see a topo map, this is an add on to the product (about $80) called “Garmin Map Source-United States Topo” for the US, other countries are available also.

That being said, this is an excellent product! I use it primarily for geocaching. It is an upgrade from my Garmin Gecko. It seems much more accurate as to the location of the cache. I usually end up right on top of it, as a matter of fact. You turn it on and it almost instantly locates satellites and gives you your location, even indoors. I’ve yet to lose reception in a canyon or deep forest, and I’ve used it a lot!

My Only regret is that i didn’t get the next model up, with the removable SD card, that would have been handy!

This is a good deal for good product!

Perfect for Geocaching!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After a lot of research I bought this GPS unit for my son who wanted to start Geocaching with his 9 year old daughter . It is excellent . The color screen and easy to use features along with the HC technology make it the best buy for a beginner at a very reasonable price !

Very good product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
It’s a very good product, I would buy it again.

The only thing that I don’t like is that it takes a lot of time to acquire the satellites. But it’s ok anyways.

Runners aid
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Uncanny accuracy when linked to the PC software (supplied). If you run/walk with a small pack and don’t mind carrying this it gives great data re route, speed etc and can be used for multiple other applications unlike runner specific comparables.

Garmin Venture HC
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The HC model’s high-sensitivity antenna really works!! I have an old model without the H-antenna, that really had trouble receiving a 3D signal under cover. The HC was able to maintain a satellite link even under forest canopy (but with pockets of holes in the canopy), and under sheltered walkways (open sides). However, if indoors or under extremely dense canopy the receiver loses all signal; but this is expected. The lock-on after turning-on the system is quick. I was not able to test the WAAS function as my location is not covered. However, without the WAAS, I have verified that the GPS tracking was accurate to within 5-10m, and that was good enough for me.

The colour display is very readable, even under bright sunlight. The controls are intuitive. I can use all the basic functions without reading the manual.

The unit is small, compact, and rugged. Battery life is OK, although the Legend HCx lasts almost twice as long. However, I can’t justify the big jump in price to the Legend HCx. It would be good if Garmin decides to increase the batt life of the venture hc.

There is considerable lag when scrolling the map. It takes a while for the unit to redraw the map. This is not a problem with the GPS, but rather, the processor chip that is being used. They should come up with a faster processing chip. If you are in a hurry, the slow redrawing of the map, when you want to quickly scroll-search a new location, can get on your nerves.

Overall, at US$137 from Amazon, this is a good buy. I use it for mountaineering and adventure travels. I bring extra lithium batteries for cold conditions. Not for car use. This model doesn’t come with the barometer, altimeter, compass that the Summit has. And this is a GOOD THING. Use your GPS purely for that function: GPS. Carry a separate magnetic compass and topo map. And bring along a dedicated altimeter/barometer/digital compass. This is the only safe way of navigating remote mountains and extreme environments.

Amazon packed my GPS unit very nicely in their cardboard box lined with air bags to protect the unit. I appreciated that. The product arrived flawless.

For the price…The greatest
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
When I saw the price of the Venture HC, I was in shock. $114.99 for one of the best gps units on the market today, is unheard of. This little yellow wonder can receive location signals even in dense forest, and in the deepest of canyons.

I bought one even though I own the Legend HC and Legend C. The reason….I’m in charge of a survey crew who’s job is to recover survey markers, or as they are properly called, section and quarter section monuments. Some of the areas I and my crew look for these points are in the Wasatch mountain range just east of Salt Lake City, and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west. These mountains are very rugged and easy to lose your direction. We upload the latitude and longitudes into the Garmin Venture HC and Legend HC and search the mountain sides. So far we have recovered most of the survey points we are looking for, thanks to our Garmin units. Without our handheld units it would take us a lot longer.

I cant say enough about Garmins quality, and the support is unsurpassed.

If your thinking about buying a gps unit heres a test you can do. Call Magellan’s support line. What do you get?…….people who can hardy talk English. Now call Garmin. You are in Kansas, USA.

Excellent GPS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I wanted a GPS primary for hunting and have used Garmins with good success in the past. This model provided all the features I was looking for and more. I never once lost reception while hunting even in the deepest woods. The unit worked equally well in a pocket or inside the truck which wasn’t the case with the previous GPS units I’ve used. I’ve recently started using my GPS while running to track milage and speed. The Trip Computer will track distance, max speed, average speed, time spent moving and time spent stopped. While you have to reset the data each time it’s still a very useful tool.

Do not buy this item!
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I purchased this item in hopes of using it on my bicycle to travel down many different country roads in my area. The explanations for what this unit does were not clear and the unit did not live up to my expectations. It comes with a base map that tells you basically that you are in North America. I already know this and wanted more detail so I ordered the Maps on DVD recommended by Garmin. These cost an extra $100. I recieved them and found I wasn’t able to put them on my unit because it doesn’t have enough internal memory. Of course Garmin never mentioned this.I finally called the manufacturer who told me that the unit just doesn’t do what I want it to do, mainly, show me detailed road maps for when I bike around my area. I don’t know if I can return this useless item but I’m going to try. I’ll never buy any Garmin product again.

Great Geocaching GPS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I use the Venture HC only for geocaching and did not purchase the detailed maps for street navigation or hiking. Buttons are not intuitive as they are unmarked. Their functions need to be learned then remembered. It works great, accurate to 9 feet in many places, and is steady where others have complained of reduced signal strength. Downloading waypoints from my PC is seamless.

garmin Etrex
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
A great product for the price . I looked at my needs ,bought it and it works fine . If you need just to set way points or use the altitude info(as I did ) This is the one for you. I do not need a “restaurant finder” This is for outdoor use and its waterproof.

OK. Alarms, please?
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Just got the Venture HC (Canada 210). Nice unit, acquires satellites quickly, as indicated by the H (high sensitivity). Great screen, as indicated by the C. BUT: according to numerous vendors’ websites and the Garmin manual itself, this model is supposed to have a proximity alarm feature. Now what it _does_ have is more properly called a “destination alarm”: it will alert you when you have reached a specified waypoint, POI, or exit. But a true “proximity alarm” should go off whenever you approach any of a number of points. In the proximity waypoints screen I can add only 10 alarms and even a single alarm set for a specific waypoint doesn’t seem to go off UNLESS you click on Go To first. So in conclusion:

1. Nice little machine, great screen, inexpensive;

2. No proximity alarm feature, as far as I can tell;

3. Don’t base your purchasing decisions on the Garmin manuals — check around first (although I did this and _still_ ended up w/o the feature that I bought the thing for).

Great value and perfect for MY mission.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve owned my garmin etrex Venture HC for about a month. I read all the critiques about the low detail map but tried it anyway. I wasn’t looking for an automotive GPS, I wanted a hiking-flying-fishing-traveling GPS. Without the detailed topo maps this thing was very good for my needs. It would show me what was the next exit on the freeway and what services were there. It gave me speed, altitude, and positional awareness when flying in general aviation aircraft. It showed the Canadian border when on Lake Erie. Then I added the MapSource topo maps and it tripled in utility when hiking and driving and flying. I learned that I couldn’t load the whole world into the thing because of memory limitations, so I just loaded the areas around Bozeman, and Rocky Mountain National park, and SW Florida, and most of Ohio. It’s great! It seems to run a long time on a set of batteries (how long specifically, I don’t know…ten to fourteen hours I suppose…I really don’t care, I’m not a statistician) and after a few hours of use it’s intuitive. And this puppy will lock on to satellites VERY fast and will keep on them even on the first floor of my two story home. This is my third GPS, my first Garmin, and I’m hooked on it. It was $113 from Amazon, shipped! That’s about a tank and a half of gas for my Tahoe. I love it when I make a good purchase.

excellent unit for geocaching and trail use
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Great unit for geocaching because of the built in geocaching mode. The color screen is very readable in sunlight, and input is easy due to the rocker control. Base Map is readable and surprisingly detailed. The satellite acquisition time is speedy – it only took a couple minutes to acquire and find my position after the initial start, and now it only takes a matter of seconds. I haven’t used the Trip & Waypoint manager software yet, but I was able to use the Garmin POI Loader and the Garmin Communicator for sending info straight to the device from my mac without any problems.

I Wouldn’t recommend this unit for in-car use because of the lack of auto-routing and the price of City Navigator maps from Garmin. Also, the lack of substantial internal memory is almost embarrassing given how cheap (and small) memory is these days. However, Garmin will probably address this in future iterations.

All in all, I’m extremely happy with the quality and features this unit has to offer at this price point, and would highly recommend this unit if you do a lot of recreational hiking and/or geocaching.

Happy Again
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We had gone Geocaching last year and then wondered if we were going again. Rather than have the Garmin we had sit around while we made up our mind we sold it. Decided earlier this year that we really did like the idea of the electronic treasure hunt we decided to purchase another GPS. We bought a Magellan Explorist 500. After using it for a short time we were very unhappy with it. Sold it and bought the Garmin again. The Garmin is far more user friendly. You can download the coordinates directly from Geocache.com without having to use another program. Also find that the Garmin seems more accurate. Very happy that we went back and bought the Garmin.

no map
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
great product with the exception that it really doesn’t have a map. It comes with an extremely basic map, nothing like what is in the pictures so expect to pay an additional $100 for a decent map either for hiking or roadways. Other than that it was extremely easy to use and accurate

An outdoor GPS receiver as revolutionary as the original eTrex
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Before buying this new Venture HC, I had spent many hours trekking with several of the original eTrex models over the years. I think it’s fair to say that while the concept of the original eTrex was great, the execution was frequently disappointing.

It disappoints no more. The Venture HC is the eTrex perfected. It remedies almost every shortcoming that plagued the original models. The new high-sensitivity receiver is amazingly effective. Countless times I’ve stood in wide open spaces cursing my old eTrex because it wouldn’t acquire a single satellite. Last night I turned on the Venture HC on the bottom floor of my two story house, and it locked onto 8 satellites…through the roof and the upper floor! No more “need a clear view of the sky” messages. Amazing.

The old monochrome display has become color, and the user interface is now substantially more intuitive, while adding even more functionality. The cable, which was serial on previous models, has been upgraded to USB, another welcome improvement. The case is somewhat wider than before, but the design bears a strong resemblance to the original eTrex.

A basemap is included but it’s just that – basic. It shows the largest highways, bodies of water, and has some limited capability to display highway exit services. If you need turn-by-turn street directions, an eTrex is not for you. This is a GPS receiver true to Garmin’s outdoor GPS heritage.

Promised battery life (14 hours) is near the bottom of the range when compared to the existing eTrex models, but is still perfectly adequate and has posed no problems.

One weakness that remains is Garmin’s waypoint manager PC software. It has the feel and functionality of a software product released circa 1994. Garmin could certainly develop a better PC interface. For $49 you can buy ExpertGPS from Topografix, or download the free version (EasyGPS)from their website. Either is far more functional than the Garmin OEM software.

Still, the software criticism is a quibble. The Venture HC itself is great. It is a market changing product that renders all previous eTrex models (and many competitors) obsolete. Finally, an affordable outdoor GPS receiver that I can wholeheartedly recommend.

Wonderful & easy to use
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This product is wonderful and very easy to use. We use rechargable batteries and they last quite a long while. The GPS is easy to use, the toggle button is very user friendly and the menus are simple to flip through. Batteries are accessible and the lightweight unit is highly accurate. Our experience is within 1 ft. Recommend a buy on this one.

Garmins got good stuff
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Product was purchase to update from older one very nice quick sattelite reconition would not do anything different

Lost in the Sierras, 911 Search and Rescue Called
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Garmin eTrex Venture HC GPS Receiver

Getting lost in Nevada Sierras while hiking on our last vacation nudged me to search for an off-road GPS. We were so lost that we had to call 911 for a search and rescue.

I already own 4 on-road GPSes, 2 of which work and two of which no longer function. Unfortunately, I neglected to carry either working GPS, not that they would’ve helped much, since neither have tracking (electronic breadcrumb) capabilities, long battery life and/or take AA batteries, etc.

I needed a basic off-road GPS that has electronic breadcrumb capability at the very least.

What sold me on this unit is (after reading reviews) the fact that it can maintain a signal under heavy canopy (tree cover) and the fact that maps can be loaded freely [...] .

I haven’t tested the signal hold yet but have found it to obtain a signal indoors not that close to a window, with the blinds closed.

As for downloading maps from GPSfiledepot, it’s not difficult at all. My only regret in choosing this unit is that I am limited to internal memory. I should’ve paid for the upgrade unit that uses SD memory cards as an option.

Still, I have maps for Neveda and Maine, my last two vacation areas and my local area of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania loaded with plenty of room to add more.

The MapSource software terrific and is easy to use, allowing me to add and subtract maps, tracks, routes, and waypoints at will. I can view a recent hike to find all kinds of information including the route, waypoints I set, elevation, speed, position, length of time, length in distance, etc. at set intervals. I can even view a track or route graphical vertical profile. Then I can copy and paste the information to share on hiking websites for others to review.

Likes:

1) MapSource software is fantastic!

2) Obtains and maintains signal quickly and in place you might not expect it to

3) Takes AA batteries that last pretty long (8 hours ?) versus internal rechargeable batteries which require electrical outlets to charge (not found when out hiking in the woods).

4) Customizable map as for data fields (if any desired)

5) Finds POIs that on-road GPSes will not find, such as beaches, streams, mountain peaks, etc.

6) Breadcrumb tracking for folks like us who hike and get lost while doing so.

Dislikes:

1) Not the easiest GPS to use but manageable for those who have some technology skills.

2) Belt clip cost extra, WHY? This is not a big deal for me since the neck strap can be closed for wrist use for those who want to go that route.

3) There should be an option to set the screen to some level of brightness when first turning it on. As it is now, you have to manually set the brightness to your liking every time you turn it on. I can’t imagine ever wanting to turn on the device and not being able to view it at the brightness you desire. This is an annoyance that lowers the score at least half a point.

I’d recommend this GPS for anyone who wants a simple off-road GPS (hiking, geocaching (haven’t tried yet), etc.) at a good price.

Vast Improvement over earlier models.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is my second Garmin GPS. I was the first kid on my block to get their original eTrex and, at the time, it was a super help for someone who spends many days afield each year. Suddenly, wandering around became do-able for someone w/o orienteering training. I bought this unit because I was looking for quicker acquisition of satellites and better reception under the tree canopy. And it does those things well, and more! With 24mb of internal memory, and available topo maps to download, the Venture HC is a powerful tool for the newbie outdoorsperson and more advanced traveller alike. I’m very impressed with the power, size, and price. You can’t go wrong with this little GPS!

Bought for Geocaching
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this GPS to do geocaching with the family. It’s easy to use and it’s a lot more accurate then what we were using before. On the first outing one afternoon we found 11 geocaches with very little problem. I wish now I have the Electronic Compass, but you have to ask is that feature worth the extra money? For most people I believe this GPS will do a good job.

Great value for a great little toy
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’m new to GPS so I looked for a more basic unit to start with. I got my Venture HC and after realizing the user manual was almost worthless, I just started playing with it and learned most of its capabilities. A lot very neat stuff. I got good reception most everywhere except concrete parking garages. I even tracked along on a recent airline flight. I will have to get the topo package as the supplied map is functional but basic. Overall I love it.

Somewhat disappointing
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I was looking forward to using the trip computer to track the hikes I lead every weekend. Unfortunately, if we hike for 3 hours with 1/2 hour break, the unit reads that we were hiking about 1.75 and stopped about 1.75. Thus the average moving speed is way off, etc. The only thing it seems to get right is the total distance traveled and of course the total time, which is a simple clock funtion. It works much better walking the neighborhood or driving but I bought it for hiking. I’m debating whether to return it.

Acceptable with upgrades
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’ve had this unit for about a month now, and it’s been working fairly well. It seems to be able to get satellites readings pretty easily and accurately. It can even acquire a signal in an jet plane, and it’s pretty fun being able to tell what towns you’re flying over and how fast the plane is moving. The display is really nice. It can operate with a backlight of varying brightnesses or without, depending on the light level and your concern of battery life. The included software isn’t bad. All and all product is basically as described, EXCEPT…

-the “detailed base map” that the Amazon product description talks about is bull. There’s only a dozen or 2 roads listed in all of Manhattan. (Other US cities have similar detail.) If you want to do anything interesting, except know the exact coordinates of different points you load, you’ve got to upgrade the map.

PS – “Beast Hunt”, one of the included games on the unit, is more fun than I’d like to admit.

We all make mistakes
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Don’t bother reading the product description – it’s more than a tad misleading. In order to make it function as described you need to purchase a more advanced design and m ore than $100 in additional software. If you really want a GPS that can give you more than a “home’s that way”, step up a notch or three and plan on another $100 in software. This product will serve the most basic of functions, but little more.

Fun Toy.
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Its best if you get the next one up in the range so that you can add memory to it. Otherwise you can’t upload maps to the paltry memory that’s built in.

You can, however, upload waypoints which is OK.

As a beginners first step its OK but after a day you will want the extra memory.

Also, it had a tendency to switch itself off after being left on. Annoying if you are tracking your movements over a day.

Garmin E-trx Venture HC
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I ordered this unit to go Geocaching with. I am totally satisfied with the ease of use, accuracy and the items I got with it. The USB connection works great for keeping the batteries charged, and downloading the Geocache info into it was a snap. It sits well in the cupholder on my motorcycle, so I can even use it on the road.

Garmin Etrex Venture HC
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
This is a typical Garmin Etrex product. I had an Etrex legend that pooped out, so I bought the Venture thinking it was a step up, but I was wrong. It does have a nice color screen, which is a plus, but I was very disappointed to find that Garmin’s Topo 24K maps cannot be loaded as they can on the legend. Garmin doesn’t hide this fact, by neither do they make it readily apparent. My legend is several years old and has a B&W screen, so I assumed that a newer model with a color screen would not have less map loading capabilities, but it does, and Garmin makes no effort to make this fact apparent. However, if you don’t plan to use the Topo 24K maps, the Venture HC is a nice unit.

Overall a good value
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Other than poorly labeled buttons (embossed black-on-black on the sides of the unit) and a touchy “mouse” on the face of the unit, it does everything you could want. Screen is very readable (from less than 4″ out). Super easy to download waypoints for geocaching. Something I’d change if I was in the design dept would be to move the “mouse” (see black dot left of the red ‘e’) to the right of center as a majority of users will be right-handed and would likely find it easier to use one-handed. Alternately, ‘lefties’ may well love the feature – so Enjoy! Last word: I would not recommend this unit as a nav system for a driver alone as the screen is too small for that function. Try a Nuvi. They compliment eachother nicely.

Great little GPS
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
My first GPS. It has most everything I need/want. The ‘maps’ that come installed on it are – not detailed to be of much worth. It just makes you tempted to buy the $100+ set of maps offered by Garmin. However, it does everything else that I want it to do. I’m still learning about it – but am very satisfied. And . . . I was completely satisfied purchasing from Adorama – I have kept their catalogue and will hope to do further business with them.

Huge improvement–with reservations.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I recently bought the eTrex Venture HC to replace my old b&w eTrex Vista. Huge improvement!

The Venture HC has a bright, contrasty screen that is MUCH easier to read. And it is light years more sensitive than the old Vista, locking onto 10-11 satellites in a matter of seconds, even indoors!

A few gripes: the new Venture seems to use the same processor as the old Vista, making scrolling or redrawing across the map s-l-o-o-o-w. And the base map in the new Venture is even WORSE than the base map on the old Vista. Compared side-by-side, Garmin has removed even major secondary roads, labels, etc. The Venture HC base map is essentially useless, thanks to Garmin’s greed.

The Garmin Topo maps are pretty detailed, but expensive and clunky, based on Windows 95/98 technology. Houston, for instance, requires that you switch out two CD’s to load the city. Ever heard of DVD’s, guys? Both the Topo United States and the Topo Canada load fine on the eTrex Venture HC, even though the Canadian Topo is not listed as compatible on the Garmin web site.

Really Nice Unit – Super – I Likes it ALOT
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
It seems the more research you do on GPS units the more confusing things become because of the shear number of units themselves. eTrex alone stands on a large family of products and so when it comes down to making a purchase it’s most confusing. All of us want the best bang for our buck and start analyzing units until we are blue in the face. One user says this, another says something else, and so who do we believe? This was the case with my research experience. I love looking at reviews and if I see one or two complaints I tend not to get overly excited, if I see a bunch of people complaining then I know it’s one to avoid and that’s what I’ve seen about the eTrex GPS units, one works, one don’t, one doesn’t have a wire, one does, one don’t have a manual one does, one gets reception in the car, one don’t.

I’ve own several GPS units including 2 HP PDA’s, 1 Mio, 2 Megallen’s and 2 Garmin’s and although I’m certainly no expert have decided that GPS is a league of it’s own much like cell phones, some have everything – ½ of it cheep. For example; a cell phone will never equal a Sony camera so why try to accomplish the task of pushing every device into a phone and settle for pictures that could be better using a better camera. What I decided for me about the hand-held’s like this eTrex Venture HC is to let it do it’s thing which it seems to be doing quite well and let my larger models such as my Nuvi200 do it’s own thing down the high-way. I’ve tried to use my Nuvi200 for Geocaching and it failed miserably but how was I to know it’s the first time I’ve tried looking for a Cache. If I asked this small eTrex unit to do what my Nuvi200 does with driving data, it would fail on the high-way. Small hand-held’s, any of them will not play ball with the big boys. So without trying to expect more out of this little guy then what can be produced here is what I’m seeing.

The eTrex HC in my house with an attic full of R-11 and concrete tile roof is getting seven satellites within 10 seconds of turning it on, and 4 or 5 were instant. It has a compass that works when you are moving around. It came in a cool box with a USB wire, a CD of basic hwy maps, a strap, and complete instructions in full color as a quick guide and a book to flip though in a couple languages. It has a huge selection of impressive settings including the satellites, custom welcome message, tones, color displays – many, time, Geocache, marine, units, heading, trip comp, mark, find, tracks, routes, highway, setup, proximity, calendar, calculator, stopwatch, sun & moon, hunt & fish, games and living color.

So, does it have complete driving roads of cities? – No, which I knew. Does it have topo maps? – No, and so in the spirit of what makes sense because the big ones come with street maps loaded of the entire country but no topo-maps for the same price as this which was $200, it would only make sense if they loaded topo-maps with the hand-held’s which is not good business just to send them out with a bunch of empty towns. So with all the confusion about these things, I played it safe and decided to get mine at Super Wal-Mart and although cost me a little more can take it back if there is a problem.

I thought it was weird that Garmin is now trying to get a scoop of Geocache

Great GPS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought my Venture HC this fall and it’s great. Picks up sat quickly and keeps working in the woods. This isn’t a routing gps, If I wanted a routing gps I’d buy a nuvi. I also bought the TOPO 2008 which is great.

garmin eTrex Venture
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After researching several handheld GPS devices – we bought the Garmin eTrex Venture. We’ve only used it so far for geocaching and it’s worked extremely well – can get us to within a few feet. It’s sometimes slow to pick up the satellites when it first turns on – otherwise, no problems. You’re supposed to be able to download geocache coordinates from the geocache website to Garmin GPS units – we haven’t tried this yet.

Good enough,
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
The only thing I found some disapointed of thi eTrex Venture HC GPS is the GOTO funtion final approach, I’ve tried many times and the result dos not change: some meters (100, 200 and maybe more) before arriving to the goal, make a turn 90 degrees to the place (a known place) and the arrow keep pointing strightaway. By this mean you will not go to an unknown place

No brainer for the price, but watch out for…
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Keep it far, far away from heat sources in your car (meaning the defroster vents, dashboard, etc.) because that will mess up the rubber baby bumper; dissolve the glue and stretch it out, and you can’t get a replacement. (I ended up cutting off the bottom of the rubber and resticking the rest with double sided tape, it works but looks bad).

It has annoying storage limitations. It can only hold 20 dumbed down tracks and 24 megs of maps. If you try and combine two tracks into one, it draws an extra line between them. 24 megs in maps might cover 1/100th of the lower 48. So unlike your typical car gps, you’ll be doing some track and map transfers with a computer before going places.

The good stuff: the display is very clear, very bright. It picks up satellites relatively quickly. It seems about as accurate as these things get. Battery life isn’t bad, it uses the common AAs, and works with cheap rechargables.

It’s all most people WITH A BRAIN need. It’s maps are very basic (only the very most major highways). But it pretty much knows where every city and town is. It points like a compass at the city or town you to go to, tells you how far away it is, and how long it is going to take you. However, riding companions not familiar with a hiking gps may get impatient with the lack of maps and turn by turn.

Garmin’s maps are pricy, but there are good free ones on the internet.

Wonderful, having a blast with it Geocaching
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
When you get it make sure the Datum is set correctly otherwise you will get very frustrated. Once the Datum is set its perfect.

love this garmin etrex
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I really enjoy using the Garmin etrex hand held GPS.I recently read up on Geo-Caching on the internet and discovered a wonderful new hobby, but i wasn’t sure which GPS would be more suitable for me as i lacked experience in using one.I spoke with a man at a sporting goods store and he gave me the low down on the various features.I ordered the Garmin etrex which has a color screen and find it is easy to read .I chose this GPS because it didn’t have too many”bells and whistles” .I wanted something which would be easy to comprehend and wouldn’t take up too much of my time getting used to its features.I sure chose well!I studied the booklet and next day went Geo-Caching and found my target and was able to post my find on the website, Geo-Caching.com ,that evening.I would recommend this model to anyone who is a first time user of a GPS unit!In fact, if i ever had to replace my Garmin Etrex, i’d purchase another one from Amazon.com ,just like it.I have really enjoyed my new hobby and thanks to the ease in this GPS unit ,am able to find Geo-Cashes,daily and now i am hiding my own Geo-caches for other enthusiasts to find.

Has a glitch when using for Geotagging photos
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
This unit is a major improvement from my old emap model.

There is one major glitch that you should be aware of if you are going to use this for geo tagging photos – when you save the track log, it will remove all the time stamp information from your data, making it useless for geo tagging. I learned this the hard way after using the unit to track for 4 days and then saving the log. It does work very well if you do not clear the track log and rely on the saved log.

I am going to see if I can upgrade to a model that does not have this ‘glitch’.

Garmin eTrex Venture HC GPS Receiver
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This GPS Receiver was purchased to replace an earlier model that had been successfully used by Wycliffe Bible Translators survey teams in Indonesia. These teams frequently travel on foot in tropical jungles or by boat up uncharted rivers to reach people groups whose language has not been previously documented. This Garmin GPS Receiver is an invaluable navigation tool that “survives and thrives” in very challenging environments.

Does a very nice job for the money!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We got this at Christmas to try geocaching. So far we love the sport and are very pleased with this gps receiver. It is not perfect, I would not want to deal with moderate or heavy tree cover, you definitely have to find “open” areas on your trail, but for geocaching it has certainly gotten us to over 30 of them already in only 3 weeks. We have been pretty much on or close to the mark every time as we have no trouble finding them. I love the geocaching function on it, Garmin models work with geocaching.com and the website will write it directly to the gps for you and we have done multiple caches in a day and it will pop up with the next closest one for you automatically.It has alot of bells and whistles that I haven’t even begun to play with, but so far it has been excellent both at navigating and is fairly intuitive for getting through the menus and such. I’m not much for instruction books and I’ve done okay wtih it but I know there is so much more I could do with it when I get through the instructions. We are very pleased, I’m sure you could do better, but you will pay 3 or 4 times as much for it. If you are looking for something to do some basic things with and most especially geocaching, then I recommend this one!! In fact, we like it so much we are now looking for a second Garmin for my husband to take on business trips!

Garmin hand GPS
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Great item but the back light has to be manually turned on every time you start it and there is no button to turn it on. It has to be set each time. This pulls down on battery time.

First GPS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Works great, very accurate. Instructions were not very good… a bit more of a learning curve than I expected.

GPS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
an awesome GPS. accurate to the foot. using for geocaching. 13 outta 15 so far. the missing 2 were either muggled or wrong coordinates. worth every penny.

Better Reception with the eTrex Venture HC
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I was very pleased with the purchase of my new eTrex Venture HC. I’ve used a Garmin Legeng Cx for geocaching for the last year and coords jump off too much under heavy canopy. This is not the case with the new eTrex Venture HC. I was also able to load Topo and City maps without any trouble using my old software. I also had no problems loading waypoints directly using GSAK software.

Great for Geocaching
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I wasn’t sure which GPS to get for Geocaching… I have a navigation system in my car, so I really didn’t want to spend a bunch of money. This one is very reasonably priced, and very easy to use. I was able to enter in my coordinates for the caches, the cache names and some hints that I needed. We were in a familiar area, so even with just the base-map and a general idea of where the caches were, we were able to get from cache to cache easily. It was quite accurate, alerting us with an audible beep when we were at the coordinates. In each case, it was accurate within 20 feet.

The only complaint I have is that you have to keep nudging the light switch to get the backlight to pop on, and without it, you can’t see a thing. I know it’s an energy saver, but it would be nice if it would stay on for just a little longer. Eventually I’ll have to pick up the Topo Maps, too… the base map is not really much of a map at all… like I said, if you know your area, then it’s easy enough to find your way around. If you’re going somewhere new, you’re probably going to want to pick up the extended maps as well.

I love this GPS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great GPS for Biking even though it doesn’t show all of the streets but it shows and directs to where you are, and Great Service from Amazon when they told me that i had a defected one before this one. Thanks amazon

Almost Perfect for Geocaching
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
We bought this GPSr specifically for our new hobby, Geocaching. Since we got it a few weeks ago, we have found almost 30 caches (shooting to get 8 more tomorrow since the weather will be nice). We are able to plug this GPSr in and download coordinates directly from the site(Geocaching.com).

The only bummer has been that it bounces around when we are in area with alot of cover. Hopefully this doesnt get too much worse when there is more of a canopy from foliage.

You cant upload any of the additional details about the caches to the GPSr, but that’s OK because we like to get comments (hints) from messages other GC’rs have left on the site.

In summary, for the price, this has been an awesome GPSr for Geocaching. If you expect a GPSr to take you exactly where the cache is, then maybe this isn’t for you. But we like the hunt, and this device has gotten us from 2 feet, to 19 feet (under heavy cover) from a cache. And we havent failed to find one since we got it.

Garmin etrex
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Hello

I purchased this to use while riding my bike & I am very please with it. I was only able to load 1 state map (SC)into the etrex but no problem.

I recommend this etrex. Good buy.

Kevin

Works great! perfect almost…
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Everything works as stated. If you want one to navigate roads for you, spend more money. My only problem is it will shut its self off from time to time. I keep turning it back on untill it stops acting up.

Happy with purchase
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is my first GPS. I use it for Geocaching. I found this model to be easy to learn to use. I do use third party software on my computer to download waypoints onto my GPS unit. I have found the batteries last longer than I espected, but I would have preferred a battery that I could recharge with out taking them out of the GPS. Yes I did purchase rechargeable batteries for the GPS, but you have to remove them for charging. I am happy with my eTrex Venture HC GPS unit.

Good GPS
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This GPS makes it easy to download maps. The screen is a bit small. If I buy another GPS unit I will purchase one with a S.D. card.

I love this little gizmo
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is my first GPS and it is a real joy to use. It takes a little while to get use to what the buttons do and the different functions it has, but once you get the hang of it, it’s simple to use. I bought it because I was going hiking in mountainous terrain and I didn’t get lost! Just a word of warning, to get the fancy road and topographical maps you need to fork out another ~$100. But if you are technically oriented (or have access to a 5th grader) it’s relatively easy to convert and import data from the USGS to make topo maps or crude road maps. Garmin has better road maps, but you can make decent ones for free. I wouldn’t recommend using it while driving since it can’t give you step by step directions, but is good for the passenger to keep track of you. The 24 MB of memory is plenty at least for me. It’s a snap to transfer your hike to your computer at the end of the day and if you save it as a *.gpx file, you can view your journey in Google Earth. Correlate the time with the camera pictures and you know exactly where you took a picture. Too cool. The battery life is good as long as you turn it off when you are done for the day. The only complaint is that the altitude seems to have more error than the long/lat, but is generally good to within 100 ft, but if you want more accuracy a better GPS with altimeter would solve that problem.

Way more than I/we needed…
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
GET 1 !!! If you have been looking, this is the 1… I/we have been using for a while now & this unit is does WAY MORE then we will probably ever need…Easy enough for my 6 yr old son to “Drive it” right to any “Caches” that we have looked for…I take it with even on the shortest trips as it tells MPH better than our speed-o in our JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE with the 33″ MT/R tires, I know exact speed at all times…It even tells us 2 paths (With in a foot or so) when we come out a trail that we went in as it sits to 1 side in the truck…GREAT UNIT, GREAT PRICE… Battery life is all day +++ on 2 re-chargeable AAs, (I leave it on ALL the time) locates 12 or more Sat’s in seconds even when I turn it on in the Motor Home as we go out the door… No issues with map’s or screen size or ANY THING ELSE… Haven’t loaded any extras as yet but if it is as easy as loading “Caches” than it should not be a prob… Even tells “Altitude” with ease, & the “Compass” works/points with an arms length move…VERY HAPPY with this “Garmin” & WELL WORTH the $111.00 we spent on it…(P.S. Free shipping was a fast bonus)

Good buy
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The GPS has worked well most of the time. It doesn’t lose the signal like my last one, the Garmin V. Finally had to replace the batteries after 6 hikes or rides. Great. A belt clip case freed my hands and kept the GPS from swinging around on my neck. The only problem, once, is it didn’t give accurate elevation: should have been over 8000 but it said below 3000. It may have been a user error for not waiting long enough to find the satelites before marking a waypoint at our starting point. I’m very happy with the product and the price; about half what our local stores were charging.

A Tad Disappointed but it is worth the money
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have an expensive Nuvi for my road travels but I needed a handheld for my offroad fun so I settled on the Etrex Venture mainly because of its price. It fit comfortably in my hand and the control locations could not be better. Unfortunately learning those controls is a lot harder than it should be. You can use the instruction book as a loose guide but Garmin really needs to create a better interface. I was also disappointed in the built in map. It is better than nothing, but barely and since there is no micro SD slot the map choices are limited with DVD and CD-ROM, and they aren’t cheap. In retrospect I think I would have paid the additional $70 or so for the HCx so that I could have the SD slot.

In conclusion, you get what you pay for. Had I been paying attention I would have squeezed my wallet a bit and opted for the HC’s big brother. Nonetheless I am going to stick with it, at least until I master the learning curve, and I did find a DVD that contains the necessary map data at several of the GPS sites. I don’t recommend buying direct from Garmin as they are about $40 higher than anyone else. Amazon has a fairly decent choice at reasonable prices, but they didn’t have the one I wanted.

Good!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My boyfriend and I took on the hobby of geocaching. We bought this Garmin because of the geocaching site suggested it. (We bought a cheaper one from a department store and returned it the next day.) It’s easy to use and we’ve had a lot of fun with it!

Great GPS Value
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve been involved in the GPS market for about ten years. I’ve owned numerous GPS products during that time and the Venture HC has got to be one of the best values. Satellite aquisition time is very fast and the display is bright and clear even in strong sunlight. With full color display and 28 Mb of on-board storage, it is a much greater value than the Legend. Load it with any Metroguide or Mapsource product and you have a perfect companion for the road, field, hunting, or fishing trip. Battery life is good enough for most applications. Put in your pocket or carry it on the furnished neck lanyard and go have fun. Take the family along. They will have fun also.

Great product for the price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have been (almost) completely satisfied with this product. The only thing holding me back from a five star rating is the limited internal memory (24 MB). If I travel outside of my usual romping grounds, I need to upload new maps to the device, and then switch back to my usual mapset afterward. It’s only a minor inconvenience, though if I were purchasing a GPS receiver today, I would probably fork out the extra money for Garmin’s Legend HCx or Vista HCx, which accept micro SD cards.

Never get lost again
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this because I had gotten lost hunting grouse on state property twice already this year. I figured, why ever get lost when I can have a gps unit for a little over $100.

Heres what I like:

it seems pretty tough, and its water proof (does not float though)

it picks up satelites quick

its icon based menus are easy to work with

it is accurate

As a hunter, it provides me with all I need

If you are savvy enough, you can get topo maps loaded for free

it is fully geocache ready (added fun)

what I dont like:

limited internal storage. 24 megs gives me just enough room for the maps of the areas I hunt in NY and western Ma.

no SD card support.(next time I will buy a unit that accepts external storage)

other than that, its good. If you are like me and on a budget, this unit will work out very well.

Great Handheld GPS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I use this GPS for boating. We recently took a trip from Sandusky Ohio to Leamington Canada and used the eTrex throughout the trip. The unit can be operated with one hand. We have a sailboat and I was at the helm the entire trip. I was able to work thru the menu picks while at the helm. I purchased the MapSource Lake Erie charts (a bit pricey). This is a must if you use this for boating. The unit picks up satellites very quickly. The screen is very clear. Great unit.

Very poor map provided
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
The Garmin eTrex Venture HC GPS Receiver itself, syncs up well and the features provided seem to work as advertised. The problem is, the map provided with the unit is less than poor. Further, Garmin charges an arm and a legg for any additional maps. Any prospective buyer should consider the costs of additional maps along with the base price of this unit in doing any comparitive shopping.

Fantastic GPSr for geocaching at the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got this unit for geocaching in urban and near urban areas. Garmin has some cheaper units, but they’re either in B&W (not a big deal) or has a serial interface. I highly recommend getting a unit with USB interface unless you’re running Windows 95 on a really old machine. Not only is the transfer speed much faster, some new machines (and many laptops) no longer has a serial port.

Performance of the unit is very good. It even managed to get a lock in my house, something my Nuvi could not do. Do bear in mind that the position is updated once every second, and the “compass” is only accurate if you’re moving for a few seconds in a straight line. This is true for all GPSr that does not have an electronic compass.

The unit is small and fits very well in my hands – much easier than holding a Nuvi which I was using before this arrived. With the black case, it looks vaguely enough like a cell phone that people will not give you a second look when you’re out hunting for a cache.

Waypoint names are 14 characters long, and it only holds 500 waypoints. Geocaching feature in this unit mainly consists of the ability to mark a waypoint as “found”, after which you’re asked if you want to go to the next closest waypoint. Searching for a cache would, by default, filter out found caches. And you can view the calendar to see when you found which cache – useful if you are logging your finds after a few days out hunting without Internet access.

The main limitations of this unit is : very limited basemap, no sensor, no memory expansion capability. There are units that has those features, but none come close to the price of the Venture HC. If you want those features, go for a GPSMap 60CSx – at almost 3 times the price. Or spend even more and get a Colorado or Oregon for paperless caching.

If you want some free street maps, search for ibycus USA. It’s very straightforward – install the Garmin software that comes with this unit, then download and install ibycus USA. You need to select the map set on the upper left corner of Mapsource. There’s no topo information unfortunately, and it is not routable. By the way, this unit will not do routing no matter what mapset you’re using.

The Venture HC (and probably all other Garmin GPSr that takes AA batteries) can be used with rechargable batteries, but the unit itself cannot recharge the battery (you’ll need to remove the batteries for recharging). If plugged into a USB port, the Venture HC will draw power from USB, and not draw from the batteries. I use Sanyo Eneloop low self discharge batteries and I haven’t had to recharge them after a week of use.

My unit came with firmware 2.7 – updating to the latest (2.8 as I write this) is fairly painless. User interface takes a few minutes to get used to, not difficult at all. Garmin also has an application to make screen captures off the GPSr, and to customize the startup splash screen. A device SDK is also available for application developers.

For a (relatively) low cost entry to geocaching, I highly recommend this unit, with a set of Eneloop NiMH and the protective case.

Oh, and just a note, if you have a Nuvi, search for Nuvi Paperless Geocaching. You’ll need the application GSAK and a premium account with geocaching.com, but that will give you the ability to view cache descriptions, hints and logs, together with proximity alerts and driving instructions to the cache, at your fingertip.

Great for geocaching
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this gps for geocaching. It is the first one I have ever used. My husand was very helpful as he has a gps but I feel that it is user friendly and the directions were easy to follow. Downloading the geocache location is very helpful.

Overall Ok
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I got this to replace an older Garmin that died. After having the etrex Venture for a couple years, I can say I overall liked the older model better. My main issue is battery life, and my second is clumsy interface.

Battery life is ok when the unit is in use. However, the batteries continue to drain when the unit is turned off, so unless the user pulls the batteries out before setting it aside for a few days, the batteries will be dead upon return.

This unit has a lot of features, and not a lot of controls. As a result, navigating the menus is clumsy and slow. I’d be happier with fewer features so that common operations would be faster. Keep the common case fast.

Garmin ETrex
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Wanted more detail in the mapps and it was veryhard to see what is on the screen in day light.

Garmin eTrex Venture HC Makes the Trip
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This was my first GPS purchase and i spent a lot of time being confused over the terminology and features of GPSr’s. In researching a unit to buy, I also looked at what others who were not as confused as me were using. I finally settled on the Venture HC. I have to say I was not disappointed. I use my unit for geocaching and hiking. It took some time to learn to use the Venture partly because it was something new and the instructions were complicated and partly because I was new to GPS’s and had to learn the terminology. Once I got the hang of using it, I was impressed with its accuracy. It carries light and is easy to operate.

Things I didn’t like were that it always powers up with the screen dimmed. You must always brighten the screen to see it. I would have thought it would come on at a medium brightness. The unit also comes with a strap for carrying and the belt clip is optional. Since the Venture is designed for outdoor uses like hiking, etc., I would rather have had the belt clip as standard and the strap optional. Minor things I would like changed, but that’s the only real problem I have with the Venture.

eTrex Venture HC
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great product and very affordable. My dad wanted one of these to map out his fishing spots in the lake by our family cottage. It’s so hard to find a GPS that comes with maps of cottage country in Canada, but the Venture HC has our lake. Easy to set waypoints on the map and works quite well when travelling by car or boat. If you’re jogging, the speed readings won’t be so accurate though.

Fun!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We took this on our first geocaching trip to Maine. Worked great. Had a great time!

Best value for money
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is the ideal model. It is cheap enough but it has the better chip and the reception is great. Any cheaper would be a mistake because the color is an excellent feature. The next higher model is overkill because you do not want to spend $ 200 plus when you can get a car model GPS for $ 150. You cannot go wrong with this model.

great tool
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We bought this only for Geocaching and so far it has been wonderful. As always received it sooner than expected. Thanks Amazon!

Great unit for geocaching
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We purchased this unit for geocaching and absolutely love it. Battery life is excellent. Very accurate and easy to use. The only downside is that Garmin does not support linux.

Very impressed!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I tried other brand name GPS systems but this one is the best hands down. I primarily use the Venture HC to geocache with my family. The supplied USB cable makes it a breeze to simply download waypoints to the unit or upload data to the included MapSource software. I am impressed with the accuracy and I normally arrive within meters of my intended target. The menu is intuitive and easy to navigate. The battery life so far has been outstanding but I always take a back-up pair just in case. I am right handed and my only complaint would be the location of the rocker button. When I use the Venture with my right hand I cover most of the screen with my thumb reaching across the unit. Overall, I love the Venture HC and I would recommend it to any beginner or intermediate geocacher.

Best In Class
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I went from the old B&W Garmin GPSII Plus to this little masterpiece and I have to say…WOW!!! Now there may be others on the market, but you cannot beat this quality at this price! The satellite reception was fast and accurate. It configured itself, right out of the box. The screen is colorful and bright with tons of unique little options that were all new to me. It is my opinion that Garmin is still at the top of the class when it comes to GPS devices. This sleek little device fits firmly in your hand and truly put my old GPS to shame. Quality and design are perfect for hikers, paddlers, trackers, hunters and mountaineers. This product is HIGHLY Recommended!!!

not worth the money
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
The maps that come with it are worthless. Got it for hiking then found go topo and trail maps cost more then I care to pay. It does a very poor job of distance and time tracking.

great for the money
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this GPS to geocache because I could not afford a more expensive one. A friend bought the Garmin Colorado 400t. Although his has more bells and whistles mine gets me to within 10 feet every time and is every bit as accurate as his more expensive model. It took me awhile to figure out how to use certain features, but overall is easy to use. It is easy to download geocache locations from the internet. I have had a great deal of fun using this gps and don’t regret not getting the more expensive model.

Excellent Geocaching Tool
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this item with geocaching in mind, and it has gone above and beyond my expectations. First, it has a special folder just for geocaches, which (because this product is a Garmin) can be downloaded directly from the geocaching.com website to the device, or you can enter them manually using the geocache symbol and it automatically sorts them. Secondly, it is accurate. It keeps a signal even in the woods, and is correct about coordinates to within 10 feet, usually even closer. It beeps when you are in range of a cache, which is especially useful when driving, because it tells you approximately which exit to use on the highway. Lastly, when you find one, it saves the information to its calendar so that you can log it later, and brings up the next closest automatically. This can be a drawback if you have a lot of undiscovered caches stored, because the next one on the list might actually be behind you on your route, but it’s useful if you’re looking for many in the same place.

This is a fairly good GPS for general use, also. It stores information about highway exits so that you can track them similarly to tracking geocaches. You can enter waypoints of all sorts and design paths among them. It has a very accurate speedometer and odometer feature, which calculates your maximum speed, moving and stopped time, and average speed across trips. As mentioned in other reviews, the default map is not great, but it does have the major highways on it, and it stores your path so you can check where you’ve been. It won’t give you turn by turn directions, but if you want a relatively inexpensive GPS for geocaching or other waypoint finding tasks, this should be it.

Great Product But High Learning Curve
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Garmin makes a great number of high quality handheld GPS devices. I particularly chose this one for hiking and remote camping uses. Specifically, I purchased a 2 GB mini memory card (SanDisk) and then the Garmin US TOPO 24K (National Parks East, for starts). I was able to pick specific quadrants from the US TOPO CD software and download it to my Garmin handheld through my PC (MAC also works). It worked perfectly. I will admit that the learning curve is high on this and I tend to get excited about electronic devices in general. This took taking the instruction manual and going step-by-step to learn all the functions available.

For starters, I simply went outside and turned it on. Within a minute I had several satellite acquisitions and was immediately shown where I was (in the world). The basic map included on the device is not that particularly detailed, so I purchased additional software data. You can read all about the functions that are installed on this unit here at Amazon. Some are marking a waypoint, finding a position, tracking, highway plans, a calendar, alarm clock, calculator, stopwatch, sun and moon schedules and various games. You also have access to its compass and a driving set-up that will tell you your speed, distance reaming (to your destination), estimated travel time, etc. If you were hiking and got lost, you would be able to backtrack your steps, as if you had left markers or `breadcrumbs’.

The unit itself is extremely well made and could survive several `drops’ and is waterproof. The display (approximately 2″ X 1.5″) is plenty for view-ability. The screen actually changes from a bright daytime screen to a nighttime mode. Every function is verified by a slight “beep”. Unfortunately, you do need to buy Garmin maps to download to the unit, as the one included is not very detailed and for additional data input, you really do need a mini memory card. But for the price and the number of functions, this is really a good value. Nothing beats a map and compass, but this is a great addition to any hiking that you may do. Also, for driving directions, the only thing lacking is the voice response. I highly recommend you research other Garmin models and all the accessories you might want to purchase for your personal use.

Cheap device – expensive price
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Well, this item is pretty typical of a bottom end electronic gadget these days. Extremely user hostile without the slightest attention paid to the interface or usability. Yes it is a GPS, and yes it can tell you your coordinates from satellite signals. But thats as far as it goes. First off you cant see the display unless its lit which you have to set each time you turn it on (by memory since you cant navigate to the setting because its dark!) Then you need the thick manual to find out how to navigate all the screens to get at what you need. Put simply – this is a cludgey $10.00 digital gadget, that like cell phones, is WAY overpriced for the quality you receive. BTW – you have to buy maps separate – how cheezy is that.

Great GPS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Excellent GPS. This is my first GPS. It was easy to set up and is very easy to use. I use it for Geocaching. Good price and quick delivery.

Excellent value/performance
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Worked with the eTrex a couple of days, very pleased, we had the Garmin Geco 201 earlier, this had a bad reception in the woods.

The Etrex is next generation, good/excellent reception with the maps in the background so far excellent ratio performance/cost.

Herman

Great product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The eTrex Venture as with the rest of the Garmin line works great. I use this unit while trail riding and am yet to loose signal in the thickest woods. The only thing that would make it better is if it came with mapping software.

fun for the whole family
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Picked up this GPS to start Geocaching with the family. Great little device which is easy to use and rugged enough to stand up to two 3.5 year olds and a 6 year old.

poor instruction/confusing performance
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
the manual that comes with the etrex does not cover the unit and requires a lengthy delay to access factory help(about 20 minutes).there is nothing in the manual on down loading maps or how to delete any stored way points etc.

the entire operation is complicated to say the least. i probably was expecting the operation to resemble it’s automtive counterpart in operation but such is not the case. in all it i a big disappointment.

Great value
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
My wife and I got the e-Trex HC for Geocaching. The features that drew us to this one were the high-sensitivity receiver, the USB connection for connecting to a PC, and the Amazon price.

Since this is my first handheld GPS, I don’t have a lot to compare it to for the sensitivity issues. Overall, it works pretty well, but occasionally, it can be hard to pinpoint a location – this may be weather-related, heavy cover, interference from buildings etc., or any number of other things.

Loading coordinates on the GPS takes a little practice, because of the lack of keyboard, but the process grows on you. The Map Source software that comes with the GPS makes things much easier. The easiest way to load is directly from the [...], which automatically enters your coordinates and information right from the internet.

The directional pointer (compass) can be very slow to adjust to the correct relative heading. It usually points to the correct degree heading (true), but the arrow doesn’t always point to the correct relative heading. I carry a magnetic compass to use on occasion. Generally, watching the distance display getting smaller is a better indication that you’re going in the right direction.

The recording feature is nice when you’re in the woods and need a good track to return back to camp – like dropping electronic breadcrumbs.

Batteries can get to be expensive if you’re using regular batteries. We purchased a set of NiMH rechargeables, and they’re great. One charge lasts about as long as a regular alkaline battery, and they only need a few hours to recharge. It’s a great savings if you use the GPS a lot.

For the Amazon price, it’s a big step up from the bare-bones GPS for only a little extra money.

Awesome GPS!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve been using my new Venture HC for a week now, and I’m amazed! the most surprising for me it’s the precision, even when indoors I got 5 meters of precision. And it can be as good as 3 meters in open areas. The color screen looks very nice too, and it is very ease to use. I strongly recommend it! Nice purchase!

Awesome unit! Great buy
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have this unit and a Garmin Etrex Legend CX and this one is so superior! It keeps the signal under tree cover and is very accurate. I use it for geocaching and it is wonderful! Easy to use and afforable-what could be better. I wish I had two of these!

Garmin eTrex GPS used for geocacheing
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I finally used this for the first time to find a geocache. Turns out, I chose one of the hardest ones to find (a micro multi-cache) and didn’t make it past the 1st location but at least I was able to follow it quite easily. Inside, I was concerned about the screen contrast and brightness but outside in the light, I was able to see the screen ok without it being lighted. I am a bit concerned about the battery life. Time will tell. I bought 4 NiMH rechargeable batteries to use with it. From time to time I take it out of the drawer and turn it on. It didn’t seem like the batteries lasted too long before it told me battery low. I haven’t used it enough to tell how long the true battery life is but I want to take it hunting to find the blind and the car. It wouldn’t be to cool if the batteries gave out. You usually walk to and from the blind in the dark so the lighted display will be used a lot. Accuracy finding the first geocache was to 14′.

I love my Etrex Venture HC
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My son-in-law introduced me to Geocaching and loaned me his older model Garmin Legend. I struggled looking for caches when around trees, metal structures and power lines they all seemed to effect the satellite signals. When I received my Garmin eTrex Venture HC, my wife and I went out to search for some caches. She used the old model while I tried to familiarize myself with the newer one. The Venture HC out performed the older Legend by far. The newer Garmin responds to satellite signals and my movements much quicker. Trees, metal structures and powerlines have little effect on the Venture. Now my wife wants one of her own and I don’t blame her.

Garmin Venture GPS
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Nice GPS for the field. Creating/deleting Waypoints not user-friendly. Locks on up to 10 satellites in just a few minutes after turning it on. Nice color display.

Great, for the money!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I use this little Garmin for work and play. I’m a field biologist, and do a lot of studies in backcountry areas. This unit is so much better than the GPS units of a few years ago. Picks up sats in heavy tree cover, canyons, and even in my house! Good topo map display. The unit is actually accurate under 10ft most of the time. For the money, can not be beat.

GPS for Biking
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Easy to use. Easy to see colored screen. A little slow when accessing street or topographical maps. The “joystick” type controller is convenient but worry about durability of the mechanism. So far so good though. I have enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend.

upgrade now
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
This is a good product, but for a little more money you can get a better model.

Garmin Venture GPS
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Earlier models have been very good products. This one has more features. This was a gift for my son and so far is very pleased. Transaction was great.

Great for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars

Eugene C. Oakfield WI

I give the Etrex HC Venture 5 stars for its performance.I wanted to get it for geocaching it has gone way past my expectations.I use it for hikeing in heavy dense woods also and tried the back track on it which also worked great.So for the price i would recommend this product to anyone.

Great for cycling
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
recently, I was in a trip in my bike and this device works great..Its a beauty..

eTrex Venture is a good buy.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great budget GPS for the hiker and bicyclist. I use it as a speedometer on my mountain bike, and take it on walks and jogs – it’s great for measuring mileage.

Because it syncs with atomic clock info from the gps satellites, it will be your most accurate clock too.

If you need a barometric sensor and magnetic compass, step up to the Vista HCX.

REturned item
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
The description of this was very different than what received. I think this might work for hiking GPS but I wanted one for cities and everywhere…so I returned it.

Perfect Device for what I needed
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is my first GPS. I shopped and reviewed several and landed on this one due to the cost and functions. It was the best value for my needs. I took it hunting that past month, and was very very glad I did. This was a new location that I was not familiar with. This device saved me from hours of unwanted hiking, trying to find my way back to my ATV. It was always right on the money. I even thought I knew better than it, and decided not to follow it, since in my mind it was taking me the wrong direction… I was wrong… won’t do that again. If you are looking for a great GPS for a great price.. this will do the trick!

Garmin Etrex
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
It is a great product – use them for work and enjoy using them – I think the video that was included saved me a couple of hours a week of papersork. The GPS did a lot of the stuff that I was doing by hand and notes.

Warantee was fantastic – my broken one was replaced and all the waypoints were transferred to the new GPS

I am very satisfied – five stars aren’t enouth

Steve S Kanab, Utah

Great Sat Grabber
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I upgraded to this from my old Etrex for better satellite lock, and I got it. I can sit in my cabin and pull 8 sats through the roof! No more looking for breaks in the trees so I can get my bearings. It’s got a lot more goodies than my last Etrex, but I haven’t even gotten around to using them yet. All I wanted is something that would acquire quickly and keep giving me data, no matter what was overhead. The Venture HC delivered it.

Okay.
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I bought this GPS for the geocaching mode and for that purpose it has worked out okay. It usually only gets me around 25ft from the cache, even in WAAS mode, but I have found what I am looking for – usually. The one very big downfall is the basemap is so that – a base. To get any map it will cost you $99 in the United States. I think that is hugely steep considering I already paid $128 on sale for this GPS. I’ve seen them for $199 on other sites. Amazon is great for deals! Also, you can’t get a straight answer from Garmin’s support site either. They just give you the runaround, and the directions to use the GPS are virtually non-existent. You have to pretty much just figure out everything on your own. So if you need a map, plan on spending another $99.

Geocacher friendly
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Worked well will Geocaching in the rain. Like this GPS very well so far. It is only my first though.

Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a nice basic gps. I use it for geocaching and I love it. I was worried about the color screen draining the batteries but I’ve had the same batteries in it for a month and they aren’t even on their last bar yet. It’s good if you’re looking for something basic and inexpensive.

Works great but could use a better instruction manual
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This product is great for geocaching – which is what we use this unit for. For those of us that are not GPS experts, the company expects a lot if they think the manual that comes with it explains things well. We are still getting used to using it in the field and I expect that practice will help us to improve. I was hoping that the manual would help us to reduce our time spent with trial and error. As far as its effectiveness as a GPS unit, I have no complaints. It is easy to download caches into the unit from the website. It would be great it the unit would store more info such as cache description or hints but it only stores the title and coordinates. It would be a 5 star rating if not for the instruction manual issue because it really is a cool little GPS unit. Much better than the basic e-trex.

eTrex Venture HC
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this GPS mainly to do some personal geocaching for when my grandsons came for a week visit. It is simple to navigate the pages and set waypoints and the accuracy was very good and got the guys usually within six feet of the point I had hidden a cache. And some of these were under heavy tree cover and it worked excellent there as well.

The basemap in this price range GPS does not get you a detailed map. However, that really was not an issue for finding a cache. We used the data page with the pointer and that always took us right to the cache. Maybe for the advanced geocachers, a more detailed basemap might be required, but this GPS should be fine for the entry or intermediate user.

Garmen Venture HGC
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I had two Garmin Legends before; they just plain wore out over a five year period. So, I decided to buy a new one after contacting Garmin and finding out they could repair them for $89. I selected the HC Venture because of the price. It’s a great unit for the price. I’m not sure if the color screen is what I really needed. I do a lot of hiking on trips, so I may miss the altimiter, but I don’t think it’s worth double the price to upgrade to the next model.

Great for geocaching, astronomy!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got this unit after much research into different brands and, after settling on Garmin, different models. It’s a great all-around GPS at a great price. It’s my first, so I can’t comment on the increased sensitivity of the HC chip, but I get plenty of coverage inside my house, and when I step outside the accuracy goes to about 9′. I would have liked the compass and altimeter of the Vista, but really don’t have much need for them since I’m not an avid hiker, and didn’t need to spend the extra money.

The Venture HC is great for geocaching. I took my family out on our first hunt last weekend, and although we only had about an hour to spare, we had a great time finding caches stashed around a park nearby. I can see this as a fun family activity on road trips as well. The Venture has built-in geocaching features that let you download waypoints directly from geocacher.com (using the free Garmin browser plugin), and even mark caches as found right on the GPS. The color screen is very readable in sunlight. Although the Venture HC doesn’t have a proper compass, the “compass” page is very useful for closing in on the target.

The Venture HC is also great for amateur astronomers. My computerized telescope needs to know lat/long/time to accurately slew to and track objects in the sky. I can get coordinates on standard addresses on geocoder.us, but if I just want to set up at a dark site somewhere, a GPS is a must. Rather than pay $200 to get the GPS option on my scope, I can use this general purpose GPS and just plug the numbers into the telescope’s controller, or even connect through my laptop. Although any GPS will give you the time and location, not all have as nice a backlit screen as this one, a good thing when you’re out in the dark. The customizable color schemes (with automatic night mode) and the variable backlight intensity are also great for astronomy to keep stray light to a minimum.

If I’m disappointed with anything it is with the built-in base map. Again, because this is my first GPS I was somehow expecting more detail, not necessarily in terms of street names, but certainly with respect to canals, mountains, even major cross streets etc. The only features I’ve been able to distinguish are freeways, lakes and cities. There are many mountains where I live and none of them are shown on the map. More detailed topo maps are available, but cost anywhere from $80-$120. I’m not subtracting any stars for this, because I’m sure all basemaps are pretty much the same. And with 24MB of memory, there’s room for decent quality maps.

Garmin updated the firmware for the Venture in February 2008, so one of the first things I did was download their free WebUpdater utility to automatically install updates. I had one scary moment when my GPS lost the USB connection in the middle of the process, and I was worried my unit would be disabled. But after turning it off and back on it came right back up and, after a second try, the new firmware was installed in about 5 minutes.

All in all, I’m very happy with the quality of this unit. It feels sturdy yet light weight, with a nice rubberized feel to it. It’s also waterproof, so no trouble using it in the rain. The interface took a little getting used to, but after a while it becomes second nature. The Venture lets you customize almost every screen to your taste; for example, I wanted to have time, elevation and location on the same page for astronomy purposes, so I set one of the screens up to show all these fields. At $130, the price point was perfect: significantly lower than the next model up (sacrificing only the compass/altimeter and microSD slot), and not much higher than plain-vanilla black & white units without geocaching features.

I highly recommend it.

Quick working in less than a month
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Really liked the performance of this unit, but it quick working completely in less than a month. Very disappointed in the quality considering the reputation of Garmin!

Great unit for geocaching!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this unit several weeks ago, have used it a lot so far, and I’m very pleased with its performance.

I began geocaching several months ago and had been using my Nuvi 350 Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech for that. It worked well (and is fantastic for driving), but I was afraid I would damage it or that it would get wet from so much outdoor use. I wanted a unit that was more durable, with an excellent satellite receiver, but economical. Therefore, I ordered a Garmin eTrex Venture HC, just to use for caching. (It would probably also work well for hiking, etc.; I’ve only used it for geocaching.) This is the current basic eTrex model that has the new receiver (H), color screen (C), USB connection, but no card slot (x).

This little GPSr has all the features I need for geocaching, and a good many that I’ve still not used.

*Small size, shaped to be handheld, has a lanyard, is lightweight and easy to carry, very convenient to use

*Waterproof and durable for outdoor use

*Easy to read screen in sunlight

*Simple to use, with lots of features

*Locks on satellites quickly and holds signal very well, very accurate

*Has geocaching mode with ability to mark caches as found (not a necessity, but nice)

*Two screen choices to look for waypoint/cache–map screen and compass pointer screen

*Batteries last a long time–I’ve just now changed out the first set of regular alkaline batteries. I’ve found a couple dozen caches, placed a couple, and worked with the unit at home a lot to learn its features, usually with the backlight on, on one pair of regular AA’s.

*Connects to computer with USB cable, can send brief cache info directly to unit by clicking on “Send to Garmin” on geocaching website. You can also enter the info manually, and there is space for some brief notes.

*Great price–around $115 here the last time I checked.

I really can’t think of any cons. I was afraid the screen might be too small on this smaller-size unit, but it’s big enough and not a problem at all. I wish it had a setting to automatically turn the backlight on each time, but it’s very easy to turn it on so that’s no problem.

The maps are very basic without much detail (as on most of the “outdoor” units), but I use the Nuvi if I need driving directions. After parking, I use the eTrex to find the cache and haven’t needed maps for that. I haven’t loaded any extra maps (I don’t do wilderness caching) or used any of the 24 MB of internal memory. Forums have indicated that this is enough space for loading a good many topo maps, but not for many driving navigation maps. If you want to buy & load City Navigator for driving, you’d need a model with a card slot. For me, the Nuvi 350 and Venture HC make a great combo to cover all bases better than a single unit would.

One of the friends that I often cache with has the more expensive 60CSx, and our units usually give almost identical information. I know there are technical differences, but the eTrex performs very well in comparison.

This is the Venture HC, not the older eTrex Venture model. The more expensive eTrex units (Vista HCx, etc.) have features like an additional electronic compass & altimeter and a card slot, but I haven’t needed those. I think those are the major differences in the newest eTrex models, they basically work the same and have the same receiver. Garmin’s website lets you compare features on different models, and you can read the manuals there.

If you need a great unit for caching, consider the Venture HC.

GPS perfect for beginner
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
So easy to use for geocaching. Low battery use. Recommend for the beginner geocacher. This gps will get you close to the cache. Only problem I have had so far is it not always takes you the shortest route.

decent unit
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
i bought this unit as a replacement for my older garmen etrex (origional yellow model). i have tried other brands and definatly like the garmen the best. this model has really quick and solid linking to the satellites (hence the ‘HC’ in the product description), and i like the features that come standard with it. the reason i only gave it 4 stars is that the base map is extremely dissapointing and petty much worthless. i will have to buy an upgrade for this.

Garmin eTrex Venture HC High-Intensity Color Mapping Handheld GPS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This product is exactly what I wanted and what I was looking for. It does exactly what I wanted and hoped that it would do.

great reception but wish base map was better
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
i just got it today and tried it out in the middle of my brick home, still got signal on 10 satellites! i do wish the base map was detailed with more rivers and secondary roads. but for the price and major functions i would recommend it.

Great for geocaching
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I did the research for a first-time geocacher gps and decided on this model. I haven’t been disappointed, although my 13 year-old son is the expert on using the gps. It locates satellites quickly and is very accurate. On one trip, my son was frustrated because the unit said we were right on top of the cache. Turns out we were, in fact right on top of the cache. Can’t go wrong with Garmin. We use the car nuvi 660 to get us in the area and the etrex to take us to the cache.

Great geocaching unit at a good price (with notes for Mac users)
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I was totally chessed off at Magellan when my Explorist 100 died under warranty and they refused to support or repair it (this was a new unit!). So I only considered Garmin based on liking my car unit.

Mac Users:

It’s a bit tricky, but I am able to use the USB cable and the ’send to Garmin’ to automatically load waypoints from geocaching.com. One warning is that they have a Mac firmware web updater and it’s very new and froze on my attempt to use it, which blanked my unit. [...]. I did the update for this unit on a friends PC and it went fine.

There are some Mac caching software, but none of them are working for me with this unit. So keep that in mind if you really want to go beyond the web waypoint downloads. That’s a bummer, since Maccaching and GeoJournal look like they’d be great.

The included software does not work on a Mac, so ignore that CD. From the Garmin site, you can download the plugin for Mac to make Safari aware of the unit so you can do the “send to Garmin’ trick. They also have the Mac version of their WebUpdater (the one that hosed my first unit) on their site. Finally, you don’t need any USB drivers for Tiger or Leopard OSX, so don’t worry about them only being for Windows on the Garmin site.

Usage:

Crazy fast turn on and acquiring satellites. We are thrilled that we can turn it on in the car and it will start to pick up satellites right away. Our Magellin (an cheap 100 unit) would take awhile even outside in cloudcover.

It also seems to save all the time, as the shutdown is very fast, with no ’saving’ note like our Magellin made us wait for.

I guess our only complaint is that we like to use the backlight a lot and that sucks batteries. It’s winter now, and so many days and locations are dim, and without the backlight, the unit can be pretty dim to read. It takes 2 AA’s. It also has a system pref for the type of battery you use (Alkaline, NiMH or LiOn), why? Maybe to only USB charge when they are NiMH’s?? But remember to set that to the correct type.

We really love auto loading the coordinates. And even with the free account on Geocaching.com, we get the cache name, GC# and coordinates. That saves tons of time and mistakes. We find ourselves loading up any cache that interests us, just in case.

Accuracy:

The unit seems right on. Our other unit would usually be more like 20-30 feet accurate in the woods, and this one led us right to the cache and showed 16′ accuracy at that point under normal tree cover. It also refreshes more often than our old unit, so it feels more responsive. No more going 20 feet and then seeing that the arrow just didn’t update to show we were going the wrong way, or overshot.

Build:

It seems solid and took our last rainy hike well. The back has a bit of a gap, but the seal must lock in fine. It uses the ‘D’ lock, so just half a twist to lock and unlock, which is fast and appreciated on a cold cache while changing batteries. We always had to dig to get the Magellin’s ring out and turning to pop the back.

Thumb toggle:

If you’ve used the old Garmin’s with button input, the toggle on the front is really welcomed. We zip through data entry and you push the toggle in to accept an entry. It’s also a shortcut to Mark your current location (holding down the toggle button). Another tip is that holding down the lower left button brings up the ‘Find’ menu quickly.

Speed:

One thing I noted was that when I went just one setting more on ‘detail’ for the maps, it really cut the redraw speed (which is a tad slow to begin with), so that was disappointing.

Hope that helps someone and happy caching!

for Team Spiderweb4-2

Perfect for beginners
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this GPS for my wife’s use. I have a Garmin Map60C, which she feels is too complicated to use comfortably, and finds too large to tote around. The entire eTrex line is excellent, but the Venture model offers the opportunity, IMHO, for a beginner to expand their use. The memory for loading different maps was key to the decision to purchase the Venture HC. The display is bright, and easily adjusted to help conserve battery life. Scrolling through the pages is easy, particularly if you take the time to set them up. I was worried about how reliably the enter/rocker key would work, but neither of us has had any problems using it. As with any technical piece of equipment, it can’t be emphasized enough: read the operator’s manual, not just the quick start guide.

works great indoors
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I just got mine. It got a fix within a few minutes the first time I powered it on at home (indoors) and now gets a fix indoors within a few seconds.

Doesn’t have an altimeter or compass but I have those already.

Haven’t tried it anywhere else yet.

Great Gadget
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
So far I am really enjoying my new GPS..after I have learned how to use all the “whistles & bells” it will be easier and much more fun. So far it has taken me right to each cache. This GPS was recommended by my daughter and I would recommend it to even a New Cacher.

Godiva2

Poor documentation
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Well confusing and incomplete documentation. The unit I received was even broken. You could not upload maps to it. The money I saved buying it online was offset by the cost of shipping it back to garmin fro replacement.

Good unit
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This unit works great for my needs, which is to keep track of location and waypoints when I backpack in the Rocky Mountains. It’s got an easy, one-click method of creating waypoints. It always acquires the signal quickly. It keeps track of a bunch of useful data – such as distance covered (an odometer reading that is also useful when exercising), moving time, resting time, local sunset and sunrise. It provides an elevation reading, which is useful in comparision with a topo map.

It’s lightweight and small – which means it’s easy to carry – and it appears to be durable (although I haven’t dropped it yet to test this feature!)

I purchased separately the 2008 Topo US from Garmin. I loaded maps for my local area onto the unit and they work great. Easy to transfer between the PC and the unit.

I highly recommend the unit. The only issue I’ve noticed is with the batteries. It seems to go through them quickly. After loading fresh batteries, be sure to go into the configure settings and select the correct battery type – it makes a big difference, however even with the correct setting it seems the batteries don’t last long. I haven’t done much testing, but it seems a fresh set last maybe 3 hours. Be sure to carry extra ones with you.

Although it would be nice if the batteries lasted longer, I can live with it. The other features make it worthwhile.

satellite lock
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I haven’t used this unit in the field yet, but I did try it in my driveway and it locked onto satellites and was ready to navigate WAY faster than my old e trex venture. This was the main reason I bought it-for faster lockin speed and better functioning in areas with lots of trees overhead. The lockin was fast–I’ll have to wait to see how well it functions in the trees.If it works in the trees, I’d give it 5 stars

Good unit, poor basemap – requires additional purchase to be usable
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I have owned previous similar Garmin hand held GPS units. Very good units, pretty durable, reasonably priced and I’ve been very happy with them. Precision and usability has been amazing…

After multiple years of car trips, backpacking, camping and other uses of my previous Garmin handheld, it finally needed major service — so I decided to upgrade.

This unit is good in most areas and features, but with one major problem. Sensitivity is great, turn on and signal acquisition time is much improved! Color screen is bright and colorful, with excellent readability — except you need to turn on the backlight to read the screen, even in daytime. Links well with my existing National Geographic TOPO! software. In general a good, solid unit. Precision of the unit, based upon it recording routes and tracks is excellent — you can even see what side of the road you’re on! The USB interface works very well — amazingly faster than the previous serial cable.

However, the base map sucks. I’m sorry, but compared to the base map in my previous unit the coverage is horrid. My previous unit included coverage in the base map down to major secondary roads. I could use it with confidence if I needed to grab it out of the glove compartment or backpack, and navigate. This base map is missing *everything* except major interstates, and major state highways. As an example, State Highway 2 (the Angeles Crest Highway) north of Los Angeles is totally missing — let alone any of the connector roads to this state highway. Cities are listed as floating dots with no linkage to any of the road networks. In the LA basin, it’s missing any indication of major inter-urban roads which are 4-6 lanes wide! Makes you wonder how the new “navigate” function works from where you are to a listed location, doesn’t it?

I suspect that you need to spend the additional $100-200 to get the Garmin Mapsource additional map data, in order to download more detailed maps. I’ve already ordered a copy of this, to see if it helps. Figure this additional purchase into your price if you are going to use this other than on a major interstate. However, the HC unit only has about 24 MB of memory, so you can’t download significant amounts of map data to the unit.

Overall, I’d not recommend this unit at all. If they had put in the previous map base, I’d be writing a 5 star recommendation. But without the previous map base, you need to spend at least $100 ain additional to make this as usuable as the previous model — and the unit has little ability in 24 MB to add additional map data. I’d recommend at a minimum going for the HCx model which allows you to add a micro SD card for up to at least 4GB of additional map memory.

Now, why did they downgrade the quality of the base map? My suspicion is they want to sell the map software as well. In which case, they should offer a bundle of the two items, which I’ve not seen offered anywhere.

I’m going to be using this extensively in the next few months for backpacking and road tripping (including beyond major highways), so I’ll give it a fair test. From my initial usage, most likely I’ll be junking this and going for a HCx in a few months…

Great starter GPS
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Great starter GPS. Eventually I will get a better model but this one has been great for Geocache work. I’m glad I did not try to get a cheaper GPS as my first one. this has been able to find the locations under cloudy conditions in heavy forested areas. Friends with “normal” (cheap) GPS units get no locations under these locations. Only thing I wish I had that is not persent in the SD card slot.

Possibly a Good Handheld GPS, but MAC OWNERS BEWARE!
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I got the Etrex Venture HC as a Xmas gift (purchased via Amazon) and was fairly pleased with the performance for the very short amount of time that I had it. The receiver quickly acquired the GPS satellites, and the functions seemed to work well; however, the software shipped with the Etrex is PC based but I was able to get the appropriate Mac based software from Garmin’s website, including “webupdater,” which allows you to update the Etrex’s internal software.

Well, after downloading the software, I connected the Etrex to my Mac (the Etrex comes with a USB cable), and my Mac quickly recognized the Etrex and I received the message, “YOU MUST UPGRADE.” The Etrex software was an older version. So I went with the upgrade, and the entire process just stopped. After about 1-hour, I was forced to quit, and found that the Etrex software was, apparently, erased. It no longer worked!

I called Garmin and spoke with a Mac expert; he indicated that the units often hosed up if you try to upgrade via a wireless system (which I have), and that the USB cable needed to be connected directly to the Mac, not a hub or keyboard (which is what I did). He also thought it was possible that I received a faulty unit, and recommended returning it to Amazon. He suggested getting a replacement, and to hardwire the unit to my internet connection before attempting an upgrade. I returned the unit (Amazon was amazingly good about this), and received a replacement.

I checked its software and found that it, too, was an older version, and decided to try an upgrade. I connected the Etrex directly to my Mac, my Mac directly to my internet connection (I shut down my wireless), and, again, the Mac recognized the Etrex and I received the same “MUST UPGRADE” message. This time everything appeared to go smoothly until the very last bit when everything just stopped just when the process was coming to an end. I waited almost an hour, forced quit, and, yes, the Etrex was hosed; it was wiped clean. I called Garmin, was on hold 30-minutes, and eventually spoke with a Mac expert who said that the Mac software did not do well with cable internet connection (I have Comcast).

That was it. I returned the second Etrex to Amazon (again, very easy and at no cost to me), and received a refund. Garmin has a lot of bugs to clean up concerning the Mac, and their website didn’t list any of the possible problems that their “experts” mentioned. Besides the problems discussed by Garmin’s Mac experts, I can’t help but wonder what other Garmin to Mac incompatibility issues exist.

It’s possible that the Etrex is a good handheld GPS, but I never really got the chance to find out. Frankly, Garmin lost me as a customer. (Note: I have a TomTom GPS that I use in my car; I’ve NEVER had a problem upgrading its software with my Mac.)

Great GPSr for the money
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Love having a GPSr. Glad I got a Garmin. Would have loved to buy one with more features, but am happy with this one’s functions and usefulness. Just need more clear instruction on how to best make this one work for my geocaching needs. Learning takes trying things out and asking questions of other users, and is a slow process, but working for now. Unit works as intended though.

Perefect product for me
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I used this product to mark my lanscapede mesurement and very accurant for position and the sea level mesurment perfect product for me a my partners

Ideal for geocaching
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We bought this for our family’s new hobby: geocaching. Works great! Easy one-hand operation makes it very convenient, and the readout is very clear and intuitive, so that even my children can use it. Looking around the menus on this thing, we are probably only using 10% of what it can do. We are not doing any intense hikes, so I’m not sure how the more advanced features might compare with other GPS’s out there, but we’re very pleased.

Great for caching
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Garmin is easy to download from computer. Color screen is great for maps, easy to read, easy to navigate.

Geocaching made fun
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
We bought this unit after using a friends Magellan over a weekend for some geocaching. I really liked her unit, but it was pricier than I was able to do. The other thing was that the [...] website supported the garmin units, for ease of downloading caches. I was able to get a really great deal on this one, and paid less than $[...] for it. It works wonderfully in the field. It has gotten us within 5 feet of our cache. We’ve had no trouble at all with the signal, even in pretty good tree cover. The compass page is great, showing you your direction, as well as counting down how far you are in miles, then feet. If you’ve got several caches from one area downloaded, once you find one and hit the found on the screen, it automatically pulls up the next closest cache to send you on your way again. It is great! The only downfall is that it does not take the notes that are on the geocaching site. (the only reason it got 4 stars instead of 5) So basically you need to print out the page if you want the info (sometimes it is VERY helpful to have that info) but with that being the only downfall, plus the price I paid for it, it is an awesome unit. It is very rugged, my kids have all taken turns with it. Worth the money!

Great Geocaching unit!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This has served me very well. Im glad I got this model instead of the one below it the extra features are worth the price difference. Finds me in no time usually before the unit finishes loading.

Awesome unit
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Very easy to use, very accurate. I got it with the bike mount for my mountain bike and I use it to track all my rides. Great for geocaching too. No expandable memory, but not an issue for my uses.

Venture
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This GPS is very nice if your not using it for travel. I have been using it for geocaching and it has been working great.

Great BASIC Handheld GPS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I really enjoy using this very small screen color Garmin eTrex HC GPS unit. I use it with coordinates to find old gold and silver mines (please always respect private property!!) and for geocaching. I find this specific Garmin unit to be much more intuitive to use and save or update my data than similar Magellan units I have used in the past.

Note: Depending on your specific use, please ensure you are using the correct map Datum!

Pros: Very fast satellite acquisition (after initial startup)

As accurate as any other handheld GPS

Great usage time between AA battery changes

Very easy to use – even for newbie’s

Seems rugged enough

Good “worst case scenario” backup for your vehicle GPS (provided you have a navigator on-board and can accept plain vanilla guidance).

Cons: Will not charge up your cell phone. (Yeah, I know….just kidding!)

Some may need to carry a small magnifier to read the various screens

Other cons: Please add you own.

Killer performance
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended for an all-around GPS unit. It performs very well. It’s fast, colors and light adjustments are highly effective, and it has a lot of features. I’ve wanted to upgrade to a much more advanced unit like a Nuvi or something but I haven’t felt the need with this one. I’ve had it for 2 years and it’s been through a lot with me. I’m just going to run it to the ground and continue to get the best out of it.

good unit
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Lots of commands and capabilites – beware that you need maps to make this truly useful, but they can be downloaded for free from garmin.com

Excellent value
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Excellent value; I bought it for less than $140 and it’s the best GPS I’ve ever had

The sensibility and acquisition-speed of the GPS are amazing. It has satellite signal even inside the garage! Maybe it’s because of the new SIRFstar 3 sensor

It comes with a USB cable that is a lot more practical and fast than the old serial cables. And you can use the same cable to power the GPS too! Just connect it to a USB port of a laptop or better yet buy a 12v to USB car adapter

Garmin Etrex lots of fun!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Having a great family time on weekends doing geochaching in Arkansas and Missouri. Accurate device, great battery life. Enjoy!

Value for $$ trekking GPS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have used a friend’s etrex legend and vista HCx before. Decided to get the Venture HC due to it’s low price. At $130, it’s excellent value for money. This is why:

- High sensitivity receiver. Catches on to satellites fast! And holds on to them tenaciously! Locks in less than a minute and stays locked even in dense forest cover and in my house.

- Quite accurate, usually places you within 10 metres of actual location.

- Colour screen presents information a lot better compared to gray-scale screen of legend.

- Long battery life, using 2700mAh NiMHs (x2 pcs), it can go 12-16 hrs depending on your usage of backlighting.

- User interface is very easy to master, I didn’t even need to read the manual. Customizable screens allow you to display whatever data field you like. The UI is almost the same as vista HCx (includes altimeter and electronic compass which the Venture HC doesn’t have). So if you don’t need those extra feature, this unit is perfect!

- Casing feels solid, nothing creaking yet and it’s quite light and waterproof (IPX-7). The sides and back battery cover are rubberized for better grip.

Cons:

- Only 24Mb of internal memory and no memory card slot for expansion, have to choose which maps to load.

- Panning of the map on map screen slightly sluggish.

UPDATE (12 Jun 2009):

- able to run for 22 hrs on 2700mAh NiMH batts with minimal (<5%) usage of backlight.

So-So Starter Unit
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Got this unit to start geocaching with my kids.

PROS are: It seems to be very accurate, screen is easily readable, color is good, seems well made and durable. The unit is also able to obtain a satellite when indoors near a window which was very surprising.

CONS are: no built in compass which makes it very difficult to get to the geocache when you get very close. If you stand still it will confuse you and point to a different direction. The unit only points toward the destination when you are moving. So when you get close to the cache you need to constantly walk back and forth to figure out where it is. If you stop walking the display will point toward screen-north and not the destination.

Also, the Garmin operating system was a little less than intuitive causing me to read the manual more than I would usually need to for other small electronics. After much searching the manual still does not tell you how to manually enter a waypoint if you have the coordinates. It makes mention of the possibility then fails to explain how. (By the way, you use the “Mark” feature and then edit the info to do this).

Despite the fairly major limitation of not having a compass we have still had success in finding our destinations. However if I had known about what trouble lack of a compass would bring I would not have bought it. My kids (9 and 6) are not able to find a geocache without the compass and get frustrated walking in circles when near the destination.

I can see a unit with a compass in our future.

Great GPS unit!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is my first handheld GPS and I purchased to get started in Geocaching. This unit is very easy to use, works with the geocache website to download geocaches to unit, very sturdy and reliable unit, highly recommend!

Perfect
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Simply very good….I got on time, the product works properly, I sent to Brazil and works fine…thank you….

Venture HC great value for amateur geocaching
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m new to geocaching, and this is my first GPS, so take this review as a newbie perspective. I bought this GPS soley for the purpose of geocaching and casual hiking. I already have a vehicle GPS and would not reccomend purchasing the VentureHC for any kind of road navigation, as its maps are severely lacking and primitive. Having said that, I’ve been very satisfied with this unit for geocaching. If you want something on a budget that is reliable and easy to use, you can’t beat it. The $125 investment for this is well worth it. I think any GPS that’s $100 or less would be inadequate and unreliable.

It comes pre-equipped with a usb cord, which makes it very easy to download waypoint coordinates quickly and efficiently. The only drawback to this feature is it does not allow for any additional information besides the coordinates and the name of the cache(i.e. no cache descriptions, ratings, maps, hints, logs). If you download lots of coordinates and search for mulitiple caches at a time, it could get a little confusing. If you’re more of a casual geocacher like myself, this is not too big of a problem since I ususally do not search for more than a few caches at a time. Also, if you’re a more advanced geocacher who wants to download maps, this does not have the memory, nor memory card slot to support the extra data.

Tha accuracy isn’t perfect, but it usually will get you within 15 to 20 feet. It has very good satellite reception and will still be pretty reliable in thick woods. The interface is very easy to use, but it doesn’t have a whole lot of technical features. But if you don’t need them, what’s the difference? One of the convenient upsides of this unit is it automatically records “breadcrumb” waypoints as you travel, so even if you get completely lost you can follow your trail of breadcrumbs back to your starting location.

I really like that it has a color, sunglight-readable screen (as opposed to the cheaper eTrex which is monochrome). This comes in a lot more useful than you’d think. The compass pointer can be a little jumpy at times, but always gets me to within a few feet. The only thing I don’t like about this gps is that it DOES NOT HAVE AN INTERNAL ELECTRONIC COMPASS. What this means is that you have to keep moving in order to get an accurate direction and heading. The minute you stop to look around, the compass freezes up and will point in a random direction. You have to start walking again in a straight line in order to reobtain your compass heading. This can get very annoying with more difficult caches where you have to stop often, but you get used to working around this flaw.

All in all, if you’re new to the hobby of geocaching and want a GPS that won’t cost a small fortune and is still accurate, reliable, and easy to use — then is is the right choice.

Good but not the one to get for Geocaching
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
This is a very nice little handheld GPS at a good price. However, if you are going to use it for Geocaching or anything else where you would need to stand still and still need to tell where to go, do yourself a favor and step up a notch. This unit does not have a magnetic compass. That means that as soon as you stop moving enough for the GPS to tell which direction you are going in the compass goes haywire and will be pointing in all the wrong directions. If you are going Geocaching standing still right near the cache is very common and you will greatly appreciate having a compass that works while doing so.

great for hikes
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I held off on a GPS purchase for a while because I heard a lot of “grumblings” of how bad reception was, etc…so I’m very pleased with this unit’s ability to give basic, important information while I’m hiking. I live in the foothills of CO., so I’ve used it outside under much tree/hill cover with no issues whatsoever (it struggles to get signals inside, sometimes) – generally about 8 satellites. I would guess that many of the higher end models have the same antenna/signal capabilities, so check carefully for what you need. This model’s screen’s easy to read, the interface is fine (I happen to be left handed, so my thumb doesn’t have to cross over the screen to hit the toggle button). There’s more I have to learn about this GPS, and I haven’t used the software at all. The base map doesn’t do anything for you off major highways, but for me, a guy with 7.5 minute paper topo maps, it’s great for plotting points, getting a bearing. The price makes it hard to balk at if you want a new toy…make sure you have rechargable batteries.

Descent GPS handheld
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Using the unit as delivered was fairly simple since I have use a variety of GPS systems in the past. The maps supplied with the GPS were barely useful. I did load some Garmin Topo maps in the system which added a new dimension to the unit. With the addition of those Topo Maps, I would give it a better grade. Additional storage space would have been a plus. It’s just ok!

Very Good Basic Unit – high sensitivity receiver is great
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I used this to replace an older basic eTrex model before a camping trip. I work with GPS in airplanes (that cost more than my car) but was not famiar with outdoor models. It should be noted that the “H” part of the Garmin model names refers to a new-generation receiver that is much more sensitive and I found it to be fantastic- it will locate my position indoors and under a thick rainforest canopy it always found its location within 20 seconds. When in a new location I would say it always located itself within 3 minutes. The only trouble it had in locating itself was when it was under the canopy and against a steep mountainside (and also inside the airliner when I didn’t keep it against the window).

This is an older model with an upgraded receiver so the battery life is not as good as other Garmins but at around 7 hours with the screen set to dim it never bothered me. It also has less internal memory than more expensive models so you might have to load base maps more frequently (you might have to pay dearly for some good maps). You can easily up/download tracks and waypoints, which I found to be pretty fun. This comes with WAAS capability turned off by default, probably to save power (it can be turned on easily from the settings page); I’m not sure why someone would want it when hiking. My unit got soaked in the rain several times and had no problems. More expesive Garmin handhelds can figure out driving directions but refurbished car models are going for $100.

General advice: I’m very happy with this model but make sure you get a Garmin model with the letter “H,” or another brand with a Sirfstar III receiver for higher sensitivity. The free software from topografix doesn’t work as well as the Garmin software that comes with this GPS but I suspect the non-free topografix software may be a bargain (don’t waste money on the amazingly detail-free Garmin world map software). I found the array of 3rd party software options overwhelming. Google Earth does not require a $20 subscription to display tracks & waypoints from this GPS, just save your stuff in the open *.gpx format from the Garmin software and open it in the free Google Earth – it’s fun.

Great intro unit for geocaching for the price!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
You wanna do geocaching? Get this. I bought this as my first unit, it was a toss between the eTrex H, the generic unit with no map and only an arrow, and then spending more money on this. I am glad I spent more money on the Venture HC, because I don’t think the eTrex H would be useful at all on long hikes in the hills.

The Venture has an easy to see and read color screen and comes pre-installed with a basemap that is basically entirely useless. If you want to do any serious hill and hiking geocaching you need to get the topographic maps that Garmin offers. These are expensive, but are pretty much necessary when navigating terrain and trails with changes in elevation. I can recall several instances when I needed to check elevation levels to make sure I was on the right trail to get to the cache I was chasing.

The topographic maps that Garmin offers also have street data on them, but this device has no turn-by-turn and, but it’s great to compare what is on my Garmin to what is in my car’s GPS so that I can navigate easily to caches.

I only use this unit for geocaching, however I see no reason it wouldn’t work great for regular hiking and out door activities. This is a good unit at a great price. Everything about it is pretty much golden.

Pros:

- Easy to use. I figured out how to use most functions without even reading the manual, but I am a bit of a geek.

- Easy to read the screen

- Battery life is great even on non-rechargables

- Very accurate! Usually if the geocache you’re hunting has accurate coordinates, GZ on the unit will be exactly where the cache is. Make sure to turn on WAAS, as it seemed to be off by default.

- Unit is pretty much weather proof and has been banged around by me a fair bit and stays strong!

- Onboard memory is more than enough to have all the topographic maps for Southern California (LA County to SD county and everything in between) in it.

Cons:

- Base map is entirely useless.

- Draw time is a little slow, but nothing that could possibly hold you up.

- Only holds data for 500 geocaches, but, really, who needs more than that really?

GARMIN ETERX VENTURE HC
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Garmin Etrex Venture HC GPS Receiver

THIS IS A GREAT STARTER FOR GEOCASHING. WE HAVE FAMILY WHO HAVE THE LEGEND HCX AND OREGON. THIS UNITS HIGH SENITIVITY RECEIVER IS AS ACCURATE AS THEM. STANDING IN THE SAME PLACE THE VENTURE WAS ONLY OFF .OO1 FROM THE OREGON. ALTHOUGH THE MAP IS NOT THAT GREAT, WHEN FINDING WAYPOINTS ITS STILL A GREAT UNIT FOR THE PRICE.IT HAS THE GEOCASHING MODE AND COMES WITH THE TRIP AND WAYPOINT MANAGER CD ROM. OVERALL WE ARE VERY HAPPY WITH OUR PURCHASE

Very solid product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I haven’t added the topographical maps yet, but thus far we’ve been very happy with this handheld GPS for geocaching.

Don’t expect good field mapping.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I am very satisfied with my purchase of the Garmin eTrex Venture HC Handheld GPS. It is as accurate as I had hoped it would be. My only complaint would be that the internal map is of very poor quality, though it is still not a deal breaker for me. One example I have is: The area I hunt is next to a lake, the GPS shows water everywhere I am hunting, even though I am actually more than two hundred yards away and over 15 feet in elevation above the actual lake at normal water level. It would be less disorienting to have a more acurate though not detailed map. Since the detailed topo map is suppossed to be much more accurate, Garmin could have simply removed all detail from the topo map and loaded it onto the unit. It would only cause me to be less skeptical of buying the additional topo map.

Very Good
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I use this Garmin hand held GPS for Geocaching. Quite accurate and easy to use. Would reccomend it highly.

Not my favorite for Geocaching by a long shot
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I’ve been geocaching for about 6 months (using a Garmin Forerunner 101), and I’m hooked. Got this for myself for Christmas, and was really excited, but quickly dissappointed. Yes, you can directly download your co-ords from geocaching.com, but that’s all you get. It lists the caches by thier alpha-numeric code (like I’m going to remember which one is which), but doesn’t give any info on the cache. First day out I was 3 for 9! Not the greatest receiver: in most cases, it was way off, when it told me I was at GZ. I was very sad to see that it lacked the “List of Nearest” screen that the Forerunner had, which I used often for placing caches.

On a whim I went to my local big box store and got a Magellan 400 Adventure Pack for a little more than this cost, which includes the topo maps. The Magellan 400 provides nearly paperless caching (provides full cache discription, decrypted clue, terrain & difficulty ratings, as well as who placed it), is more user friendly (but not the software, it is lacking a bit, but did get it figured out), and much easier for my average women’s size hands to operate.

The result? The Venture HC is going back.

excellent geo caching device
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have used my etrex HC for Geo caching only. It is accurate,I like the built in features for geo caching; such as …the built in menu for it…it keeps track of my finds…next nearsest cache…a map of the caches from my location…. the ability to downlad waypoints for caches from my computer!!( no errors for me) It beeps when I am close to a cache… It is good under tree cover , with little bounce. The battery life is good. I was able to get this from Amazon for a little over 100 dollars new! I also have a Garmin Tom Tom for vehicle navigation which also is programable to my computer for locating POI (my caches) and use it to get me to the site.

I use this for geocaching.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The Venture HC is great. Its easy to use and it is pretty accurate. The H in the HC means high sensitivity chip. This wont make it any more accurate but it will help you still receive a signal under tree cover.

If this unit is in your price range but the Vista is not then get it. Otherwise upgrade to the vista as it has better battery life and you can get the removable memory.

For me it was at the right price and has enough features for me. This was my first GPS unit and I havent had any issues with it. It has worked very well for geocaching.

Perfect for Geocaching
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We use it for Geocaching. It is perfect. We are having lots of fun! Glad we bought it!