Garmin Foretrex 301 Waterproof Hiking GPS

Simple, durable, and relatively easy to use. I always hike with a map and compass, typically on marked trails but wanted to explore a little more. I enjoy using paper maps and having that wide area view that's hard to discern on a small screen, but I got this GPS to give me a little piece of mind off-trail. I don't know how often ill use preloaded routes, but I do like the track back. Together with a $2 pocket plotting tool and you can find your position in seconds. It locks on fast at startup and has proven to be quite accurate. The trip computer is easily adjustable to any field you could want, with a set series of layouts to view. I found connecting it to my iMac to be easy and straight forward. Within minutes I loaded a few test routes and waypoints using BaseCamp, both with free maps on BaseCamp readily available online, and through importing routes from hillmap.com. I haven't done any torture testing, but the reviews from the military guys tell me it'll hold up well. I personally find the wrist-strap comfortable and barely notice the 2.5oz device in there. I do have skinny wrists though and the strap is a bit short so I can see how other people might have issues. I initially had a hard time deciding on this versus $40 more for the 401, or even an Etrex20 (similar price point). I eventually figured I didn't need the electronic compass or the potential hassle of constantly recalibrating it, and was not interested in the barometric pressure and more accurate elevation. I've read of issues where the pressure doesn't calibrate correctly and it can throw off trip data, or where you turn the device off and move (to save battery) and need to recalibrate the compass. None of these types of things i felt like dealing with and thus chose the 301. As for the Etrex, I'll wait a little and probably invest in a more fully featured device later rather than skimping now. The 301 fulfills it's purpose excellently, and I'll stick with what works well.

It is functional, it is handy, it is accurate, it is not very user friendly. A great concept, but they really need to work on the user interface of this. It is not what I would call intuitive. I'm not a techie, and I think a lot of typical users of this would not be either. I had to go online and download, print and study a million-page owner's manual to get the hang of it. And then study it again right before I go out hiking. I'm no dummy, but I found this to be a bit clunky in the user interface department. Lots of room for improvement. I suppose if you used it every day, the quirky operating system would become familiar, but if you use it 2-3 times a month, good luck.

By itself this product is awesome. I have both the 301 and 401 models and I really like them both. The only upgrade the 401 has is the jump master program which I have no need for. At first glance the 301 is a very simple device. It excels when you're going to a unknown situation and you want to keep track of where you are and where you came from. Take for example navigating a unknown hiking trail. You can navigate back to your original location with ease because of the track back feature. I also find this device great for pre-planning trips and outing. It took me a while to figure out how to do this but you can in fact "pre-plan" a trip. What I did was downloaded the Garmin Basecamp, and then downloaded a copy of Google Earth. What I do is go on earth, plot paths and waypoints, then export it to a kmz file. I then take that and import it into Basecamp with my device attach. I also use basecamp to export back into google maps so that next time I go to the same location I can see if I missed anything along the path I took. Very nice package. Recently I took a trip up to a unknown city for camping. Prior to that I scouted out some spots on Google earth and put them into way points. I also made one path I wanted to see. I thought this would have a 50/50 chance of being correct. When I got to the location, I found my planning paid off big with me knowing where everything is and I could easily navigate and found I didn't felt lost at all. This device is great for simple navigation in a unknown situation. It isn't like a car GPS where it can plot best paths and give a turn by turn with a map overlay. If you plan to buy this for that, I recommend going with something else because this will not help you. While you could technically use it in a car, you may find yourself very frustrated with it. Overall I highly recommend this device to anyone who goes on trip. With it being so affordable it's difficult to not just pick one up in case. You can also buy several DVDs and online tutorials on the subject of using this device effectively. Again it's very simple, try it out with running or walking around your neighborhood to see how it can help you.

La entrega fue efectuada antes del tiempo previsto. Bien embalado y con toda la documentación en el interior y instrucciones en castellano. Hoy he realizado la primera prueba y funciona a la perfección, tanto de mediciones, como de regreso a la ruta de inicio. Bastante fácil de utilizar, todo y que hay que introducir o cambiar parámetros. Lo aconsejo.

Oggetto eccellente ,utilissimo per attività all'aperto ,il X forte contrasto lo legge facilmente leggibile anche nelle situazioni estreme,il basso consumo delle batterie lo rende utilizzabile per lunghi periodi senza problemi

produit pratique et léger répondant bien au besoin d'un GPS peu encombrant, malheureusement ne remplace pas bien le Foretrex 201 pour la pratique de la voile car son étanchéité est toute relative !! Le compartiment piles semble étanche si l'on fait attention à bien le fermer, en revanche la prise USB subit les infiltrations et s'oxyde donc très rapidement la rendant inutilisable. M. GARMIN, SONY sait mettre une prise USB étanche sur ses smartphones, peut-être pourriez vous les contacter pour rendre vraiment étanche votre produit. Pourquoi avoir abandonné le Foretrex 201 qui était scellé et pouvait donc être étanche ?

Ein sehr kompaktes und funktionales Mini-GPS. Positiv: - Schneller Start - Sehr guter Signalempfang - Gute Handhabung - USB-Normstecker - Norm-Akkus und dadurch lange Nutzungsdauer Negativ: - Geringe Auflösung, ausreichend für die Datenfelder, für die Trackdarstellung unbrauchbar - Fummelige Armbandbefestigung, kein Wechselsystem, dadurch fummeliger Akkutausch - Batterie Einsetzlage unleserlich beschriftet - Grundsätzlich viel zu teuer Grund des Kaufes war der Wunsch nach einem kleinen, am Arm zu tragenden GPS für Tourenaufzeichnung und LOG beim Segeln. Vor Jahren hatte ich das Vorgängergerät 101. Das nervte durch schlechten Signalempfang. Schon in lichten Waldstücken gab es Aussetzer. Das 301 hat einen aktuellen Signalempfänger und der arbeitet schnell und selbst in schwierigen Situationen noch Empfang. Das wurde inzwischen an den Stand der Technik angepasst. Direkte Vergleich habe ich nicht, bin aber mit dem Signalempfang gut zufrieden. Auch der Stromverbrauch scheint geringer zu sein. Das Gerät lässt sich gut am Arm tragen, stört fast nicht. Größter Vorteil sind die normalen Mikrozellen. Ich nutze das Garmin nicht oft un sehr unregelmäßig. Ein Akku wäre immer wieder entladen und bei defekt ist das Teil ein wirtschaftlicher Totalschaden. Hier hat Garmin wohl vom 201er gelernt. Batterien gibt's an (fast) jedem Kiosk, die Akkus kosten keinen Euro und man kann sie in beliebiger Anzahl als Reserve mitnehmen. Geradezu frech ist die nur gegen das Licht erkennbare Polaritätsbeschriftung im Batteriefach. Durch das Armband ergibt sich nur ein schmaler Spalt und dadurch die richtige Lage zu erkennen, ist fast nicht möglich. Aber das hat man irgendwann ja im Kopf... Im Vergleich zu anderen Elektronikartikeln sind GPS Geräte wohl noch zu exklusiv/ die Zielgruppe zu leidensfähig. Ein mit vergleichbarem Aufwand produziertes Handy kostet inzwischen unter 20,- Euro.... Wunschliste: - Display mit größerer Auflösung und Graustufen - Schnellwechselsystem zw. Armband, Fahrrad- und Autohalterung - Akku-Ladefunktion im Gerät über USB (ist wg. Batterieerkennung wohl aufwändig) - Angepasster Preis Für das 301 von mir eine uneingeschränkte Kaufempfehlung Grüße Thorsten

Rapport qualité prix intéressant Etanche, oui, mais pour combien de temps? gros progres avec l'usb et la nouvelle puce; mais une organisation des menus moins rapide en usage. Ayant eu le 101, ca ne m'inspire que 3* ; surement une de plus en premier achat...