Garmin eTrex Legend HCx Handheld GPS System

I have owned and used an eTrex Legend C for nearly three years, and it had proved to be a reliable, rugged and easy to use navigation tool. This version is identical in design but comes with the newer more sensitive GPS chipset (designated by the H in the name) and a port for an SD card (designated by the x). The C in the name stands for colour to distinguish is from the black and white version. The price is slightly less than I paid for the earlier model in 2004.

Cons: The first thing to say is that the base map is completely useless, but then no device with a 4cm by 3cm screen is ever going to be able to replace a proper map, so this does not really matter, and it's not what it's designed for. The 24M bytes of memory in the device is far too small, but providing an SD card slot means you can fix this problem very easily. Garmin's (otherwise excellent) software only works on Windows, no Mac or Linux options.

Pros: Great battery life, I'm still getting 24 hours use between charges on an old set of rechargeable batteries. Very good colour screen, you definitely want colour. Excellent web support from Garmin, regular new versions of the system software even for old models. Good accuracy and reasonably quick start up time, should be even better with the new chips. Many different views and screens, plenty of options to play with. Well designed and rugged case, that really is waterproof, although the glue that sticks the rubber rand to the case on mine is beginning to dissolve after three years.

The supporting software is also very good, although you probably do need to be fairly PC-literate to get the most out of it. The interface uses a standard USB cable (supplied). You can only load maps in Garmin format, and the ones that you can buy from Garmin are quite expensive.

I'd recommend this unit (plus the free maps from the SMC) for any British hillwalker. I've also used mine for cycling (with the well-designed handlebar mount) and even in the car (for ETA and general direction rather than detailed turn by turn instructions).

I was bought this as a Birthday present from a good friend. I walk a bit and thought it would add an extra dimension to the walks as well as being a useful tool.

I have to say I am very impressed. I've clocked up 100 odd miles on it so far and it has proved very accurate in most situations. It loses a bit of accuracy when used very close to tall buildings (like a few feet out), but nothing to worry about. Reception seems to be very good. I usually have it in a pocket but have on occasion used it in a car, where accuracy was just as good, and the speed, directions indication was spot on.

As has been said before the built in maps are rubbish. I did some searching and came across the OpenStreetMap project (google it). basically a free set of maps for the whole world that is gradually being compiled by the general public. Where data is sparse its no worse than the built in maps, but where more mapping has been done (many towns) there is great detail.Versions are available to download for the UK that can be loaded into your Garmin Legend. Whats more you can use the traces from your walks to add detail to the maps yourself, which introduces another great reason to get out walking! I have found mapping my local town to be quite addictive and its all thanks to the Legend HCX.

Battery life is fantastic & it is very easy to use I find.
I'm very happy with it indeed.

This is my first GPS of any sort and I have gone through a mixture of emotions with this from frustration and disappointment at the beginning, to shear pleasure and exhilaration right now.

Firstly, I should say that this is a great little device. It has everything that you could want from an outdoor GPS: creating tracks, following routes, geocaching ready, rugged, easy connection to PC, micro xD-card slot, WAAS/EGNOS enabled (i.e. very accurate), 25 hour battery lifetime and so on.

Why was I frustrated and disappointed? Well I kind of expected that when I switched it on, after it worked out where I was, it would have some kind of lovely Ordinance Survey type map - this is so far from the truth. Even though I had been forewarned about the maps on Garmins, I still was not ready for the basic vector graphics and poor accuracy of the maps. You can walk down Fleet St, for example, and the map draws your track clearly 50m off the road. You can buy TOPO maps from Garmin which should be an improvement, but, reading those customer reviews, it is still a long way off the OS maps.

Anyway, that is the end of the negative part. Now for the good stuff. I love switching it on outside my back door and it tells me where I am within 10 feet accuracy (very accurate). It is very easy just to switch it on and just let it record where you are going. It will tell you all manor of facts during and after the trip - current speed, heading, average speed, area (odd, but may have a use if you are a farmer), and of course distance travelled. Then, when you connect it up via the USB, you can transfer the saved track to your PC. These can be uploaded into any mapping software, if you so wish, or sent to your friends for them to see where you went, or even for them to follow, if they have a GPS.

Routes, which are pre-programmed tracks for you to follow, are easily created via your mapping software - it can be done with the MapSource software provided with the GPS, and then sent to the GPS. Then, when you get to the start, switch on the GPS, choose the route and "Start Navigation". It will then tell you which way to go, when a turn is coming up etc. All fairly standard stuff you would hope but it works very well.

I could go on detailing a lot more about the device, such as the sun and moon rise/set times and electronic compass, but I thought it would be better to mention some of the whizzy stuff. What is really cool, are proximity alerts. These can be set on waypoints to tell you when you are getting near a certain point. An obvious use for this is Geocaching. This device is great for this - set up you route with proximity alerts and you can almost find them with your eyes closed. You are limited to 1000 waypoints in this GPS, however, as this is micro xD card ready, you can have an almost unlimited number of Points of Interest which work in a very similar way to waypoints. .

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the device, even though the maps are rubbish. Definite 5 stars from me.