Most helpful client reviews
115 of 118 persons found the following review helpful.
Decent, but Expected More
By Allan
I purchased this unit for use on hikes, bike rides, and other similar outdoor activities. I've had it for a few months now, and overall, I'm only somewhat satisfied. Here's a list of pros and cons that have stuck with me so far:
Pros:
-easy to read/see color screen (even in bright sunlight)
-highly customizable screens (types and amount of info shown on each screen)
-fairly easy to learn and operate
-many features, including barometric altimeter and electronic compass
Now, the cons to this product may not be specific to this unit. It may be more a function of the limitations of GPS:
-inaccurate (sometimes highly) "tracking" of horizontal position or trail in truth traveled (I've equated to trail maps and Google Earth visible trails, and a heap of of my tracks are inexplicably way off)
-inaccurate barometric altimeter (sometimes hundreds of feet off. I've turned it on, and had elevation readings of -200 feet!!) which will have to be constantly calibrated. Also, if you calibrate at the bottom of a climb, by the time you reach the summit, it may be over 100' off.
-very inaccurate odometer data, and inconsistencies in the data. For example, I not long back hiked Half Dome, which is 4800' vertical gain...this unit only registered 1500' total ascent, but the commence elevation and end elevation shown were well over 1500' different. Also, on the same Half Dome hike, the odometer read 5 miles hiked, but the track total registered a more precise 8.3 miles.
-very "stiff" buttons.
Again, the inaccuracy may be a function of the limitations of GPS, but the odometer inaccuracies in terms of total distance, total ascent, descent, etc. was disppointing. Perhaps Garmin needs to come up with another way of calculating these values. I think a lot of these values are calculated using current horizontal and vertical velocity, which may be inaccurate at any given moment. With inconsistencies at any given moment, it is difficult for the unit to calculate the actual horizontal and vertical distance traveled.
In any case, overall, I would commend this product for simple trail and waypoint marking. But it will have to be understood you will only get "general" information, and not anything resembling very exact data.
**EDIT** Garmin freed a firmware patch in Feb of '08, and it has in truth helped with the accuracy of sure data. The total assent selective information is much more exact now, many times within 100' of actual climbed distance (that may not seem so great, but it was horrid before). Also, the distance measurements are better. When I save a track, the distance per the track is much more close to the odometer reading, normally within a mile for a 10-15 mile hike (which again, is just ok, but better than before).
Overall, the unit does seem to be more exact in all ways now, perhaps due in share to this firmware update. Also, tracks seem to be more exact in terms of comparing visually to maps. I'm more happy with the unit now, and would in all probability give it 4 stars if I reviewed it today.
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful.
Garmin eTrex Summit HC Hand Held Receiver with Built in GPS Patch Antenna
By Hadder
Product Hardware: 9/10
User Interface : 9/10
Scale-ability : 7/10 (No Memory card Slot)
Precision : 6-11 mts in normal conditions.
Supplied Software and MAP: 9.5/10
Overall : Justifies the cost paid.
Other Advantages:
Power Supply: The best percentage is that it is powered by 2 AA cells which may be received anywhere. We may use chargeable cells.
Electronic Compass: Though does not function well, when unit is stationary, but extreamy helpful. You don't have to carry a compass.
Altimeter: Very good feature. I found it beauteous accurate.
Final Reccomendation: Go for a slight higher range model which has SD card slot. For every day users, this model is more than sufficient.
14 of 15 humans found the following review helpful.
Garmin Summit is great
By Bristlecone
In the summer I spend a lot of time on my horse in the Colorado Wilderness Areas. And yes, I have a way of mounting the GPS unit on the dashboard of my gelding. After 4 years hard service, my Garmin Legend quit. Improvements I found in my new Summit are impressive: color, more quickly satellite acquisition, and map orientation that matches the orientation of the unit. This last is possible only in the Summit which has the electronic compass missing out in other GPS models from Garmin. The commands are more intuitive and it works better in timber. With the new cable and drivers that came with the Summit, I was competent to use my old MapSource CD to load contours.
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