I was looking for a basic GPS unit to take with me when I solo backpack ... so I can find my car again, as well as some waypoints along the trail (like, oh, say, where I left my campsite before starting out on a dayhike. ;-).

There are more expensive GPS units that do more out there. I love technology in all parts of my life, but the reason I backpack is to simplify. The last thing I wanted was to buy a complex GPS that required the purchasing and loading of topo maps onto my computer ... and all the headaches and hassles thereunto. (Read some of the reviews on the pricier, more complex GPS models.)

I took this eTrex with me on a multi-day backpacking trip in Southern PA. I received the eTrex literally the evening of the day before I was to leave. I turned it on, watched a few on-line videos, and was off and running. (I even made copies of a few pages of the owner's manual to take with me, but found that the unit is so simple to use that I didn't need them.)

I gave it four stars because the owner's manual is very poorly written. This is my first GPS unit and some discussion of the basics would have been helpful. But with the help of a few videos on Youtube and other places on-line, I was able to get up and running fairly quickly.

As with other reviewers, my eTrex took a few minutes to find the satellites when I first turned it on at home. The other things new users might want to know is that if you drive several hours before turning the unit on (as I did), the eTrex needs a few extra minutes to "find" itself again. Not a big deal, but good to know.

Bottom line: If you want a simple GPS for backpacking, hunting or fly-fishing, then this is the unit to get.

I wanted a basic, easy to use, GPS that would allow me to hike in the wilderness and easily find my way to and from various places without fear of getting lost; and to always find my way back to my campsite or car. I also wanted to be able to save locations I visited as well as locations on the topo map I had not visited yet but wanted to be directed to by the GPS. In addition, I wanted to take a reading "in the field" and be able to find that location on a topo map. This unit does all of this perfectly. Unlike the experience of another reviewer of the eTrex H on this site, when I first turned this GPS on it initialized to satellites and my position in only a few minutes. The description of this unit should mention directly that you can use it to save locations you are not present at. It implies this by referring to Geocaching, but some people, like me, don't know what that is. And the description of how to do this in the owner's manual could be a little better. I am not very experienced in using a GPS with a topo map and I overlooked the need to program the GPS to the "datum" used for the map I was working with, which resulted in my readings being several hundred meters off. My biggest complaint about the owner's manual is that, while it tells you how to program the GPS for various map datums, it does not tell the "beginner" that if you live in the lower 48 US states, for a map that says "NAD 27" for the datum you select "NAD 27 CONUS" (for "Continental US"). I had to buy a couple of books on GPSs to find this out. Otherwise the owner's manual, while it is a little concise, is pretty thorough and easy to use. If your needs are simple, like mine, and you do not need to have topo maps loaded into the GPs, this is an excellent choice at a great price. (Even with a GPS it is always advised to go into unknown areas of the wilderness with a map and compass as well. If you work with a map, you will probably use the UTM system so you will need to learn how to work with that and get a plastic scale for reading meters in "grids". A good book on the GPS can be helpful in these regards - the owner's manual does not go into these details.)

Picked up one of these to replace a Geko 301 that I had been using for recording track logs. The Geko doesn't work too well without wide open skies, so more often than not I ended up with a bunch of way points rather than a full track log. I've just taken the eTrex H on an extended trip driving and walking through the North Cascades National Park (lots of mountains and trees). Even though the unit was in my backpack throughout the trip, the track log looks almost perfect (i.e. it lines up with all the roads etc when in Google Earth). The user interface on this unit appears to be the same as for the Geko, however the buttons are less pleasant to operate (bad placement, and too much force required). Like the Geko this unit does not include a cable; fortunately I could reuse the (not so cheap) USB cable I had bought for the Geko.

I purchased this little guy after I borrowed my father-in-law's older etrex. Everything seemed to be going fine... it picked up signal quickly and said I had great accuracy. However, when I would walk/drive in a straight line, the heading would wobble plus/minus 15 degrees. This may not seem like a lot, but when you are moving by foot this means that the track you are following on the map is twisting back and forth, making it difficult to navigate. I sent one of these back for a replacement on Garmin's recommendation... the second one had the same problem.

Perhaps the issue could be fixed with a software update (I was running 2.6), but the cable is so expensive.

Excellent product for basic GPS requirements, functions well in all modes. Defintely water-proof, survived harsh conditions including very cold weather, works well in heavy forest cover, battery life is good, very satisfied with product and price. Diodeman

I bought this unit for geocaching. My current Nuvi 760 wasn't getting close enough to the coordinates so I needed something more accurate. This little unit does the trick. The little screen is hard to read and it certainly doesnt have the features as a Nuvi760 does but for what I paid for it, I am really happy.

PRO: Price, Processing Speed, User Interface, Well Built

CON: No heading while still

As an avid Geocacher and teacher, I had to find out what all the buzz was about the H models. (I own a dozen regular ones that I use for instructional purposes) Everything is the same with features except that it is supposed to be able to get signals in heavy tree cover or in places with steep walls (like buildings) or in valleys, etc. When I used it for the first time, it took forever to catch the first satellite even though I reset the time zone right away. It comes with a central Asia time zone so be sure to change that. It lost power and shut off while trying to boot. It was becoming very frustrating. Took about 15 minutes. However, once it was able to find the local sats, it worked fine. Haven't tried in dense woods or valleys yest, but kept a good signal in woods regular park woods and gave me accuracies to less that 20 feet. The price is the same as a standard E-trex 100 but you get better reception. The down side is that you lose 5 hours of battery life (17 vs 22). I don't see this as a problem at all. And there is no cool globe logo on the front. I will buy more eventually.

I definitely had problems with my original eTrex-H. First-time startup could not detect a navigable satellite signal; failed 6 times. I went so far as to climb on my roof; still no navigable signal detected. It eventually detected a navigable signal inside my house, at my desk (go figure), while I was searching for the software version needed by Garmin Customer Support online.

On two short hikes, less than 4 hours, my original eTrex-H shut itself off at some point during the hike. The "Backtrack" feature was obviously of no value.

The Garmin website is less than friendly; especially for customer support. Garmin online Windows open undersized from Amazon product links with no option to maximize or scroll. And, Garmin online has been unresponsive to my emails for customer support. I see this more as a website (webmaster) problem.

Ultimately, I connected with Garmin product support. Garmin authorized return of my etrex-H within the warranty period. It still cost me $13.00+ for shipping, and a couple weeks time getting Garmin repair authorization. Garmin finally replaced my etrex-H, with no explanation of what was wrong with the original etrex-H.

I have not tested my newest etrex-H on the trail, but it encountered no difficulty acquiring a navigable signal on first-time startup. (gp)