PRO: Small, Extremely Easy To Use, Good Screen Brightness

CON: Uses non USB port to download maps to pc. But it works.

I used this GPS all summer. First borrowed from a friend for a couple months and then decided to get exactly same one of my own.

My friend had his one for a while (i think two years) and recommended this eTrex Legend to me.

This GPS is not the best value or latest technology (check out the new "Cx" version of this eTrex Legend. note: "Cx" not the discontinued "C"), but eTrex Legend is the best one for the money, of you don't care for color screen and lots of memory for your maps. It is reliable and durable (Garmin makes good stuff), great screen (better then Magellan, sorry), and enough memory (8MB inbuilt) for uploading Garmin maps of all your hiking areas. You can upload and remove them with included computer COM port cable. (the newer C and Cx use USB, yeh that's handy)

i was given this as a present to use in my car while traveling. this is definitely NOT what it was designed for since it requires close attention to a very small screen. there are also additional costs associated with owning this unit. first, you must purchase maps to upload into the unit and they can be expensive. second, you may have to purchase a cable to connect the unit to the computer (they do not supply a USB connection so i had to purchase an adapter). the cost of the adapter from garmin is 2 to 3 times the cost of other manufacturers. in the end, this "present" cost me well over $120 and isn't really satisfactory for car use unless you have someone with you to operate the unit.

If you've ever been involved with an activity that utilizes GPS, you've run into this little wonder. It's usually the recommended device for geocaching beginners and it does its job well. After having this over a year, I have added higher end units but this is still my wife's staple and she loves it. It has just enought memory to get some good maps of your location and those can be a life saver.

Complaints of accuracy are unwarranted because that includes variables such as satellite locks, weather, trees, ect. You have to remember that when you are looking for something with coordinates given to you - those coordinates were created by another GPSr by someone who may not know what they are doing. In other words, the GPSr gives you direction to a target and then a 20-30 foot radius in which to search.

I would recommend this unit to everyone.

OK first off... this is 2006... what kind of new electronics uses a serial cable? Lets get real Garmin!

Now I should note that I downloaded EasyGPS and loaded waypoints for Geocaching through the serial cable without a hitch and zero configuration. Nice little program.

Good news is you can buy a converter which will allow you to use USB for your laptop. This cost me $13 bucks. Do a google and you should find several options.

A friend of mine has a Vista. You should know that the legend and the Vista use the *SAME* antenna, so you are not upgrading your reception if you buy a more expensive model. Our reception and navigation was identical. The higher end ones really don't do much for usability. They only give you some "niffty" features like knowing the sunset time, elevation, etc. Really these aren't things that will help you navigate. Color doesn't seem to be useful either (at least as far as geocaching goes)

The backlight is great at night, no problems whatsoever seeing the screen.

The only reason you would want to upgrade from the etrex is if you want a GPS for road navigation OR to get a better antenna.

I have had this GPS in very thick cover in PA and in my car and have never had a problem with getting satellites.

So in my opinion if your looking at the vista or this go with this, if you want to spend extra cash then get something with a better antenna.

I've had my Legend for 10 months now and am surprised I haven't reviewed it yet.

I have had occasion to use MANY different units, and by far this is the winner. I find that the price point can seem steep, but it is worth the price tag. I got this hoping to use it to scout for hunting and fishing, but found Geocaching to be a good way to learn my way around a GPS. To be fair, I've always been a map and compass guy but this is so easy to use I sometimes don't even carry maps.

-Waypoints are the easiest to enter of any system, and the many icons make it easy to identify waypoints on the map.

-Solunar tables are nice and can be computed for specific waypoints.

-Nice backlighting, a little dim, but will not ruin night vision.

-They say it's designed for left handed operation, but as a lefty myself, I find it easy to use with both hands.

-The trip computer is very nice, and you can cusomize the data to show what you want. I use this for computing mileage when making long trips for work, so it's paid for itself in mileage checks!'

I have NO complaints about this unit, though I would recommend getting a case/cover for the screen since it's so exposed.

This was a gently treated unit that had never been dropped or in any way abused and only used occasionaly on weekends. The more serious problems noted below developed only after a few months.

pros: Inexpensive, nice small size, easy to carry. I've used it traveling around various cities, geocaching, camping, etc. The ability to change parameters of the display is a nice feature.

Very good accuracy, I've gotten readings as close as a few feet from target.

Cons: dimly lit and low contrast screen not good for older eyes, especially at night.

Serious flaw---randomly turns off on its own for no reason, even with new batteries.

Display developed missing lines and dark lines usually after pressing the side buttons. The only way to get the display back was to gently shake the unit or tap on the screen.

Drops signal too easily in urban areas-even around relatively short buildings (two and three story). Light tree cover kills it as well. The unit requires you to hold it in your hand, out and facing skyward. It will not work if it is around your neck.

If you want to add any waypoints at all, forget the tedious button entry and get a cable and gps software and upload points from your computer. But to be honest on this point, any device without a keyboard is tedious to enter information into.

This unit will not hold up under anything but very gentle treatment, in my opinion.

Despite some serious drawbacks and poor design decisions, the eTrex has potential, if Garmin can fix some issues with the unit.

You get what you pay for...

Even given the above negatives, I would buy garmin again.

I bought the Legend from Amazon in August 2003 after a lot of research. It was and still is the best value in a small GPS. I also bought the Topo CD's several months later. I took the Legend everywhere, and used it almost daily.

The unit recently had intermittent failures, it is out of warranty and it is being retired. I had no issues with reception, acquisition time, reading the display, battery life or using it left handed. The Topo software could use an update but it makes the Legend much more useful. I bought a bike mount, definitely get one of those if you cycle.

The new color units have a USB connection, the Legend uses a serial cable. Not a big deal, but not all laptops have serial ports so consider that before you buy. (A USB-serial converter is available for a rather steep $50, almost half the cost of the Legend!) Data transfer isn't fast but you have to be chronically impatient to care about that.

The first intermittent failure on my unit was the joystick, it would not switch in the left direction, among other things, I could not select routes. That was annoying. The second was a pattern of thin lines across the display, the third was a hard failure, a black display on boot up. The black display rendered the Legend completely useless during a 4 day trip in the Adirondacks, fortunately not on the trail. I almost tossed it but when we got home it began functioning again...another intermittent problem.

Don't ever rely on one of these things for navigation in the wilderness, the product quality is inadequate. You will be foolishly testing the Aerospace Corollary of Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong, will...and at the worst possible time) by depending on it for essential navigation. Carry a compass and map or be prepared to get lost and die after the Legend fails.

My advice to those considering purchase is to go for it, but keep your receipt because there's a good chance it will break and need warranty service. After the warranty, it's an expendable. Forget about factory repairs, those are $90.

I'm replacing the Legend with a Vista, I really don't expect better quality but I do like the bigger memory and the altitude profile display will be fun to play with. The most practical decision would have been to get another Legend but that's rather boring. The Magellans are getting better but they don't have the screen resolution and ergonomics of the Garmins.

The Etrex color units are quite nice but way too expensive. When the Vista is broken and out of warranty maybe the price will drop and color will be my replacement. Or perhaps another manufacturer will develop a higher quality GPS with the features, size and display of the Garmin.

Overall, I'd recommend the Legend. It's a good value, provided you have the common sense to understand and manage its limitations.

I purchased my Garmin eTrex Legend about two years ago and it has been a love/hate relationship ever since. I am not a clumsy person by any means, but it seems like everytime I touch this unit it breaks. At the begining of a two-day hiking trip, it fell off the tailgate of my truck and wiped out the LCD screen. Externally, the unit was fine, but the shock damaged the display crystal. So I roamed around for two days without it. I returned the unit to Garmin for repair; $99 later it was good to go, or so I thought. While canoeing in the Ozarks, I had the eTrek attached to my life vest. The waterproof rating states that it can take up to one meter for 30 minutes - hardly! My canoe capsized and the eTrex was toast before I ever made it to shore. The electonics eventually dried out and the unit started working again - after my trip was over! I could send it back for a $99 repair (again) but I think I will buy one of the Magellan Explorist models with USB connectivity. A word of advice - don't buy any GPS unit that uses a serial port (RS232) connection. They are painfully slow during transfer.

This unit provides a good balance between features and price. It is of a convenient size, has an easy to learn interface, and works as advertised.

While not intended to provide address-to-address navigation, the built-in Americas Highways base map provides decent background mapping given its 2MB dataset size and coarse scale. In my locale, all of the major roads that I would care to see are displayed. Large scale detailed streets data are available from Garmin if you need it.

The intuitive interface allows a person to easily explore this unit's capabilities. The built-in trip computer has allowed me a glimpse of the grim reality of how much of drive home is spent literally sitting (stopped) in traffic, even though most of my route is on the Interstate. I also appreciate the relatively large number of tracking log points that the 8MB of internal memory affords.

The NMEA-0183 Interface Standard governs communications between marine navigation equipment via a serial data bus, thus, as would be expected, the included PC interface cable is serial. That said, computer connectivity has worked predictably and reliably, showing me exactly where I am at in Microsoft Streets and Trips on the PC. It's true that my Mac's lack of a serial port prohibits a connection without purchasing a third party adapter, but the reality is that there isn't much great mapping software currently available for this platform (Keyspan is available for about 40USD and is compatible with PC and Mac). The other reality is that my primary purpose for this unit is not as an antenna for mapping software.

While the included compass requires movement to determine bearing and the altitude is inherently not as accurate as lateral position, these shortcomings may not be all that important to the average user. A true electronic compass and a barometric altimeter are available on two other eTrex models. For a small premium, the Summit trades a few of the Legend's features (base map and some utilities) for these two items. For a larger premium, the Vista adds these two items to the full list of Legend features.

If you are looking for something so that you can simply say that you have a GPS unit, look at the standard yellow eTrex or the eTrex Camo for a few dollars more. If you are not a full-on surveyor, but serious about mapping using a GPS as an external antenna for your computer, consider something like the Trimble Pathfinder Pocket (note: this pricier unit uses the serial standard and requires a PC or PocketPC).