I don't know if my specific product was defective or if it was a design flaw, but the "weak signal" symbol and accompanying beep were constantly coming up. I had intended to use this during mountain biking, but it would not keep accurate distance. I even tested it while driving, where I could compare the odometer reading in my car with the odometer on the GPS. Still, the Foretrex was significantly lower than the actual mileage.

We use this wrist model for Mounted Posse, Search and Rescue and for mapping trails in the forest. The display is bright and clear - easy to read in sun and shade. For the equestrian it stays with you on your wrist, takes one hand to operate instead of the traditional hand held units. Lots of good features packed into a compact size. A good buy at the cost.

Garmin has come up with a fantastic idea, having a wrist mounted gps. It works great both for hiking and driving. It's easy to download tracks and waypoints (with the recommended cable) to a computer so you can see them on google earth. Great investment!

Although no single navigational tool should ever be used alone (a backup compass, using landmarks, maps & common sense are always necessary), the Garmin Foretrex 101 wristmounted GPS Navigator really works to "bring you home". I used this GPS in the wetland hardwoods of the Cache River NWR in East-Central Arkansas. This refuge, together with the White River NWR are dense bottomland hardwoods of oak and cyprus trees and marshes. Once inside these massive forrests (80+ miles long at points) you can barely see the sky and can get lost almost immediatly. My Garmin GPS was a great comfort as I kept walking deeper & deeper into the woods. It's simple to use and always let me know exactly (within 30 ft) where and how far away may my car was. After exploring for hours, I simply entered "Go To" my #1 position (my car), and followed the arrow home. It was simple and really worked. I am still learning to program the unit on how to enter a Long.& Lat. off of a topographical map so it can guide me to the exact spot I am interested in exploring. Once I have mastered this last test, I will be confident to take on the world. Good Luck and enjoy this great navigational tool.

The Foretrex is fine and I use it about an hour each day. Battery life is extra bad; about 9 hours on alkalines and 4 hours on rechargable NiCads. Unfortunately there is very little warning on low juice prior to shut down.

I've had the Foretrex 101 for about 4 months and used it primarily for sea kayaking. While it has functioned pretty well over the period, it has now become unusable due to water getting in through the battery cover. Looking at the seal on that cover, it's pretty minimal compared to those on other waterproof gear I own. Would probably be ok for hiking and biking but, certainly in a salt water environment, I'd steer clear of this one.

I like to mountain bike, cycle ride, triathlons, hike and other outdoor sports. This little GPS has been able to handle the load of all of these. Love all the features. I read that this little gem loses signals a lot, huh? I use it in northern Az in the forest, canyons, mountains and river valleys and I have to tell you driving, hiking, and riding in AZ, NM, and Tx I only lost signal 4 times and that was when I was in a tunnel or when I fell into the lake. Moreover, on that note, to make this gem perfect for all out door activities why did not they make it waterproof for swimming. Now its is rank for a 1 meter 30 minute submersion but who swims for only 30mins. Why didn't Garmin design a USB cable connection instead of a serial cable that cost an extra $15-$45 cable if you don't have a serial port on a new computer. What were they thinking? Duh!!!! Battery life, oh come on, with all of this new technology battery life is only 15 hours? I have to change out the battery every week unless I use rechargeable while I have to charge every night before use. Those three reason is why it gets a 4.7 of 5.

Best little GPS for the price. If not the FT 101 get the Forerunner 101 (more so for runnuers)

Pros:

Lightweight

Easy to use

Highly versatile, because of the Velcro strap and many different functions

Large display

Strong signal reception

Cons:

Battery life

PC Connection

Does not float

No stopwatch (F.R. does)

I needed a lightweight easy-to-use inexpensive GPS device to use during outdoors hiking and backpacking trips, mostly as a distance meter but also as a route tracker. There's a very little competition in this sector, and I selected Foretrex 101 because it uses AAA's instead of rechargeable batteries in 201 (well, not sure about Garmin engineers but I typically don't take an AC power outlet to a backpacking trip with me).

Overall, it met my expectations... sorta. COM port communications with a PC, sturdy but ugly looking design, heavier than I thought, very uncomfortable wrist strap - these are the minuses but I could live with them. However, my biggest disappointment was with the GPS chip sensitivity. In 8 out of 10 trips it loses satellite connections every few minutes, pretty much all the time under the trees, even when the forest around is not that dense. When it does, its measurements become extremely inaccurate - once it reported 13 miles on a trip odometer when it actually was just above 8...

I wouldn't buy it again, but at the same time I haven't seen a better alternative anyway. I only wish Garmin could come up with a new wrist mount hiking (not running / personal training) GPS device based on a new chip, using USB connector, and having better map graphics. Dreams, sweet dreams.

This GPS is lightweight on the wrist, very readable in sunlight, and easy to use. The optional computer serial cable (get the USB adaptor too) and the Garmin Waypoint Manager make this an even more powerful hiking tool. I do trail running and us it to record the tracks, give speed of travel, and mark my trail waypoints. At home I download the track and waypoints to my computer. I also upload gps lat/lon points and routes to the GPS unit from the computer. When used with paper maps, this is the most powerful small GPS for the money.

Garmin PC Interface Cable for Forerunner and Foretrex (010-10484-00)

Cables To Go USB To Db9 Serial Adapter USBa/db9m Rs-232

Garmin MapSource Trip and Waypoint Manager (010-10215-04)

This is a compact yet fully functional product. Its' tracking and route function is effective. Inputing waypoints are intuitive with a few buttons. I use it for trail and also for my DSLR to retrieve GPS information for my photos (with cable from Pc-Mobile). Lacking of map function is a shame but it is sufficient for my current usage.