Garmin etrex Legend

I'm going to give this geocaching thing a try and I've already got a nasty case of eye strain from reading the geocaching site.

I've also browesed the Garmin site and I like the specs, including the 8MB of memory.

Anyone have one of these? Pros? Cons? Quite a few of the geochachers like this model but I'd rather hear the straight scoop from CPFers.

I don't like the Gecko because of the small screen and the AAA batteries.

I'm no expert, I don't own a GPS, but I've done a fair ammount of research. With that in mind I give you these 2 well educated conclusions:

The cleapest, lowest end GPS will do Geocaching just fine
If you're buying the Legend, pay just a bit more and buy the Vista. I believe the Legend just uses GPS got everything, whereas the Vista has the built in Compass and Altimeter that gives you:
Slightly better elevation readings
The ability to take a compass bearing in place. GPSses without internal compasses can't tell what direction you are facing unless you are also moving.

I have one and love it. I posted about it a while ago here.

The Legend is a great value and meets my needs perfectly. Good deals can be had on eBay, but I recently saw it also carried at a Target store.

Good luck and enjoy.

Dave

I have an older GPS, but I really want a Legend or Vista. Primarily I want it for my long (usually a week or so) motorcycle rides. I have two hang ups on these, price and the small screen. Can you zoom in and out in a way that gives you enough perspective on where you are in relation to where you are going?

Edited to say that Best Buy and many other retailers carry these as well.

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bigcozy said:
I have an older GPS, but I really want a Legend or Vista. Primarily I want it for my long (usually a week or so) motorcycle rides. I have two hang ups on these, price and the small screen. Can you zoom in and out in a way that gives you enough perspective on where you are in relation to where you are going?


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There is a feature on the trip computer screen called "big numbers" that will make the font about an inch tall for whichever data cells you want. Obviously you can't display everything when the characters are that tall. But you can choose which info you do display. It works well for quick "at a glance" when you're busy driving.

You can choose the font size and zoom settings on the mapping screens, too, but it's still reasonably small -- so its prudent to only use the mapping when you are not taking too much attention away from your driving.

Dave

Having used the Legend and the bigger GPSMAP 76, I can say the Legend screen is nice but tiny. You'll have to keep it closer than arms' length unless you are an eagle. The price point is fantastic though.

The Legend has good software, and would be my choice over the 76 series for hand-held use. I didn't notice any difference in reception or accuracy between the two. It ran fine for me on NiMH cells.