Garmin eTrex Venture Cx Waterproof Hiking GPS (Yellow) Review

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(More customer reviews)I drove my wife crazy spending several weeks worth of nights researching which GPS to buy for my upcoming elk hunting trip in Colorado. After reading several reviews on Amazon about Magellan and Garmin, I decided to focus on Garmin, especially after my old Magellan stopped locking on.
The price of the Venture Cx immediately jumped out at me. As did one of the Amazon reviews about buying the Venture instead of the Legend Cx. So I started comparing features of the various units on Garmin's website. Should I go with the Legend or Vista or Venture, or spend another $200+ on a top of the line GPSMap 60CSx? I soon realized the Venture Cx had ALL of the features of the 60CSx except an altimter, compass and the new top of the line SIRF II chipset/receiver. So I figured I would buy the Venture Cx and try it out hunting in the dark timber and deep canyons of the West Elk Wilderness, and if I kept losing the signal I would return it and upgrade to the expensive 60CSx.
Well, needless to say, I am back from my week long hunt and was blown away that the unit never lost a signal in the deepest of dark timber, and I mean deep! Sometimes it would jump around a bit as you walked, but it always corrected itself in a second or two and never lost the signal. Before I left I bought a 512MB micro SD card for $15, the US Topo for $75 from Amazon, loaded the maps for the area I would be hunting, and I always knew where I was and even what road I was quading on. My other friends all had GPS's but not the mapping kind. They were also blown away by the mapping accuracy and how quickly the unit would start up and acquire a position, even in the dark forest. I kept the unit on most of the time as I hunted so it would leave my track in case I wanted to back track, and I still have 2 of 3 bars on my rechargeable NiHM batteries after 7 days.
So, bottom line, if you want an incredibly feature rich, mapping GPS, don't waste your money on the more expensive Legend or Vista Cx, nor the top of the line GPS Map60 CSx. Go with the bright easy to find yellow Venture Cx, buy your own USB cable (or use the one that came with your digital camera like I did) and buy a higher capacity Micro SD card (the Legend Cx only comes with 64MB), buy the US Topo from Amazon and you are rockin and rollin for geocaching, hunting/hiking in deep dark timber, and turn by turn navigating around your home city and the USA.

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With the eTrex Venture Cx, Garmin offers all the basic features of the much-loved Legend Cx, without all the bells and whistles. You get the same great hardware and software with the Venture Cx as is found on the Legend Cx, but Garmin has removed the included MicroSD card, the USB cable, Trip and Waypoint software, and the bike clip. The result is an even more affordable little unit that keeps things simple -- perfect for the first-time GPS user or someone who doesn't want to fuss with a lot of extras. The Venture Cx is designed to go right out of the box, so there's no messing with computers or CD-ROMs.
Don't be deceived, though, the Venture Cx has got power and features where it counts. You get a bright, full-color TFT display and a long, 32-hour battery life (using two AA batteries). All of this makes the Venture Cx a great companion for your next outdoor or boating adventure.
You can also use the Venture Cx's memory card slot with preprogrammed microSD cards from Garmin (sold separately) that provide topographic maps, city streets, and nautical charts. In fact, the unit is compatible with most Garmin MapSource products including BlueChart, City Navigator, U.S. Topo 24K, and U.S. Topo and Recreational Lakes with Fishing Hot Spots. The unit comes preloaded with an Americas Recreational Routable Basemap and you can get automatic, turn-by-turn directions with optional preprogrammed City Navigator cards, which navigate you safely to your destination. An integrated trip computer provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed and more.
Like on all eTrex units, the primary controls are located on the side of the unit, so you can operate it with one hand. An innovative rocker switch on its face makes inputting data easy, and with it you can scroll through menus or pan the map page. If at some point you want to integrate your computer with the Venture Cx, you can purchase a USB cable, which makes loading charts and maps to an optional MicroSD memory card quick and easy. Plus, navigation instructions can be shared with repeaters, plotters, and autopilots using NMEA protocols through the dedicated serial port. Additionally, the case is water-resistant to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards (can be submerged in one meter of water for 30 minutes).
Another key feature of the Venture Cx is the 10,000 point automatic track log; 20 saved tracks (500 points each) let you retrace your path in both directions. Meanwhile, there's a large numbers option for easy viewing, as well as a dual position display mode. Lastly, the unit includes built-in celestial tables for best time to fish and hunt, plus sun and moon calculations.
What's in the Box eTrex Venture Cx GPS receiver, basemap (Americas Recreational), wrist strap, quick reference guide, and owner's manual.

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