Garmin eTrex Legend Cx Handheld GPS Receiver

I originally was looking for a GPS tool to aid in trail hiking, but the eTrex offered both trail and driving (turn by turn) capabilities. So now, I can consolidate the two into one gadget.

Value:
As a hiker's tool, it's a good value. As a driver's tool, there are probably better values out there such as the competitor Mio (which comes fully loaded with street maps.) This unit wins best overall value for me because it consolidates hiking and driving into the same unit. Garmin's model appears to be "charge low for the base unit, but rely on consumers to buy maps". A North American driving map will cost about $100, while a North American National Park Hiking Trail map set will cost about $110.

In terms of comparing this with the Venture and Vista, the Vista seems to come with the most extras, but you are not paying a premium for those extras. Here was my understanding:
-Legend and Vista Cx comes with the Trip and Waypoint Manager ($24 value). Venture Cx did not. I recommend having this tool...I don't see how one can get along without it.
- Legend and Vista Cx comes with a 64MB card ($8 value). I think this is not enough memory...you will probably want a 1GB card. 2GB appears to be the maximum card you can use. (Also, don't use Ultra II Sandisk...I've heard of compatibility issues with this.)
- Other than the above, the remaining difference is that Vista Cx adds an electronic compass and altimeter.

Menu Navigation: Using the unit is a breeze once you know what each button does. You will find yourself toggling through a lot (having to toggle through several things before getting to what you want...and if you miss it, you have cycle through the whole thing again.) The joystick is okay; however, I had some problems hitting the joystick's center to select things...you have to be somewhat accurate. A 4-way jog with center button would have been easier to use.

Screen Display: The display is color with and without a backlight. I didn't think a color display can be seen without a backlight, but it does surprisingly well. When your attention is needed, the backlight turns on by default, then turns back off to save energy. Resolution is understandably not as good as what you would see on a PC monitor, but it is good enough. Text names tend to get cropped off, so it is wise to give your routes a short name.

Basic Operation:
For Hiking or Driving, you should start at the PC. Create start and finish points (called waypoints), then create routes linking these waypoints. The "Trip and Waypoint Manager" makes this really easy and its database is quite extensive. Remember, you need to purchase the detailed maps in addition to having the "Trip and Waypoint Manager". Waypoints can be towns, street addresses, point of interests, trails, etc. Once your waypoints and routes are defined, you download it to your unit. I was able to do most everything here without consulting the manual. On your unit, you can see everything you set up from the PC...just look for it and select. You will then be able to 'navigate' or edit the selected route or waypoint.
Of course, you also have the ability to do most of the basic functions from the PC on the unit itself; however, I would imagine data entry time is much slower...and this also assumes you downloaded all the map data into your unit.

Actual Navigation:
Very similar to most other driving navigation tools; however, the eTrex series DOES NOT have voice directions...it only gives you distinctive beep signals for different situations. As you drive, you can toggle through the main route map, a waypoint (destination) estimated arrival page, and a GPS-derived compass (which is not the same as an electronic compass.) The GPS-derived compass requires you to move for it to determine your heading. Accuracy is about as good as other nav units I have used. Navigation features are similar to most other Garmin units (routing options, etc.)...I haven't explored them all, but it appears to be extensive and probably standard.

Battery Life:
Battery Life is surprising good...it does a good job of conserving energy (backlight turns off when not in use.) Sorry, I don't know the expected lifetime, but I am still on my first set of batteries after several weeks of use and the battery indicater still shows full. The only confusing thing about the indicator is that if you don't know how to read it, "battery full" may be interpreted as "battery empty".

Documentation:
Documentation is sufficient with graphics and step-by-step directions and a quickstart guide; however, the unit and software is quite intuitive that you probably won't need the manual too much. If you are not familiar with navigation tool terminology (e.g. 'waypoints', 'geocaching') , take your time with the documentation.

Other nice features:
- It keeps a log of all your trips...nice if you need to fill out expense reports.