Garmin eTrex Venture HC GPS Receiver

Average Customer Rating:

List Price: $169.99

Our Price: $125.00

You Save: $44.99 (26.5%)

Availability:

Usually ships in 24 hours (as of 11:25 PM CT - detail)

Features:

High-Sensitivity, WAAS-Enabled GPS Receiver Provides Peak Performance In Any Environment

Built-In Basemap Includes Lakes, Rivers, Cities, Interstates, National & State Highways, Railroads & Coastlines

Features A 1.7-InchH X 1.3-InchW Screen With 256-Level Color Tft

Usb Compatible For High-Speed Map Downloads

24 Mb Of Internal Memory Allows User To Load Waypoints & Routes From The Included Mapsource Trip & Waypoint Manager Software

Product Description

An essential for any outdoor excursion, the Garmin eTrex Venture HC helps you navigate through the toughest terrain. The unit is equipped with a high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, which locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. The advantage is clear: whether you're traipsing through thick woods or strolling near tall buildings and trees, you can count on the Venture HC to help you find your way when you need it the most. At the same time, the Venture HC's easy-to-use menu lets you create and view waypoints (up to 500), save and view 10 track logs, access setup features, and more. It even offers 24 MB of internal memory and a detailed basemap, so you can load waypoints and routes from the included MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager software and add map detail from Garmin's entire line of optional MapSource mapping products.

Besides appreciating its small size, outdoorsmen will also be happy with the Venture HC's unique button layout, with five buttons located on either side of the unit. The benefits of this design are twofold: First, the Venture HC is a breeze to operate with just one hand, and, second, with the buttons on both sides of the unit, the bulk of the front is dedicated to the 256-color, sunlight-readable TFT display. This makes it easy to distinguish map details regardless of the time of day.

The Venture HC's basemap, meanwhile, contains lakes, rivers, cities, interstates, national and state highways, railroads, and coastlines--in short, a host of helpful details for your outdoor adventures. Other details include an IPX7 waterproof housing, a built-in patch antenna, a USB interface, a hunt/fish calendar, sun and moon information, and a geocaching mode. The Venture HC, which runs for up to 14 hours on a pair of AA batteries (not included), measures 2.2 by 4.2 by 1.2 inches (W x H x D) and is backed by a one-year warranty.

What's in the Box
eTrex Venture HC, basemap, MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager software, USB cable, wrist strap, quick start guide, user's manual.

Spotlight Customer Reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Lots of Geocaching Fun
Comment: I received this as a gift from my wife. The plan was to use it for geocaching. We have been on several outings with this unit as a family and have found it to be accurate and easy to use. The instructions leave a bit to be desired but after playing with it a bit we understand most of the functionality. Mt 9 year old can also use it to find caches.

Customer Rating:

Summary: disapointed
Comment: I really debated over replacing mt Garmin E-trac with an up grade. I decided since it looked like I would have more features at a sale price to go with the up grade. I keep going back to the book over and over, but still have problems getting used to it. It is probably just me but I wish I had my old simpler model back again. WEC

Customer Rating:

Summary:

So many hand Held GPS' to choose from

Comment:

I read many reviews of handheld GPS units and was still confused about some of the features. Garmin makes so many you can still be uncertain. This GPS unit works wonderfully. I pre-plotted many GPS waypoints into the standard Garmin Map download program and then after my download they all appreared in my GPS. Plus, I was able to save them on my PC, so I could share them with other users.

When my friend and I used to use his on our ATV trips the joke was "we don't know where we are going, but we'll sure be able to get back". Well not now. With the preloaded way points we can head off towards any one of them and know how far away it is. Adding new way points along the way is easy as well.

The other features of the handheld are easy to use and are well described on the Garmin site. For the money spent, about $117.00 it works great. FYI, I an not interested in Topo Maps, but I believe they are available and would work fine as well.

Customer Rating:

Summary:

Overstated Capacity

Comment:

Although the eTrex Venture HC is described as having 24 MB capacity, only 22 MB is available for maps. The difference is not insignificant. Garmin's own Mexico mapset includes a map of Mexico City and environs which requires 23.7 MB and will not load (at all) to the device. Thus, even though the Venture HC is described by Garmin as compatible with the Mexico mapset, it cannot be used in the most important area of Mexico.
In all other respects, the unit is satisfactory but be careful what maps you buy and want to use.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Great Value
Comment: I think its a great value for the money. Great for beginning geocahcing and hiking. So far no complaints. No problems with getting a signal to date.