Garmin eTrex Legend C Handheld GPS Navigator (24 MB)
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Manufacturer: Garmin
List Price: $374.99
Lowest Price: $389.77
Buy Now: Garmin eTrex Legend C Handheld GPS Navigator (24 MB)
Garmin eTrex Legend C Handheld GPS Navigator (24 MB)
The eTrex Legend C is Garmin’s exciting, new, pocket-sized handheld that brings color, automatic routing, longer battery life, plus more to Garmin’s popular-selling eTrex Legend. You won’t miss a thing when you take this colorful, lightweight, easy-to-use handheld out hiking, biking, boating or even geocaching. The eTrex Legend C along with the eTrex Vista C are Garmin’s smallest, least expensive products to combine a color TFT display and advanced GPS routing capabilities in a waterproof design.Outdoor enthusiasts will love the latest improvements made to the eTrex Legend C.
Garmin’s pocket-sized eTrex Legend C handheld GPS unit enhances Garmin’s popular eTrex Legend with a color screen, automatic routing, and longer battery life, making it one of the smallest, least expensive waterproof products to combine a color TFT display with advanced GPS auto-routing abilities. You won’t miss a thing when you take this lightweight, easy-to-use handheld out hiking, biking, boating, or geocaching.
 Compass indicates direction. View larger. |
 An easy-to-read color map. View larger. |
 Displays nearby attractions. View larger. |
 The eTrex Legend C packs advanced GPS navigation into a compact, waterproof device. |
The unit offers a bright, transflective color TFT display for easy daylight viewing, automatic route generation, off-route recalculation, turn-by-turn directions with alert tones, and icon-driven menus for finding points of interest (when combined with Garmin’s optional MapSource CDs). You’ll get up to 36 hours of use on two AA batteries. The unit offers 24 MB of internal memory and its mini-USB port lets you download map data rapidly from Garmin’s library of MapSource CDs (not included) with your PC.
You’ll enjoy outstanding accuracy of less than three meters (10 feet) when the device is enabled to receive enhanced GPS signals from the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) in the United States. 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.
Other key features of the eTrex Legend C include an auto-route basemap (featuring general map data like highways, major roads, rivers, lakes, and borders); a waterproof design (to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards–submersible in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes); 500 waypoints/routes/tracks (with graphic identification); 50 reversible routes; 20 saved tracks; 10,000 trackpoints; TracBack technology); alarms (proximity waypoint, anchor drag, and off-course, as well as a built-in alarm clock); a GPS patch antenna; selectable audio tones and color schemes; a stopwatch; a hunting/fishing calendar; sun/moon calculations; and a trip computer.
The Legend C includes a built-in, permanent basemap, Americas Recreational, which cannot be altered. The Americas Recreational Routable Basemap v2 includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central and South America, and covers an area from longitude 30 to 180 degrees west and latitude from 60 degrees south to 75 degrees north. It includes a high-level, worldwide map featuring borders and major cities.
Standard map coverage includes oceans, rivers, lakes greater than 30 square miles, lakes greater than five square miles in the U.S. and southern Canada, lakes greater than 10 square miles in central and northern Canada, principal cities, some smaller cities and towns, major interstates, principal highways, political boundaries (state and international borders), major airports, and a database of Interstate exits for the Federal Interstate highway system. This last includes many establishments within about 0.25 mile of exits, including restaurants; diesel and gas stations; hotels, motels, and inns; overnight RV parking; dumps; campgrounds; truck stops; medical facilities; shopping and outlet malls; ATMs; and many more such attractions.
What’s in the Box
eTrex Legend C GPS receiver, basemap (Americas Recreational), MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager CD, PC/USB interface cable, wrist strap, quick reference guide, and owner’s manual.
Garmin eTrex Legend C Handheld GPS Navigator (24 MB) Features:
- Automatic route generation, off-route recalculation, turn-by-turn directions and more help navigate you safely to your destination
- Waterproof to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards (submersible in 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes)
- Mini-USB port for fast, convenient download of map data
- 256-color, sunlight-readable display, 36-hour battery life and 24 MB internal memory
- Measures 1.2 x 1.3 x 4.7 inches (WxHxD)
Garmin eTrex Legend C Handheld GPS Navigator (24 MB) Reviews
Hardware problems
When this unit works, it is pretty slick. Most of the negative responses I’ve seen about this thing have to do with people not understanding what maps come with it, expecting too much out of the routing function, or the lack of NMEA output (which is more of a real problem).
My eTrex Legend C, which has been replaced twice already and is presently in the box on the way back to Garmin for the third time, has issues anytime it is plugged into either the USB of a computer, or the Garmin car adapter. It has had the same problem repeatedly and while Garmin, to their credit, has allowed me to exchange it each time without any issues, it keeps having the same problems.
When it is turned on while plugged in to either a USB port or car adapter, it thinks it is a Vista C, which only presents the problem that I loose the GPS elevation and instead get a “barometric” altimeter saying that I am at something like 65555′ at all times.
Garmin has told me one the multiple times that I’ve called that it is 1. “not something they’ve ever heard of,” 2. “A problem with a bad run of cables and that both the unit and cables need to be replaced,” and finally, 3. that “it is a bug with the Legend C, but shouldn’t cause any problems.”
However, the first unit I had I tried to ignore the problem but slowly the unit stopped receiving satellites and started turning itself off, so I am skeptical when they now tell me that it doesn’t cause problems.
Anyhow, hopefully my fourth unit will work. We’ll see.
Very poor auto routing
I purchased this GPS because of its advertised `automatic routing’ capabilities. It does not. I purchased the additional software (over $100) and installed as directed and carefully followed all instructions.
The automatic routing seemed fixed on directing me onto major interstates - even when they where further away from, and in the opposite direction of my destination - and then instructing me to “turn off interstate” where there was no exit.
I tried several ways of specifying a route both from PC and GPS, including defining two way points and having the GPS automatically calculate the route and by identifying each specific leg of a very simple route. In all cases, the GPS directed me to the freeway which was much further than my destination. I once parked a block from my house and had the GPS calculate the route home. Its first instruction (as always) was to get on the Interstate 15 miles away.
When I followed the GPS instruction, it directed me across state lines, twice the distance away from my destination, then inexplicably read “turn left off interstate” where there was no exit. The display froze while I continued another 10 miles to the nearest exit. When I pushed `Recalculate’, the instructions sawed me back and forth, on and off the interstate, unable to find its way.
It did appear able to calculate current position, direction and speed; however, being unable to calculate the destination or route, estimated times in route and arrival where meaningless. I’ve returned both the GPS and software.
Advanced Users Read this
I give three stars because Garmin took out a feature found in lesser GPS units - otherwise it’s a 4.5 to 5.0
I had read somewhere before I bought my GPS that Garmin had stripped out the NMEA data out put from these devices. As strange as that seems, they did do that in the Legend C. As far as I can tell, there is no way to “stream” live data out of this GPS. You may of course upload/download routes, waypoints, etc. But even the feature in Garmin’s trip and waypoint manager software can’t give you live readings on the map from current data in your GPS. This also means that you can’t pin point your live location with other mapping programs like Microsoft Streets and Trips. Oddly enough, the older, more basic GPS (Legend or basic yellow eTrex)will provide this out put. Kind of frustrating that they took this out.
Regarding the case, the Legend C is a slightly different shape than the others so it doesn’t fit quite as well but it fits well enough.
Battery life is very good.
Warm up and re- warm up period is better than older models.
Screen draws are quicker too.
Detailed (topo) maps take a while to load however.
Color screen is awesome and doesn’t kill the batteries like you may think. Buy a charger and 4 AA’s and rotate them.
Takes Time But Very Pleased
Pros: Size, durable, price and more!
Cons: Additional maps, small memory
Although it took some time to learn how to use it and you really have to bite the bullet and by the additional (expensive) maps but when you do both, you really have a fabulous piece of equipment!!
One of the things you have to be clear about with GPS devices is how you intend to use it. The Legend C is perfect for what I wanted, something for hiking, biking and the car. Others would be better for the car (bigger screen, the whole country loaded, talks to you, etc.) but you wouldn’t dare put them on your handlebar. This thing is AWESOME in that it’s a breeze to take from car to bike and back again with ease. (Waterproof, very durable, able to run off a cigarette lighter or batteries, etc.)
Also a word about the maps…bite the bullet and buy them if you want to use it on roads. (I dumbly thought I could find something else to work and regretted the time I wasted searching.) It’s basically designed for hiking or only highways without them. But think about the car thing in this way….the Legend cost me ~$180 and the car navigation kit (had the cigarette lighter power cord, two car attachments and City Select vs. 6 which I upgraded to vs. 7 for free) for ~$160 and you’ve got the whole deal for about $250. If you research other devices, you would be hard pressed to find anything else as cheap AND versatile!
Some other thoughts on maps. There are reviews which said you need to pay even more to unlock the maps once you buy them. At least for City Select (which is the recommended one) this is not true…once you buy it you have the whole country. The other thing I would agree with from other reviews is that you can’t fit many maps on the Legend. I live in the Philadelphia area and you can basically fit the city and the suburbs and that’s it. Again, the portable size is the trade off for less memory capacity. In my case if I travel around the country, we’ll take the laptop and delete and add maps as we go. I’m also intrigued about the many more maps (topo, lakes, etc.) you can buy but of course that’s more money again.
As far as the Legend goes, it does take a while to figure out everything it can do because it can do A LOT…but the learning curve is worth it. A recommendation: take it along while someone else is driving on a longer trip and play with it for a few hours…the “play time” will pay off! I also wish the “search for sattelites” phase was faster. If you start driving right away it might take you a mile or two before it makes the connection.
Hope all this helps….at first I was a bit frustrated by the maps thing and the complexity but after 2 months I love it!
Two Words…
Freaking SWEET! I purchased my Garmin etrex Legend C about one month ago. I had first read about it in BACKPACKER magazine (MARCH 2006 GEAR GUIDE ISSUE). After much internet research (mostly the AMAZON.com comments), I decided to buy! It has been a help in many situations. It literally, with the detailed map source package, is a hand held atlas! The only down side to it is the inability to give turn by turn directions. BUY IT, hiking enthusiast or leisurely traveler, regardless you will love this GPS.
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