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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- The Garmin eTrex Solar is disposable present for $250, portion the eTrex SE without star sells for $150.
- Potential for unlimited artillery life, extended GNSS support, rugged build, and affordable.
- Small monochrome display, nary turn-by-turn directions of TopoActive maps.
Growing up successful the Pacific Northwest, I gained a heavy affection for the large outdoors. The wood is my blessed place. I person a bully consciousness of direction, excessively -- adjacent successful quality -- but the farther retired I explore, the much I request GPS navigation to assistance maine get to and from distant locations.
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All smartphones person GPS receivers, but artillery beingness is important to sphere for communications and pictures. My watches besides person GPS, but the displays are excessively tiny for recreational navigation arsenic they are optimized for circumstantial fittingness activities.
Handheld GPS units are designed and built for outdoor activities -- hiking, fishing, geocaching, camping, and much -- with ample displays, agelong artillery life, and durable operation that tin past successful assorted environments and support going if you accidentally driblet oregon bump them portion exploring.
For the past mates of months, I person been utilizing the Garmin eTrex Solar for hiking, way riding, and geocaching activities. This GPS handheld provides up to 200 hours of GPS navigation with nary star charging; successful an country with 75,000 lux prima -- agleam sunlight -- the artillery is advertised arsenic providing unlimited GPS navigation support. I haven't been successful an country with that overmuch sun, truthful I haven't been capable to trial for unlimited life.
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But I ne'er had to complaint up the portion during my investigating either, truthful you tin number connected this instrumentality to past longer than astir of your adventures do. I besides regularly saw the star strength look successful the 70-80% scope truthful the instrumentality is large astatine collecting minimal prima too.
The eTrex Solar is intuitive to use, with 5 ample buttons covered successful brushed interaction worldly and a 2.2-inch monochrome display. A lanyard opening is positioned connected the bottommost truthful that you tin transportation the handheld astir your neck. An integrated loop loop clip connected the backmost is utile for clipping to your backpack. USB-C is utilized to complaint the device, with the larboard positioned connected the backmost supra the loop clip and covered with a rubber gasket to forestall h2o ingress. The handheld athletics an IPX7 water-resistant rating.
The location surface provides speedy entree to tracking, navigation, star status, outer status, and settings. The tracking widget displays elevation, a travel odometer, speed, moving time, and different metrics. Similar to the customization recovered successful Garmin GPS sports watches, you tin besides prime which metrics you privation to look connected the display. You tin besides navigate to waypoints, courses, geocaches, and more.
The Garmin eTrex Solar is simply a reasonably inexpensive instrumentality that excels astatine obtaining a GPS awesome and navigation. However, it is besides reasonably barebones erstwhile it comes to navigation, with nary enactment for turn-by-turn directions, customs maps, oregon TopoActive maps. It shows your routes and presumption to usher you to your destination. You tin easy import GPX files to the handset; notation to my Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro article for details connected however to find and prevention GPX files.
The handheld tin load a 1000 waypoints and locations and enactment 50 courses and 200 activities. The eTrex Solar supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, IRNSS, and Beidou planetary navigation outer systems. A three-axis compass is besides wrong the device, truthful you should ne'er get mislaid with this handheld unit.
To afloat bask the benefits of the Garmin eTrex Solar, link it to your telephone utilizing the Garmin Explore app. With this connection, you tin unlock and research the afloat details of geocaching, and you tin presumption your existent upwind close connected the eTrex Solar.
The Garmin Explore app is besides utilized for bundle updates, unreality retention syncing, travel planning, astute notifications, and further mapping capability.
At conscionable $249, the Garmin eTrex Solar is cleanable for anyone who participates successful outdoor adventures and doesn't privation to get lost. (The eTrex SE without star is disposable for $149.) It has been decades since I geocached, and that was 1 of the astir enjoyable experiences I had with this handheld GPS.
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That capableness is large for helping you navigate to circumstantial destinations. It volition besides familiarize you with the device, truthful I urge you effort it retired erstwhile you bargain the handset.
ZDNET's buying advice
If you are looking for a dedicated GPS instrumentality to assistance you navigate and research caller areas, the Garmin eTrex Solar is worthy your consideration. The deficiency of maps whitethorn beryllium an contented for some, but Garmin has plentifulness of different much costly options with maps and colour displays.
The eTrex Solar is designed to person an highly agelong artillery beingness and supply you with close and elemental way tracking. Geocaching is well-supported and a amusive household activity.
This nonfiction was primitively published connected February 13, 2024, and was updated connected April 11, 2025.
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