Product Description

This new all-in-one navigation device for the outdoor enthusiast is the first combination GPS, altimeter, and electronic compass The eTrex Summit comes on the heels of the extremely popular eTrex, which was designed for both marine and recreation use. The electronic compass provides bearing information when you're standing still and the altimeter determines precise altitude, so you can tell how high you've climbed and your rate of ascent. Like its predecessor, the eTrex Summit™ boasts a powerful 12 parallel channel GPS receiver and comes packaged in a small, sleek case with operating buttons located on either side of the unit. The case is completely waterproof to withstand immersion in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes. The eTrex Summit™: It's what the hard-core outdoorsman has been waiting for.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #165 in GPS or Navigation System
• Brand: Garmin
• Model: Summit
• Dimensions: .33 pounds

Customer Reviews

First Time GPS User
I wanted a handheld GPS as a navigation aid for various 4x4 green laning, cycling and walking activities. After a little research I decided on the eTrex Summit over the cheaper eTrex Personal Navigator simply because of the number of routes (20 vs 1).

First impressions were good - a rugged, well made piece of kit. The screen menus and navigation are intuitive, minimal setup and very quickly you are operational. Soon after purchasing this you will realise that this is only part of the GPS solution and you will need to connect the GPS to a PC which involves additional expense. As it is packaged, there are no cables or software.

To connect to a PC you will need a suitable cable and you will then need software - there are freeware/shareware packages for download, Google Earth has a subscription offering or you can buy a mapping product (and in the end I went with Memory Map).

Once you have that setup then it is magic. Plan your routes/waypoints on the PC, download to the GPS, off you go on your trip and then reconnect the GPS to the PC on your return, upload and see your tracks.

The GPS does sometimes lose its position when you stuff it into a bag or if there is significant tree cover or buildings. Battery consumption has not been a problem and it works fine with rechargables. Having only 6 characters to identify a waypoint is sometimes a challenge.

4 stars because you need to buy other things to get the complete solution.

Very nice, but ....
I have used the Summit for about 4 years and it does all of its functions very well. However, here are a few things to ponder:
a) It really does NOT like things being above it - ie walking along a track with overhanging trees will probably make it lose contact and not log the track.
b) Make sure you buy a few sets of high capacity (at least 2000 mAH)NiMH rechargeable batteries for it. If you do not, you will spend a fortune on alkaline batteries because it eats a pair easily in a day's walking! I always carry a spare set.
c) Linking to a PC uses a special (expensive!) serial cable, but how many modern PCs (especially laptops) have serial ports? Come on Garmin - make it USB-compatible, so I stand a chance of using it with my iBook!

A great piece of kit.
I have been a GPS user for many years and really like this make and model. I note in other reviews that consumption is a problem while walking. I would say that the way to use a GPS is to NOT be totally reliant upon them when walking. That is switch them on go in the direction indicated and then switch it OFF. When you walk anyway you want to see your surroundings and not look at the screen of a computer! [in this way the batteries will last for ages]. You can buy a mobile phone holder for your car and sit it in there and power it from an adapter. Here you have SAT NAV on the cheap and really just as good. How good depends on the waypoints you enter. Obtaining waypoints can be done in situ or with reference to maps. Now you can find your location on google earth and copy the location to the GPS. When you go on holiday and say hire a car at the airport - just put the GPS on and follow the arrow! I would have given it 5 stars if some of the advanced features on an old model had been present however i think the makers want to simplify things so 4 stars.