looking for some real world reviews on this, its on my b-day list.

Me too…

REI, has them in stock now.

Ordered mine. Will put it through the paces ASAP and post a review.

Got mine last week. Very similar to the Garmin 62s, but in a smaller package. Just downloaded some custom maps and they’re great. Visibility in direct sunlight awesome. The only problem is that http://www.ram-mount.com is projecting the release date for they’re heavy duty bike mount until Januaryish. Garmin does have a bike mount, but it looks pretty flimsy. In my opinion, my Etrex 30 is the most bang for my buck! Very happy with it…

Ended up buying the Etrex 20, because it’s not worth the extra money for the Etrex 30. The technology is daunting for a first timer but after playing with it for a week I’ve mostly got it sorted. I was out MTB riding yesterday and broke the hanger, so thanks to the Etrex, I was quickly able to find the start. The bike mount is a beast, I can attach it too my bikes with the big, strong electrical cable ties. The only thing I’ve got to do is sort out this custom mapping, I wonder if this unit has a 100 tile limit like all the other older Garmin handhelds.

Hi,
Is the trip computer on these new Etrex’s similar to the one on the Garmin Edge’s? This is kind of a deal breaker for me as I use my Edge to log every ride/mile I do.
Cheers for any info, Dan.

Dan,

I haven’t found a similar ease of tracking every ride with the etrex 20 as the edge. As far as I’ve found, as soon as the unit is turned on, it’s tracking. I’ve been trying to reset the trip counter and clear the track at the start of my rides, and save and reset things after, but have almost always ended up with some extra point at home, or from the last ride stuck to the start/end of the track. This is probably user error, but I haven’t found a way to turn on the unit and have it record only when I tell it to.

I’d be happy to hear that my methodology is wrong, but it may be that the device has a different intent. I think I just need to clean my tracks a bit and they will be fine. And they definitely work for showing where I’ve been, just not quite in the same focused way that the edge (lost after one too many soakings in a rain storm) provided.

I know the etrex will win for multi-day rides and trips w/o a plug to recharge with. I just want to find out if I should get a little bike computer as well to supplement it with some of the trip info I’m used to seeing.

Best

Thanks for that Cartographer. I thought it might not have the features I was looking for, especially with it not having the start/stop and reset buttons on the front. I’ll wait until more stores have them in stock and see if I can have a play with one before deciding to purchase.

To start/stop tracking got to “Main Menu”. Select “Setup”, select “Tracks”, select “Track Log”. From here you can decide “Do not record”, “Record, do not show”, or “Record show on map”. As far as reseting the Trip computer go to the “Trip Computer” screen, push the “Menu” button located on the left side of device, select “Reset”, then select “Reset Trip Data” it will then say “Are you sure you wish to reset all trip data (timers, averages, distances, etc.)? Select “Yes”. There you go it’s clear. Make sure when you’re done with your track that you save the “Current Track” so you don’t have extra points at home. I’ve pretty much got it figured out and operating the way I want it to, so feel free to ask me some questions.

Great info. I just spent an hour at the local REI checking out the differences between the 20 and 30. Been thinking about a dedicated GPS for hiking/biking since I dont want to risk my Android. Overall, im pretty impressed but there do seem to be a couple of quirks on the 20 that the 30 didnt seem to have. One of which was lack of an elevation graph page that could be placed in the ‘page sequence’ menu. You know, the quick access pages you can navigate to with the ‘back’ button. I found on the 20 you had to go to the tracks page and then scroll through the options there to find it. On the 30, you can have it within the main navigation page scroll cycle. Id like it if i could just push one button to return to the map- if you have 3 or 4 pages in the main sequence -map, trip computer, track manager, menu for example- it takes a few button presses to get back to the map. Similarly, a quick option for starting, stopping and saving tracks would be great- you have 4 or 5 button pushes in that sequence above.

I do like the new navigation engine that will follow an existing track and calculate the actual track distance to the next set waypoint rather than a straight line distance. im wondering though, how accurate you’ve found that to be and whether its possible to add a waypoint on the gps while in the field as opposed to on the computer prior to uploading to the unit>

None of these are deal breakers though- just waiting out the holidays to see how many REI gift cards I get and ill probably get one.

http://www.sklepgarmin.pl/product-pol-114916-Garmin-eTrex-20-010-00970-10-.html

Is it worth to buy ??

Ok, just got the Etrex 30 and I cannot get the 24k topo card to read on the maps. I have enabled the correct map, tried disabling all the others, I cannot get the detailed topo map to show??

Anyone know of a good bike mount for the etrex? I’ve heard the Garmin one kinda suck, any suggestions?

Thanks!

I used the garmin one on a 540km dirt Brevet last week and it was great.
Jeff