My brother and I grew up in the woods. And I am happy when I find myself in the forest. I have a good sense of direction, but the more I explore and go, the more I need GPS navigation to get to remote places. And come back.
The main takeaways from the Garmin eTrex Solar portable GPS
- The Garmin eTrex Solar costs €280. The eTrex SE (without solar power) costs €180.
- Potentially its autonomy is unlimited, it supports a multitude of navigation systems, its construction is robust and its price affordable.
- The small screen is monochrome and does not display turn-by-turn guidance.
All smartphones are equipped with GPS receivers. But it’s important to preserve battery life for communications and photos.
Our watches are also often equipped with GPS. But their screens are too small for navigation, as they are optimized for specific physical activities.
200 hours of GPS navigation without solar charging
Portable GPS devices are specifically designed for outdoor activities (hiking, fishing, geocaching, camping, etc.). They have a large screen, great battery life which allows them to cope with various environments and continue to function if you accidentally drop them during your explorations.
Over the past couple of months, I’ve used the Garmin eTrex Solar for my hiking, backpacking, and geocaching activities. This GPS handheld allows up to 200 hours of GPS navigation without solar charging.
And in a region where the sun shines at 75,000 lux, the autonomy is announced to be unlimited with GPS navigation. I haven’t been in such a sunny area so I wasn’t able to test this “unlimited battery life”, but I never had to recharge the device during my tests: you can therefore count on this device to follow you for a long time on most of your adventures.
A USB-C port to charge the device
I also regularly saw the solar intensity display between 70 and 80%, which means the device is perfect for capturing minimal sunlight.
Matthew Miller/ZDNET
The eTrex Solar is intuitive to use, with five large buttons covered in soft-touch material and a 2.2-inch monochrome screen. An opening for a lanyard is placed at the bottom of the device so you can wear it around your neck.
A built-in belt clip on the back is useful for attaching the device to your backpack. The USB-C port is used to charge the device. It is on the back, above the belt clip, and covered with a rubber seal to prevent water infiltration, knowing that this handheld computer has an IPX7 water resistance rating.
It does not support turn-by-turn routes
The home screen provides quick access to tracking, navigation, solar status, satellite status and settings. Altitude, odometer (step counting), speed, travel time and other parameters are displayed in the tracking widget.
Like customizing Garmin GPS sports watches, you can also select the settings you want to appear on the screen. You can navigate to points of interest, routes, geocaches, etc.
Matthew Miller/ZDNET
The Garmin eTrex Solar is indeed a relatively inexpensive device that excels at obtaining a GPS signal and navigation. It’s also pretty bare-bones when it comes to navigation, since it doesn’t support turn-by-turn routes, custom maps, or TopoActive maps (from Garmin).
A three-axis compass is also built into the device
It displays your routes and location to guide you to your destination. You can also easily import GPX files (frequently used track file type) to the device.
A thousand points of interest and locations can be loaded onto the handheld, which supports 50 courses and 200 activities. The global navigation satellite systems GPS, GLONASS (Russian), Galileo (European), QZSS (Japan-centered regional system), IRNSS (India-centered regional system), and Beidou (Chinese) are supported by the eTrex Solar.
A three-axis compass is also built into the device, so you should never get lost with this handheld.
A possible connection with your smartphone
To take full advantage of the Garmin eTrex Solar, connect it to your phone using the Garmin Explore app. This connection allows you to unlock and explore all the details of geocaching and view the current weather directly on the eTrex Solar.
The Garmin Explore app is also used for software updates, cloud storage syncing, trip planning, smart notifications and additional map functions.
Matthew Miller/ZDNET
At just $280, this portable GPS is perfect for anyone heading out on outdoor adventures and who doesn’t want to get lost. The version without solar charging costs €180.
It’s been decades since I’ve done geocaching and it was one of the most enjoyable experiences with this handheld GPS. This feature is great for helping you determine how to navigate to specific destinations and will allow you to become familiar with the device.
Purchasing advice for the Garmin eTrex Solar portable GPS
If you’re looking for a specialized GPS device that will help you navigate and explore new areas, the Garmin eTrex Solar is worth considering. The lack of maps may be a problem for some, but Garmin offers other devices with maps and color displays.
The eTrex Solar is designed to help you navigate and explore new areas, to have a very long autonomy and to provide you with precise and simple route tracking.
And a word of advice: try geocaching, it’s a fun family activity.
Source: “ZDNet.com”