I like it, it's very simple to use (more like a calculator than a computer) and pretty rugged, waterproof to 10 feet (I found this out the hard way) and generally ready for the rough life. pI only have a couple of real beefs with it - p 1: the unit eats batteries like candy if it's constantly on, _especially_ if you use the backlight. Invest in rechargeable batteries.p 2: the display plate is thin ABS plastic and I'm worried about a sharp object or a good crack shattering the glass; p 3: The LCD display is also hard to read in poor light (specifically by car dome light at night), but there is a backlight;p 4: It is complete BS that you can't enter your own data via a PC interface without buying that Garmin map software. pNone of these beefs are particularly troublesome. I chose the Venture because it seemed the best compromise between price and functionality. I would recommend it for anyone as a first GPS, I think the mapping functionality is great for travelers.

I purchased the Garmin Venture a year ago. I have used it on several 20 mile kayaking trips down a river and this past April used it for a 135 mile river trip. It was extremely accurate and we not only knew where we were, but how far it was to the next landing or landmark.
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br /It did take some time to learn how to operate the unit. The instructions were not as clear as I would have liked but trial and error is a great teacher. I had a friend who got me interested in geocaching and that really helped me learn how to use all of the Venture's features. It is easy to upgrade from the Garmin website and to also download maps from the Mapsource CD-ROM's. It is kind of like learning to use a computer. Don't be afraid to try something. You won't hurt it.
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br /I usually average 18+ hours on a pair of batteries. I also purchased a power cord so that I could use it in my vehicle. I just plug it in and wedge the GPS between the windshield and dashboard and follow the arrow to the next geocache.
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br /I have been impressed with the toughness of this unit. I have dunked it in the river, dropped it, and generally given it a rough time. I would recommend this to someone who is interested in a GPS but does not want to invest a lot of money.

I returned a Cobra GPS 100 and upgraded to the eTrex Venture for the extra money. What a difference only a few dollars more can make! this is my first GPS unit ever, and I had no problems picking everything up within a day.
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br /For starters, it only took about two minutes to locate a satellite for the first time (supposed to take up to five) and averages about 30 seconds to locate one in general. The screen resolution is easy to read and the options for customizing the map make it even easier if you have trouble reading small text. The waypoint markers are easy to define and edit. The compass seems to be very quick in picking up your movements. Almost everything is customizable giving you endless options for your specific use for the GPS unit. The unit is comfortable in the hand, although some of the buttons are a little stiff at first.
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br /My satellite reception is excellent. I took it hiking in 40°F rain and hail (obviously very overcast) and only lost reception once while walking under heavy tree cover. On the way home I placed it on the dashboard and it tracked me 33 miles home without losing reception once. This was in 500 ft visibility fog on a one lane curvy mountain road. This unit definitely gets the job done.
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br /My only gripes are there's no beep or sound when it loses reception and you have to press enter to acknowledge you have lost reception, thus it begins tracking you again. So if you hike by turning the unit on and placing it in your backpack, or even on your belt, you could have lost reception and not known it, and because you haven't acknowledged the unit, it's not tracking you anymore (as far as I can tell).
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br /Other than that, this unit works perfect for getting you in and out of areas where there's no trails and finding that perfect spot to spend the night or fish and hunt.

Don't know exactly what type of GPS device you need? Well, if you're a hiker/climber, then this is the one. The model below it is too simple, and the ones above it are too much. The eTrex Venture gives you everything you need to navigate and keep track of your exact position. SA (Selective Availability) is gone. And, the differential correction associated with this device is good enough! I was able to keep track of my position/speed/elevation/bearing from the moment I left my house driving through the city and into the parks where I climb/hike. The details are great for road travel and the trails. If you don't care too much about exact road points with street names, the Venture works great. Waypoint tracking: simple. Track logs: simple. With its 1M of memory, it's enough to log and trackback your routes and do whatever you want with them! Plus, you can't beat the sleek design!

A great device for bikers, runners, trekkers and everyone not demanding a too powerful GPS, like naval-oriented ones. Display is monochromatic but with a good resolution and readable under any light condition, and it can be backlit. Powered by a couple of standard AA batteries which gives plenty time of operation. It also has a serial PC interface for downloading data to it and/or uploading your saved tracklogs, waypoints, etc. to your PC (software not included).

Needing a GPS to navigate through a couple thousand acres of parkland for my job, I needed a compact yet powerful GPS receiver. After comparing and price shopping I setteled on the Garmin eTrex Venture. Perfect decision. This unit is small enough to wear on the belt without the screen being so small its unreadable. The Venture is easy to use with the click stick that allows fast moving through the diffrent menus and options. Waypoints are easy to use and set and navigation is a breeze. The navigation menu allows for lots of different custom windows to be displayed. Once at a location its simple to mark the location into the waypoint list. THe waypoint list even has a whole long list of different symbols to choose from to mark the spot. Everything from a shopping cart to airplane symbols are included to help specificaly label a location. Overall this is a powerful compact GPS unit that has lots of useful features at a reasonable price.

This is the 2nd GPS I've purchased, the first being one for someone else back in early 2001. Since taking up geocaching in March of 2003 and purchasing the Venture soon after that, I've had the opportunity to take a look at the old model (which was also a Garmin and looks like it belongs in a museum already), as well as a couple of Magellans and one of the Garmin Gekkos. So far, I like this unit more than any of the others I've seen. pThe three things that really stand out in this product are the screen resolution (much clearer than any of the other units), the icon choices (I couldn't believe my friend's Magellan doesn't have a geocache as an option! Let alone a found geocache), and the durability (the other units all had hard plastic bodies that wouldn't bounce or take a fall as well as the rubber-coated Venture). pI only give this a four because I'm sure there is better out there, though perhaps not at this price range. My friend's Magellan, which is priced much higher than the Venture, does have some actual road maps in the device, as opposed to the Venture's city points, but for my purposes, this unit is doing all that I require of it and more. Given the limited research I did, I am thus far not at all disappointed that I paid up from the Gekko models or that I didn't pay up to the even higher priced models.

This was a mild disappointment. It is the second Garmin product that fails me, I also owned a Pilot II, whose firmware at some point lost its marbles, and now it displays only some pages and refuses to get a GPS fix.
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br /The Venture had, almost from the beginning, a problem with the display, which flickered and became alternatively all black or white, or lost some horizontal lines, creating a nice "blinds" effect.
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br /The problem normally went away by moderate slapping. But it is not a nice start.
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br /Second point: the battery contacts are sub-quality, you just need to shake the unit a little and the electrodes lose contact with the battery, causing the unit to switch off.
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br /Third: when the memory is fairly full, the operating system goes in overload mode, sometimes it does not manage to acquire the user input, and you find yourself trying to use the buttons without actually managing to do nothing. Erase the memory and the problem disappears.
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br /Four: a few leaves overhead and you lose the fix, the sensitivity and selectivity is not great.
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br /Maybe I had a bad firmware, who knows, but I don't want to change my firmware every month, I expect the original firmware to be OK for a while.
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br /I just bought a Magellan, I'm curious to see if it's better or worse.

The one limit of this unit is that you can not download street level data into it, unlike the more expensive siblings.pYou can use it with a laptop and any of the street level mapping programs, but stand-alone its more like a very smart compass (home is thataway boss, it is so many miles and if you keep hoofing at this speed, youll be there in 2 hours and 6 minutes...)pI use it for monitoring my exercise program - yes, I am walking the full 45 minutes at a decent speed and here is how far I went. For that, its GREAT!

I bought the Venture back in the summer of 2003 and I was never let down by it. At that time the speedometer on my car went out and as a cheaper alternative to buying the new, expensive gauge cluster for my car, I bought this GPS with a dashboard mount. So this product was used literally every day, sometimes several times a day, and for several hours a day for over 2 years.
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br /First of all, I really only use it in navigation mode with the time, cardinal direction, and the speed being displayed, so I cannot comment an much of the other features of the unit. I have done some minor geocaching with it though, and it performed great for that, although it is tedious to enter in lat. and long. coordinates directly into the unit. I will say that using it as often as I do in my car, it is amazing. To be honest, I did not expect it to last this long. I have never had much trouble with tree cover causing a lost signal, but it does happen on occasion.
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br /From the beginning I used rechargeable batteries and the unit has surprisngly long battery life, even with the backlight on. I replace the batteries about once every week or two, but remember, its on for up to a few hours a day.
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br /All in all, this is a great GPS. Again, I can't vouch for many of its features, but I can vouch for its long life and consistant operation. I have gotten hundreds, if not thousands of hours of use out of this and it has yet to let me down.

I bought this model as an upgrade to Garmin Venture I had gotten in November 2002. I like it for the fact it has more detail than the Venture but the pnly thing that I am disatsfied about is that it needs CDs to upgrade the maps to street level detail. Nonetheless, I think its the best I ever had. Way-togo, Garmin! I use this mainly for geocaching. For more info on geocaching go to: www.geocaching.com.

This GPS is great for geocaching.brEasy download of waypoints and routes from the PC with the Datacable (make sure you still have a serial port for that).brTypically get 18 feet or better accuracy - even in wooded areas.brBattery life sufficient for a whole day in the woods...

This isn't a bad little unit. I have actually managed to pick up satellites in my apartment, upstairs, next to the window, with the blinds down. It works fine in my convertible with the top up... I bought this for a bit of geocaching... so I didn't want to spend a lot. For ($$$) you get a PC cable included ($$$), 1mb of memory, and WAAS enabled reception (for 3 meter accuracy) It's worth it. The only thing that you may want to look at in comparison to this model is the Magellan Sport Trak Map. pThis unit though, is light, accurate, and reliable.

I have used GPS for years for flying to driving, but a lumber man turned me on to this inexpensive gadget as an invaluable tool for calculating acreage for fertilization or liming of fields. Turn it on, drive around the perimeter of the field you wish to measure, hit the button and it tells you exactly the acreage inside the area. You will pay for it the first time you use it. You will never order more or less than needed again.

Many users of the Garmin e-Trex bemoan the limited availability of map-data for their unit. This isn't a problem if they have the serial-data lead accessory, the GPSU application, and TextPad 4.6 or Microsoft XL.pBy taking a good quality map of an area of interest, scan the map and create a bitmap image ( using Photoshop Elements, for example), which is then loaded into the GPSU application so that a map-data file can be created. This file can then be opened in TextPad 4.6 or Microsoft XL so that the data can be arranged in alphabetical order and catalogued sections. It can also be printed out if need be.pI did this for Northern Ireland by scanning a good quality roadmap, and loading all the data into the e-Trex. (e-mail me if anyone wants the files).pThis procedure can be applied to any country or region. The only restriction being the e-Trex's memory capacity. pThere isn't a `Where am I Now' feature, but selecting the screen for speed, etc., brings up an option to display - continuously - where you are and are going, without the need to mark a waypoint, like I did when the e-Trex was first gotten.

The built-in city database is a must. The higher resolution screen makes a big difference. The click stick makes menu navigation and data entry a breeze. The operation is quite intuitive. I really like mine. I find myself using it more that I thought I would. Besides hiking, etc., this usit is great for geocaching, and it is also great for driving down the highway.

Regarding my Etrex Venture, I couldn't be more pleased! I tried a few GPS units and this is by far the best and most advanced unit in it's price class. You cannot view maps but I did not need those.pI can hike or bike and go back to the house and load all those tracks into my mapping software. That makes for great fun!pYou can set waypoints and find your way to just about anything!pIn my opinion, this is best used in conjuction with some type of mapping software. I personally use MAPTECH Terrain Navigator with USGS topo maps. But Delorme makes a decent product also.pIf you hunt, bike, hike, drive... whatever! This is for you!pPS - The Venture was a better choice to me than the regular Etrex due to its ability to hold more routes and track data. Those can be pretty handy when you're hiking.

Having received this GPS as a gift, I can't really speak about it from a budget standpoint, but, as I look at the price tag, I really do think that this is a great deal. There is not much to be desired unless you need special mapping abilities or are traveling to the polar regions (the latitude only covers so much). The configuration is very simple, and, after a few minutes playing with it, everything is quick and easy. It is pretty accurate in the open, but you compromise things by moving under foliage (not too badly, though). Entering coordinates for locations is not too difficult, and all the menus are right there. The backlight, while seeingly not much, is also great. A great unit for the beginner!

This product works freat. I use it very often for geocaching and always find my mark. With the addition of Mapsource software this is the piece of equipment to have!

I bought this as I planned to visit Switzerland for the summer and drive across the continental United States by myself. Overall, I think this is a great unit: it's one of the first affordable, reliable personal GPS in a nice package with good features. It has a nice interface that can help you navigate by aid of an artificial compass, quickly add waypoints for navigation, in addition to the usual features such as pan, zoom, etc. This unit is waterproof and floats in water, which is a plus if you're planning to take this to serious hiking trips.pBuilt into it is a (for me) fairly comprehensive map of major highways and roads in major cities in the U.S., and outlines of other parts of the world.pAnd this brings up the first negative about this unit: the map software CDs that allow you to upload the internal built-in map are prohibitively expensive.pThe second negative is the lack of any computer accompaniment software. This translates to you having to purchase a shareware software if you want to plan your trips ahead of time on a computer. pThe last negative is the lack of an external antenna option. While signal reception has been very good for a unit of its size, it would be great to be able to connect a larger antenna to improve connections.pIf you're looking for a GPS unit and you're not a navigation buff, this is a great unit to buy. But the lack of upgrade options might be a turn-off for serious travelers and/or hiking/backpacking enthusiasts.pThis review refers to the LEGEND model, not the VENTURE model.

Ordered for the telecom crew to use. Seems to be working great.

I just bough this unit after using another GPS unit. I enjoy this a lot more. It has great features and is easier to use with the placement of the buttons. I have been planning my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail and plan on using this to ensure my campsites and shelters to make sure I am on track to finish on time. I find that it easily accepts and sends data to and from my mapping software....

This GPS is a little wonder, it tracks your position very accurately, and you a have a lot of fun using it. Nevertheless, There are two things that I don't like at all:p1.- I live in Mexico City, and this kind of electronics are very hard to find here, and if you find them, you must pay a lot of money. I was looking for an affordable GPS for a long time. I knew a friend was going for a vacation trip to the USA and I told him to buy me one. Garmin should look forward to enlarge its distributors around the world. I know a lot of people here in Mexico who wants to buy this kind of things. Or Amazon should be able to export this GPS devices as well.p2.- In the etrex venture you have so little space to download mapsource data.... and besides in the Map source data CD's you only find Points of interest of the USA.pBut talking about the venture itself. It's a great GPS, as I said is a little wonder. If you are interested in one of this you should choose Garmin. Each one of the etrex GPS devices is a Little wonder, you have a lot of fun using them and it cold be helpful if you're lost, no matter where you are this GPS will tell you where the next town or city is.... very recommendable

Seeing that I just got into hiking camping, I really don't have anything else to compare this to...but I'm really having a blast with this GPS! The features are great, love the idea that I can download waypoints from the internet! The only difficulty I found was my spazzticity (a new word I just made up) with the click stick (I'll get over it though) when my hubby I were on a trail with VERY dense tree cover, we lost connection with the sattelites for a minute or 2. I am however looking forward to many, many more adventures with my GPS!

This GPS has everything for a good price and it is very easy to use.

much too advance for a begenner!