Magellan eXplorist 210

From KE4MUR
Positive:
1) import/export directly with GSAK (Geocache Swiss Army Knife)
2) Built in GeoCache database (uses exported database from GSAK, supports multiple databases [I have 3 DBs right now: Local City (where I live), ParentsDB (databases of caches local to area where my parents live so I can Cache while visiting), Interstate (caches along the interstate between my home city and my 'rents house)
3) WAAS!

Negative:
1) Alkaline Batteries (it doesn't eat them...but they still cost $$)
2) Extremely minimal (and also incorrect) basemaps [wrong names on streets, MAJOR streets missing, but some minor streets showing...grrr]
3) Easy to scratch screen (recomend using PDA screen protectors and cutting them to fit the GPSr screen)

From samiaminca
The Good:
1) Mac compatibility! Using MacGPSBabel, it is easy to covert my .gpx pocket queries into the proper format for the Explorist. A quick drag and drop and the waypoints are ready to use.
2) Waypoint Storage. Each waypoint file can hold up to 500 waypoints. I currently have easily over 1000 caches in five different files on this GPSr to cover our favorite caching areas, and there is room for 1000's more.
3) Ease of use. An easy to use no frills GPSr. Does exactly what we want it to do, no more, no less.

The Bad:
1) Small Screen. The screen could be a little bigger, but then again we don't have a 47 inch plasma in the living room either.
2) Base Map. What can really be said... it's a basemap. We don't really use it for it's mapping anyway, we only use the map as a quick reference, so once again... no big deal.

The Indifferent:
Geocaching Feature. With a PC (yech) you can utilize the Geocaching Manager to load caches into memory. Each file can hold only 200 wp's. But you can have as many files as the 22MB of memory will hold. The caches show up as cute little boxes on the display (similar to Garmin graphics), and the cache information has cache details, cache name, cache owner, hint (only the first 50 characters), etc... The only problem with this feature is that there is no quick way to delete or modify the cache when it's been found. Thus after the cache has been found, it stays on the screen, mocking you.... no I meant to say, cluttering up the rest of the unfound caches. Since we use a PDA to keep all the cache information and our running log while out hunting, we always delete the cache from the GPSr when it was found. So we tend to stick to the old fashioned WP method instead. Sure it would be nice, but that one small limitation will keep me from using it, and the fact that the Geocaching software is not available for Macs, so it would require me to load the microsoft virus and virtual PC onto our Macs.

Overall the Explorist 210 is a nice, basic, little GPSr. Could it be better, yes. Could it be worse, absolutely. It does what we want it to do, so from us it gets 5 stars.

Also check out this comparison:
Magellan 210, SporTrak and Garmin Vista