Pros: Light(6oz), Map ability, WAAS, great reception.
Cons: No memory upgrade like Meridian models.
The Bottom Line: Everything I needed in a small handheld Mapping GPS. Small and lightweight, while not sacrificing great satellite reception. Great price for a lot of power.
brandle's Full Review: Bennett Marine MAGELLAN SporTrak Pro Marine (88362...
A received a Garmin GPS 12 this last Christmas as a present. I loved the unit and have used it constantly for 6 months. But I found that it was time for me to graduate to a high end model with more bells and whistles. In my quest to find a better GPS unit with mapping I decided that I should only look at the high end personal units. I have been pretty loyal to my Garmin unit but decided it would be foolish not to consider all my choices. I was glad that I did.
This is how I came to my conclusion. I can bore you with all the details but I won't. You can find all the specifications for these units on their manufacturers websites. What makes this a review is why I like what this unit has to offer. I had decided on two main units in the end. The Garmin Vista or the Magellan Sportrak Pro. The are both very close in offerings. The standard stuff that comes with most handheld GPS units today. 500 waypoints, 20 routes, 2000 trackpoints, time, multiple screens (Map, Compass, Position, Road, Speedometer, Strip Compass), backlight, 2 AA batteries, 12V car backup, and PC connections. They also offer the ability for WAAS reception and maps. The only major difference I noticed in the two units was that the Vista has an actual barometer for more accurate elevation calculations in additional to a higher price. The Sportrak does still give vertical profiles of your tracklog.
Before I get further into the two units I'll note that the Sportrak has a 9MB Database with interstate highways, state highways, major roads, parks, water ways, airports, cities, marine navaids, buoys, and obstructions. (North America) You can use Mapsend to upload 23MB of additional maps, topos, and points of interest. Unlike the Meridan line of units by Magellan this unit does NOT have the plug in memory cards for trading out map data on the go. You have to upload map data by computer. This may or may not be a problem for most users. However, the unit is much smaller and easier to hold in the hand than the Meridian models.
Now down to what made me choose the Sportrak. The Quadifiler Helix Antenna is what made the choice for me. The unit was also $50-$100 less than the Vista. I was all ready to buy the Vista until I started reading horror stories about how the reception on Etrex model Garmins can be horrible. My GPS 12 was rock solid in heavy tree cover and in the mountains. I was not about to give up my satellite lock loyalty that I loved. I also like to put the unit in my pocket or pack while hiking. I will tell you that I did NOT test the Vista unit in tree cover for myself. I will tell you that the Sportrak has given me excellent satellite reception and constant WAAS locks.
The first weekend that I owned the unit I took it to a canyon like area. I was getting reception under rock shelves, against cliff walls, and in deep tree cover. That was all the proof I needed. I now have a mapping unit that gives me everything I liked about my GPS 12. Something has to be really amazing for me to give it a 5. I give this unit 4 stars. If it had the ability upgrade memory with plug in cards I would give it the full 5 stars.
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