The Bottom Line: I use this unit for enduro racing, rock crawling, and an aviation navaid. It's reliability has made me over-confident sometimes I should have not been.
chesshire_cat's Full Review: Lowrance GlobalMap??? 100 Handheld GPS Receiver
Ok, the Lowrance GLOBALMAP 100 has been out for a while. Not exactly the newest, most zoot GPS on the market. I have had mine for a bit over 2 years. I have been totally impressed with it’s durability. I have used it in the Lowrance made handlebar clamp mount. At first I was a bit skeptical about the longevity of the unit. After all, it was mounted with little/no vibration isolation. It has survived several outings into Moab in my jeep (including one rather unfortunate misjudgment that sent about everything in the jeep into a near low orbit.) A bit worse for the experience, I sent it back to LEI for a new case. It was still fully functional, but had its “guts” exposed. (Lei replaced the shell at no charge!)
Accuracy is, as you would expect from any GPS, exceptional.
The onboard map memory is limited to 2 Mb. A first it seemed insufficient for much of anything, but I have found it anything but. The “smartmap” software is a bit pricey for what you get, but functions well, and is simple enough for even the most hard core technophobe. The map database in the smartmap software is a little dated, especially in larger urban areas. (I based my decision to purchase this item on it’s wilderness/maritime applications, not city streets though) I have used the unit in conjunction with “Expert GPS” (from topografix) to plot unmapped trails. If you are looking for a complete package for remote/wilderness treks, this is the greatest setup going.
The Globalmap 100 has more than sufficient memory to hold any route/trail plot you can imagine.
The unit is weather resistant, with a flexible cover over the controls. All the functions are controlled via the front panel. With any unit this feature extensive, that is going to result in a few rather cryptic menus. There is a bit of a learning curve involved with this unit. Lowrance provided a nice simulation mode to help understand setup/reading the unit.
The navigation mode is outstanding, providing the information you need at a glance, and not cluttering up the display with useless images. Display contrast is good, not requiring allot of resetting for changing light conditions. The backlight (blue) is well diffused, and bright. Backlight off Delay time is adjustable from 10 sec to continuous operation. Little glare evident, and the light is not so bright as to dazzle your vision under low light conditions.
The earthmap displayed features are selectable, and the zoom automatically shuts off some of the clutter. There is a bit too much to make sense of it in some modes. It would be nice if there were more waypoint icons, sometimes a complex route can be confusing. (like all turn icons are right hand… sure would have been nice to have a left !)It would have also been nice to have the arrival alarm auto-cancel in a short time, or at least not block the screen with a big, bold, "ARRIVAL" in the center of the diplay!
Battery life? What battery life? Alkaline cells are short lived, The NiMh cells last sufficiently… but by no means great. For vehicle mount, it’s nice to have the power cable/serial adapter (sold separately… at a bit of a soak) Why there is no USB compatibility is beyond me.
Lowrance is a bit proud of any accessories you may want. There is no excuse for the cost of most of the accessories.
Weight, yep, it’s a weight! Not the lightest, (not even close), size is in the large end for current GPS selections. Both a detriment, but that same weight is what made it structurally sound enough to survive a rollover that sent it more than 40 feet (onto the rocks) from the vehicle.
If you are looking for a GPS to navigate your way around town, and deliver pizzas, then this is 100% not for you, if you are looking for a durable back-woods GPS capable of any task, look no further!
***Remember, always understand wilderness navigation, and have an alternate means of navigation (learn to read a map, and take a compass!) Be sure to inform someone of your route, and return time. No electronic navigation is 100% foolproof.***
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