Garmin Foretrex 401 Waterproof Hiking GPS

I got this to go through a training course that involved patrolling through the woods and trying to find bad guys. Before we were allowed to start using GPS, it was difficult to accurately navigate wooded, hilly terrain using a compass and pace counts. We would often approach our objective from the wrong direction or have to search for it. Once we were allowed to start using a GPS, I brought this. No guess work at all. I had it hanging from my flack or on my wrist in the hot, cold, wet, dry, everything. This is great! Ease of use: It's a small computer on your wrist, it'll take a evening of tinkering to get used to all of its features. Once you take the time to understand it, it is so easy to use in the field. Push a button and find your current azimuth, push a button and see how far you are from your next point, push a button and get an instant 10 DIGIT GRID! Battery life: It'll last you a full day of continuous use. I left this thing on and hanging from my flack when we were driving vehicles through trails in the mountains all day for 10 days. I was the navigator and this is the only reason we made it back every night! I'm stubborn and don't always read instructions and toward the end of those 10 days I realized there is a place to plug in a charger rather than replace batteries all the time. It's safe to say its covered well and inconspicuous. Durability: When I hang this from the front of my flack and run, it bounces against the flack constantly. It doesn't break, it doesn't malfunction, it just does its job. Whether it's in the 30's and raining/snowing, or really hot outside and dry, this thing does its job. I recommend buying a screen protector to prevent scuffs. That's what I did and mine is still looking great. I have no fear of simply throwing this thing in my pack and heading out. I'm not concerned it's going to break in my pack or anything weird like that. Versatility: I've used this on the east coast and it was great. I got to Japan, changed the grid zones, and it was still great. I guess that what "Global" means. . . Need to find a place out in the woods? Punch in a grid and it'll take you there. It'll give you an arrow to follow, you follow it, you find the place you're looking for. Need to let someone know where you are? One of the screens give you a constant 10 digit grid. Need to follow a route? Take the time to insert points using grids, then select which points you want to visit and in which order. Then just follow the arrow. You can even label the points with words and icons. What elevation are you at? Yeah, it's on the screen all the time if you want it to be. I'm done typing. . . just buy this thing already!

I just recently purchased two large plots of land and was looking for a GPS that would allow me to traverse the land with ease. I am extremely satisfied with this purchase. Being prior military I know the need to have something available yet compact. This does both in one package, the ability to strap it to my wrist, and activate my rout within seconds just shows the buyer that Garmin put allot of thought into a soldiers need. Product: The Garmin Foretrex 401 is a tool that enhances the soldiers ability to navigate with ease yet allow for the user to still focus on their surroundings. The device houses a small screen that provides various simple menus as well as 5 buttons and can't withstand a beating. This Navigation system provides the user with the needed information to traverse land with ease. The devices software includes a simple navigational map that icludes points, route lines and user location. Also includes digital compas, location menu, elevation and settings. To use each menu the user will use a combination of buttons to navigate the various selections. The device does have a powerful internal GPS receiver as well as a means to transfer location information to other Fortrex 401 devices wirelessly. The best feature is the ability to connect your device to a PC and use Garmin's Basecamp software to plan routes, and catches. This can all be achieved by selecting locations on a map in your PC and uploading the points to your device. Pros: Compact Wrist strap Low power consumption Essential navigation and menus Back light for night ops MGRS (amazing) 15+ hrs of battery 2x AAA Wireless cache transfers to other devices PC connection Cons: Screen scratches easily ( acquire a screen protector) Conclusion: This device provides the best of both worlds, a powerful GPS navigation with a compact design. This is one of those items you should always keep available in your tool kit.

I am currently deployed in Afghanistan and have used this GPS during my combat patrols for about two weeks now. I have found that it performs perfectly. It is easily configured for MGRS, the metric system, and the compass can be set for Mils which makes calling for polar fire missions very easy. I love the fact that I have a 10-digit grid on my wrist. It cuts down on weight, not having to lug a DAGR around, and as I am taking notes during Community Engagements I can grab the grid right off my wrist as I write. So far it has stood up to the insane temperature differences from day to night. It has stood up to the dust (which gets into EVERYTHING - and has ruined two of my digital cameras [including a so-called dust-proof one]) with flying colors. The batteries last about 8 hours and it takes AAAs which are easy to carry. You can easily beam waypoints from one GPS to another. Several guys in my platoon carry the same one which makes it very easy. I am looking forward to using this when I get home to track my runs. So far I have found nothing wrong with this to speak of. I would definitely recommend it for whatever purpose you would use it for. I haven't tested its water-proofness yet; however, it stands up to my sweat very well.

The good: I have to say I really enjoy using this GPS device. It works for pretty much all my outdoor sports, skiing, mtn biking, hiking. It powers up quickly, acquires satellites fast enough for me and the display fields are easy to change quickly on the fly. It's pretty durable. The bad: I am glad they started including the elastic wristband extension with the unit. I had to pay $20 for my first one as an accessory. However, in a couple years of use, the elastic and the velcro wear out progressively faster until they just don't work at all. Which is why I ended up buying another Foretrex 401. The velcro on my last one failed while skiing in the backcountry, and it was lost. "Waterproof" is a big over statement. I'd say it's water "resistant" and only partially until the rubber dust cover inevitable tears off. Even with careful and light use, that piece of rubber tore off in just a few months leaving the mini-USB port exposed to moisture and eventual corrosion. A simple fix would prevent this without any increased cost to design and implement. Also, the battery compartment is NOT water proof or even water resistant. The battery leads will rust quickly, even here in CO where the relative humidity is very low. If you live in a more humid area, be prepared for full on corrosion in a very short amount of time. A 10 cent rubber seal would prevent this, but apparently Garmin can't muster that much investment. The ugly: Garmin is horrible at software development. There's just no other way for me to describe it. They're updates fail, or provide notices of necessary updates but then won't install. I'm constantly getting notices that I need to update the Garmin SW which seems to do pretty much nothing to begin with, but they force you to install it. Further aggravating is the fact that Garmin really doesn't even support this model in their SW. So why are you ramming it down my throat Garmin?? Their customer support has been pathetic. Emailing somebody in India who either doesn't understand the product themselves, or showers you with niceties to divert your attention from the fact they don't understand the problem or the device your using is just an exercise in frustration. It literally made me want to throw this thing through their corporate office window with a nasty letter! I resigned myself to accepting that despite all the claims by Garmin, this device is a standalone product with virtually no SW support. With that mindset, I'm now pleasantly surprised when Garmin's SW actually does something for a change. I like uploading the GPS file to their GarminConnect site to view the map info etc, but again, that's a crap shoot as to whether it will recognize my device on any given day. Batteries: You can pretty much bank on about 8 -12 hrs of use from each set of 3 AAA batteries it requires. Not great, but not bad. The problem though is that inevitably you'll get a "Low battery" notice in the middle of your activity, change the batteries, and then have two separate .gpx files that can not be stitched together with any of the Garmin SW tools. There are some 3rd party SW apps that can stitch the two files together, but I've seen none for less than $100. For such a simple friggin' feature, I'm not willing to pay more than about $10, but it should be included in Garmin's SW. Like I said, Garmin just sucks at software though.

I was able to download Alaska State Park maps onto my computer, import them into Garmin's Basecamp software, then convert the tracks (trail maps) into routes. Those routes can then be uploaded to this wonderful little device in seconds along with all of the waypoints (trail heads, campsites, ranger stations, etc.). In essence, it works as a true GPS with maps, despite its perceived limitations. At each trail juncture or fork, I create a waypoint in Basecamp that indicates the name of the respected splitting trail. Should I take that trail, I simply switch to the necessary route which I have also uploaded. It is nearly seamless. Topography is a no-go, but if you can't see the topography and don't have a map, you shouldn't be out there anyway. Me and my buddy were on a hike and the trail was overgrown and riddled with newly felled trees. Thanks to this device, I could tell which tree to scoot under to regain the trail because of its ability to handle rudimentary map/trail info from my computer. A few hundred yards up and there it is, the vista we were looking for. Tip: Turn on the WAAS GPS mode. It is accurate to 3 meters (only available in North America) and makes a huge difference in terms of raw accuracy. I will never hike without this. Especially in the Alaskan wilderness, Anchorage backcountry or what have you. Waterproof, rugged, accurate, efficient (battery life), and smaller than you think. Additionally, it takes light AAA batteries, so recharging, even days out on the trail is never an issue, as you would find with the "fancier" and more expensive Garmin Fenix line. No maps is a myth... See what you can find and link it up with Basecamp.

This is one of the best GPS devices I have ever owned. (I have owned 6 or 7 during the past 20 years) I also have a Magellan Explorist 601 that has all the bells and whistles but goes through batteries like my wife goes through a box of chocolate. I tested the 401 to see how long a new set of alkaline batteries as well as rechargeable Ni-Mh would last with continuous use. The alkaline lasted 22 - 23 hours. (I didn't actually see when the unit shut down) The Ni-Mh lasted 16-17 hours. I was pleasantly surprised that after acquiring at least 3 satellites while out in the open, the GPS continued to track my movements while I walked around inside my home as well as when I was shopping inside Costco. I wanted a GPS that was easy to use and program and get me back to a specific location like an Elk hunting camp. I don't need color or "topo" information for this. I need distance and direction to the next waypoint as well as a compass to help me get started. I can always turn on my M-601 if I want to know the name of the stream I just crossed, hoping I have enough battery power left. The history and track information is accurate and plentiful if you need it. Considering this cost me less than a third of what I paid for the Magellan 601 (not counting the $1 to $2 an hour of use for alkaline batteries with the M-601) this is a fantastic unit. Anyone that can't figure out how to use this GPS should consider using a paper map and a handheld compass.

I purchased this item a year ago and used it extensively in Afghanistan. For virtually any situation, it is, in my opinion, the perfect GPS. The beauty of this unit is that at all times, with zero waiting, you have a 10 digit grid on your wrist. If it only had that feature it would be well worth the price. But it offers a lot more. It is extremely lightweight. I regularly wear it during runs now that I'm home, and do not notice the weight on my wrist at all. Durability is excellent. I have worn this in 120+ degree heat, sub freezing cold, and pouring rain. I smashed it in an armored door about halfway through my deployment, resulting in a darker spot on the screen, but it is still perfectly usable. The dust, which destroys electronics over there at an alarming rate, had no effect on it. I had heard that the foretrex series had a horrible wrist band, but that must have been fixed with the 401. I wore it constantly, and it got knocked around a lot, with zero issues. Battery life with lithium batteries is amazing, and good with others. Signal reception is very good, I never had an issue getting a signal inside armored vehicles which is often a problem with GPS units. Offers a very impressive list of functions, which can be customized to give you various types of information. The compass feature, when used with programmable waypoints, is nothing short of amazing. Land navigation is made idiot proof. It has the ability to transmit its waypoints to other garmins, but I have not used this feature. The only downsides I can think of are that the backlight is really a bit too bright, and because of the small size, and therefore few buttons, programing multiple waypoints can take some time. Overall, I can't recommend this enough. By far the most useful piece of gear that I have purchased.

Civilian Use: I was never in the military and unfortunately probably never will be but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the 401. if you want to set a point that you want to get back to this is the best GPS for that use. It is incredibly simple yet incredibly flexible with the information that you can display. The GPS also creates tracks when the unit is on ( which I suggest deleting the memory before going on a hike or a ride so you have a clean slate). Also I like wearing it on my forearm, so the strap extender is nice! I use it Predominantly to track my motorcycle rides. To change how many points the GPS tracks navigate to the waypoints, tracks, route, set up, page. 1. Go to setup, click mark 2. Go down to tracks, click mark 3. Change distance to what suits you, For motorcycle riding 100 feet is fine. I did 5 feet at 1st and that was ridiculous, but insanely accurate. If you were walking I could see knocking down to 5 feet. 4. and make sure the recording interval IS distance Google Earth / Google Maps: To get the best tracks in Google Earth and then Google maps it is best to delete the Garmin waypoints that are included on the GPS. When you import the data into Google Earth those waypoints will just get in the way. But try it out for yourself to see what I mean. 1. Pop the cap on the back of the GPS 2. Insert the USB cable into your computer and the GPS 3. The GPS will now be like a hard drive on your computer 4. Go into Garmin/GPX/current folder 5. I drag both files (Current and Position) into a folder on your desktop, but I believe you only need the file "Current". 6. Disconnect GPS (unmount on MAC) 7. Download Google Earth for free, install, open 8. To import your data goto File, Open, then navigate to the Current file on your desktop 9. AE GPS pop-up comes up, I check all 3 options, press Okay If you deleted the Garmin waypoints the map will zoom to your tract area. If the Garmin waypoints are still there Google Earth may show those in which case you will need to rotate the globe to find your tract area. I changed my tracking points to be 100 feet apart, at 1st I had it every 5 feet which filled up the memory faster and it was just way too much data. I ride my motorcycle around the city and I can click on any point to see how fast I was going in exactly where I was and all sorts of other data. It is pretty awesome! None still learning Google Earth but here's the process to transfer to Google maps. 10. Right click on "GPS device" in the left rial, select "Save place as" 11. Save it in the same place as your other files, it has the extension .kmz - that is what google maps uses. 12. Click " create map" 13. I like to make my maps unlisted so I choose that on the bottom 14 Title your track, I do "ride 051612" or "hike 051612" 15. Click "import", then navigate to your file by clicking "choose file" 16. then click upload from file (it won't say the file is loaded like an attachment in gmail) Now you can keep a record of your journeys and you can also share your maps with other people. Then is you go to "my places" you can see all of your tracks. Sometimes the track becomes listed (public), just change it back unlisted under the title area. Oh and google maps shows the activity log by what page you are on, if you only see page of your activity log, go to the bottom and go to the next page. I love it overall. The memory using incredibly small, I think it's only a few megabytes large which is ridiculous these days. If they ever make a 501 1st they should make the memory a few gigs, and then add some basic topographical maps. I would honestly by that system in a heartbeat, but I am content with the 401 for how I am using it.

Ottimo articolo, pratico, leggero e preciso. La durata della batteria è elevata anche in condizioni di clima freddo, Permette di gestire in modo molto pratico, con il software in dotazione ed altre applicazioni OS, i dati delle escursioni o delle prestazioni effettuate o di pianificarle anticipatamente. Semplice e veloce l'utilizzo delle funzioni per marcare o richiamare i waipoints; il display è ben visibile e regolabile in luminosità e contrasto, permette di visualizzare i dati essenziali in una sola schermata. Consigliato per le attività di Trekking, escursioni in Mountain Bike.

I first used one of these whilst "working overseas" and thought it was brilliant. And so, on my return, I got one as a permanent addition to my kit. Since owning, I've taken it on various courses and exercises "for emergency use only". As any good soldier will tell you, this does not negate the importance of being able to map read the old fashioned way, but it's great as a confirmation tool if and when you become "geographically embarrassed". While there are much more expensive GPS devices available, with more gadgetry than you could ever need, this reasonably priced watch has everything you could ask for. The menu layout is very simple with a dropdown style layout that is very easy to navigate through, and multiple display modes that can be customised to suit your requirements in terms of simplicity or detail. Initial setup is painless and quick too. For those that don't have a clue what MGRS or OGB-M are or are technophobes, the accompanying guide will see you right and help you ensuring that you set the relevant datum correctly. This isn't a TomTom or similar device, and the LCD screen is made up of a series of pixilated lines of info, so it might take some time for those not familiar with GPS watches to get to grips with how to read the various screens. A bit of a novelty maybe, but I really like that you can set the user/owner information should you ever lose it, or are found unconscious on the face of Penn-y-Fan! It takes 2x AAA batteries that last absolutely ages considering that whilst on, it is constantly communicating with GPS satellites. And a power save/sleep function so that it's not constantly displaying info when you don't need it. It also has an illumination function that you would expect to find on most digital watches, which is strong enough to be able to clearly see the whole screen in the dark, but faint enough that you don't light up when you require to be more discreet. Overall an amazing little watch at a decent and fair price, but dontvexpect plug'n'play, a bit of setup is required and is made easier if you have experience of GPS technology.

Excelente GPS para montaña, muy practico, usado en ámbito militar debido a su calidad, se carga el track a seguir o se crea una ruta (con opción en caso de perdida de volver sobre los pasos). También tiene varias funciones extras como salida del sol, altímetro, etc. Ventajas: - Usa pilas (en cualquier momento se pueden cambiar) - Alta precisión - Cómodo de llevar - Intuitivo Desventajas: - No soporta mapas

Got it a couple days ago and so far it's a good device. It does not come with batteries though. Even though it says included. Not a deal breaker of course. My search and rescue team use the 401e because it is waterproof and resilient.

Encontré lo que buscaba en precio y tiempo de entrega rapido, recomiendo el producto y al vendedor