Magellan eXplorist 100 Handheld GPS

HAS NO FEATURES AT ALL.,DISPLAY IS FADED AND HARD TO READ.WELL BUILT AND STURDY.I USED WITH MY DIGITAL CAMERA TO GEOTAG.

My dad got me one of these for Christmas a few years back.

I really enjoyed using it to keep me from getting lost on new trails using date provided by others and entered into the GPS.

I also enjoyed using it to bookmark springs, campsites and other info on trails I hiked a lot.

The problem was the screen died in less than a year.

Magellans customer service is in India or some other country and it was obvious that the lady who was serving me could only understand a few words.

I gave them MY CC number and sent the unit to TX per their instructions.

Then I got an email saying my CC info was rejected. I attempted to call customer service 3 times to straighten it out. I did it at lunch because usually it took me an average of 45 minutes to connect. All 3 times the 3 difft people I talked to seemed unable to understand what I was saying.

Finally in frustration I emailed the company explaining the problem and asked them to please put me in touch with someone who could help me. No response.

I would have thought they could have looked my repair auth # up on the screen and let me know what the problem was. After my third time calling I got the unit back saying they needed my info so I tossed it in the trash in frustration.

I would never buy one of these new again. I might buy a USED one for a price where you could throw it away if it died but the customer service poisioned me on buying another new one.

Another downside is since there is no cable to download your bookmarks to a computer I lost all of the bookmarks I had not written down with pencil and paper when the unit died.

Less than a year ago I bought 8 units for public programing and teach people how to use a GPS.

I have used them twice and on the second program one of them froze while walking on the park. I tried to turn it off but nothing happened. I removed the battery, turn in back on... nothing.

I tried with brand new batteries, the same result. The GPS unit seem to be dead.

I tried to contact Magellan 3 times through their webiste and all the messages bonce back saying that there is a delivery problem with their email.

After 45 minutes waiting on the phone through costumer service they told me that I had to send it back and they will replace it. It is going to be hard to teach people how to use GPS with different units. I was told that they would replace the unit for free. Now I will have missmatching units and afraid that the other 7 will freeze at some point when they are needed for a public program.

This units seem to be ok but the quality is really poor so I would buy something more reliable that the explorist GPS.

I got this last summer to do hunting in the national forest
(texas) and it really is nothing more than a fancy electronic
compass. The trackings and routes are nice, and it has evaluation.
Eats battery like a starved dog.

This was my first GPS .. and it died after light use .. 8 months.
Maybe a dozen weekends. The keyboard buttons barely respond anymore.


It has no abilities to connect to a computer and up/download
map savings either ... The more you use your GPS unit, you will
likely expect that functionality.

Or maybe not !

My wife bought thhis model for me on Valentines Day in 2007. What a great gadget! I am a newbie at Geocaching and after a few outings with this GPSR I have become an amateur geocacher. It is easy to use and great for learning the basics of GPS Navigation. It is a wonderful student model, and though it doesn't have fully featured maps, it gives explorers a handy way to mark surroundings, waypoints and paths. The Go To feature is the best for finding caches and it stores planty of waypoints. Great tool!

My eXplorist 100 is only 4 months old and is defective. It's been treated very carefully but it will randomly clear the screen, lose the satellites and now is clearing all data... very frustrating.

When I contacted the company, they say it's no longer supported and they won't repair it or honor the warranty (they are offering some sort of trade up, but I can't find out what the offer is yet as they say the phone system is having 'technical difficulties').

So I loved the 100's price and features, but if you buy it, realize that if there is any issue, you are on your own.

I purchased this unit for a hunting trip to northern Wisconsin. It did the job I needed. It quickly and accurately fixed my position and lead me to and from tree stands in the deep woods. I have used it here in Alaska too, and it works just as well here.

Basic model, and now I wish I had a model with download waypoint capability. The 100 works well outside in the open, but I have had very little success using it in a moving car or train.

We bought this GPS because we wanted to start geocaching. It is simple and easy to use, even for me - who gets confused easily with technology. I wish it had a download feature so we could have coordinates downloaded from the geocaching website instead of entering them manually, but we didn't know any better at the time. That is not the fault of this GPS - we wanted something inexpensive because we weren't sure how much we would like geocaching. We love it. So this little baby will work for us for now - perhaps down the road we'll get a fancier unit. It's well worth the money.

I thought it was a good product for the money. I found it cheaper here than anywhere else. We wanted it for geocaching. It is not a product to put in your car to tell you to turn left at the next street. We have used it on a couple geocaching excursions and loved it. It was worth the money for the fun it has given us. I would buy it again.

This GPS unit is very basic. You are an arrow and you have to go towards a dot (that you have to go to before programming it).

Now to clarify a few things, this unit is NOT capable of having maps placed on it from a computer (or anything else), this units accurracy is good for the price but it's not as accurate as everyone else makes it out to be, and finally they say it's backlight is an amber type (which I was worried about) but it's actually a bright orange color which was a pleasant surprise.

A great benefit to it is the ability to change datums for the units (which is great for GIS, although accuracy can sometimes be a drawback)

Overall, buy it if you are into hiking or involed in some GIS types of programs.

I bought this for my dad to use out at his hunting cabin which sits on the edge of his own 40 acres of forest and ravine land with 300 surrounding acres of state land. He of course didn't need it but found out that giving the GPS receiver along with a motorolla hand held radio to my younger cousins and friends when they go out exploring keeps him from having to go find them as often. He just sits up on the deck with his radio and talks them back to the cabin. If they get lost he taught them to use a mixture of finding the easiest way thru the forest and following the arrow on the magellan which has gotten them home safe and sound every time.

The product was in the exact shape as described when i purchased it. The christmas present was a hit. thank you for your business.

My brother has been having a great time with the GPS unit. He tells me it is very accurate, except inside buildings such as a mall where it cannot easily communicate with the locator satellites. Outside it is fantastic.

My husband uses this little guy for geocaching. He has found it to have the perfect amount of features for us, as we have only been caching for a year or so. My brother-in-law purchased the same model after using ours. It's sturdy and easy to use. 5 stars for the money.

I read all about Geocaching before spending the money for the Magellan eXplorist 100. Several websites I visited prior to purchasing this all suggested you get more GPS then you think you may want. Now that my wife and I have found 3 benchmarks and 1 geocache I would have to agree. This GPS does what it is meant to do. Outdoors it is able to lock onto satellites with no difficulty. Further, I had no problems with it maintaining lock while in a forested area. For a person starting out geocaching, I think what this is missing most, is the compass chip. What this means to the beginner out there, is when you are standing still, trying to find that treasure, this unit won't accurately tell you North, South or whatever. I ended up walking around in a lot of circles looking for a cache (and never finding it). Had it had the compass chip, you could navigate fallen trees or what ever, and still have a VERY good idea of which way you needed to head. Besides that one short coming, I like this unit. Yes you have to manually enter your destination. That in itself is not difficult. There is no map in the background, and I suppose that might be important to some, but for the beginner, it wasn't for me. My wife and I have looked for 7 or 8 different finds with the same set of batteries, and looking at the meter which measures your battery life, we were only at 1/5 of the way down. (If that.)

In summary, I do like this unit, however knowing what I know now, I would have gotten one with the compass chip in it, if I had to do it over again.

I really like everything about this unit except for the lack of accuracy mine exhibits.
1) At sea on a 23 foot boat the GPS read (in 3-D positioning) that I was 109 Ft above sea level.

2)When hiking it often shows my return track many many many yards off of where it actually IS. Like on another side of a river...

3) Called Magellen and got absolutely NO assistance.

I do have friends who have the same model and theirs work great...I just got a lemon.

I bought my eXplorist over a year ago when my etrex got eaten by a goat - really I have the photos. Anyway, I never liked the etrex because I use GPS units primarily to take lat/lon readings in decimel degrees and it was very difficult to read the tiny numbers on the etrex. The eXplorist is much better in that respect and many others.

The unit has been exceptionally durable. I've had it under water. On more than one occasion I've also done the very common thing for me of leaving it on the roof of the Jeep while it gets a fix, forgetting about it, and then driving off and seeing it tumble down the road. It is still runing perfectly and doesn't even have a scratch. It is a bit fatter than some of the smallest units now but it still fits easily in my pocket and the roundedness of it makes it comfortable in the pocket.

I have had the unit to Europe and New Zealand as well as across the US. It has done very well everywhere. I haven't carefully timed it because, having used many GPS units over the years all over the globe, I know that time-to-fix varies wildly depending on satellite configuration, cover, specific satellites available, atmospheric conditions etc. I think from long experience that it is really more of a marketing issue than a real useability one. My little 1980's vintage Trimble consistently matched my 1999 Garmin 12 in speed until post Y2K issues made it crazy. In brief, on average, the eXplorist isn't noticeably any faster or slower than any other pocket unit I've used. This unit does track 14 satellites (instead of the 12 of older models) which would appear to give it a slight advantage.

That said, I can also tell you that accuracy does vary considerably and that this unit is as consistent as any I have used in this class and it is very likely exceptional in its class in accuracy. It uses WAAS and EGNOS in those rare times when you get them, and it really does deliver 3m accuracy. I have tested it twice in the US and it was actually within centimeters once. Remember that that accuracy depends on your datum though so don't try to navigate a minefield using this thing.

The eXplorist does multiple datums, map units, coordinate systems etc. like most units. If you require a specific one, by all means do what I did, go to a store, turn the thing on, and set it up with what you need. In a unit like this, you are buying the software as much as the hardware and, if you have specific requirements, it had better be right or you'll be wasting your money.

It is easy to navigate the menus and the thing fits well in the hand. A few minutes of getting familiarized with the controls and I was very comfortable with it. The ergonomics are very good. One of the things that I like the most is the joystick nav button which makes moving around on the screen fast. There is the basic data screen, a great satellite tracking screen, a graphic track screen and the compass screen. A GPS compass is essentially useless for walking (which is where I use a GPS the most) and really badly misleading sometimes. I take it as another marketing ploy for the most part but I can see it being useful when you are surrounded by metal or large magnetic fields. A $5 traditional compass will always be much more responsive and reliable in the field though and I wouldn't go on an expedition without one.

The great thing about this unit, that sets it apart from many others (especially older ones) is the screen. It is big clear and crisp. The numbers are big and bold. There is also a very good contrast adjustment. The light is easy to turn on and is red - instead of eerie green or yellow - which is nice if you're using a telescope or other light sensitive optics.

It uses 2 AA batteries like most small units. The battery life has been great. I don't know how long I get but I rarely change batteries and a 1/4 charge seems to be sufficient for good outing for me. I haven't tried rechargeables in it but I expect that as in other GPS units, you need to use 1100ma+ to get reasonable duration. There is a battery life indicator on the main screen, which is really useful.

It is a great little machine. So what's wrong with it? Really nothing. I love it. It is orange, but that makes it hard to loose. Also, sometimes the little hasp on the battery screw goes down on the side of the screw that makes it hard to get for those of us who are fingernail challenged. Now those are really minor complaints.

I was very dissapointed with the mount that was stated for use on a motorcycle/bike/atv. My explorist 200 was lost during a ride due to the fact that the mount is totally unsuitable for any type of bike mounting because it does not hold the unit well . Had it a velcrow or other type fastener to securely hold the unit to the mount then maybe I may have still had my navigator to enjoy. The only thing my mount is good for now is to remind me not to purchase another Magellan product. I cant even use the mount as a cup or can holder.

I bought the Magellan eXplorist 100 for navigation on my atv, I live in a heavily wood area so I was sceptical of reception, but I very rarely have a problem. It proforms great, can't ask for much better than this!

I bought this item for Chrismas and by march it stopped working, after a change of batteries. Because it was more than 30 days after purchase, the item is not returnable, so now I have a $100 electronic paper weight.

This GPS was a great buy for several reasons:

*Quick and strong satallite readings

*Good basic features (lets you set the format for lat/long. that you prefer)

*Price was a great buy - free shipping here at Amazon.

*GPS is accurate - especially when it begins recieving a WAAS signal :)

If you have no need for street maps or computer link-up ability, I strongly recommend this product.

I bought this for my nephews so we could go geocaching when I visit. It was the cheapest GPS I could find that had WAAS which increases the accuracy to less than 30 ft. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some other products and can only be used stand alone (e.g. no PC hookup) but it's perfect for geocaching (durable, accurate, very reasonable cost).

I bought this for my nephews so we could go geocaching when I visit. It was the cheapest GPS I could find that had WAAS which increases the accuracy to less than 30 ft. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some other products and can only be used stand alone (e.g. no PC hookup) but it's perfect for geocaching (durable, accurate, very reasonable cost).

Ok, listen up: I reciently owned a Cobra model 100 (which is the cheapest model that cobra makes; basically the same as Magellan's explorist 100 if your talking about the model category) and I found they are approx. the same price. The Cobra 100 had poor, very poor reception but had nice menus - But when you're talking about GPS's you don't care about nice menus, you want good reception!! I use my explorist 100 for hiking mostly which means I'm usually in a forested area. And also with my Magellan I have at least 4 to 7 satellites at all times in the woods with full tree canopy; where the Cobra 100 had on average 2 satellites-not even enough to show where you are on the GPS! I also can tell you the Magellan 100 has every single feature the Cobra 100 had and more: magellan has a sun and moon oreintaion feature and also instead of the one green light on the Cobra 100, the magellan has two differant brightnesses in an amber contrast. I must stress the most important things: this has 40 times better reception than the cobra 100, and is mostly ideal for plotting your own courses, ie: hiking, biking, camping, boating, etc. BUT DO NOT BUY FOR ROAD MAPPING/NAVIGATION/DRIVING!! You cannot link the magellan 100 to a computer to upload road maps! You would want the model 300 or higher I beleive (maybe 200?) Of course you could make your own routes with the 100 by driving on roads and saving the "tracks" and set waypoints etc; but not for city navegation. This magellan 100 is all you will every need for hiking , or whatever you do outdoors and its the best base model GPS on the market. If it helps you at all I used my magellan in northern Pennsylvania where I live - don't ever buy the Cobra 100, I've owned one!

About as basic as a GPSr can be. No computer interface or mapping capability. But this one's great for geocaching, where you're looking for a route to a point. It's very accurate and easy to use. It does everything it's supposed to do. Decent battery life. A good second unit.

Had the garmin etrex and always had to point the face to the sky. But one time I used the Explorist 100. I put it on my dashboard to track my driving route. I drove, it flew back and under my seat. When I arrived at my destination, I showed the tracks from my house to my destination. That would have been impossible with the etrex.

In a nutshell, I has an amazingly strong signal. I walk under bridges and it still holds a signals.

I can put it in my pocket and go walking or running or any outdoor activity to tell my distance. The etrex was nearly impossible to get a signal when I used it with a belt clip. Weak signal like no other.

Only downside is that it does not have download capability, low number of track points (garmins have up to 25,000!!), no map-but paper maps are cheaper and more accurate. You would not depend on this to find your way around the world would you?

Awesome unit except for not being able to download, if it did it would be sweet.

Great and VERY inexpenive unit.

El GPS Magellan va mas alla de satisfacer mis espectativas, es muy bueno, versatil y facil de usar. Sus tres pantallas de navegación ofrecen la información que uno requiere. Lo he utilizado en el campo abierto y en vehiculo y su funcionamiento no tiene quejas.

This is a pretty nice unit, especially for the price. Liked it, good back lighting, good documentation, reasonable controls, etc..

Only problem is that it would power back up in a pristine state, loosing all my waypoints, options, etc. I held for 30 minutes on Magellan TS phone support, and the website wanted too much personal information for on-line support (for my tastes at least).

So, I'll return it and try a different brand. If this unit wasn't defective however, I would have been a pretty happy customer (hence the 2 stars.)

This was a gift for my son-in law and he wants to return it for a 200 or 300.

I bought an Explorist 100 for my son's first GPS to use for hunting, camping, fishing and diving. I am a little perplexed as to why I can't get WAAS accuracy closer than 75 feet and even at sea level it shows that the unit is at 48-75 feet. Possible problem unit, all in all I am happy and am contacting Magellan about these issues.

So far, though, at least onthe water, my onboard LORAN and GPS is much more accurate...down to 3-6 feet as opposed to 30-45 feet.

This writer thinks that it's not bad for what can be gotten for around a hundred bucks, but...

1) Very poor aquisition under rainy skies. ( Zero aquisition when inside under rainy skies....even when next to a window. My house is typical for this area of US: insulated with a wood & tar shingle roof. Aquistion just OK inside when clear skies outside.)

2) Poor accuracy at night, even though tracking 8 sat's. (Seems to need upward of 10+ sat's to get 3 meter accuracy.) Best I could get at night under clear skies, in a field, with new batteries was about 30 feet, (~10 meters rather than the advertised 3). In unfamiliar dense woods at night or poor weather this could be the difference between finding camp and getting lost.

3) An external antena jack and power jack would be GREAT for car or those situation when you need better reception.

4) You can not delete the waypoints ( "Points of Interest") as a group without deleating all routs too.

5) Can be difficult to read in bright sun...gets a bit washed out and requires tweaking screen contrast often. ( Could just be my 45 year old eye balls though!)

6) Does not come with detailed instructions, although one can download a nice and detailed 60 page manual by searching on-line.

7) The manufcturer does seem to have an odd fascination with disclaimers and EULA. The paper "instructions" that do come with it are dominated by a huge disclaimer area.

Warning: the first thing this unit does upon boot is force the user to read and agree to a EULA (End User License Agreement) before being able to use the unit. Some people may not care, but I do.

I have been looking for an inexpensive unit to use for a couple of years while I wait for this market to really mature. This is the answer. My use is for trails and backpacking. I have been using my unit for several days, and it is amazing for a $100 price level. I especially like the rugged exterior, which is easy to grip. Also the satellite lock is fast and impressive. The screen has an excellent backlight for dark nights and in the house, but otherwise the readibility is just fine. Much better than an eTrex. Just remember, it doesn't allow you to install maps, if that is the case, you need a more expensive unit. But if you just want to track distance, and fix points once you get there, this is worth every penny.

I am fairly new to the GPS scene. I have an old magellan that
has a tough time getting position fix - even on a treeless hilltop. Not with this unit -

Very fast position fix. Works in the house. Got 7 tracking
right now.

I like the track log. It tracks the path you are
traveling. Simple to backtrack.

Controls are very simple and fast. Menues are nice and clear.

Great looking LCD.

For $100 bucks I can't imagine a better GPS.

I've had an Etrex. And I must say this product is 10 times better.

1)Satellite acquisition is good.
2) Really easy to use.
3) Fits great in the hand.

and last but very important. BIG LCD.

Great Buy.