Upgrade to Garmin 76S?

[wzbt03]

Anyone out there currently using the Garmin 76S. I am ready to upgrade from my Legend and think this is the model to go with.
I played with the Garmin IQue 3600 at REI this weekend and while it is very easy to use I would question its durability in the field and plus I already have a Dell Axim PDA.
So if there is any good comments – pro or con on the 76S please let me know.

[Cachew]

I purchased a 76S for my daughter and she really likes it. It has more memory for maps than my GPS V, provision for external antenna (never required yet), is light weight and fits in a shirt pocket (like my Meridian). I purchased a Magellan Meridian Platinum just to try out the competition and, although it is a great gpsr in the woods, I like the Garmin software built into their gpsr’s much better. I also like the mapping software on the pc better.

I am not a fan of the built-in compass on either the Magellan or the Garmin 76S. (You need to recalibrate everytime you change batteries, etc) I remain a fan of my Mark I magnetic compass.

Both the Meridian and the 76S will display elevation changes if you’re into that.

So, I use the GPS V in the car (a wow instrument!), the Magellan for rough duty geocaching. My daughter uses her 76S for geocaching and geology field trips. We both are happy! I have recommended the 76S unit to other friends and they are happy, too.

Cachew and Wicket.
(Wicket has a great built-in sense of direction, challenging any gpsr on the return trip to the car!)

[TeamLotsacache]

We have had the 76S now for a few months and LOVE it!!!! The big screen is great for in the car, yet it is still very usable in your hand. Lots of memory and the electronic compass is very hand on multi-point caches. The compass lets the heading indicator point you in the right direction without having to double check with your regular compass.

I would highly recommend it!

[Ray]

We are running with a Map 76 and a Garmin 12. The Map 76 is the same as the 76S with a smaller memory, no compass and no altimeter. My Suunto compass is all the compass I need and I don’t need to recalibrate it. While our Garmin 12 is much better at holding a satelite lock under cover, the maps and huge display on the 76 are great. I have’nt had any need for more memory than we have on the 76, so it would be difficult for me to justify the extra $ to go to the 76S. Either the map 76 or the 76S will give great value for the price. Whenever I see sombody logging their X00th cache with a yellow eTrex, I wonder about all the added features we are looking for.

[RainDog]

I’ve been looking at that one myself. I just logged #100 with a screaming yellow zonker and have been happy with it. I would like WAAS, mapping, and a quad helix antenna for better reception under the leaves. The 76S has more memory than my first pentium. It’s interesting to note that T&B say the Garmin 12 has a better lock under the trees than the 76S, but anything has to be better the the yellow eTrex! Does anyone have any comments about signal reception in the vicinity of rock walls or large buildings? On the other hand, if I can make 1000 using the inscrutable little yellow devil maybe Garmin will pay me lots of money to hawk their products!

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