Easy to use with gloves, but Magellan's basic use GPS has severe limitations.
Magellan eXplorist 100
GPS
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Price:
£85
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Weight:
810g including batteries
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Features:
WAAS-enabled, differential-ready, 14 parallel channel
GPS receiver with 200 waypoints, black and white display, 500
waypoints, 20 routes and automatic track log. Full spec below.
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What's Is
It?
Magellan's entry-level, off-road GPS with support for WAAS
and EGNOS, but limited by no PC connection. Simple to use, and well
designed it's one of the easier devices to grip in gloves with a rubber
grip down each side. A useful GOTO option lets you navigate to any
chosen waypoint (POI) either selected by name or "nearest first", but
the 100's capacity restricts you to 20 routes and only three tracks.
The Techy
Bits
When it comes to GPS there's no shortage of techy specifications, but
in practise there's really only a few that matter. Once you've got a
fix to the satellites accuracy is pretty much the same for any receiver
and they're all shipped with the datum and grid sets for UK use. The
bits that really matter for the average user are weight, storage
capacity for routes and waymarks and battery life.
Full Specification
Waypoints: 500
Routes: 20 plus GOTO
Tracks: 3 saved tracks; automatic track log; TracBack lets you retrace
your path
Trip odometer: Current speed, average speed, time of sunrise/sunset,
resettable maximum speed, trip timer, and trip distance, configurable
trip computer screen
Position format: Lat/Lon, UTM/UPS, OSGB and other grids
Receiver: WAAS-enabled, differential-ready, 14 parallel channel GPS
receiver
Acquisition times:
Warm: Approximately 60 seconds
Cold: Approximately 120 seconds
Update rate: 1/second, continuous
Power Source: 2 ìAAî batteries (not included)
Battery life: Up to 14 hours
Size: 2.1"x 4.6"x 1.3" (5.3 x 11.7 x 3.3cm)
Weight: 4oz with batteries (110 g)
Display: 1.4"x 1.8"(4.6 x 3.6 cm)
Case: Waterproof to IEC 529 IPX7 standards
Temperature range: -10∫C to 60∫C
Interfaces: None
How It
Performs
Like all Magellan's there's no OS map support, and the
eXplorist 100 ships with a single base map for where you bought it - so
watch out with buying from overseas and make sure to check which map is
pre-installed.
The 100 is the baby of the eXplorist range, and discontinued by many
outlets but if you shop around you can pick one up for around
£60. For occasional and emergency use it's ideal for leaving
in your pack till needed, and won't break the bank or even weigh you
down at 161g.
The 100 takes two AA batteries with an average life of around 14 hours
if you don't use the backlight much, secured behind a D ring,
screw-down, cover and the whole unit is waterproof to a metre for half
an hour.
Where the 100 falls down is memory, and connectivity, with room for
just three tracks alongside the 20 routes and 500 POIs (Magellan call
Waypoints POIs, but they do the same job). If this is enough for you,
and you don't want to export your POIs and Routes, the front mounted
buttons make navigation through the three main screens quick and easy.
Because it can't be connected to a PC, it's impossible to use it in
conjunction with mapping software like Anquet, Memory Map, Tracklogs or
Quo.
The eXplorist 100's biggest problem is the competition, with the Geko
201 being smaller, lighter, having more storage and a PC interface for
only a few pounds more - though the 100 does have a slightly larger
screen. All in all it's a solid and reliable performer but seriously
limited for anything but occasional and emergency use.
Fine for occasional and emergency use, but basic features,
small storage capacity and the lack of a PC interface severely limit
its useability for more sophisticated users. Garmin's Geko 201 is
smaller, lighter and has the PC compatibility that the eXplorist 100
lacks.
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 Cheap, weather
resistant and fine for emergency or occasional use.
 No PC interface
and limited storage capacity means its for basic use only.
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Know more or want to?
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product check out our user review system and post your opinions to
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