Garmin GPS 72 Handheld GPS Receiver

I wanted a waypoint GPS to cover areas off the beaten track. I already have GPS and Googlemaps on my phone to cover roads, routes and places of interest within civilisation.

The Garmin GPS 72 is a very cost effective-unit for outdoor pursuits - rugged, waterproof and it floats! Using the unit for the first time after reading the Quick Start Guide, it is very intuitive. After it was initialised, its satelite almanac updated very quickly allowing fast starting on any new route.

Positional accuracy is very good utilising WAAS but at the cost of battery life - Battery Saving Mode and WAAS cannot be used together (batteries last up to 16 hours in saver mode)! Setting/editing waypoints (and indeed most menu options) are intuitive and easy to manage, as are the routes and displays.

You cannot upload any road or terrain maps to the unit, but you can upload points of interest and navaids from Garmin mapping software. Routes on the unit are indicated by a straight-line route to your (next) destination and this is contantly being updated to show the shortest route you need to take (rarely does a path go directly to your destination, unless it was built by the Romans of course!). There are two main parameters - direction and distance; estimated arrival time is then calculated from your measured speed. A tracking option allows you to record and, if necessary, track back on the route you have already taken (useful if you get lost).

If you are looking for a satnav system for your car, this isn't it! However, if you want a reasonable priced GPS trackback and waypoint system to take on a sailing trip or trek then the Garmin GPS 72 really does the job.

Just what I wanted at a bargain price. The garmin is a good choice and a highly commended by the Which magazine.
My Brother has a small sail boat. Living in Spain he spoke at length about how he wanted this GPS with the Marine kit to help him Navigate the Spanish Harbours and inlets.
They are expensive and a 'new' quality one at a bidders price was difficult to overlook. My brother is delighted at my purchase and it is performing well as the 'Which' magazine says it does.

this is an excellent little unit,user freindly,and logical-but a couple of warnings-battery life is overstated 2xDuracells will last about 2 trips(im in a kayak)this is about 12 hours,but thats no suprise is it?a manufacturer overstating a feature about one of their own products!But the main problem is that it is absolutley NOT waterproof,mine worked perfectly until it was dropped into about 4 inches of water,I immediatly picked it up,it did not submerge,but instantly began making a bleeping sound and would not respond to any buttons being pressed,it wouldnt work for about a couple of days,then seemed to be ok.
It was ok for about a couple of months(sometimes no response to button pushing)but now none of the buttons work,and it is just stuck on one page,I have since found out from a forum,that I am not alone with this problem,and it seems to happen to all the handheld G.P.S. units,and the common opinion seems to be that they need a waterproof case!
After all that I still like the unit and would recomend it-but with a waterproof case!!!!!

Simple-effective does exactly what it says on the tin.Works in my car and on my boat(mainly) a treat.Bought this model with view to learning and then geting something bigger/colour etc-not neccessary,it does the job.
power lead/pc lead expensive-thats only downside.

I have a Garmin 76s mapping GPS and it is outdated and over complex to use. Why anyone would want a 72 model I don't know, if baffles me that Garmin can still sell the 76.

nice big screen, and when showing a track,you can navigate around the screen easilly with the toggle button.good anchor drag alarm. the battery standy seems to be better than my garmin etrex. and it floats too. great product and the garmin tech help have been quick to answer query. so there ya go, ask me any questions about if you need. pet