Garmin eTrex Touch

This isn't a review as such. You can read my comments on it at the GPSrChive forums (where I am WallyGator):
https://www.gpsrchive.com/Discussion/viewforum.php?f=201

I am also in the Garmin official forums as SergZak and frequent the H1 forum there because they at least have a forum for the inReach models (the Touch is a mini GPSMAP H1):
https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/inreach/f/gpsma...

Like I mentioned, the Touch is a little brother to the new GPSMAP H1/H1i Plus units. The Touch's unit software is nearly identical (H1 is more feature-rich due to additional hardware) to the H1 series so any bugs affecting the H1 will also affect the eTrex Touch (and vice versa).

I have been using the Touch for about a month and a half now. I have been through three units in that time and am currently on my fourth unit.

#1 Returned to Amazon due to MANY features (unit software's fault) not equal to the previous models and no quick release by Garmin to correct various bugs & missing features in the unit.

#2 Returned to Amazon due to a nearly impossible to use power button. It sits flush with the unit...I get it, to make it difficult to accidentally trigger. But I literally needed to dig my finger tip into the button in a very specific spot to trigger the button....very difficult to press (lots of pressure required). Sure, it's hard to trigger it accidentally but way too difficult to trigger it purposely.

#3 Another unit from Amazon, same as #2 above.

#4 The unit I have now (again from Amazon) has a better power button that is much less finicky and is easier to trigger. A newer firmware update (v5.09) has been released in the last couple of weeks that has improved things but there are still issues with periodic crashing and missing features and settings that do not survive a power-cycle.

I have until Jan 31 to return the unit to Amazon for a full refund and I'm still on the fence about it. If they can correct the firmware, I will likely keep it. If they dawdle and sit on their hands doing it, it's going back. Being $450, it's a big bite for a little unit but it's size physically for me is perfect. If the software were better, the price would be easier to swallow.

To address a couple of your points:

It would make a great cycling GPS unit and a bike mount is supposedly available (not from Amazon yet, at least the last time I looked). It doesn't have your typical bike computer feature set but that's not what I was looking for (there are plenty of Edge models for this type of use).

There are no spoken directions since the built-in speaker is merely there to notify with beeps and similar outdoor GPS unit sounds. You do however get on-screen directions of course and a notification sound. You can purchase City Navigator from Garmin for it and it will work but you'll get no free updates like with the pre-loaded Garmin automotive units. I just download the free OpenMapChest maps and they work just fine with auto-routing, same as a nuvi (and similar models). The pre-loaded and freely updatable TopoActive maps (updated about twice a year) provide turn-by-turn navigation for bikes and uses OTHER THAN automotive use.

There is NO SD card slot for expanding storage. Even my lowly eTrex 32x (and even lower-end models) has one. You DO get 32GB of on-board storage and that's way more than enough for my needs but still, with the omission of expandable storage, Garmin should have at least given the unit 64GB of on-board storage. So users are forever stuck with 32GB.

Let me know if you have any more questions Jim. I'll try to oblige the best that I can. In the GPSrChive Touch 2 forums (as it has been monikered there), I am pretty much the only one there reporting bugs and commenting on the unit. Because of this, I will tend to just visit the H1 forums as that's where the new model's traffic is the greatest (again, seeing as the Touch 2 is the H1's little brother). I'm pretty much just talking to myself in the Touch 2 forum.

Thank you so much for the reply.

Is the display easy to see in direct sunlight?

How many nits of brightness is the Garmin eTrex Touch?

If I do end up buying a Garmin eTrex Touch, I will probably purchase it from REI because their outdoor electronics have a 90 day return window.

Yes it is as it's transreflective as well as being backlit. It's no better or worse than any other Garmin outdoor devices I've used.

I don't know and I don't ever recall specs on brightness nits being published for any Garmin outdoor units. If anyone would know, it would be Garmin themselves. I would contact them directly to get a direct answer.
Product.Support@garmin.com

Good choice. Make sure the power button is usable to you before walking out of the store (if purchased in-store), but maybe I'm just being picky about that aspect of the unit.

Do we know if the Garmin GPSMAP H1 has a speaker that will work for turn-by-turn directions?

Have built-in speakers for "tones for navigation prompts, system alerts, messages, and button feedback." The volume of the speaker is adjustable (the eTrex Touch's speaker volume is fixed and not very loud).

Like the eTrex Touch, the speaker is *not* used for spoken turn-by-turn directions like the nuvis and more recent Garmin automotive units provide.

The H1i Plus provides voice commands & voice notes (up to 30-second) voice messages via satellite).

@DorkusNimrod,

I see someone on eBay has these for $299.00. It states they are new, but I wonder if they are actually returns. I am still thinking that it might be an okay bike GPS for me, even with the limited speaker.

I would likely add Open Map Chest and Open Street Maps bike and trail maps for this. The long battery life does appeal to me.

Then I got to the part about it being Located in: SH, China. And, 0% positive feedback (117) hh_jessicabowles24817.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/257283122883?itmmeta=01KFCP8ZFE7YXW...

I will still clear for now, but I still might consider a refurbished Garmin eTrex Touch, if the price is right!

It may be a good idea to wait a few months or even a year for Garmin to get things ironed out with these new units (eTrex Touch along with the H1 / H1i Plus). I've had more than enough beta testing in my lifetime to have to pay Garmin to beta test their units for them. You'll likely get a more refined unit by waiting...but at the same time, if one waits too long, they will abandon the unit for the next "new" version of the unit (which will of course have it's own set of issues).

I think I mentioned this elsewhere but after owning the eTrex Touch for two months (taking advantage of Amazon's 60-day holiday return policy), I have returned the unit to Amazon for a refund. If Garmin gets their act together and fixes all the issues, I may consider a repurchase in the future. Sad, because this was to be my last GPS unit (upgrading from my slow-as-a-slug eTrex 32x). All of my feature requirements (the loss of a mSD Card slot was not expected) were checkmarked but it's bugs and rebooting issues grew tiresome. I'm still interested but am waiting for improvement.

Good luck in what you decide to do!

Have you looked at the Montana series handhelds? Yes, they are quite expensive new, but there are many older 650's in good condition on eBay under $300.

The Montana can be powered via 12V with a powered mount, which includes a speaker, or 5V using a USB Mini cable. It's features include most of those on the ETrex.

I gave up on all the smaller Garmin handhelds due to the screen size. I find the Montana's 5" screen to be very easy on these old eyes.

The Montana is a bit large for a pocket carry GPS, but I use it primarily in vehicles or on my bikes.

I agree that companies putting out inferior products is one reason why companies don't survive, but in the case of Garmin, the consumer electronics part is so small that if it vanished, they would still survive. Now if marine, aviation and military contracts vanished, that is another matter altogether.

In Garmin's defense, I think they will make improvements on the Garmin eTrex Touch, but it will take time. The automotive units certainly aren't as innovative as their "hey days" a few years ago, though. And, yes, I get that the Garmin eTrex Touch is not an automotive unit, either.

Indeed. The eTrex Touch was released in early October. Initial release state was dismal at best (same as with the H1 / H1i Plus which uses the same firmware architecture). The H1 series was released about a month before the Touch. That is at least three months into the products but their release state was in beta form, software-wise. Who knows how long it was in pre-release before that.

I don't want to beta test for Garmin. These products should not have been released in this state. On top of that, I gave the Touch a good chance. It's still not ready but it's slowly getting there. I don't want to get stuck with a first-gen unit, waiting (and waiting) to see when it will be in a state where I can trust it.

These units have crashed (especially the H1 series that has a microSD card interface which has it's own set of additional issues) and have gotten into reboot loops that can only be recovered by connecting to a PC using some file management shenanigans (if you're lucky) or sent back to Garmin (if you're not). Is this something I would trust? What if I'm out in the field?

People returning these units because of these instabilities (either after a few days or two months) should be a wakeup call to Garmin and is exactly why I chose to return mine. I may repurchase in the future but that all depends on Garmin and if they choose to properly support the device. This is on Garmin, not the consumer who has paid big bucks to have a trustworthy device.

this is helpful information.

From the webmaster at GPSrChive

Regarding the eTrex Touch:
https://www.gpsrchive.com/Discussion/viewtopic.php?t=3588

Regarding the H1 / H1i Plus:
https://www.gpsrchive.com/Discussion/viewtopic.php?t=3587

How is the brightness on the Garmin eTrex Touch?

I have been looking to see how many NITS, but I haven't had any luck.

I bought one of these yesterday from REI.

Today I did updates on it and reached out to Garmin Support.

Garmin advised that the brightness is 150 NITS.

My Garmin Zumo XT features an ultrabright 5.5-inch display with a brightness of approximately 1,000 NITS.

I went outside with it a few minutes ago. It is sunny outside and I did a side-by-side comparison. The Zumo XT was hands down much brighter!

I will be returning this device to REI, possibly as soon as tomorrow. I wanted to see if it might be suitable for biking and other outdoor activities that I do, but there is no way it would work out.

Even if it were brighter, the screen is too small for me. It is possible that I am just go accustomed to using automotive GPS devices with bigger screen that anything smaller and dimmer will just be underwhelming to me.

it is a shame the reviews are not great. I no longer buy products with mediocre reviews even if they have good reviews. I find the poor reviews the most accurate

@Jim1348...I noticed you have posted at the GPSrChive forum. I am WallyGator over there (you could probably deduce that from my many posts in Touch 2 forum).

Wise move with the return. Garmin needs to get the message that they can't be putting out inferior products that are meant to be trusted.

Disabling auto-brightness does make the screen somewhat brighter...you can then manually crank the brightness up to full. Auto-brightness keeps it a bit dimmer (more like 80%) than manually cranking it up.

Yes, the screen is small but it's meant to be due to the form-factor.

There were many things I really liked about the unit, but the downsides outweighed those. The biggest being Garmin themselves and their support of the device. Yes updates are in the works, but as I've moaned here before...will it be enough and how long will this thing take to be stable and will it be something I can trust?

Even at it's sale price of $360 (posted in a different thread), I don't feel it's worth it and worth trusting it. Sadly, the majority of the time spent is not in using it in a trustworthy & enjoyable manner but waiting for Garmin to push out the next update and hoping for the best.

Thank you for the reply. Yes, I did disable auto-brightness. I have two small screen Garmins, the Nuvi 350 and 360. Their screen size is 3.5-inches. The eTrex Touch is only a little bit smaller at 3 inches, but that difference is a huge difference for me.

If I recall correctly, at least one of the other members in our ATV club has a Garmin Montana with a 5 inch screen. Maybe something like that would work out better for me in the future.

As I said in an earlier post, the Montana series was the answer for me. I sometimes wish the screen was a bit brighter but it's readable in all but the brightest sunlight.

I particularly like that it can be powered by internal AA & rechargeable lithium batteries, a USB mini cable via a 5V USB port, or 12V using a powered mount.

I have a Montana 650T with a missing power switch boot. It's a common wear item on that model. I use a pencil, or apply external power to turn it on. The 600 series only has a 4" screen though. You need to move up to the 700 series to get the 5".

I'm planning to list it on eBay, along with a RAM B ball mount and also the powered 12V vehicle mount. I'd be happy to lend it to you to see if it would work for your application. PM me if you're interested.

Thank you for the reply and thank you for the offer. I did look at those last night online. The Montana 700 series with the 5 inch screen look pretty good. I am in no hurry. If wait long enough, they will have the Montana 800 series available.