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Stuff / Hot Stuff / Garmin eTrex Touch portable GPS navigator makes it almost impossible to get lost

Garmin eTrex Touch portable GPS navigator makes it almost impossible to get lost

Mammoth battery life makes the Garmin eTrex Touch your perfect adventure buddy

Somebody holding a Garmin eTrex Touch GPS navigator in a rural area.

If the closest you get to going off the beaten track is trying out a new shortcut on your way to the vape shop, Garmin’s eTrex Touch portable GPS navigator is not for you. 

If, however, you’ve decided to try a new vape shop that’s miles from the nearest civilisation, this little black box is exactly what you need. 

While using your phone’s sat-nav would cause it to conk out long before you’d had a chance to stock up on Candy Kahuna refills, the eTrex Touch’s battery lasts up to 130 hours with the GPS turned on. Put it in Expedition mode, which significantly reduces the GPS use, and that jumps up to a whopping 27 days.

The Garmin eTrex Touch’s 3in touchscreen will give you a great view of the pre-loaded TopoActive maps, which include both trails and roads, so even if you decide to take the scenic route you should still be able to avoid getting lost. If that’s not enough you can pay $/£4.99 per month (or $/£50 for a year) to subscribe to the more detailed Outdoor Maps+. 

Its chunky chassis is IP67-rated, so it’ll shrug off any downpours, although if you pair it with the Garmin Explore app on your phone it’ll also provide real-time weather info, so you can find some shelter before the heavens even open. 

The Garmin eTrex Touch is available to buy now for $450/£390.

Profile image of Tom Wiggins Tom Wiggins Contributor

About

Stuff's second Tom has been writing for the magazine and website since 2006, when smartphones were only for massive nerds and you could say “Alexa” out loud without a robot answering. Over the years he’s written about everything from MP3s to NFTs, played FIFA with Trent Alexander-Arnold, and amassed a really quite impressive collection of USB sticks.

Areas of expertise

A bit of everything but definitely not cameras.