Garmin GPS 72 Handheld GPS Navigator

This was a great unit but I sold it on eBay years ago.. it was a great unit!

Simple GPS, good value for money for casual, no bells or whistles. WAAS has issue in software needs to be updated to version 2.5 I think, so be sure to buy a serial cable to update. Buy the garmin compatible it works and you save $30.

I’ve had my 72 for nearly five years. Admittedly we don’t use it all the time, but together with a chart and the sort of planning sailing skippers are supposed to do anyway, it has gotten us up and down the Chesapeake Bay and the lower Potomac – reassuring on overnight trips and has proven great at sailing speeds (which is all I have used it for so far). Doesn’t seem to need an external antenna even inside sailboat rigging and is not sensitive to an occasional splash. It is s pretty frugal with its battery needs – typically 14-16 hours of continuous use (it keeps the nav information during battery change).On our little Bristol we use handhelds exclusively (GPS, VHF, depth-finder, etc…) and when at the dock we just throw it all in a small bag… There are GPSs with far more gadgetry, but this is a sturdy and trustworthy little instrument – very hard to beat either as the primary GPS or as a backup.

I find this item very difficult to use and not very user friendly even with the help of the on-line manual. I find it very difficult to enter a way point. We geocache and I haven't done much since I replaced my broken one with this model.

I sail year-round in New England. I need back up GPS units in case my main power fails. This is good for what I need. The odd thing is that while the unit does not display a chart, it does display bouys. It is tricky using this feature, because you don't easily know how far apart the bouys are. Always use it with charts, not stand alone. The Compass feature is EXCELLENT as long as you are moving. Much, much more comfortable than staring at your built in compass all night, and far more accurate. Think about it; this unit does more than the Loran C units we all used 20 years ago, at one tenth of the price.

The device is okay but it's not serving the purpose at which it was bought. I'd rather prefer buying garmin gps 76. That's is more ideal.

Disappointment in the fact that I purchased the used one as it advertised "accessories included" . When the device came, it had no batteries, cover, holster, etc. that I would have considered "accessories" I should have just bought the new one.disappointed in Fla.Nathan White ...

This is a great GPS receiver. I use it as the primary navigation instrument on my 32' catamaran. I have a cable that draws power from the boat's 12VDC system and provides speed information to the other instruments. It has been supplanted by the 72H which has a USB connector. That should make it easier to transfer waypoints and routes between the GPS and a computer. I have to use a USB to serial converter, but it does the job.