Magellan Explorist 710 Review – Handheld GPS for Hiking

Magellan Explorist 710 – the gadget named after the legendary voyager and explorer Ferdinand Magellan, rolls out to keep mazeophobia at bay. Its advanced Global Positioning Technology and tracking system makes it one of the best products from Magellan X10 Series and packs in a lot of other significant features. So, let’s check out as to how well does this device manage to keep us from getting lost.

The Design and Build

The Magellan Explorist 710 looks and feels sturdy. Designed in an oval shape, the device indeed makes for a comfortable hold while navigating. The rear part of the device sports the camera, a mini USB port, speaker and the compartment for the battery. Due to its oval build, the mini USB port seems to be curvy and inclined towards at an angle. The battery compartment only opens when the latch is pulled to an angle of 90 degrees and fastens the battery tight, giving it a secured protection.

The only issue with the build is the smooth metal strip that surrounds the camera. It tends to give a smooth finish to the body and often slides away when placed over irregular objects. The inner compartment of the battery case sports the slot for the Micro SD card.

Video Overview of the Magellan Explorist 710

The Features

The Magellan Explorist 710 device has a number of commendable features and specifications to its credits. Sporting a 3 inch WQVGA touch based screen, the phone manages to produce a clear display with decent viewing angles. The Transflective TFT screen on the Explorist series functions pretty well and produces a clear display even when exposed to bright sunlight. The 3.2 MP camera that is present on the device’s rear part captures some vivid pictures.

Magellan Explorist 710 Hiking and Outdoor Handheld GPS
Magellan Explorist 710 Hiking and Outdoor Handheld GPS

The GPS’s camera is similar to the camera of a Smartphone and offers two camera options – a still mode and a video recording mode. Apart from this, the device also carries a built-in voice recorder which allows for the recorded notes to be attached to tracks, routes, geocache or the waypoints, according to the user. Also, the entire device is invulnerable to water intrusions (waterproof) and makes sure that the device functions just fine and normal when subjected to water.

The Maps

Magellan Explorist 710 GPS offers three different classes of maps, which are:

A Basic World Map

The World Edition Basemap covers over 200 countries with in-depth details of each city. With impressive coverage of most of the streets and avenues of almost every country, this world navigation system in 710 is perhaps the best, when compared to the competitors of its cadre. 

Summit Series US Maps            

This comprehensive topographical map offers complete information on the terrain type, contour lines, high resolution information on seven classes of national parks, sanctuaries, and forests. A great inclusion to the series!

City Series

The Magellan Explorist’s City Series USA map offers turn-by-turn direction to almost every street in the US. Though, it is not a text-to-speech dictate, it still manages to provide ample information about the streets of USA. On taping the next turn notification window on the screen, it pop-ups up a new window that offers a complete list of upcoming turns indicated by street names.

Functioning

One of the main requirements in a Global Positioning Device is the battery life and to be honest, it is respectable in Explorist 710. Under normal conditions, it stayed for up to 9 hours before it exhausted. And as far as performance is concerned, the device fairs well with minimal crashes and response times. Though it takes up around 40 to 50 seconds to boot up, it doesn’t throw in any issues later, regarding performance as such. Overall, Magellan Explorist 710 functions well.

The Pros:

  • A number of options available for customization
  • Built-in topographical maps
  • Effective Paperless Geocaching
  • Voice Recorder
  • Top Quality Camera for its cadre
  • Comprehensive world map feature
  • City maps with turn-by-turn directions

The Cons:

  • Takes time to startup
  • Difficult on-screen navigation
  • The contour lines often pose a hindrance to map views
  • Doesn’t offer expected battery life

The Verdict on the Magellan Explorist 710 Review

When compared to the other prevailing GPS devices of the same cadre, Magellan Explorist 710 device packs in a lot of features and indeed offers the expected convenience. With an intuitive user interface, paperless Geocaching technology, Geo-tagging camera and other cool features, the device should definitely make it to your travel checklist.

About the Author: Andrea Walters, a freelance writer for  MyTechHelp – a leader in providing support across various products brands and tech devices for individuals and small businesses in need of instant tech help.

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Jerry Adkins

Thanks for visiting GPS Bites. I started the website in 2012 to give advice on all matters regarding GPS and navigation. Prior to this I was the marketing manager for a global GPS device company.

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