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Your cart is empty.4.0 out of 5 stars
- #17,774 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
- #16 in Handheld GPS Units
- #2,306 in Boating Equipment
Cast off confidently with the GPSMAP® 79sc marine GPS handheld. This rugged, floating handheld features a sunlight-readable, high-resolution color display that is fogproof and scratch-resistant. You get access to a range of satellite constellations, so you get more reliable, accurate tracking around the world. Navigate wherever your adventures take you with built-in BlueChart® g3 coastal charts. With more memory than previous models, you can save and track 10,000 waypoints and 250 routes. Keep your bearings with the built-in compass.
Cr
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2025
Excellent will purchase again
Happy Pilgrim
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2025
Unit had the latest software loads including system software and BlueChart loads. Very quick delivery. Nice! This was purchased as a backup unit for one bought a year ago. Still learning how to use the routing and recording features. It has not been completely intuitive but the manual full download helps. Accuracy & startup time are excellent. Predicted battery life of 19 hours seems accurate but wish it was 24 hours…. A very solid unit.
464
Reviewed in Canada on January 17, 2025
I purchased this to use for ice fishing. Paid the extra believimng the included maps but they are only for coastal waters you need to spend another 130.00 to get CND maps I returned this and am considering the S model than addin gthe map
jes
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2024
I had to ask the gps sales person at Hamilton Marine to set up the charts for marine operation. It is not easy. However, since then, I have been able to use and enjoy the features of this gps. I use it planning and tracking multiple weekly ocean kayak trips of 6-15 nautical miles and 2-5 hours. The map does not label smaller islands which is a problem so I always have a paper chart with me. What is excellent is that I can read the screen, mounted on the deck, in all light conditions. Lithium batteries provide me about 15 hours of tracking with this gps. The GPS is exposed to weather and salt as I have it on a Garmin portable mount on the deck of my kayak so I rinse it under the faucet after each trip. After 2 years of use - May through November - it still looks new and has never leaked. I am very happy with this gps.
Rich
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2024
I bought this as a backup to the main navigation unit on my boat. It's packed with a lot of features, but marking waypoints and navigating to them is just a couple of clicks. I turned off my primary plotter yesterday while fishing offshore and used this to get back to port. The compass navigation mode is the better of the two IMO.The charts are detailed enough to use this unit as a main GPS unit if you also want the ability to use this in other environments such as camping. However, you'll probably find the screen too small when there's bigger units available.
Bradley Davidson
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2024
Garmin has never been good at describing features or how to use them on their GPS systems. It is certainly the case for this very capable handheld GPS device. One must learn by scrolling through the menus and getting your device to do what you want it to.I got this Garmin GPSMAP 79sc to replace my 76Cx which, after years of using, had a simple battery compartment issue I was unable to fix. I had set up and used my old Garmin to, among other things, communicate NMEA streams of data to my autopilot on my sailboat. I shopped online, even at the official Garmin site, and looked for this feature among GPS handhelds with no luck. I even went into a retail store to talk with knowledgeable salespeople as to what product would do this. No luck. But while having the 79sc in my hand, I noticed it had the Garmin round plug port for power and I/O which wasn’t even mentioned or shown in online descriptions. The Quick Start booklet which came in the box said nothing about the port, and the owner’s manual, which I had to download, had little. I took a chance and bought it. Turns out I could get this working like my old device by exploring the menus. Not much help from any written direction provided by Garmin. It must be a legacy feature not used by many today.The 79sc has many features, some useful to me and some not, but it is very capable. It determines position faster than my old, almost instantaneously. The compass feature is handy and works by some technology alien to me. Probably magic. And the unit I got, being preloaded with coastal charts, is nice. Display is nice. The scrolling buttons are a bit touchy. I’ll wait to test out its waterproof and floating capabilities until I accidentally drop it overboard.So, if you want a very capable handheld GPS, try the Garmin GPSMAP 79sc. Just be patient, explore the device, and get to know each other together.
Tom Rutchik
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2023
We use this product for sea kayaking and forest foraging. Both are situations where it's a little iffy to use you cell phone. I bought this one to replace a Garmin Oregon 400c. It's not as compact but has the same screen size (other Garmin devices in this same category have smaller screen sizes). The UI for this product works almost the same as Oregon 400c, with the exception it's not a touchscreen. This display is certainly better than the Oregon 400c when used in outdoor lighting. The Oregon 400c was terrible in outdoor lighting conditions. GPSMAP 79 is much better in outdoor lighting conditions, but I think Garmin still needs to do even better. The most disappointing thing about this device is its unintuitive UI. The user manual doesn't do an adequate job explaining the various features. You need to rely on user forums to get a better understanding. Their software "basecamp" which you download and run on your PC is as clunky as the devices UI. Basecamp is used so you can plan a route and add that route to your device. In basecamp, you can only have one active map opened (example of what I mean by its clunkiness). There seems to be a debate whether Gamin even still supports basecamp, but I've not found a Garmin alternative. I bought the Oregon 400c may about 10 years ago; wouldn't you think that the UI would have been vastly improved over that time span. The answer is NO! Garmin products today are so 90's style when it comes to their UI. Garmin is just not an innovative company. They seem to be the leader of the handheld GPS market, not because they deserve it, but rather due to the lack of competition. (My guess is that the GPS handheld market to probably too small for real competition.) I knew all these things when I bought the device but still purchased it because the device is rugged, waterproof, and you can depend on it for getting you back to your starting point if you get lost in the woods foraging for mushrooms and other edibles. You can't make that same claim using your cell phone with GPS. The device is well designed to save battery life. Garmin claims that you get about 19 hours of use on two AA batteries; and that's probably true! That's another reason for why you may want to use a handheld GPS device over a you cell phone (with maps cached). Garmin support is very limited; you cannot contract them via phone, chat or email to get answers. Their online support page is pretty much FAQ's.
Mike wilson
Reviewed in Canada on August 29, 2023
This product is awso.e and does everything I need it to
Brent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 13, 2023
I could have or should have bought a cheaper version with all the same features. It didn’t come with the BlueChart maps loaded as advertised.
Cliente
Reviewed in Mexico on December 1, 2023
Excelente equipo y calidad inigualable
Bob Siegel
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2023
This is a well made durable unit. The instructions are very confusing and it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out the process. Read the instructions all the way through before attempting to use it and it may seem a little clearer, go one step at a time.
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