Your Garmin, Your Story ...

We're constantly amazed at the positive feedback we get from people who use our products for just about anything you can imagine. Their stories range from geocaching to surviving life-threatening situations.

Scroll below to read about testimonials for this product and don't forget to check out the amazing testimonials and human interest stories on our Garmin Blog!

View testimonials on Garmin Blog

 

"Thanks for adding MGRS to GPS III® Plus"

You guys (and gals) are GREAT!! When I bought my Garmin® GPS III Plus over a year ago, I was afraid I had gotten the wrong model because I needed MGRS for military activities. I kept the III Plus because of the maps I could use when driving or flying civilian aircraft.

I am in the Texas Army National Guard in a long-range surveillance unit. The mission of this unit is to infiltrate 150 - 300 kilometers behind enemy lines to gather military intelligence and communicate it back to friendly forces. Land navigation is one of our most crucial skills. That far from friendly forces, there's no one to call for directions if you get lost.

For the last year I have had to convert from UTM to MGRS, which is a real pain. I submitted a request some months back asking you to consider adding MGRS to the GPS III Plus. Imagine how pleased I was when I saw that I could download version 2.04 that supports it! You have convinced me that I made the right choice Ñ and rest assured, I give you my highest recommendation for civilian GPS receivers.

Among my duties in the Army, I teach the class on GPS use and navigation, so I have PPS capable (crypto-enabled) units to use alongside yours. I am convinced that Garmin has no peer in civilian units. Students in my class frequently ask me which unit to buy. My favorite low-priced unit for the individual soldier is the GPS 12. My favorite map-capable unit is my very own GPS III Plus. Several people have purchased on my recommendation, and the performance of your units has never embarassed me. They are all very happy.

Our Garmin GPS units perform in all sorts of conditions ranging from barren ground to heavy forest, damp to desert. On Operation Tandem Thrust in Australia, where our U.S. government issued lensatic compasses which did not work because the magnetic North Pole was almost straight underneath us, many of us used our Garmins to help us figure out where we were and where we had to go.

Garmin has also proven their commitment to improving each model and supporting it with software releases every few months. Thank you for continuing to support the GPS III Plus with upgrades. Keep it up!

W.G.

"Back to a safe harbor, thanks to the GPS III Plus"

I purchased a GPS III Plus about 18 months ago and have used it extensively on vacations and various outings. However, I actually had to rely on it for the first time the other day.

My wife and I recently purchased a 19-foot boat and took it out to Newport Beach Harbor in California. I mounted the GPS on the dash and proceded on our boating trip. We had wanted to see how the boat handled the ocean current and tides for future reference on boating trips. It was a very foggy day and visibility was less than 200 yards. So before I got past the harbor inlet, I entered a waypoint for the opening and off we went.

It turned out that the sea was too rough for us that day. I was heading approximately due west and the current was also difting us south. However, I didn't know that. I was too busy watching the swells to notice the drift on the GPS. By the time I decided to turn around, we had gone out about three-fourths of a mile. I turned what I thought was a 180-degree turn and used the GOTO button to get back to the harbor opening. That was when I found out I was also about three-fourths of a mile south. As I said, it was a very foggy day and I couldn't see the coastline.

At first I thought that the GPS was wrong and for about 15 seconds, I headed where I thought I was supossed to go. Then I thought of how pilots don't rely on their instruments and fly into mountains or crash into the sea. So I quickly decided to follow what the GPS was telling me, except with one deviation. This port has two protruding jetties, so I proceeded on a course that took me to a point in the ocean where all I had to do was turn right and go straight toward that harbor inlet. I used the pointer on the map page for this. And that is exactly what it did.

If it wasn't for your GPS, I would have had to call the Coast Guard for assistance and the day could have been a very tragic one. All my wife and I had planned to do that day was try our boat in the ocean and spend a relaxing day cruising the harbor looking at other boats and the homes that line the harbor. Thanks to your wonderful product, the day turned out to be exactly that.

K. W.

"Thanks for adding military grid to GPS III Plus"

Thank you, thank you. I want to believe that my voice alone was finally heard, but I really believe it must have been a great many people asking for MGRS to be added to grid types with the GPS III Plus. You people are great and I really love my III Plus. I can use my unit at work easier now with the addition of MGRS. I use my III Plus for a great variety of things and am always pleased with its simplicity, accuracy, and power conservative nature. Thanks once more.

R.K.

"GPS III Plus makes trip though interior of Brazil"

Just used the GPS III Plus on a 6,200 km trip through the interior of Brazil, near the Bolivian border. We were amazed with the accuracy and detail obtained by downloading maps from the MapSource® CD-ROM. Some of the tracks we took were real dirt roads, almost impassable in anything but a 4x4, yet they showed up on the GPS and the tracking arrow followed the track. Obviously, there were one or two discrepancies, or places where the actual roads aren't where they appear on the GPS, but this rarely happened. We did over 1,000 km on dirt roads, and always knew where we were.

We also used the GPS III Plus in a single-engined Cessna to find our way over the Pantanal and back and to check the roads. When we went around the rivers and creeks in aluminium boats with outboards, we also used the GPS. Everywhere appears the same - same vegetation, same creeks - but some lead somewhere, others are dead-end. We went 35 kms to find some nesting sites, then just did a TracBack® with the highway page, which guided us safely back to base.

The unadvertised improvements which you incorporated into the GPS III Plus are fantastic. I don't know how much other people appreciate them, but I am a "manual reader" and like to get maximum value from my instruments. The GPS III Plus is a marvelous value - you just get so much sophisticated circuitry that I find really easy to use and which presents the information in really usable ways.

Anyway, congratulations on a great little instrument, which was absolutely invaluable.

B.C.

"Sea water and -25 F no sweat for GPS III Plus"

I wanted to let you know what a wonderful, top-performing product you have in the Garmin GPS III Plus. I recently purchased one and took it south to Antarctica for two and a half weeks. The unit worked beautifully, even with exposure to windchill temperatures of -25 degrees F. It also (inadvertently!) got soaked with sea water and still continued to perform without a problem. Thanks again for building such a great and reliable product.

B.C.

"Roadside assistance from GPS III Plus"

I was driving from my newly inherited 101-acre ranch south of Trall, TX, in eastern Williamson County to move from my previous residence in Rush Hill, MO. My auto heater hose broke just north of Miami, OK. I used my new Garmin GPS III Plus to locate myself 1.5 miles east of mile marker 313 on the Will Rogers Turnpike and dialed *55 on my cell phone to get assistance from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Thanks Garmin. I really needed the help.

S.W.

"GPS III Plus is simply amazing"

I recently purchased a Garmin GPS III Plus and am just dropping you a short note to tell you something you already know: This is without a doubt the most amazing instrument I have ever held in my hands.

I realize I haven't owned it long enough to have even begun to put it through all of its capabilities. I am 66 years old and a retired County Sheriff with a high school education, and I am very impressed with the simplicity of operation after reading the very well-composed manual that came with it.

My wife Sandi and I enjoy boating and fishing, and this past summer we spent 82 days on the water with our pontoon boat fishing on over 40 different bodies of water (and one lake in Canada). I don't mind admiting that there were times when we weren't absolutely sure where the boat ramp by which we had entered was located. I am positive now that I won't have that experience in the future with this instrument at my disposal, thanks to Garmin.

In the three days since my purchase, I have demonstrated it to three of my friends and I am sure that two of them will own one within the next few days. I plan to purchase your Roads & Recreation CDs so I can enhance my Garmin unit even more. I suspect that that program will provide me with even more information that I can put to good use during my retirement. After 40 years in law enforcement, I am ready to enjoy my retirement and I believe your product will help me do just that.

R.B.

"Thrilled with GPS III Plus and MapSource"

I am usually one of those people who send e-mails to whine about a product, but since I bought your GPS III Plus and MapSource CD, I have been just thrilled with the operation of the unit and especially the ability to update the software from your web site for free. While most companies try to use software updates to make more money, your use of the Internet to offer free updates and the trouble-free functioning of my GPS unit is the reason I will tell all my friends about your products.

J.B.