Garmin GPSMAP 66i, GPS Handheld and Satellite Communicator, Featuring

9 reviews for Garmin GPSMAP 66i, GPS Handheld and Satellite Communicator, Featuring

1. 

   Rich S. – 8 January 2025

   Great handheld for outdoors exploration and safety
   I replaced my old Oregon for the 66i after wanting something that had sat communication ability. My wife and I are planning to hike and camp in remote areas, and being that we are older, wanted a way to communicate with rescue personnel should things take a turn for the worse. The satellite acquisition of the unit is fast- as is typical of Garmin devices. Although text delivery is nowhere near LTE or even 3G fast, it gets the job done regardless. In a populated area, I sent an SMS to one of my contacts and it took about 5 minutes to deliver. The unit works very well with the Garmin Explore application, and adding tracks and waypoints is a piece of cake. Very happy with this device.

2. 

   L Sanchez – 8 January 2025

   It works great!
   This device is exactly what I was looking for and it works great. Good price for an excellent product. Texting works well. As any other satellite connection, it takes a few minutes to transmit.

3. 

   Avid DIYer – 8 January 2025

   Wonderful piece of mind, great for hiking and UTV riding.
   We bought this because we often get where there is no cell coverage and we have only one UTV. Easy to read in the sun. Happily suggest the Garmin Powered Mount if you want to use it while driving a UTV and keeps it charged.

4. 

   Amazon Customer – 8 January 2025

   Defective product
   Product was defective would not stay on unless plugged in despite being fully charged. Don’t waste your money on a refurbished unit buy new!

5. 

   ZaneW – 8 January 2025

   Expected much better…
   I bought this as an upgrade and gave my Wife my old explorer + to use. We finally got to take our yearly trip to Alaska and I really wish I would have just bought another explorer +. Some people may like the abundance of features om this newer model, but for me it’s way too cluttered. The apps are also more complicated than earthmate. Now onto the bigger issues I have.- It takes FOREVER to send and receive messages. I get that it’s a satelite communicator and its not instant. But my explorer + would send messages in under a minute. This new model can take 10-15 minutes under the same conditions.- The map SUCKS. It’s super difficult to read and understand compared to my old explorer +.- The app can be buggy. The map on the communicator shows my position correctly. However the app is showing me 10 miles away where I was yesterday.- Battery life is much worse even with tracking off. I would understand shorter battery life on a larger screen. But man my explorer + lasts about 2 days longer.I wish I could return it and just buy another explorer +. But I’m probably way past that 6 months later.

6. 

   Amazon Customer – 8 January 2025

   Very unreliable in forest and in areas with swamps
   I live in Norway in an area with dense forest and swamps. I have tested it in the forest for 4 months, and my conclusion that it is very, very unreliable in dense forest. In the vicinity of swamps the gps will go berserk, its compass will turn wildly from 0 degrees to 90 and even 180 degrees. The arrow showing in which direction to go is also floating continually. This is a dangerous tool in the forest. I got totally lost 3 times. Twice I got saved by map and compass. The third time I did not have a map. I had to take a known trail to open road. If this had been in winter, I would have had to call the emergency services. This gps works well in:- open landscape and open roads- the mountainsBut STAY AWAY from it if you spend a lot of time in the forest, and especially if you don’t know the area. It is a crying shame that Garmin puts on the market a gps that cannot perform in the forest….This gps does not have 10 % of the reliability of map and compass.

7. 

   C Morrison – 8 January 2025

   Barely worked
   I bought all the Garmin subscriptions and I still barely got to use this as the GPS and satellite services were pretty much non-accessible my entire camping trip (only 10 miles outside the closest town). Even my satellite texts took forever to go through, if they did at all. If I needed this in an emergency situation, I would be extremely worried!! This tech is 90’s – early 2000’s, is extremely buggy and awkward…. and the satellite services connecting it are unreliable.

8. 

   Pavel – 8 January 2025

   Very useful
   I like Garmin products, and I bought to my father who lives on other side pf worlds, and it works perfectly, can recommend for traveling

9. 

   Lucien – 8 January 2025

   *****