Review: Magellan Triton 2000

Given the crowded market for a hiking GPS these days, we figured we’d give a few of them a field test. The first model we’re reviewing is the oldest of the group, the Magellan Triton 2000.

When Magellan introduced the Triton series in 2007, the company forever revolutionized the hiking GPS world. The Triton was the first touch screen GPS to use USGS topographic maps (The Delorme PN-20 was out prior, but isn’t touchscreen). This provided a huge increase in detail available to the hiker. As an added bonus, your GPS would match up exactly with the USGS topographic map in your hand.

Unfortunately, the company released the units a bit early and lost some credibility in the marketplace due to missing cables and firmware issues for the first 6 months or so after it had been released. Thankfully, the bugs have generally been ironed out by this point and the driver issues have been resolved.

The hardware on this device is very slick. Buttons are easy to push and navigation through the software is an easy affair. While you can use your finger for the touch screen, a stylus is provided with the unit (and several spares). On our four day, 40 mile test of the Triton we experienced a single software crash that required a restart of the device. Other than that, the device performed flawlessly. Without trying to conserve the batteries, a fresh set would last us an entire day before we had to change them. The backlight was bright enough to see in full daylight and would dim after 10-15 seconds without use to save the batteries.

Getting a GPS lock takes a bit longer than some of the newer GPS models due to the unit’s SiRF Star III chipset. Once the Triton is locked on however, it maintained a full GPS lock even through a fairly thick canopy. The Triton 2000 we tested also included a flashlight and a 2 megapixel camera. Since we had other digital cameras with us, we didn’t take too many pictures with the Triton, but it was a handy backup on the off chance that our cameras broke. Picture quality was a bit better than the average cell phone camera. That is to say, it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible.

The main problem I have with the unit is the maps that come with the device. The included base map is virtually useless in any situation. As you can see from the screenshot in this article, none of the islands in Puget sound are even on the included basemap. There is a way to replace the basemap with a better version from another model of Magellan GPS, which does significantly improve matters. However, no topographic data is included. What this means is that you must either make your own maps to upload to the Triton or buy the National Geographic maps for your state at an additional $99. Seeing as this is where the unit really shines, it should be taken into account when comparing GPS models.

With the National Geographic maps, everything changes on the Triton. Getting the software up and running takes a bit of effort, but the resulting maps are extremely detailed and very easy to navigate. This is exactly what a good GPS should be. The maps on my GPS match up exactly with the maps in my hand, making long distance planning a snap. You can easily track where you have been and a myriad of other statistics about your trip that you may or may not care about.

Overall we liked this unit, but wished it came with better maps included. Once we finally got a working copy of the Triton and setup the maps, it was a very good experience. Getting the Triton to that working state did take a bit more effort than the competition, but it’s still a decent GPS. The Triton 2000 has a MSRP of $399.99. If you don’t need the camera, the 1500 might be a better fit at $299.99. However, don’t forget to include the added National Geographic maps for an additional $99 per state.