Review on 🌐 Cobra GPS 100: 1.1 Inch Navigator - Compact, Accurate GPS Navigation Device by Aaron Ward

Let me start by saying that I'm not the type of GPS user who expects a signal everywhere. After all, these satellites fly many miles above Earth in space! While I expect to lose signals from time to time, I don't expect to never get them. My device had some problems when it first received satellites. The instructions say 50 seconds but I waited a good 5 minutes. The manual also says it shouldn't take more than 35 seconds to receive a signal when cold, or 20 seconds when warm. I waited several minutes each time I turned it on. When I actually got the signal, the data seemed very garbled. I walked 30 feet in my flat backyard and was told I had fallen over 20 feet. Lost signal quite often. Then, after about 5 minutes, the device hung. Like a computer. The entire block is frozen, the backlight is on, and there is a huge bar on the screen. No matter what key I pressed, the screen didn't change. So I tried turning it off, but even the power button wouldn't turn it off. I had to take out the batteries. Okay, newbie unlucky. I reinstalled the batteries (which were new at the time!) and tried again. After waiting 5 minutes for reception, the device hung up again, just like 20 minutes before. I decided then and there to return it. If this thing is having trouble finding a signal, let alone failing, then I can't trust it to get where I need it in the backcountry. To be honest, I tested the device on a calm, slightly cloudy night with temperatures hovering in the 40s F. I think those would be good test conditions for any device. I returned it to a Garmin eTrex Venture for a few bucks more and am very happy with it. It even held a signal in the same conditions I tested the Cobra GPS 100 in. My advice is to choose a brand that you trust, like Garmin or Magellan.