The Magellan eXplorist 500 is designed to go outside.  As such it is important to both hold on to it and to keep the screen from getting too marked up from the inevitable drops, scrapes, and scratches.

The eXplorist did not come with a cord, but it did have a hole for attaching one.  We had a few lanyards in the drawer so we installed one.  We would have preferred the hole to be at the bottom so it would be easier to hold while reading.  With the hole at the top, we would have to rotate the unit from the hanging position around the neck.

To protect the LCD screen from scratches, we decided to use the InvisibleShield.  We have had good experiences with the InvisibleShield for our iPod nano.  The folks at InvisibleShield have a large collection of shields for various GPS.  They had one sized exactly to fit this unit.  If they didn't they would have made a custom one for us at no extra charge... now we couldn't have asked for much more than that!

We had some leftover liquid from one of the iPod shield installations.  It worked perfectly for this application... a few drops were all we need to wet the entire cover.

This InvisibleShield did not extend all the way to the edge, but we do not think it will be a problem.  Since the unit is well sealed, we did not have to worry about the water leaking into the unit.  We made sure it was centered on the screen before wiping off the excess liquid. 

As with the iPod installation, the InvisibleShield for the Magellan had the same small rippled texture on the surface.  The ripple texture lessens once the InvisibleShield had a chance to dry overnight.

The photo on the left is the screen without the InvisibleShield.  We do not find it interfered with the screen in any way. 

We think the InvisibleShield is a small investment that will pay large protection dividends over the life of the GPS unit.  Oh...and the InvisibleShield is guaranteed forever :-)

GPS receivers are amazing devices.  We have had one in our car for many years and have found them to be extremely useful but frustrating at the same time.

The technolgy is fine, but most of the older units had some pretty awful user interfaces.  We were wondering if the handheld unit designed specifically for outdoor activities were any better.

We got the Magellan eXplorist 500 unit as our first test subject.

In this FirstLook review, we'll examine the various physical features of the Magellan eXplorist 500.

In the FirstUse report, we'll take it snowshoeing and let you know how it performed out in the field.

Reviews:

1. First Look

2. InvisibleShield Install

3. First Use

4. In The Wild Report

Review Summary:

Initial Impression-

Usability-

Durability- Test in progress

Price- $500

Related Reviews:

1. Navman iPaq GPS

2. US GlobalSat GPS

3. iPod InvisibleShield Install

4. iPod InvisibleShield Removal

5. iPod InvisibleShield ReInstall