The following suggestions are based on 60 years of mountaineering experience under often harsh conditions in Iceland. Two basic GPS functions are of paramount importance for secure return from a mountain; failsafe track recording and confident marking of critical points.
1) Stopping track recording accidentally is far too easy. Pressing the ENTER button twice on any of the most used pages, MAP, COMPASS, TRIP COMPUTER or ALTIMETER does that. Think of icy conditions, mittens, and inferior visibility.
Suggested remedy: Insert an extra step, requiring deliberate selection, like that required to turn off Iridium tracking under “Tracking” in the Main Menu. After all, stopping recording also turns off Iridium tracking! Why bypass the safety measure?
2) The GPSMAP 66i Owner´s Manual explains the function of the MARK button thus: “Select to save your current location as a waypoint”. Likewise in the “Creating a Waypoint” section. There is no warning that instead of current location, cursor location on the map at the time will be saved if the cursor is active (white arrow visible)! A frequent situation.
Suggested remedy: Make the MARK button always save current location. Move the creation of waypoint at cursor location under the MENU button, same place as Measuring Distance and verified by pressing ENTER.
Any comments?
