The Quest series has always been a versatile navigator for nearly any outdoor pursuit, and preloaded detailed road maps of all of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico make the Quest 2 even more popular to people looking for a small, yet full-featured, GPS device.The Quest 2 features auto-routable, turn-by-turn, voice-prompted navigation with automatic off-route and detour recalculation. With the brilliant 256-color backlit TFT display, the Quest 2 is easy to read in any light. This waterproof unit also has a rechargeable internal lithium-ion battery that provides up to 20 hours of use.The Quest 2 comes pre-loaded with City Select North America NT, which features full coverage of the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico - including nearly six million points of interest like gas stations, ATMs, hotels, restaurants, and attractions. The Quest 2 also accepts optional MapSource cartography like U.S. Topo, U.S. Recreational Lakes with Fishing Hot Spots , and BlueChart.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Garmin Quest2
Comment: This my third Garmin GPS. All have worked very well. Replaced first two with the Quest2 because couldn't upgrade their internal maps. Quest2 can be used in a vehicle or hand held with topo maps. Good replacement for older models
Customer Rating: Summary: Beware: Buying a Re-furbished unit: You need to buy the map update....
Comment: If you buy a re-furbished unit, you get the map that was on there (mine is from '06), and you DO have to pay for the map updates. (You do get operating system updates for free.)
I had been reading the reviews to determine whether to buy a re-furbished unit or not. My concern was that the maps would be out of date. There was one reviewer who indicated he had bought a re-furbished unit and Garmin did give him the map update for free after he proved he bought it. Well, when I contacted them, they said no, that only certain products have a new map guarantee and that's only for 60 days. I did buy the map update from Garmin, figuring even with that added cost, it's still less then a new unit (Which I assume would come with the latest maps.)
This is my first GPS unit, so I have noting to compare to. I wanted something I could use on the trail, on a boat, and in a car, and is portable so I can take it on trips and use it in rental cars. This unit seemed to fit the bill (for the price). I was concerned about the size of the display for in a car, but once I mounted it to the windshield, I was surprised at how clear I could see all the information and it zooms in when you need to make a turn. You can customize what is displayed and I noticed the speaker only works if it is plugged into a power source, not just connected to the unit. Also note that you need a DVD reader on your PC to load the software. I also went in and de-activated all the states that I wont be going to for now. And it does speed up things. ( It would be nice if it had a cancel function once you see the item of interest when it is searching, or have a limit to the search ( like say within 1,5 or 10 miles). Also, you just have to play with it to figure out how to get to the various functions.
Well, I update the latest map onto my unit, and found that the new maps ('09) must be bigger then the internal memory can hold, as you are given the load option of Canada and the boardering states, East side of Canada and the US, the west side of Canada and the US, or just the US. Since I live in the Mid west, and go to Ontario the odd time, I picked that side. (I figure I can re-load the west if I ever travel out there).
After the maps were re-loaded, and I selected a pre-entered route, it came back and said it has to re-calculate. I suggest you erase the old routes, and redo them (your POI are still kept). Once it re-calculated the routes, the routes selected were much better. I already have all my destinations entered for my summer trips.
As far as a case for the unit, I found a kodak camera pouch which fits the unit snuggly and protects the screen. You just flip open the cover, and slide it out. $7.00 at walli-world Vs $29 for the Garmin one.
Having used it for a few trips, it was nice that it would adjust your expected arrival time as you went along depending on speed.
I should also say, other reviews talked about the unit freezing up. Well the manual talks about that, and the key sequence to reset the unit. (I guess they took that from the PC).
Now with the new maps installed, it has not directed me wrong. I love the unit.
Customer Rating: Summary: Great GPS
Comment: I've had my Quest 2 for two years. Its slow to boot up, but thats the only draw back. When we were outside Plains Ga on a lonly dark road, we were amazed that the driveways we passed showed on the screen. We've taken it with us on many vacations and never had a problem. Its very acurate. The battery life is long. We've taken it on the Harley and stays charged for almost 8 hours. Its been dropped and the antenna broke off. I taped it back together (looks like crap) and the thing still works like a dream. My wife bought a Garmin Nuvi 650, and offered to get me one. No chance, the Quest is a sturdy acurate GPS and I won't give mine up. To own one is to appreciate it, If you have a car and a motorcycle, this is the GPS to buy.
Customer Rating: Summary: Motorcycle application
Comment: I have used other hand held GPS units and this one works well if you don't mind a lot of button crunching to load a route. Using the CD and loading routes with your PC is much easier.
I can see the screen well enough with the unit mounted on my bars just off of center to the left. The mount (sold seperately) is simple and holds the unit surprisingly secure. I used the find function for directions and found what I was looking for the first time. You have to take the map data with a grain of salt. I used the same function (find) and reviewed the listings in my home town and several of the establishments are no longer in business.
For the price I am very pleased with this GPS.
Customer Rating: Summary: Review Written in 2008, an honest one..
Comment: I had this well over 2 years now. At the time of the purchase, it was like the best thing to have. Now it is 2008 where there are many more GPS units to compare it againt. This would be at the bottom of the list. I notice some reviews are written 2005. That is 3 years ago. You know how fast electronics change.
I have traveled quite a bit and rented quite a bit of GPS units along with the rental cars, Philly, NYC, L.A., Pittsburg, Atlanta, Maryland, Washington DC, Charlotte, NC...... This unit is almost useless in metropolitan area. Good luck using it in NYC. It couldn't even keep up with me on foot. Try it yourself.
It constantly loses signal in the city with high rises and the rerouting takes forever when you are driving. If you miss the original route, it will try to recalculate from that point on but since it takes forever, you would be driving away from the initial predicted route so by the time it finishes calculating, it needs to recalculate again with your current position. Unless you are stopped, you would have driven a few miles before getting a good route.
However, I found it quite reliable in the suburban area like Charlotte, NC where there aren't many grids of roads like other major metropolitan area. I am guessing it does not clutter up the processor of the GPS when it is rerouting since there are only a few routes to consider.
Another positive note about this unit is, the battery life is considerably high. I have used it like 13 hours straight and it still had some juice left. IIRC, they advertise some 20 hour battery life per charge, but I didn't believe that. I think 13 hours straight was pretty impressive.
I was impressed when I got it a couple of years ago because it was like one of the few available at the time, but the time has changed, there are so many GPSs out there cheaper than QuestII and outperform it in every aspects. I am getting something else.
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