Yes, it’s technically a dash cam. And, yes, you can put it in your car to keep a video record of your drives, ensuring you have something that can help expedite your dealings with courts and insurance companies in the event of accidents. However, the Magellan TRX7 CS isn’t designed to permanently sit in your everyday car, as the darn thing is intended as a proper navigator for your off-road adventures.
For dash cam use, the device can take both stills and videos using a 5-megapixel sensor, allowing you to capture the scene out front whether you’re driving in city streets or backcountry trails. It’s got a LED flash, too, so you can take good-looking pictures even without the most ideal lighting. Do note, Magellan didn’t list the video resolution it manages to capture, so it probably won’t be a proper replacement for a GoPro if you care about video quality.
The Magellan TRX7 CS comes with a GPS navigator, same as many dash cams currently in the market, which you can access via the 7-inch touchscreen on the back panel. Unlike regular dash cams, however, it comes preloaded with over 100,000 OHV (off-highway vehicle) routes that you can use to find your way around backcountries and less-traveled paths. It also has access to Magellan’s community database of user-generated tracks, ensuring you’re likely to get functional turn-by-turn directions no matter which patch of mountain, desert, or swampland you find yourself in.
During driving, it can display high-resolution map imagery (only for the US and Canada) of the trail you’re exploring, so you can see exactly where you are at any time. Both 2D and 3D basemaps are available, so you can use whichever one you find more useful. For saving waypoints, you only need to tap twice on a section of the map, so you can keep your attention on the driving path. Once you’re stopped, you can return to the waypoints you marked and add any details you think will be helpful, like giving it a name, adding a description, or attaching a photo.
While designed to mount on car dashboards, the Magellan TRX7 CS can also be mounted onto ATVs, motorcycles, and snowmobiles, so you don’t have be stuck on your truck the entire off-road journey. That means, you can take get turn-by-turn directions everywhere on the trail, even in areas that are only accessible to smaller off-road vehicles.
Since there’s a good chance it will be exposed to the elements, the device is housed in a ruggedized enclosure that’s waterproof and dustproof, all while shrugging drops and shock like a stud, so you don’t have to worry about wrecking it the first time your ATV turns over. It comes with 16GB of storage, although you can add an SD card for longer recording times. Do note, the battery can only keep it running for up to eight hours, so you’ll definitely need a power bank on hand to juice up whenever needed.
Available now, the Magellan TRX7 CS is priced at $750.