| Products Electronics & Photo GPS Handheld Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx | Satisfaction | Experience | |
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| Name | Date | Helpfulness | Review | Overall satisfaction | Ease of use | Quality of Manufacture | Durability | more... |
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| Amazon.com customer | 2008-01-02 | | FANTASTIC Device, But Be Prepared to Buy Map Chip | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Shortly after I bought this (before it arrived) I began to suffer buyer's remorse; I started thinking this was just an expensive toy and a waste of money. But after receiving it [and the North American detailed street maps chip (another $160)] I don't regret a single penny spent. It's great for mapping (showing a route, down to the foot, you've taken) so you can backtrack and not get lost while hiking. And, with the North American street maps microSD Data card, I travel to new destinations stress-free now. With the detailed street map chip, it gives driving directions as well as any automotive gps with the exception that the 60CSx doesn't give voiced instructions and, of course, the screen is smaller. And it'll show all the restaurants (or gas stations, atms, etc) near my location and sorts them according to distance. This comes in handy when you're in an unfamiliar area and need a Starbucks STAT. I know, this is starting to be a review of the Maps microSD Data chip/card, but I think anyone buying this unit should definitely invest in the extra chip, too. Doing so makes the unit many times more useful. Regarding battery usage, it has accomodations for both alkaline and lithium batteries (supposedly lithium batteries have more energy than alkalines and can cause problems with some electronic devices). And I find that the 20 hour battery life is accurate as long as you don't use the backlight too much. When I first got this, I was playing with it all the time, using the back light and got about 10 hours on Duracell Ultra alkaline batteries. It also has other cool features like the ability to tell you the exact location (current or any time in the future) of the sun or moon. How cool would it be to know where the shade will be when you get out of that Phoenix movie theatre and have your car already parked there, in a spot that was blazing hot two hours earlier? Knowing the exact time the sun will set or rise can come in handy, too. When I first got it, I didn't care for the economy of buttons on the device. But after using it almost daily for two weeks now I appreciate that I can effectively operate the unit with one hand because of the smart design/layout of the buttons. I'd also invest twenty bucks in a protective case. The case is nicely designed with very good functionality allowing you to clearly see the screen and operate the buttons through a thick, tough, transparent barrier. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-09-23 | | My thoughts on the 60csx | 8 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Earlier in the summer I made the plunge and purchased a hand held GPS unit. I researched for a couple of weeks. Using the internet of course and also asking friends who are or were familiar with units as civilians, law enforcement as well as a couple of former soldiers. Garmin was the brand that most of the guys came up with. Various units were discuss and after considerable time weighing the advantages and disadvantages of various models I made my decision. I purchased a Garmin 60csx. Once I had the unit I dove into the manual to learn the nuances of the device. GPS units are pretty amazing technology. I even delved into the different satellites that are in orbit and how they work. Here's some advice on buying a unit. First you need to ask yourself these questions. 1. What do you want the device for? Do you only need a car unit? Do you plan to do anything off-road (hiking, camping, mountain biking, trail running) etc... Probably the most important consideration. 2. What's your budget? That's the second big issue because buying the unit itself is just the beginning. More on that below. 3. How small of a unit do you need? More than a shirt pocket size? A significant issue as the antenna on or in the unit plays a very significant role to the accuracy. For me I wanted something to use in the car and more importantly on the trail, in the woods. That lead me to look at accuracy issues with the cheaper models in wooded (under the canopy of trees) areas. The cheaper models just do not cut it when you go into the woods. The primary reason I chose the Garmin 60csx is because it is a WAAS compatible unit and it has the SiRF Star III chip set. Two critical systems that give you faster response from the GPS satellites and allow the signals to be captured by your unit under forest canopy. I can even pull signals inside my house and office if I'm close to a window. That's pretty impressive. I've gotten accuracy readings outdoors down to +/-9 ft. The 60csx is the same unit as the 60cx but it adds an electronic compass and a barometric altimeter (won't work in a pressurized airline cabin). Why not get all the bells and whistles when it adds just $20 to the unit? I generally leave the compass off to save battery power in the woods. I use my trusty analog compass I've had since the 70's. It doesn't need batteries and is proven reliable. I also won't go off the paths without a paper topo map. Navigational redundancy is a survival issue. Here's the deal you don't want to find out after the fact. Buying a $300 unit is just the beginning. The built in maps are very very basic. If you want updated road maps with listings like hospitals, restaurants, gas stations, banks etc... otherwise referred to as POI (points of interest) you'll have to spend another $120 for Garmin's proprietary software called City Navigator 2008 (North America in my case). Only Garmin's software will work on their units. To install the software you have to register the software and it is "keyed" to your unit. Antipiracy is the name of that game. Luckily, in my research I found out that CN 2008 was to be released about a month after I bought my unit. Knowing that in front saved me from buying the soon to be outdated V8 of that software. The other issue is memory capacity. My unit came with a 128MB Micro SD memory card. Certainly not enough to hold all the maps I wanted. I purchased a 2GB card ($20) via a friend which saved me a few bucks. Another tip on software. If you plan to do any land navigation and want topography maps again you'll have to buy Garmin's software. For serious hikers and navigators, you'll want to avoid Garmin Topo 2008. While it covers the entire country the aspect ratio of the maps is only 1:100. If you're used to USGS maps you'll know that you really want 1:24 maps. That said you have to settle for Garmin's National Parks maps. Which is fine with me. I bought the National Parks Topo 24 Eastcoast. A couple of final points regarding maps. I linked you to the NT version of City Navigator 2008. There are two versions of this map. The map data is the same. The NT version has a greater compression rate allowing you to put more or all of the maps onto your memory chip. BUT, the NT software is only compatible on certain units, so if you can use it, buy it. When you get ready to load your maps onto your unit make sure you pick all the maps you want at one time. Each time you load maps onto the memory card you wipe out the previous maps that were loaded (except for the unit's base maps). That said. I have all of the continental US road maps from CN 2008 NT as well as AL, GA, NC and SC National Parks Topo maps loaded on the 2GB card with about 250MB to spare in memory. Not bad! I don't have to worry about changing memory cards etc.... I could go into greater detail about what I've learned but I'll recap a couple of things. 1. Research what you want. There's a lot to know about GPS before buying. Do your homework. 2. Factor in that you'll probably spend close to an additional $200 just for mapping software. 3. Spending doesn't stop there. DC power cord for long road trips. Dash mount, bike handlebar mounts, batteries (more on batteries later). So figure on probably another $50-$100 for all the goodies you'll want. 4. Get something to keep the unit in to protect it. I also recommend something to protect the screen from being scratched. Invisible Shield is supposed to be the hot set up. I had a packet of PDA screen savers laying around that I use on my PDA, iPod, Shot timer and cellphone screens that so far fits the bill. What starts as a $300 purchase quickly turns into $500+. I'm not one to skimp on quality when it comes to good kit. ;)
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| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
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| | | | | | | Shopzilla customer | 2007-09-14 | | Garmin 60CSx - Good value | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | PRO: Intuitive interface, bright screen, satellite acquisition CON: screen rather small for driving applications | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Shopzilla customer | 2007-08-25 | | Just get one !!! | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | PRO: Easy to use, powerful, accurate. CON: Can't think of any! | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-08-13 | | Reliability in the palm of your hand! | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I have owned a lot of hand held GPS units in the past 15 years, starting with Trimble, Nexus, Magellan and many Garmin units. I used these for recreation but wanted to use them for search and rescue. I am a paid Captain with a fire department in Western North Carolina that does lots of searches in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Because of our steep, deep and heavily vegetated terrain, no GPS has been more than another navigation aid to confirm basic map and compass locations. (Don't get me started on how important map and compass skills are; you simply have to have them.) That was true until I spent the $300.00 for a Garmin 60 CSx. This unit works like a charm and so far I have never lost a signal for more than two minutes when on foot. I can throw this unit in my pack or side pocket of my pants and still pull in 6-9 satellites, for that matter I receive 5-6 in my office at the fire department! Add a 1GB memory card and the 1:100,000 topo maps from Map Source and the GPS is a great tool for any outdoor endeavor. I have most of the east coast loaded on my one card. The altimeter is as accurate as any GPS I have used and the electronic compass is a very useful upgrade. The screens can be customized as needed and for those of us who use 1:24000 topo maps, the 60 CSx will allow you to display UTM coordinates on the same screen as Latitude / Longitude so we can call in aircraft or boats as needed, eliminating having to convert between the two. The symbols library is very Emergency Service friendly with ICS symbols as well as tons of other markers for waypoints and routes. Battery life is great and the backlight works wonderfully as well. Overall this is a huge improvement over the earlier generations of GPS handhelds. My two wishes are for a true fitted custom case to mount on a backpack, and for map software compatibility with Maptech or Topo! State series using 1:24000 scale digital maps. Folks, this is the best money I have spent in a long time on a piece of outdoor gear.
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Shopzilla customer | 2007-07-18 | | Expensive but worth it | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | PRO: Excellent accuracy, Magnetic compass CON: Having to calibrate compass frequently | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-06-19 | | GPS60csx | 8 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Awesome product. Very happy with the screen size (it's larger than my buddies Etrex Vista but the overall dimensions are quite similar.) SIRF chipset kept me locked on even in the fairly dense pines of northern Arizona during last weeks camping/geocaching trip. Most times it was locked on 9 or 10 satellites. My only complaint is one I new about going in...this is a 'two handed' unit as the navigation buttons are located way at the bottom. The larger screen size more than makes up for this imo, I only mention it because I need a reason to not give it 5 stars, that to me would mean it's perfect and few things are. Other notes: Know what you are buying! Don't be shocked that it doesn't come pre-loaded with City Navigator like most car based units. Know that you must use Garmin Topo software if you want to load (and of course view) topo maps on your gps. Know that the barometric altimeter is affected by pressure, therefore having the car windows up/down or blower running will affect it's reading. Know that the electronic compass is affected by metallic and magnetic objects at close range. But hey! When moving, the unit uses (by default) the gps coordinates to track heading and this is a handheld/outdoor type use of product so when standing still in the woods trying to find direction at least you CAN USE the compass WITHOUT having to walk around trying to get the compass to update. This is really nice for geocaching as well. Long story slightly short: I am quite pleased and highly recommend this unit for those who want a handheld gps. Now if only Garmin would put out some top notch US topo software..........ahhh, gps life would be good. I know National Geographic, Maptech and others have great USGS based software but of course you can't upload these maps and even if you could they probably wouldn't be of great use on a 2 inch screen. For those who want to download waypoints and track logs and then view/share/map out/print your hikes/bikes and whatnot, get one of these 3rd party options, they are great, just not what I want. Bottom line: If this is in your price range then stop fooling around and just go buy it! It's great! | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-05-14 | | Great unit, but do your homework! | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | This is without a doubt the best handheld GPS unit on the market today. The SIRF III chipset is far more sensitive that other receivers. I started with a Garmin eTrex Vista unit that was very good, but it lost its signal lock under almost any forest canopy, and in any deep canyon. That's why I upgraded to the 60 Csx. It gets far better reception in the woods, which is important for hiking and geocaching. Be aware, though, that the unit does not come with maps! There is a built-in base map, but its usefullness is limited. You will need to buy Garmin maps to use the unit. There are two types of maps; street maps and topo maps. For hiking and geocaching, you will want to use topo maps. I recommend the 1:100K set, which covers the entire US. For National Park hiking, get the 1:24K National Parks set. The 1:24K maps show hiking trails, but the 1:100K sets do not. These are primarily topographical maps, not trail maps. Keep in mind that only Garmin's map products can be downloaded to the 60 Csx. You can't download other digital maps (such as those from topozone.com or National Geographic)to the unit. That's true of all Garmin units and, as far as I know, all other recreational GPS manufacturers take the same approach--their units take only their maps. That means you are locking yourself into a brand when you purchase a unit. That's not a problem if you do your homework. So, before you buy, go to the Garmin site and check out their maps to determine whether they have the detail you expect. Then price the sets you want, and add them to the cost of the GPS unit. *That's* the total cost of your GPS. If you don't want to get locked in to proprietary map sets, then don't buy the GPS unit! As to the street maps, I don't recommend them. The 60 Csx is a great open country navigator, but it's not a very good automobile navigator. For one thing, it doesn't provide voice directions. For another thing, I think the screen is too small. Garmin street maps ave very pricey, and I understand that most (if not all) are 'locked' to a specific GPS unit (that's not true of the topo maps). So, if you upgrade your hardware, you may need to purchase the same set of maps again! If you want automobile navigation, I'd recommend getting a dedicated unit with its own built-in maps. In short, the Garmin 60 Csx is the best unit available for hiking, off-road biking, and geocaching. You can expect about six meter accuracy under most conditions, which is very good for a recreational GPS unit. Anyone who claims better accuracy than that is pulling your leg--that much error is inherent in the GPS system. So, if your need is for hiking or geocaching (like me) or off-road biking (like other reviewers), you will be very pleased with the Garmin 60 Csx, so long as you understand what you are buying when you make your purchase. As far as I can tell, the negative reviewers simply failed to do that. Happy hiking and caching! | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-03-25 | | Excellence Has Its Price | 8 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | The 60CSx is a very sophisticated GPS that, while its looks may be intimidating to the novice, is fairly easy to learn. This due in a large part to the manual that comes with the unit. Garmin does a very good job of walking a first time user through the basics of setting up the GPS, learning basic navigation with the unit and letting you know how to change features to your liking. If you previously owned another Garmin with mapping capabilities, you will only need to adjust to where the control buttons are as the menu structure is very similar to the rest of the series. In addition to the manual, the 60CSx comes with a lanyard, a USB cable to connect the GPS to a computer and Trip and Waypoint manager, the software that enables you to pass information between your computer and the GPS. The display screen is nicely sized for a handheld GPS. With the proper maps, more on that shortly, this will make a very good vehicle navigation aid as well as a hiking / geocaching unit. The 60CSx features inputs on the back if you wish to install an external antenna on your vehicle for added sensitivity. Personally, I feel no need to do this, but if you use this receiver frequently in your car, an external antenna may be an option for you to consider. The 60CSx is larger than the more popular eTrex series, but it is still very portable. An external antenna housing is the reason for this increase in length. This antenna is not just for appearance, it does make a difference in reception over the eTrex series. Internally, the unit boasts of having the SiRF chipset. I don't know what the acronym stands for, but I will say this GPS has a much better ability to lock onto satellites and hold the lock than my previous Vista Cx did. The 60CSx far less bothered by overhanging branches on the trail or overhead bridges and short tunnels than my Vista Cx was. As with most other GPS receivers, the unit only comes with a relatively sparse base map burned into the circuitry. It is still fully functional, right out of the box, but you may be missing some details for navigation. Like other units in the "x" series, the 60CSx makes use of a MicroSD card to store additional mapping information. Additional maps, either the CityNavigator series for vehicle navigation or topographical maps may be easily sent to the GPS via supplied USB cable to fill in the blank spots on the base map. You may load both types of maps, but only one can be visible at a time. The unit comes with a 64MB chip. The chip may be replaced with a larger capacity one for storing more information. 64MB is adequate for storing a fairly good sized area of topo map information, but if you are planning an extended road trip, road maps will eat up a lot of space. Changing the chip is easy, but accessing it a little inconvenient as the batteries must be removed to do this. While this is mildly annoying, it is not something that needs to be done frequently, especially if you get a very large MicroSD card. If you get the 2 GB card, you can fit the entire CityNavigator North America onto the single chip and still have room left over for several states worth of topographic maps. Then you don't need to change the card out when travelling. The alternative to a larger capacity MicroSD card is taking a laptop when you travel and updating the navigation maps appropriate to where you are. After using this GPS for a few weeks both in the field and on the road, I have a hard time finding flaws with it. If I hadn't previously owned the Vista Cx, I'd give this a full five stars across the board. I feel I can only give this unit four stars for value because of the price difference between the 60CSx and the Vista Cx. Yes, the 60CSx is superior, but the cost of the base unit is about what you would expect to pay for the Vista Cx with either City Navigator or a topographical Map set. In comparison, I found the Vista Cx to be extremely reliable and accurate enough for my hiking, geocaching and vehicle navigation needs. Does mean I think the 60CSx is not worth the extra cost? I'll answer with a qualified "No, it is very much worth the cost". I think the extra cost is justified as you are getting observably improved performance. Using the 60CSx is every bit as easy as the Vista Cx, so it is suitable for a beginner, but the extra price may make it better suited to someone with a little experience looking for a worthwhile upgrade.
| Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-02-15 | | HOLD IT UP! | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I have had this unit for about two weeks. At first it tended to drift, get a bad signal and drift. I discovered something very interesting about the use of this unit. Hold this unit at a 45-90 degree angel and the reception improves greatly. Now it gets nine foot accuracy all the time, when I average a position I can get it to improve instead of jumping around. Apparently (according to my father who was an Electronic Warfare specialist) antennae can be polorized based on the expected use, some for holding level others like this one get a better reading pointed up. In the Garmin manual it actually says this. My father says you should get somewhere around 50% better accuracy then when it is missaligned. I have found this to be true. Now I get excellent fast locks and dead on bearing. Personaly I think this unit can get better then +/- 3 meters in good conditions. I have never had this unit get worse then 45 feet +/- when I could get a lock. I think most bad reviews are based the understandable habit of holding it horizontal and looking down at the unit. Hold it straight up and it works better then advertized. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-02-08 | | Simply Amazing with the additional software | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I bought this as a tool mainly to measure property, but my wife and I have quickly found it indispensible for travel. (1) It is very easy to use. Both I (a gadget nut) and my wife (gadget averse) found it intuitive and mastered it on our first trip. (2) If you buy the software, AND you buy a one-GB smart card for it (it comes with a small smart card), you can load detail maps of over half of North American into it AND upload found waypoints (that campsite up on the lake) back to your maps on your computer. That is plenty for most of our driving trips. (3) With the included Waypoint software and with the additional mapping software, computer synchronization is a breeze -- at least if you have Windows XP Pro. This is important because it is so easy to lay out a route with multiple waypoints using your computer. (4) It finds satellites quickly and reliably in deep woods and even in most residential buildings. (5) While it is ideal for using in hiking, biking, etc., it does make a decent automobile navigational device. We did not notice a need for any additional antenna. Of course -- it does not TALK to you, but it does give you turn by turn directions and plenty of notice (via beeps) as you approach your turns. (6) We own a couple of other GPS devices, and this one is far more accurate. (7) It is very rugged -- we did not get a case for it, but it doesn't seem to need one by design -- it comes with a belt clip. If you are using it heavily -- especially with the backlite, it can eat batteries (10 hours or a little less on recharegeables), so I would recommend rechargeable batteries and also getting the auto charger. It will power itself from your computer's USB port as well. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-01-31 | | Can't go wrong with this one! | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Let me start by saying there is no perfect GPS. I don't care whether you go Garmin, Lowrance, or Magellan, none of them will be perfect. But the 60CSx comes close enough to make me one happy user. I use it while driving as well as for geocaching and hiking in the woods. I use City Navigator North America NT version 8 for street navigation, and it works very well. The basemap that comes with the unit is junk and you won't want to use it for driving, so the City Navigator software is a mandatory purchase if you want to use this for turn-by-turn street navigation. The 64MB MicroSD card included with the 60CSx is way too small. Spend $20 and get a 1GB card; that will hold maps of the whole USA rather than just 1 or 2 states. The unit's reception is outstanding; I've repeatedly had a sat lock in the basement of my ranch-style home. Older GPS units can't do that, but the Sirf III chip in this unit makes it possible. Locking onto the sat signal is fast and reliable with the 60CSx, and tree cover isn't an issue. This unit is pricy, and if you don't need the altimeter and compass the 60Cx might be a better, less expensive choice. The 60CSx won't give spoken directions like dedicated dashboard units will -- it uses "beeps" instead. The sounds that tell you when to turn are sometimes easy to miss if you have the radio cranked up, and one common complaint is that the turn warning beep doesn't always come far enough in advance. Fortunately, if you do overshoot your turn the unit will automatically re-calculate the route to get you back on track. Battery life is very good, about 18 hours on a set of alkalines. One great thing with this unit is that you can create your own POI lists containing literally thousands of waypoints and store them on the MicroSD card. This is in addition to the 1000 waypoints that the unit can store in it's internal memory. For a geocacher on a road trip, this is an awesome feature! Tracks can be stored on the data card too, and dumped to a computer for review later. Overall, this is one of the best handheld units available, and I'm glad I bought it. Whether I'm on a business trip for work or hiking in the Appalachian mountains, the 60CSx does a great job of getting me where I need to go. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2006-12-11 | | Outstanding accuracy and versatility | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I cut my GPS teeth on an eTrex Vista (a great little handheld in its own right) for a couple of years before stepping up to the 60CSx. After five months of use, I have only positive things to say about my latest purchase. I was aware of some owners' early concerns about "wandering" and the seeming inability to enable WAAS, but figured Garmin would eventually address such firmware issues, and so decided to take the plunge. The first thing I did (the first thing any purchaser should do) was to download all of the available updates from Garmin's website, and my 60CSx performed flawlessly from the get-go. So yes, I can enable WAAS, but I don't bother to use it because for me the slight increase in accuracy isn't enough to justify the additional battery drain. Consistently getting within ten feet or less of a waypoint is good enough for me. I'm not doing cadastral surveys, after all. I replaced the supplied 64mb micro SD with a 1 gb card and have installed selected maps from both City Navigator and US Topo 24K Western National Parks (both relatively pricey extras). I recently used the former to navigate a familiar route all the way from western Colorado to Cincinnati and back, and the directions it generated differed from the route I've long been accustomed to in only one minor way: it chose a different bridge (the MLK) across the Mississippi River at St. Louis than I usually use. That switch obliged me to exit the interstate and wait at one traffic light for a minute or so, but also saved me a couple of miles, so I guess the net effect was zero. On the return trip, I was unable to make a necessary lane change due to heavy rush hour traffic and was forced onto an exit from the Interstate at Louisville. The 60CSx and City Navigator automatically recalculated and got me back on course in a jiffy via a route through the downtown area that would otherwise have been anything but intuitive. The I-70 route through the Colorado Rockies features numerous tunnels, and only in the longest of them did I lose my satellite signal. In those few instances, the unit promptly reacquired the signal upon exiting the tunnels. I am a retired National Park Service ranger and now volunteer at Colorado National Monument, where I spend a lot of time in the backcountry identifying and plotting the location of cultural sites. The 60CSx and US Topo 24K are incredibly useful for that. I particularly like the unit's ability to average satellite fixes for increased accuracy over whatever interval I choose. I'm regularly able to mark waypoints to within 3 meters, even in forested areas and in the depths of the area's many canyons. The MapSource software that came with the 60CSx lets me print topo maps of the Monument with those waypoints clearly delineated and labeled. In the early fall, I carried my 60CSx on a recreational climb to the summit of 14,048-foot Handies Peak in Colorado's San Juan Range. Once on top, I photographed the display to document the precise location and elevation of the summit for my records. Since then, I've learned that it's also possible to transfer a bitmap image of any 60CSx display screen directly to my computer using the xImage application available as a free download on Garmin's website. That's a neat way to build a file of memorable waypoints and to share them graphically with others. I've found the Garmin 60CSx to be a most capable unit. Teamed with an accesssory 12V cable and City Navigator software, it works well as a vehicle navigator at relatively low cost. Used by itself, with or without US Topo 24K, it's a great hiking companion. It has a great color display, commendable acquisition and refresh speeds, myriad useful functions, a long battery life (months, if you don't leave it on continuously to mark tracks), decent ergonomics and superb accuracy. Finally, the additional storage afforded by removable memory cards is a definite plus with this sophisticated unit. The only change I'd urge Garmin to consider would be to add a temperature sensor. If you can afford it, and even if you can't, get a Garmin 60CSx. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2006-12-03 | | Complete Versatility | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I am nothing less than completely impressed with this GPS unit. I have been using this model for over a month now and I am totally and completely satisfied with my purchase. I travel all over the US for my work by airplane and I was interested in purchasing a GPS that was versatile and portable without being too bulky and cumbersome to pack when traveling through airports. Now that I have acquired all the various parts and pieces (i.e GPS unit, software, mounting bracket, and charging cable) I have a complete and portable set up that I carry with me on all of my trips. This allows me to save over $10/day on rental cars by not having to rent a car with a GPS unit. With the Garmin Street Navigator software for the US and the purchase of a 2GB mini SD card, I have the entire US road system on board and ready for travel anywhere in the country including Alaska and Hawaii. The other major selling point for me was that with this unit not only do I have a highly accurate GPS unit for traveling and navigating the nations highways, but I also have a compact hand held unit that can hold topographic maps allowing me to hike and explore the countryside anywhere in the US (or the world). This all-in-one strategy was perfect for my needs not to mention that this unit is about half the cost of a unit specifically designed for an automobile such as a TomTom Go or other similar device. I love the fact that I can mount this to the windsheild and go and then when I arrive, just pop it loose and throw it in a back pack and I'm good to go for a hiking adventure on the trail. However, I should mention that this particular unit does not feature audible voice directions which are commonly found on units specifically designed for automobiles. This may be part of the reason why there is such a drastic difference in cost. Even though this unit doesn't talk, it does provide audible warning tones and flashes on screen pop up advisories when you are approaching your turns and exits. As other reviews have mentioned, the main thing to be aware of with any GPS unit is the fact that you will probably have to spend additional money than the original purchase price for the unit to get the full functional benefit from the device. As I've mentioned, in addition to the actual cost of the unit I have also spent a minimum of over $250 on software and other accessories to give me full advantage of the capabilities that I needed. If you do your homework, you will find that this is true for any GPS unit and not just this one. Realizing this ahead of time will help you to avoid any unpleasant realities later on that you will probaly need to spend more money on additional equipment. You can think of the GPS like purchasing a computer - it represents only the hardware. The other half of the equation is the software needed to make it complete. With that said, I would also say that even though this is a very fast and highly accurate GPS unit, it is not without a couple of design flaws and it certainly has room for some improvement. None of these items warrant enough for me to lower my score of 5 stars, but are worth mentioning for prospective buyers to be aware of. The most important one is the glare problem with the screen. Under very low light and night time viewing conditions there is no problem at all with the screen. But, when trying to view in high ambient light levels or indirect sun conditions in an automobile, the screen can be quite difficult to see and exhibits a lot of glare and reflectivity. However, in direct sun light conditions, with the sun shining directly onto the screen, the graphics are quite easy to see and there is no glare problem. The second issue is the brightness level of the back light. It could stand to be significantly brighter for better viewing. Even at 100% the screen is still relatively dim by my estimation, but I am assuming it is scaled back like this to help conserve battery power. Other than these two issues, I can find little wrong with this powerful GPS unit. If you are looking for a versatile device that works excellent as a cross country highway navigator, or as a personal step by step guide when trekking through the woods and mountains, you will be very happy with this unit. Just be aware of the fact that you will probably have to invest in some additional add on equipment to get the full use and enjoyment out of the unit. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2006-12-02 | | Git-R-Done with the 60csx ! | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | If all you are doing is navigating to a campsite or back to your car in fairly open country the Etrex units will do just fine at a much lower price. Plus the 60csx is bigger and heavier than an Etrex. However if you ever need a gps in steep or heavily wooded country the 60csx is amazing. Being a GIS (geographic information systems) professional the thing that gets me excited about the 60csx is that it starts to bridge the gap between recreational grade and mapping grade gps units without having to bother with differential correction or the significant added expense of a unit that will allow you to do that (not to mention being three or four times as big and heavy). As WAAS satellites are added units like the 60csx will continue to move closer to the accuracy of the differentially correctable units. I have used it quite a bit to map trails and except for a little clean up at the ends of the lines the gps files hardly need any editing and what little editing that may be necessary can be done with the included MapSource software. This unit is a great tool used in conjunction with say Google Earth or Google Maps. GPS data can be saved as gpx files and there is a menu item that will open your GPS file in Google Earth. (I imagine all the Garmin units will do this now with this included MapSource software but the 60csx produces much higher quality results) I have used the unit on the handle bars of a mountain bike in the woods and it will keep a good satellite fix the whole time. I have also tested the 60csx side by side with a several thousand dollar industry standard 2006 Trimble GeoXT and an Etrex Legend in steep heavily wooded terrain, inventorying potential land slide areas. In the most challenging scenarios there, even with the PDOP set the to the max, the GeoXT typically would not be able to get a fix at all, the Legend would be at plus or minus 80 feet after taking several minutes to get a fix and the 60csx would quickly lock in at about plus or minus 20 feet. The other astounding bit of technology as other reviewers have mentioned is being able to load all the roads in the US and Canada on a 1 Gigabyte Micro SD card the size of a finger nail for under a hundred dollars. If only Garmin would make a unit like this that you could add more attribute information to the GPS data without having to have it hooked up to a laptop or tablet PC and specialized software.
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2006-11-26 | | Will not work with Mac -- even with Windows NT/Parallels | 4 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Garmin announced in early 2006 that they planned to make all of their hardware and software Mac-compatible by the end of 2006, but there have been no further announcements, and there are no rumors suggesting progress. If you are a Mac user, do not purchase this or any other Garmin product which requires or allows uploads of maps, new software or waypoints unless you have access to a PC. Garmin will not license it's proprietary USB drivers (which are said to be quite flaky, even on PCs), so Mac users are locked out of the Garmin world until further notice. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 4 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2006-11-22 | | This is the receiver I have been pursing for years | 8 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | After purchasing a number of gps units over the last decade, I finally have a unit the does not leave me with that nagging feeling of dissatisfaction after plopping down a sizable chunk of change. Cons: 1)Audible alerts could be a touch louder. 2)Turn notification could come a bit sooner. 3)Lat/Lon data fields appear to be missing though manual says they should be available (you can only view lat/lon from satellite page) Pros: 1) SanDisk 2GB microSD works in my unit(I have seen statements that 2GB cards don't work) so I have entire US street detail easily stored, with plenty of room to spare if i decide to get Topo maps. 2) Abilty to acquire sat. connection is unparalleled in places any previous unit I owned would not have a chance without an external antenna. In fact, I can take the unit on walks in my jacket pocket and it maintains a consistent lock. 3) Auto-routing is very impressive with the MapSource v8 street detail. I was able to even get routing along unimproved country roads. 4) I am impressed with the PointsOfInterest database for locating all types of services such as food, lodging, shopping, etc... I would not hesitate to recommend this unit for those wanting to cover a broad range of applications from hiking, geocaching to on-road navigation. I suppose if I were only interested in auto navigation I might focus on those units designed specifically for that purpose.
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| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2006-11-14 | | Excellent features, but doubtful accuracy | 6 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I have been using this GPS for about a month and I have come to some conclusions you may find useful. I bought this model to use for both adventure touring on motorcycles and as a back up GPS when I go sailing. It has worked well on my motorcycle up to a point and it has proven unreliable for navigation inside harbors. On my motorcycle it rides on the bike mount, which does manage to hold it securely (but I still tie a lanyard from the GPS to the handle bar) and it is reasonably viewable during most daylight hours. The sun can wash out the screen when low over your shoulder. The audio prompts are useless over the ambient noise and the visual turn alerts are often missed, requiring frequent glances down at the screen in unfamiliar routes. I also bought the street map software to help me find my way around urban areas. Finding new addresses is slow and inconvenient. The interface is clumsy and time consuming. The accuracy of the street map is dubious and I often found that the exact addresses I entered were not found by the software. The database search often required me to enter a less accurate address and scroll through a sometimes long list of possible destinations. Not confidence inspiring when looking for places I have never visited before. If you travel slow enough or stop for a few seconds, the location indicator starts to wonder all over the screen. I had stopped to have lunch for about thirty minutes while on a trip and discovered that the location marker had wondered almost a mile from my true location. Worse still, the auto tracking function had recorded the wondering position marker as though I was moving and added almost three miles to my trip log when in the real world I was stationary. This is not acceptable. I use distance on a trip to find trailheads, turns, and points of interest. With this kind of error the GPS becomes a liability rather than an asset. The location variance is even more appalling on the water. I wanted to have a handheld GPS on the helm while making night time and low visibility approaches to docks and while entering harbors. But the wondering location marker makes this undoable. On the plus side, the unit is very durable and I have had several occasions to validate the water proofing. The buttons are easy to access and the menus are workable, if not overly intuitive. Battery life is above par and the screen lighting is bright and easily adjustable. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 6 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2006-10-14 | | Great GPS unit for the money | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Rugged design, waterproof, compact, and with a great color screen.... what more could you ask for! I use this unit for boating and in my car. I recommend the vent mount over the windshield mount for the car. The unit gets fair-good reception inside my house and perfect reception outside or in the car. The color screen is top notch. Very clear display when the back light is on. Fair display with it off. Mapping is super easy and the unit comes packed with so many features, probably more than I've ever use. The only down side is that you really need to buy city navigator and blue chart to make use of Garmin's units. The maps that come with the unit are 99% useless. So figure in at least another $100 for city navigator maps. If you want to use this unit in the car, you'll also need to pick up the cigarette adaptor, which will conserve the batteries and allow the back light to be left on. This unit can be used for turn by turn navigation in a car. With it's early turn warning tones, and high accuracy, this unit works like a charm every time. I picked the 60csx over the slightly more expensive 76csx because it has a much better feel in my hand and the buttons are easier to access. I also suggest picking up a 1Gig MicroSD card. The 1 gig card can hold 90% of the US map on it. If you backpack, boat, Ski, and love the outdoors like I do, than this unit is for you! I hardly leave home without it and either will you!
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2006-10-06 | | More accurate than your average husband/boyfriend (for the direction-challenged)! | 8 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Since it's portable and waterproof, it's prefect to take along on your biking or hiking trips. I tested my Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx on various excursions in the US and Europe -- and always loved it. I wish I had purchased my little friend long time ago. Cons: a) no external memory can be added b) The mapping software has some flaws. For example, many highway exits are not properly indicated. I tried to see if an upgrade was available on the Garmin website, and the 2 times I tried, the upgrade functionality was not working. :-( Overall, I do recommend it. This little gadget will add years to your life.... | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
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