Garmin GPSMAP 60CS 56MB Handheld GPS Reviews

• GPSmap 60CS = A+; Garmin customer support = D-

  
  By A1SR47Z6KKLS9 on 2004-04-18
  Read all the reviews at GPS sites and then try the GPSmap 60CS out for yourself. You'll see why everyone is so impressed. Garmin's eTrex models were a nice design, but users had to put up with several compromises (limited memory, poor screen, relatively weak satellite reception, etc.) that limited their functionality. The GPSmap 60CS effectively addresses many of the limitations of the eTrex lineup, despite it also being a relatively small, light, rugged device.
  
  Hopefully the following will be helpful to individuals debating whether or not to purchase the GPSmap 60CS. I purchased mine soon after the model was released and think it's overall the best handheld GPS you can buy.
  
  PROS:
  
  - Solid construction (made in Taiwan) with a nice overall "feel". You're getting your money's worth with this GPS.
  
  - Rugged. My main concern about a color GPS was fragility, but I've already dropped mine a few times and suffered no ill effects.
  
  - Nice screen. The 256 color transreflective screen makes a huge difference in using the GPS and I could now never go back to using a monochrome model. The color maps are very easy to read, not only at night but also even in direct sunshine.
  
  - Good battery life. Depending on how much the backlight is used I see anywhere from 10 - 20 hours of use between charges of my two NiMH AA batteries. With the backlight kept off, some people have reported almost 30 hours of use with alkaline batteries.
  
  - Intuitive controls and menus. Even if you've never used a GPS before you'll probably be able to use the GPSmap 60CS right out of the box without consulting the (well-written) manual. There's also a nice (single sheet) color "quick start guide" that gets you up and running in less than five minutes.
  
  - Acquires satellites quickly (fixes position usually in less than a minute) and maintains tracking fairly well.
  
  - USB downloading of Garmin's optional maps is relatively fast. Also accepts serial cable, so I can still use the GPSmap 60CS with an older (non-USB) computer.
  
  - Optional accessories unlock the true potential of the GPSmap 60CS (but count on spending at least another $200 - $300 on maps + accessories). The AutoNav Kit includes a nice beanbag mount to keep the device stable on the car's dashboard, a cigarette lighter power adapter and a CD with the - essential - residential street level maps of the U.S. and several major Canadian cities. I also bought bike mounts so I can use my GPSmap 60CS on my mountain bikes. It's nice to be able to explore the great trails in Marin County and the rest of California without having to worry about getting lost. (It's also easy to then later download your route from the unit to your desktop computer so you can keep a record of a trail if you want to go back in the future.)
  
  - Amazing degree of customization. Background/text colors, sequence of presented screens, orientation of maps (north up vs. track up), metric/imperial units, backlight level, tones, WAAS mode, text language, backlight timeout and a number of other options can easily be turned off or on.
  
  - Present position-to-address routing. Gives turn by turn directions to any addresses that are typed in on the "Find" screen (if you have purchased the optional maps). Having this "autoroute" ability in a GPS as small as the GPSmap 60CS is incredible. The unit also automatically recalculates a new route (but unfortunately takes half a minute or so to do this) if you wander off the previously chosen route or miss a turn. While I will never throw out my paper maps, since getting my GPSmap 60CS I now almost always use GPS when driving to an unfamiliar address. The directions are almost always reliable, but sometimes the suggested route is a bit more circuitous than necessary. It would be nice if Garmin could update the firmware to easily allow users to specify a route that goes by way of an intermediate location.
  
  - Ability to leave "track points" i.e. an electronic breadcrumb trail that can be followed back to your starting point.
  
  - Great speedometer/odometer for bicycles, etc. Thanks to my GPSmap 60CS, I now know that the speedometer for one of my cars is off by 7%! Lists odometer, trip odometer, maximum speed, moving time, moving average, stopped time, overall average speed, total ascent, maximum elevation, current elevation, distance to destination, time to destination, estimated time of arrival and a lot more. It's also easy to customize which fields are displayed.
  
  - Replaces those ridiculously overpriced GPS units sold for cars and can be easily moved from vehicle to vehicle.
  
  - Nice industrial design - about the size of a small walkie-talkie or a large cell phone, but the GPSmap 60CS looks good and feels comfortable in the hand.
  
  CONS:
  
  - If you travel a lot, the built in 56 MB of memory used for storing downloaded maps will be constraining. 128 MB would have been better and the ability to read from CF or SD cards would be ideal. On the other hand, reading from external memory cards would probably have decreased battery life. Furthermore, maintaining simplicity and reliability by forgoing expansion cards may have been a good decision in a device that will be subjected to the abuse that a handheld GPS will frequently see.
  
  - Basemap included with the GPSmap 60CS is very limited. You really need to buy Garmin's residential street level and topographical maps to use the device to its fullest.
  
  - Residential street level and topographical maps cannot be displayed simultaneously.
  
  - Users cannot easily specify plotting alternate routes (e.g. if recommended route is blocked with construction, traffic, etc.).
  
  - Autozoom mode tends to zoom out too much, forcing users to zoom back in to see street details when following a route. I ended up just turning autozoom off.
  
  - Attaching external power supply doesn't recharge NiMH batteries (very minor complaint).
  
  - Alarms aren't very loud, especially for vehicle use.
  
  - Removing the GPSmap 60CS from the cradle in the beanbag mount is somewhat awkward.
  
  - Altimeter tends to drift quickly and requires periodic recalibration.
  
  All things considered, the GPSmap 60CS is an amazing GPS. It represents a quantum leap forward and is a great value given the features it offers. I'm extremely selective about the things I purchase and would rather spend a little extra to get the best. The GPSmap 60CS was an obvious choice and I expect it will quickly become the most-recommended handheld GPS unit on the market. This model now makes almost every other GPS on the market (including Garmin's own eTrex lineup) look dated by comparison. If you can afford the extra $200 or so the GPSmap 60CS costs compared to the midline eTrex models, you won't be disappointed.
  
  
  UPDATE (September 6, 2004):
  
  Using the GPSmap 60CS daily since Spring 2004 has reinforced my belief that my previous review is an accurate summary of the most important good and bad points of the unit. This GPS recently paid for itself when it saved me from missing a flight after I got lost en route to an unfamiliar airport. (I had left the GPSmap 60CS in my suitcase. After missing a turn and getting hopelessly lost I simply pulled over, unpacked the GPSmap 60CS and let its autoroute function guide me quickly back to my destination.)
  
  The only significant limitations are the unit's inability to plot a route via an intermediate point/specify detour routes and the limited memory available for map storage. It appears that Garmin has deliberately chosen to cripple the functionality of the GPSmap 60CS in order to "encourage" customers looking for those features to purchase more expensive units like the new Garmin Quest. Garmin could easily upgrade the GPSmap 60CS memory to 256 MB (the added memory would cost less than $5) and include the detour routing abilities of the Quest, but then why would anyone buy their more expensive units? It's a shame, because the GPSmap 60CS is in many ways a better design than Garmin's more expensive units. (Small, light, works with AA batteries, rugged, maps can be uploaded via either USB or serial cable, etc.) I would have been willing to pay more for a version of the GPSmap 60CS with more memory and revised routing software, but I doubt that we will ever see these improvements made.
  
  While I remain quite impressed with the GPSmap 60CS, my sole interaction with Garmin's customer support department was very disappointing. A couple of months after I purchased my unit, Garmin emailed me, announcing that they were releasing version 6 of North American City Select. This version finally includes street level coverage of Canada and updates the map and business data for the U.S.A. I emailed Garmin to receive what I thought was a free update, only to find that they were demanding a fee of $75 for the update. Only individuals who had purchased the software within a month of the new version's release were to be given free upgrades. Garmin's mean-spirted support policy has definitely dampened my enthusiasm for this company and leads me to wonder if they will stand behind the product should something ever go wrong. Just something else to consider if one is in the market for a GPS.
  
  If I was a teacher, I'd issue Garmin the following grades:
  
  GPSmap 60CS = A+
  Garmin support = D-
  
  

• great!

  
  By A1PSBR1T610QYI on 2004-03-14
  The new Garmin 60CS is great. The barometer and compass are easy to calibrate and are fairly well-intergrated with the GPS feature. For instance, there is a configuration option to have the compass switch from GPS to sensor when your speed falls, and it lets you define that speed.

  The 60CS comes with a belt clip, which attaches to the unit with a quick-release. You must mount a small bolt (provided) with a lug onto the back of the Garmin, but it's fairly unobtrusive, and is used in Garmin's other mounts (such as the bicycle handlebar mount).

  Up here in the hilly, forested Northwest, the Garmin couldn't keep a signal while on the belt clip at a hiking pace. It was VERY good at getting a signal when elsewhere- for instance it got a lock, inside my home, 15 feet from the windows, with a porch outside.

  Garmin claims the 60CS is waterproof, and it appears to be so. The buttons are constructed of a heavy rubber, the fit and finish of the unit is excellent, the three jacks (USB, Garmin 4-pin, and external antenna) are covered with a grommet. Also, the battery cover has a locking mechanism and seals the batteries with an O-ring.

  The basemap in the Garmin is less than impressive. I'd already purchased MapSource, and was able to install pretty much every map of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon onto the Garmin's 56 MB of space. The included USB cable is easy to use.

  The auto-navigation of this unit works well. It prompts you with a beep about an upcoming turn, and then counts down from 500 feet to the intersection. Sorry, no voice navigation.

  I'm a bit concerned about the screen getting scratched. I cut and placed a PDA screen cover on it, but that mucks with the resolution and colors a bit. I'll probably leave it on to protect the screen from scrapes and such.

  Like everyone else has said, too bad this doesn't have expandable memory. Makes travelling a little more difficult, unless you bring a laptop along. But that's kind of missing the point- why not use a laptop-based GPS then?

  Overall- five stars. Garmin did (most of) their homework on this one.
  
  

• Great GPS, beware of loading maps and waypoints.

  
  By A1BFSQ2ET9NFEH on 2005-08-17
  I'm writing this to save other new users from the time consuming research and expensive lessons I've learned about the Garmin 60C, and Garmin GPS in general.
  
  THE GOOD:
  The Garmin 60C is a beautiful GPS. It is compact, fits nicely in the hand, has a clear color screen, has great battery life, is fast to acquire satellites, has a good antenna which works even in my truck, has clear button layout, has easy to navigate screens, and is intuitive despite its many many options. I love the basic machine.
  
  As for the 60C vs. 60CS, I prefer to carry an actual compass as backup, thereby saving more rapid battery drain on the 60CS. And the 60C will give you compass and altimeter functions using the GPS. True, it doesn't have an actual altimeter chip, but pressure-sensitive altimeters are quite inaccurate anyway as they fluctuate quite a bit based on the weather. And the 60CS altimeter uses the GPS altimeter to calibrate itself!
  
  THE BAD:
  It is difficult and frustrating to expand its use beyond how it arrives in the box.
  
  I *thought* GPS units would connect to other devices, upload and download data, and otherwise be configurable however the user desired. They are not.
  
  For example, the included basemap is practically useless. It mostly tells you where the major freeways are. When I'm in the woods, I have very little use for knowing where the freeway is.
  
  So, my first plan was to upload some detailed maps to it. After research, I really liked the TOPO series of maps. So I bought the TOPO for my state, and thought I'd upload whatever part of the state I wanted to the GPS. Uh-uh. Doesn't work that way. The ONLY map that will upload to the Garmin GPS is the Garmin series of maps. For those of you who know that already are probably chuckling at me. But I didn't know, and it made sense that you should be able to upload *any* geo-referenced map to your machine that you want. Why not? Garmin already got good money from me for the hardware. The software should be a choice, not a lock-in requirement. Okay, so another chunk of change to Garmin for their map-tax so I can upload maps to the 60C.
  
  And, as if that's not enough of a discouragement, you can't simply go buy, for example, the City Select map software and upload it to your machine. You have to call or visit Garmin to register your device and unlock your GPS. Let me restate that: If you go buy a brand new top-of-the-line Garmin GPS, and brand new full-price Garmin map software, you are not allowed to load the Garmin software on the Garmin GPS until you call or visit Garmin to get *permission* to use your items together. And every time you buy a new GPS, you have to call or visit Garmin again to unlock your new device. Want to upgrade your map the the newest version? Call Garmin again. Does that seem fair?
  
  Next, I wanted to connect the GPS to my laptop, to track in real-time my position on the laptop screen with a nice, big, color view of the map area. When I bought the 60C one of the selling points was the cool, simple, small USB connection. "New and Improved" I thought, over the slow serial connection. Those of you who know are probably chuckling again. The problem is the USB connection is a closed, secret, proprietary, locked connection by Garmin, that *only* allows the GPS unit to communicate with Garmin software. So, you can't use the software of your choice on your laptop and have the Garmin plot where you are. You have to use the alternate serial connection on the GPS device, which is bulkier, cumbersome, and requires the extra purchase of a serial to USB converter.
  
  Why is the Garmin so locked down? I mean, it's a basic consumer device! I should be able to upload and download whatever I want to the device once I've bought it.
  
  CONCLUSION:
  I love the 60C. I hate being locked in to Garmin for every use of the 60C.
  
  

• Fun for trips

  
  By AVFZ4QIPD1PVV on 2004-06-19
  This is my first GPS device. My main use is tracking my progress on longer bike rides. The 60CS has a nice "track" feature, which records your journey. When used along with the odometer, you can get some nifty data on how fast you were going, time spent stopped, etc. The track data can then be downloaded onto your computer and viewed with the map software provided with the device. The altitude profile view of your track is very cool.

  I found the device's software interface easy to understand once I played with it and browsed through the manual.

  If you wish to use this device in a car for directions, be prepared to purchase additional maps from Garmin. The provided maps note highways and their exits but not much detail on individual streets.

  So why four and not five stars? While the "track" records altitude and distance, I was a little disappointed that the odometer data was not saved along with the track. The provided software also only works on a Windows PC. Also, on one ride where I was using the "track" feature, the GPS device lost connection to satellites when I entered a tunnel. I expected the device to just start tracking me again when I exited the tunnel; however, I had to hit "ok" on the message box telling me that it losts its way before it resumed the track and odometer features.

  Because I like transferring my routes back from my GPS device to my computer for long term storage, I found myself buying the AC Adapter (B00005UK9S) so that I don't run through AA batteries too often.
  
  

• Not THAT great

  
  By A1NW4YR5KX1F9H on 2005-01-03
  I bought the Garmin 60CS based on the positive reviews. After using it, I'm less than thrilled. Is it asking too much for a GPS in this price range to include a good up to date base map? The map in the 60CS is out of date, missing major highways in my area that are 3 years old. The land mass depictions for marine use are not accurate. The map has a course look that does not make good use of the display resolution. It's nice that the map supports autorouting, but there are only the largest major highways to autoroute on. To get anything done, you are going to need to buy optional maps from Garmin at $100 or so a pop. The unit has a hard time maintaining satellite lock when carried in a pocket or held in the car. It has to be on the dash to get a good view of the sky to lock on. Inside the house, it would not lock on at all. A Magellan GPS had no trouble locking on in the same scenarios. The altimeter constantly gets out of whack and has to be recalibrated. The Garmin menus, which are lauded as being so intuitive, could be better. It appears they probably started out good, but as features have been added to the operating system, the menus have become cluttered and confused. They are context menus, which is fine, but they are taken too far. Lets see...to find that menu selection for a route do I just highlight the route and press Menu? No, not there...How about if I press enter and open the route's detail screen and then press Menu? Ahhh, there it is. Just try figuring out how to use an advanced feature like routes with both on road and off road segments. Good luck! Physically, the unit is a little too large, too thick and too heavy to comfortably carry in one's pocket. On my scale, it weighs over 7 ounces with batteries. The antenna sticks up; it should be integrated into the package.
  
  Rants covered, if there is one reason to buy this GPS, it's the killer application ability it has to manage and store tracks. Tracks are little breadcrumb trails that record your movements on the GPS map. You have the ability to take whole tracks, or even better cut out portions, and store them. You can name them and recall them for later use. This is a great feature. for instance, on a hike you can delete the portion of a track that was the trip to the restroom, and save just the part that was the walk on the trail.
  
  If you buy this GPS, you will get a pretty decent machine, but not a complete package. Be prepared to contribute to Garmin's pockets as you buy the maps and accessories you need to make it work. Everything you need is not in the box!
  
  
  
• Watch the price!!
  By A308IWGHC2QKUW on 2005-02-04
  Watch the pricing close. It changes constantly even though Amazon says "We offer you consistently low prices on every item in our store." If the price is over $370 you can purchase it else where for less.
  
  
• Excellent All-Purpose Receiver
  By A1GXDAHJBN3C5T on 2005-01-18
  Garmin has come pretty close to the ideal all-purpose GPS receiver with the GPSMap 60CS. It is a great receiver for outdoor use AND a great receiver for highway navigation, with only a few compromises in either area.
  
  For outdoor use, the 60CS has just about everything you would want. It can store 1000 waypoints, has a 10,000 point tracklog, and can store 20 tracks (compressed to 500 points each). It also has a dedicated geocaching mode. When you create a waypoint, you can give it a "geocaching" icon. Then, the 60CS allows you to call up only the geocaching waypoints and go from one to the next. When you find a geocache, you can log notes about what you took or left, then it will automatically let you select the next geocache on the list.
  
  The 60CS pushbuttons are much improved over the older eTrex family. It has both a MARK button and a FIND button (like an enhanced version of the old GOTO button) so you don't have to wade through pages of menus to do two of the most basic GPS functions. The 256-color display is outstanding, even in bright sunlight. At night, you can activate a backlight that provides extremely even illumination. The 60CS also comes with a built-in magnetic compass and barometric altimeter, which is a great marketing ploy but probably not all that useful for most people. I still caution serious outdoor navigators to carry a separate magnetic compass.
  
  For highway navigation, the 60CS has the ability to do autorouting when used with optional City Select or City Navigator software from Garmin. Neither is inexpensive, running $100-130, but the built in basemap is not very detailed, so you can't depend on it for highway navigation. I use City Select and have found it to be quite accurate. I've used it to navigate throughout the East Coast without a paper map (probably a bad idea!) and never gotten lost. I would suggest, however, that it should be a two-person task, with one person serving as navigator. Although the 60CS does an excellent job of autorouting, it does not have voice commands. When you get close to having to make a turn, it beeps and displays written driving instructions. At highway speeds, you probably don't want to be reading the screen just when you need to be thinking about taking an exit. While the map screen only tells you the next driving instruction, push the page button and you get a screen with the full list of driving instructions for the trip.
  
  The 60CS comes with a USB cable, which is a much faster connection than the old RS-232 serial port on most receivers. With my old eTrex Vista, it took over an hour to load 24 megs of map data through the serial port. With the 60CS I can transfer 56 megs in under 5 minutes. Many 3rd party software programs like National Geographic Topo! or the software on the geocaching.com website don't work with the USB port. So the 60CS also comes with a standard serial port connector, although you have to buy the cable separately. It uses the same serial port and cigarette lighter cables as the old GPS 12XL, NOT the same ones as the eTrex.
  
  If you are going to do much highway navigation, you really need to invest in an external antenna. That way you can put the antenna on your dashboard (I wrap it around the rear-view mirror so it doesn't slide around) and leave the receiver in a cupholder or on your lap (or buy the dashboard mount). The 60CS comes with an MCX connector that the antenna cable plugs into. Amazon sells a very nice antenna from Gilsson for a very reasonable price. The MCX connector is somewhat fragile, so I recommend you route the cable through the metal D-ring that holds the battery cover before connecting so that you get more strain relief.
  
  The things I don't like about the 60CS? They are pretty few. First, it is a bit larger than I might wish for hiking, but a bit smaller than I might wish for driving, so I guess it is a good balance. The quadrifillar helix antenna sticks out beyond the main body of the unit, but while that makes it larger overall, it also gives it much better sensitivity than the eTrex family. I've seen quite a bit of improvement in side-by-side tests. Surprisingly, the 60CS seems to take longer to acquire a satellite fix than the eTrex Vista in a cold start (i.e. unit had not been turned on for a day or more), but it was much faster in a warm start (unit had been turned off an hour or less).
  
  One thing I can't complain about is Garmin's service and support. While I haven't had any problems with the 60CS, I've worked with Garmin several times on previous models and always found them to be exceptional. I've heard similar stories from many other people.
  
  The most serious deficiency, in my opinion, is the memory. 56 meg is still too small, and Garmin still refuses to design a receiver with removable memory like Compact Flash or Secure Digital (presumably they are woried about people pirating their maps). With 56 megs, I can load in the City Select maps for the San Francisco Bay Area and not much more. For my East Coast trip, I had to hook it up to a laptop every so often to transfuse new maps.
  
  Can you get better GPS receivers for highway navigation? Yes. Can you get smaller and lighter units for outdoor use? Yes again. But all-in-all, I consider the 60CS the best all-purpose GPS receiver out there, and I'm not likely to want to give it up any time soon. But if Garmin doesn't eventually introduce a version with removable memory, my patience will wear thin.
  
  UPDATE 1/15/06: I guess Garmin read my review, because they've just announced the GPSMap 60CSx, which is an updated 60CS with a removable MicroSD memory card. It includes a 64MB card, but at this point, we still don't know exactly what you can save on it and how large a memory card it will accept. They do offer MapSource products directly on MicroSD cards. Looks like a real winner.
  
  
• Garmin GPSMap 60CS - some pros, many cons
  By AY7GNS3KCHXR on 2005-10-19
  I bought my 60CS shortly after they arrived on the market, and I have used it on the road in the U.S., Europe (multiple times) and South America. I have used it a little for hiking, but I have not used it for hunting or fishing. It was my first GPS, and I was swayed by the few reviews that raved about its improvement over other available units. First off, I was amazed at how primitive it is compared with other electronic gadgets. While 56MB was apparently a big step forward, it is a small memory that is limiting - especially on a long trip without carrying your PC with you. There is no possibility of a fast connection: instead of an IEEE 1394 connection, you get a Serial Communications Port (for those with ancient PCs). For those of us who struggle against a Microsoft-dominated world, it would be nice to be able to run the requisite computer software with unix (linux) or on a Macintosh. Alas, Windows is required.
  
  Even with time, I have found that the software on the gps is not intuitive. You can relearn what you really need, of course, but it can be frustrating when first turned on if you haven't used it for months.
  
  The base map is only for rough orientation. One must purchase maps to download. Don't bother to purchase Garmin's Worldmap, as I did. It just does not have enough detail to be useful. The US and Europe maps from Garmin are OK. There are occasional mistakes and new roads or trails not marked, so don't blindly believe the GPS, but it generally will pinpoint your location. In this regard, it is often useful to have a hardcopy map in hand as well. Tracking and routing works well, but ideally should be done on the computer and then downloaded, since it's slow to do on the GPS unit.
  
  This ruggedly built, power-efficient (I said there were some pros - not just cons) unit is most useful for hiking. I have found that downloading waypoints for certain trails (e.g., in Torres del Paine in Patagonia) gave me useful info. Please remember to calibrate the altimeter before a hike, as it doesn't maintain its calibration well.
  
  If you thought about getting this unit so you could take it when you are driving in unfamiliar territory in a rental vehicle, then I suggest you forget it and spring for the small amount more to rent a vehicle with built-in navigation. It will take lots of rental hires to overcome the price of the GPS plus maps. Besides, the in-car navigation systems I've used in rental cars are much better (satellite reception never lost compared with the 60CS constantly losing signal) and safer (big screen and voice compared with little screen and beeps).
  
  The basic idea of using a GPS unit is terrific - thank the US govt for that. I've sometimes thought how wonderful it would have been if Apple or Sony had decided to do GPS instead of Magellan and Garmin. Well, maybe someday a bright young engineer will start a company that will blow the current inferior products out of the water - I assume the other products are inferior, because many people have said the 60CS is so much better, and I find it to be disappointing.
  
  
• Awesome, but no Mac support
  By AI1J8UQELHK8L on 2004-10-18
  This is hands-down the best GPS unit I've ever seen! It's absolutely amazing, and it's fast. No complaints about the hardware at all, and that was the end of the story I'd give this a 5 star rating. Unfortunately, I have to deduct one major point since Garmin units still are not compatible with the Mac / Mac OS X. There's no way to interface with the GPS units and upload maps on a Mac. You can try to use VirtualPC, but it's very flakey, and it only works if you can boot your old Mac into OS 9. On OS X, the connection doesn't work for more than a few seconds. Using a serial to USB converter cable with VirtualPC on OS 9 will work most of the time, however, the transfer speeds are horribly low. It can take 3-10 *hours* to upload map data to your unit, and half of the time it'll get an error a few hours into it, causing you to have to start over. If Garmin would have support for the Mac, this would be a hands-down 5 star product.
  
  
• Excellent.........Garmin has a winner with the 60CS
  By AT5N4QPWM1GKL on 2004-03-17
  I received this on 3/11/04 and left immediately for Jackson Hole. As it comes from Garmin, it is good but not great. Only when the optional mapping software is added does this unit shine. I loaded maps from Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming into approximately 25 mb. Using a 12 volt power cable from a previous IIPlus, the unit performed exceptionally. The ability to customize most of the screens and then change the display order of these screens allows the user to have complete control of the display. Driving over Teton Pass and having the 60CS give me a heads up of oncoming turns makes it even more valuable. Be sure and order topo maps and City Select V to make it the great tool it is capable of.
  
  
• Best GPS I've ever owned
  By A1H0R7O3A66PK2 on 2004-08-29
  Garmin has a very hard-to-beat product with the GPSMAP 60CS. I've owned 13 different GPS units from Garmin and Magellen and this one is the best I've had. This handheld, waterproof unit does all of the things found in the much more expensive units such as autorouting, providing the user with audible turn-by-turn directions. You can also customize the display to suit your taste of color, etc. The color screen is absoultely superior and its high resolution makes it very easy to see in any condition. Easy interface with a PC allows you to upload a varity of topographical, city, and marine map products for use anywhere on the planet. I've traveled over 2,000 miles with my GPSMAP 60CS with an average accuaracy of 7 feet. Reception is excellent and fast. It's rugged which means you can take it out in the weather without fear of damaging the unit- I take it kayaking regularly. There are so many features with this unit that it can suit just about anyone's requirements for a recreational handheld GPS. You will NOT be disappointed with this gem. This is leading-edge GPS at it's best, all in the palm of your hand. Stop thinking about it and get this one!
  
  
• Garmin Customer Service can be reasonable...
  By A1H9VK9UTQXCVW on 2005-11-16
  I had to throw my experiences in here after reading many negative reviews about Garmin customer service.
  I first had a Garmin V Deluxe then upgraded to the 60cs.
  
  I love my 60cs... I'm certain there are some cons, but I can't think of many right now.
  It would be great to have expandable memory.
  
  Customer Service:
  I had trouble with my Mapsource software CD. I got a response email within 48 hours... and they replaced my CD within the week.
  I had a question about function on my GPS V and I got a reply again within 48 hours.
  Two different occassions I got great support from Garmin. It may not be typical, but it does happen.
  
  Back to the 60cs...
  I really like it.
  I use it while hiking to keep track of the trip (odometer, time elapsed, back tracking)
  I use it geocaching.
  I use it in the car. (smaller screen but still useable)
  The color makes it really nice and clear.
  
  
• Almost there
  By A34GSRYNAZA1A1 on 2004-07-19
  GPSMAP 60cs is a nice unit but if you can wait for their next generation handheld, you should. I recently did a 2000 mile motorcycle trip along with several back country hiking excursions and for the normal kinds of things you want a gps to do, (where am I, how do I get there, what direction am I going) the 60CS was great! With CitySelect maps I could see all the roads, even the dirt roads in obscure places like the south western Oregon National forests. I routinely used autonav and it's amazingly fast route calculations made getting to where I wanted to be a real pleasure....almost....

  You can display lots of fancy data on almost any of the screens.
  The sat pickup is far better then the earlier gpses and fast.
  A real compass and altimeter made off trail hiking a breeze
  Estimated arrival times and popup turn notifications kept me on my path.

  However....
  Don't come upon a road block. There is no way to tell autorouting that you must detour. You have to coax autonav to get you around the road blockage by trying to find other road waypoints to build partial routes, When you are in the middle of no where, this is not pleasant. Garmins answer: Buy a bigger more expensive unit.

  Don't rely on the 'save tracks' feature. Garmin drops all of the date/time stamps from the active track when it saves it for you (forget about photo gps tagging). They claim it takes to much space (dah? the unit has 56MB!, a track entry is under a couple hundred characters even with date/time!)

  Don't use the belt hanger knob on the back. My first use caused the knob to snap off a part of the back housing leaving a 1/2 diameter hole! Since the knob is used by their auto and bicycle mounts, be ware, you may see your garmin bouncing on the street or down by your feet!
  
  

• Great Choice
  By A3ROZ8K8YW747T on 2005-02-20
  I bought the 60 cs to upgrade my broken etrex legend. The 60cs is the best gps I have ever had. I wanted the upgrade to the color screen and better accuracy and I was amazed. The second day I used it and I had all 12 sats w/ WAAS corrections. I got down to 3 feet accuracy. The 60 cs has exceeded my expectations. The electronic compass really helps when geocaching. In the woods you can get to about 7 ft+-. The external antena really helps and gives a considerable edge over the internal patch antena. The MOB feature is nice because it will set the MOB waypoint as the actice waypoint.
  
  PROS: Size, amount of bottons, accuracy, display, features (even a skydiving feature), software is updated alot, usb and serial connections, electroinc compass, backlight intensity.
  CONS: Basemap, Speed of the rocker botton when typing, a tad heavy but is still good for hiking, backlight weares down the battery fast so if using in a car get the kit w/ the map, 12 volt cable, dash mount.
  
  In total very good for the $357 I payed. If you don't use amazon alot click on the credit card thing to get $30 off the price.
  
  
• My o' my!
  By A38O4FPZOIVS49 on 2004-05-27
  This is one sweet unit. I owned the Vista previously and was getting a bit tired of the slowness at which it refreshes the map screen when moving the pointer to scroll. The new 60cs is much more powerful. The screen is also very easy to read. Sound feedback is much appreciated as well as the ability to customize the page order. The unit also locks to satellites very quickly. I haven't had time to hike under heavy foliage yet to see how it compares to the Vista but I'm sure it can't be any worse since the Vista requires that the unit face up all the time. I only wish that they have a neoprene case for the 60cs like the one they have for the Vista. That has kept my Vista looking brand new after many years of use which is great now that I'm ebaying the unit.

  June 26, 2004
  I've since had the chance to try this unit in dense foliage and it performs great! The Vista wasn't nearly as sensitive with it's patch antenna as the 60CS with the quad helix. I use to lose signals under certain frequented trails that's full of trees with the Vista but now the 60CS, I don't lose a crumb. Previously with the Vista, I had to check on it every few minutes to make sure that the patch antenna was facing up if I wanted to record a crumb trail. Now, It's great just letting the 60CS dangle on the included clip on my backpack with not a worry.

  I also find the display much easier to read on the trail. The color really helps. The beeps also notifies you of different issues which is great. All in all, I'd say I've made the right choice to upgrade to a 60CS.
  
  

• IF YOU HUNT, HERE IT IS.
  By A9FAAY3CAN2Y2 on 2005-10-19
  I have been through hell the last three weeks trying to find the right gps for myself. The first one i bought was the garmin legend C. The unit was handy, but it took a hair longer to lock on satellites than my friends magellan meridian color. It also came with little onboard memory with no option for additional memory. These factors led me to return it in exchange for magellans explorist 600.
  
  The explorist was a nightmare. It is absolute crap from its poor physical design to its software / performance. JUNK JUNK JUNK....
  
  I returned the explorist 600 and bought the GPSMAP CS. This unit is a godsend. Accurate up to ten feet, easy to use, great antenna, WORKS WITH GOOGLE EARTH PLUS, great battery life, plenty of onboard memory for most uses........
  
  My journey has come to an end.
  This unit is, like many others have said, the best on the market.
  Thank You and God Bless America
  
  
• At this price both support and product should be better
  By A24PCWLF1AESI5 on 2005-02-18
  Like others who have reviewed this product, I've had the same problem with the metal holster screw breaking (rendering the belt clip useless) just by bumping the GPS device while it was clipped to my belt. I've had the device for just a couple of weeks and decided to purchase the product because it seemed to have everything I would want (not using it for driving, just for geocaching), but at this price, I would really expect the product to be designed to be a bit more rugged. I've also had VERY bad experience with both the Garmin online store and their customer service. I tried to buy the US Maps (frustrating that at this price you have to pay an extra $140+ to get north american maps) from the garmin.com online store & have yet to receive the product. I paid the $15 for second day shipping, but that was a week ago & the online order still doesn't show any update. I called the company yesterday, waited on hold for 20 minutes for someone to answer & then was put on hold for another 10 while the support rep looked into the issue. He said there was a problem "getting information from the web store to the shipping department" & couldn't offer me an ETA on when the product would even ship. I'm supposed to continue to call back, since they don't know when the online order updates will start working again (and no, I really don't get why the online order update status should have any impact on their ability to just ship the order - I sort of think something else is going on).
  
  The unit certainly has everything I need and the general functionality (other than the broken belt clip) seems really nice so far. I live in a rather rural area & get nice satelite reception & everything so far has been accurate.
  
  For the price, I can't say I would recommend this product due to poor support and some defects that shouldn't exist.
  
  February 22nd update. After 2 more calls to Garmin, the customer service rep sent me out my North America maps cd next day via next-day air. They arrived but were THE WRONG CD's! They were replacement CD's, which don't include any unlock codes (required to view the contents after installing). Another call to Garmin today (and another 30 minutes of wait/explanation/reprocessing time) & the customer service guy said he would ship the correct CD's today. GARMIN SUPPORT IS TERRIBLE. DO NOT BUY GARMIN if you need support of any kind.
  
  
• Autoroute navigation needs some work
  By A2TKFNVAIJPGRT on 2004-06-13
  I should begin by saying this is the first GPS I have bought, so in my criticisms, I am not comparing it to other GPS units (which may be worse).

  First of all, it seems to be quite a good portable unit. It locates the satellites quite quickly, gives position + estimated error in 1 no-nonsense screen. Also seems quite robust - it went for quite a tumble down a 10m cliff face, ending up in a deep pool of water - and all worked ok afterwards :-) (phew!).
  The hardware seems great - however the software has some usability bugs that should be fixed.

  Taking it along on a long 4wd trip in Australia in May 2004, here is a list of my gripes/criticisms:

  1) The auto route navigation is pretty poor. A few times it came up with some crazy routes to get from A to B ... via Z!!

  2) Also with the auto route navigation: When zooming in, the purple route marking doesnt correlate with the road its trying to mark. The more you zoom in, the worse it gets. Zoomed into a city streetmap, its completely unusable as the route marking is not even visible on the screen - or if it is, its impossible to work out what streets it is marking. Until this bug is fixed, I certainly would not buy this for auto navigation.

  2) The way that route recalculation grabs focus from *whatever* you happen to be doing at the time is a major pain. You may be in the middle of a tedious "Find" operation only to have all of your effort dashed as it snatches you back to your route map and loses whatever you had typed. Grrr!

  There are a number of other usability issues - and being a software developer, they stand out to me. The software needs a bit of work before I would give it 4 stars.
  
  

• typical Garmin quality
  By A2QFGBAFB46PHL on 2004-07-21
  After using an etrex Vista for 2 years I decided to step up to the new GPSMap 60CS. After several months of use I'm thoroughly pleased with the 60CS. Battery life is considerably increased over the Vista, and the button arrangement seems more logical as well as easier to operate than the rubber covered approach used on the Vista. The 4-way toggle button is a welcome improvement over the Vista click-stick, being both easier to operate and more precise. The color display is fantastic, easily readable in just about any lighting conditions. The perfect 5-star rating is very high, but I just can't find anything not to like about the 60CS.
  
  
• decent GPS, but poor quality of accessories limits usability
  By A3QA91SZSR9R4R on 2004-09-19
  The 60C and 60CS are, by themselves, pretty good GPS handhelds. Reception and battery life have improved much above those of the older generation of GPS units. The color screen, while not as brilliant as some sported by the latest PDAs, is a great advantage. It makes the uploadable maps much more useful and remains readable under practically all lighting conditions. The altimeter and compass are nice add-ons (especially the altitude tracking), but, in my opinion, dispensable. The unit seems pretty rugged and is waterproof.
  
  That said, there are some drawbacks that keep me from recommending it. The objections I have might not apply to everybody's "usage pattern", I myself am using GPS handhelds only in the outdoors (I own a dedicated car navigation system).
  
  Without any of the accessories, the practical value of the 60CS is only marginally higher than that of any entry level GPS. To make good use of it, one needs, first of all, uploadable maps - the included "base map" is all but useless. These maps are available from Garmin only. Unfortunately that leaves much of the world outside the USA uncovered, especially if one is looking for topographical maps. The upload of third-party maps is not possible - this is a significant drawback compared to many PDA-based GPS-solutions.
  
  Also, if one plans to use their GPS on a mountain bike, they should quickly forget about the 60C/60CS. The handlebar mount offered by Garmin is of a ridiculously poor design and cannot keep the GPS safe in place when travelling off-road (or even on bad roads). I am not the only one who has lost (or destroyed) their GPS because of relying too much on Garmin's "engineering quality".
  
  Finally, dealing with Garmin's support was a great disappointment. Garmin must be aware of the problems with the handlebar mount: Newer ones are shipping with an additional securing lace - a sorry attempt of a touch up: one cannot install the lace without covering either some keys or parts of the display (nor is it mentioned in the instructions how to install it correctly).
  So when I got in touch with Garmin after losing my GPS (which was clearly due to the poor design of the bicycle mount), I hoped that they would at least offer me a discount on a replacement unit. But after a brief advice to rather talk to my insurance, they have been simply ignoring my emails ever since.
  
  So overall, 4-5 stars would be appropriate if accessories and service lived up to the quality of the GPS unit itself, but the way it is: not recommended.
  
  For cycling use, given my recent experiences, I would rather recommend lower-end GPS units like the Garmin Geko or Magellan eXplorist series (Garmin's bicycle mount for the Gekos seems much more trustworthy). For hiking: If you plan to use it in the USA, Norway or Germany only (topographical maps are available for these regions), the 60CS is certainly a good, albeit pricey, choice. There are also some pretty good PDA-based GPS-solutions that I basically like better, but only some of the newest PDAs offer suitable screens and sufficient batterie life - and I am still waiting for that ruggedized "outdoor" PDA with built-in GPS...
  
  UPDATE: Somebody has pointed out to me that the packaging of Garmin bike mounts (at least in Germany) now has a big read sticker on it that reads (loosely translated): "Warning! For extreme use (e.g. road racing or mountain biking) additionaly secure unit using a string or cable binder! (...)". Funny for a unit that was advertised in mountain bike magazines and contrary to statements of Garmin's own support from only a few months ago. Well, that warning comes a tad late for me. By the way: Garmin's support has not yet responded to me - I don't expect they ever will.
  
  
• A Great GPS!
  By A2P80C1QWC0OQX on 2005-02-01
  I use my GPS mainly for Geocaching. My original (Etrex Vista) was a fine gps, but I wanted the external antenna, the extended battery life, and the bigger, color screen.
  
  I have not been disappointed. This GPS is more accurate than my Vista; the Geocaching mode helps keep track of my finds. The accuracy is several feet better, too.
  
  All in all, if you are looking for a gps with more bells and whistles than you'll ever need, but like the high end of gadgetry, this is it. It may be a bit more expensive than the other models, but to me, it was worth it.
  
  
• Great GPS for Off Road, Horrible for Street Routing
  By A13Y3S7C0K8FXL on 2005-06-17
  I have owned my Garmin 60CS for about 1 yr. I have been impressed with the hardware, durability, fix time, accuracy etc. I have also been impressed with the off-road uses, (auto-track feature that allows you to return via the route that you took) altimeter etc. These are all great and if they were the only uses that I had for the GPS I would give it 5/5 stars.
  
  However, I also got this GPS with the expectation of using it for road navigation. Having gotten spoiled on the Hertz Neverlost system, I thought this unit would function at somewhere close to the accuracy of routing of the Hertz system (which I think is made by Magellen). I have been incredibily disappointed on the street routing of the system. Using the Mapsource MetroGuide software (purchased seperately) I have had this system send me 60 miles out of the way on routes. It has sent me to the location of businesses where they were 5 yrs ago, and seems to be completely incapable of selecting the closest route between cities without using a US Route or Interstate even if the route it selects is 60-100 miles longer than a perfectly good secondary road. I was once near Salt Lake City, UT and programmed in the Brighton Ski Resort. The system routed me to Park City, Utah (about 30 miles away) and then instructed me to turn onto a road that didn't exist. In reality I was about 5 miles from the resort when I started (thus I traveled an extra 60 miles). This isn't an isolated incident, and I could share many other examples. The unit is great for finding out exactly where you are, but as far as routing... you are going to have to have a map to double check what it tells you.
  
  The other problem that I have is that the database seems to be very dated making the business and point of interest function useless for any hotel or business that was built or moved in the last 5-7 yrs.
  
  When driving along on a highway trip the system automatically zooms out so that you don't see smaller roads and have to continually press the zoom in button to see the smaller streets.
  When instructed to turn onto interstates etc, the system will simply show a left turn and not take into account the entrance to the expressway that was 1/2 mile back (oops a little late now). If you get off track or sometimes when you start a route, the system seems to pick a location on a major road that may be miles from your location. The only guidance that it tells you to get started on the route is something like "NW to I-20" rather than step by step specific instructions on how to get to I-20.
  
  In summary. An excellent piece of hardware to tell you very accurately where you are within a few feet, but if you asked it to calculate a route to the corner - it might send you across town and back to get there. My advice - if you need off-road (martime, aviation, hiking etc) - it is the best on the market. For road guidance - there are plenty of other options that have got to be better (including a good old fashioned map!).
  
  
• Amazon shipping
  By A3HN6AI0B09W87 on 2005-12-21
  This review is not actually about the product, but about the service from Amazon. I placed an order for this product from Amazon and was promised the GPS would ship and arrive before Christmas. They have now informed me (at a date too late to order from someone else) it may not arrive until January! For me this was an unforgivable business practice and I do not plan to order from them again. If they hadn't promised it to arrive before Christmas I would not have ordered it from them. I see this as similar to "bait and switch". Don't believe them when they give you a shipment date at the time of your order.
  
  Addendum to original message -- After sending an e-mail complaining about their service, they responded quickly with an appology and an "e-coupon" for my next purchase. In addition, they shipped the GPS via overnight air and it did arrive in time for Christmas. I did appreciate Amazon's quick response to my complaint. I would have changed the "star rating" but it wouldn't allow me to do that.
  
  
• Nice unit, but check out the map60 cs-x
  By A1ZPRX85P1L7O on 2006-02-05
  I just received my map 60cs-x recentlly from Amazon, I don't know why they say its not released yet. It's been available since December 2005. Anyway, I really like my Map60cs and its 56 mb of internal memory, but that is now my daughter's unit. The Map 60cs-x comes with 64 mb of trans-flash memory which is "semi"-removable. Garmin intends to sell trans-flash cards w/ pre loaded maps, but they are as yet un-available. However, 512 mb Scan-Disk trans-flash cards are available for about 45 bucks. That aughta hold just about every map in existance. I just purchased one, put all 40 mb of maps i had in my Map 60cs, and, as you can immagine, hardly put a dent in the available memory of that gihugeic memory card. I'm sure a 1 gb card is not far off in Scan-Disk's future.
  
  Scan-Disk says the trans flash card is "semi" removable because its tiny size, about the size of your pinky nail, is rather delicate. However, once you lock one in, i doubt you'll ever need to remove it.
  
  Other improvements: the Map 60cs-x seems to lock sattelites better than my Map 60cs and the backlight seems brighter, but that my be my elaited sense of reality.
  
  My only criticizm of either unit is that the stated battery life of either is grossly exagerated. Also, i wish, in some conditions, that i could make the screen brighter. Oh, and Garmin needs to make their products MAC compatible. But Magellin dosn't work with MACs either (nativelly) so, whatchagonnado?
  
  Either unit is tough and rugged and probably the best choice for a hand-held. I also have Garmin's auto mount and handlebar mount, which work pretty good as well. I don't do product reviews very often, but I like this product so much that i have to say: GET ONE! (either one...) You won't be dissapointed.
  
  If it wern't for my two and 1/2 criticizms, I'd give either unit a "5".
  
  -jg
  
  
• Excellent outdoor GPS unit. Limited auto application.
  By A3IPSECQAUAT8V on 2004-10-04
  I'm not altogether taken with this product. First of all I was disappointed that in addition to the $400 plus this item cost it was necessary to spend an additional >$125 for the North America City Select maps! Ouch!
  
  I purchased this to help me navigate through unfamiliar cities. I did not find the maps nearly as useful as those that are available in Microsoft's Streets and Trips for $39! Unfortunately, you cannot download THOSE maps into the Garmin unit.
  
  The other problem I had with the Garmin unit was that it took quite awhile for the unit to lock onto the satellites while inside my car. Not only that, but I was loosing my lock frequently.
  
  To give the Garmin 60CS its due, while outside my car I found that the Garmin 60CS worked very well, locking onto the satellites quickly and providing a reliable continuously updated GPS location. The display is, despite its small size, easy to read.
  
  This product words great for geo-caching, which is why I bought it in the first place. Honestly, my major complaints are price and the fact that it doesn't work very well in my car.
  
  This GPS just doesn't seem to warrant the rather extravagant price BUT if you need a portable handheld GPS unit with weatherproofing then this may well be your solution. I have to admit that the proliferation of available points of interest (restaurants, hotels, hospitals etc.) available in North America City Select maps for this product makes it very nifty when in an unfamiliar city. That plus the mapping to the various points of interest with a push of a button is quite a nice feature. BUT, you do pay for these features!
  
  
• Great but poor reception in a forest
  By A3C47G1FH0UHL4 on 2005-05-22
  First of all i think that this gps is awesome, the display is brilliant, the colour screen is wonderful, the battery life better than expected however the aquision of signals and locking on to signals sucked big time. I am a forest ecologist and i am currently working in two forests in Jamaica. I previously had a magellan 330 map GPS and this baby would remain locked under the canopy of any forest, whether it was clouded or not (of course a few times it could not pick anything up). But i lost the bloody thing (insert crying face here) and had to search for a new gps. I was impressed by what this GPS had to offer but my main concern was it's sensitivity in forested environments because the last garmin i borrowed flaked out as i passed under one (1) tree...and unfortunately this gps (despite having an antenna) lost reception as i hit the edge of the forest..the magellan did not even loose reception in this forest..i was and still am bitterly dissapointed... So i am now faced with the prospect of having to purchase an external antenna to boost its reception...but saying that the base map that came with this baby was good enuff for me to use in Jamaica (considering that other base maps i had only showed Kingston!)...This base map had small and large towns...I have bought the world map cd and can't wait to see how detailed it is....Also compatibility with macs suckx big time..I have a 1.5 GHz powermac g4 (just showing off here!) running virtual PC 7..but the gramin software cannot pick up the gps...bummer so i might have to use a regular PC (oh for shame!)....but all in all it worked really well in my vehicle picked up and remained locked and this is in Jamaica...
  
  Pros: Screen quality is excellent, battery life superb the altitude feature is great the base map is adequate for somewhere like Jamaica (especially since i couldn't get any detail before)...when the signal is lost it can re-aquire the signal pretty quickly if conditions are good..Oh yeah and it's very easy to use....
  
  Cons: Not Mac compatible (big bummer) reception is very poor in real outdoor environments even under a tree with a large canopy (if the canopy is continuous by the time u hit the second canopy the signal is lost)...when there is cloud cover it gets even worst...Oh also it's very difficult to import waypoints from other brands into the garmin software despite having similar file formats (.wpt)..I had to enter them manually (up to 50 points!)....
  
  Conclusion: A great product, the size and weight is fine, the clip that somes with it is a big plus ( i just clip it to my backpack and forget about it)...It is a worth while upgrade.
  [...]
  
  
• Doesn't work with a Macintosh
  By A1OL91FBP3JIXC on 2005-09-30
  For years, Garmin has refused to produce mapping software that works with a Mac, or open up their protocols to other companies that do. Alternatives such as Virtual PC are cumbersome and add unnecessary expense to an already overpriced device.
  
  
• Best GPS ever!!!
  By A1HSYRJHWH8VHH on 2005-01-02
  This is my fifth GPS unit. I was a die-hard Garmin GPS-V fan before getting the 60CS a few months ago. I can't say enough great things about this unit. From the color screen, to the design (fits perfectly in the palm of your hand for one-handed operation) to the superb (and swift) routing. What's not to love?
  
  This is truly a unit you have to see in person to appreciate. The color screen is simply beautiful. Bright and Sharp.
  
  I recommend you pick up the Dashboard mount. Makes a nice accessory.
  If you are even remotely thinking of picking up a GPS you owe it to yourself to consider this one. It may seem a little pricey but the routing feature alone makes it easy to justify if you travel at all. Door to door navigation is priceless.
  
  By the way VPC *DOES* run in OSX. Not sure what the other reviewer was thinking. I use VPC and Mapsource to load maps into my 60CS all the time. (although I do have to use a USB/Serial adapter -- Garmin's USB driver breaks a few rules of convention and isn't OSX friendly). But that's not really a big deal. Everything works as it should -- just a bit slower via the adapter.
  
  
• The Best Bicycle Computer Ever
  By AA98XEPL62IKC on 2005-10-02
  If you are a self contained bicycle tourist this is the computer for you. Giant digits, wireless, holds your maps, and tells you when to turn. 56 MB is plenty for most tours, just lay out your trip and download the maps you'll need. 56MB is enough to hold all of Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Nova Scotia. You'll get better coverage on tours because you don't need most of the big cities that take up the most memory.
  
  You might prefer the 60C because of better battery time. 30 hrs versus 20 hours on a set of AAs. But you give up digital compass and altimiter, not big losses if you stay on the roads.
  
  
• Great Product...Just Needs to WORK!
  By A2PMG2B6WIX95B on 2005-12-01
  I love this GPS unit! The size, features, display, etc. are exactly what I wanted for my bike or hiking. However, I have had to return the unit for replacement 3 times. Garmin has more than stood by the product thus far; the 4th replacement is on the way, so lets hope there are no problems this time. I think they could have offered a some free maps (software) after all the problems, but otherwise I would buy the unit again. My final verdict will not be in until the fourth replacement arrives and actually works with no problems.
  
  

• Memorex High Performance AA Alkaline Batteries, 50 Pack
• Memorex High Performance AA Alkaline Battery 8 Pack
• GARMIN 010-10458-00 Auto Navigation Accessory Pack
• Garmin PC Interface Cable for Garmin GPS Units (010-10141-00)
• Garmin MapSource BlueChart CD-ROM for Garmin GPS Units, Americas (010-10317-00)

• Garmin compatible 12v Cigarette Lighter Power Adapter for StreetPilot III Deluxe, GPS 60 GPSMap 60C & 60CS, GPS 76, 76CS, 76C, GPS V, etc. (4-pin connector)
• GARMIN 010-10578-00 Carrying Case
• GARMIN 010-10457-00 Auto Mounting Bracket Suction Cup
• GARMIN 010-10454-00 GPSmap 60 Series Handlebar Bike Mount
• Garmin Compatible GPSMap 60CS & 60C Neoprene GPS Carrying Case