Garmin GPSMap 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator Reviews

• Top of the line!

  
  By A38O4FPZOIVS49 on 2006-02-23
  The first reviewer didn't really do his research before he purchased this or else he would know that it only comes with basemaps. The other fact he would know is that that's how all GPS vendors work. They want you to buy their maps separately and only their maps will work on their hardware.
  
  Now, I previously owned a 60CS which I loved after trading in my Vista. With the newly upgraded 60CSx you get a couple of additional functions that make it much better than the 60CS. First, there's the SiRF III chipset. It is by far the best chipset out there right now. It's super sensitive and super fast. You can lock onto satellites even in your house in many cases! No longer will you loose reception in tricky situations. Most of the time you can even keep the 60CSx in your backpack and it will still track your movements.
  
  The other highly requested function for many years is the expansion memory, now in the form of a microSD. Now you can load almost half of the U.S. into 512mb of microSD. Later, larger capacity microSD cards will be released that will allow you to loan the entire US! That's awesome!
  
  Two things that you will loose by going to the 60CSx from the 60CS, the alarm clock, and the passive barometric tracking. Apparently, the new 60CSx no longer has a sleep mode so that these two things will not continue to work if you turn OFF the unit. The 60CS had a sleep mode so that the altimeter would still record your barometric after the unit was turned off and wake up to sound the alarm clock but not with the new 60CSx.
  
  Most people don't use these functions anyway so I don't think you'll miss them. Also, the SiRF III and microSD more than make up for those two shortfalls.
  
  

• Great GPS: Ignore the petty complaints

  
  By A2JZJW039EY1K3 on 2006-03-01
  Lots of people are expecting this GPS to be the perfect GPS. I really like it so far and I don't have any complaints. Most of the complaints you'll see are people comparing the features of this GPS to the 60CS. The issues most people are complaining about are really minor.
  
  Icons: Ok the new icons are more cartoon like. None of them are hard to tell what the function is which is the point of an icon. It's an artistic style choice some people will like it and some will not.
  
  No alarm: I have about 10 devices with an alarm clock on them I don't see where not including this feature is such a big deal.
  
  No barometric trends while off: Garmin has stated this is a limitation of the new hardware. Useful if you're in the back country and can't get a weather radio broadcast. Otherwise a mostly unused feature.
  
  Expectation of indoor reception: I can personally get reception in my house. This is not going to hold true for everyone. It's still a GPS and needs a somewhat unobstructed view of the sky. The new receiver is a HUGE improvement over the old one though and gets a lock much faster and holds it better in terrain that is tough for a GPS to work in.
  
  Over-Expectation of accuracy: People keep forgetting that this is still a consumer GPS and is limited as to the accuracy it can get. Just because the GPS says it's got 3' accuracy doesn't mean it's correct. The 60CS and the 60CSx calculate their accuracy differently.Since the 60CS claims it is more accurate people fully trust the number the GPS is reporting and claim the 60CSx is less accurate. This isn't the case however in real world tests in clear skys both units have similar accuracy. However in challenging reception situations the 60CSx get better signal and is then "more accurate".
  
  GPS "Walking": The 60CSx tends to walk around when stopped for a while causing the stopped time and distance traveled to be inaccurate. Garmin is aware of the problem and has stated it will be fixed with a firmware release.
  
  Mini SD Card issues: This is the first offering by Garmin with a removable memory card. There are a few limitations however compared to other brands. First the cards are ONLY used to store maps. No waypoints, tracks, routes, etc. are stored on the cards. It would be nice to have these features but it doesn't seem that this is something that will (or can??) be changed with a firmware update. People also complain that there is no way to view information about the memory card (Space left, file listing, etc.) since there is no way to add data without having the GPS hooked into MapSource this is a non-issue. You can't write to it so why does it matter how much space is left? Oh and if you haven't seen a Mini SD card in person, wow they are really tiny about the size of a fingernail. People without good dexterity might have issues changing the card.
  
  This is a really great GPS. If you have a 60CS already you need to carefully weigh your decision to upgrade since this unit will really only add increased reception(not accuracy) and the removable memory card. If you're upgrading from something other than a 60CS you'll love it, I sure do.
  
  

• Recommended for Hiking/Backpacking/Geocaching

  
  By A30HZA4DGIM9V4 on 2006-05-12
  Before I begin my review, I want to give the reader some information about my background to put this review in proper context.
  
  This is the first GPS unit I've ever owned. I'm an avid hiker and I also enjoy backpacking. I'm also an occasional geocacher. I purchased this GPS as a supplement to the traditional map & compass. I use it primarily to mark trail heads, track my location when hiking, and navigate the forest roads in the Nicolet & Ottawa National Forests.
  
  ACQUIRING SATELLITES/LOCATING POSITION (5/5 stars): This unit has excellent sensitivity. It can acquire satellites and determine my position while inside my home. The performance was also excellent under a dense forest canopy. It also acquires a position quite quickly.
  
  EASE OF USE (3/5 stars): I'm a gadget junkie and tech geek in general. I rarely need to read a manual to figure out how a piece of electronics works. I must admit that I had a little difficulty with this GPS. The learning-curve was a bit steeper than I anticipated, but after a couple of weekends of constant use, I managed to figure everything out. The user interface isn't intuitive, so it takes some time to learn how to navigate through the menus. I don't consider this a major negative for the unit. The user interface seems similar to many other GPS units, so experienced GPS users will probably experience few issues operating this one. First-time users should expect to spend a few hours in the field with the unit and manual before feeling comfortable with the controls.
  
  FEATURES (4/5 stars): The unit offers a lot of customization options. As a hiker and backpacker, I find the altimeter and compass very helpful. The microSD card support is a great feature, and I own 2 of the specialized TOPO map cards for use with this unit (Great Lakes Region & East Coast Region). The microSD card support frees you from having to constantly connect the GPS to the computer to upload a new section of map into the unit. This is particularly important to me since I'm a Mac user and Garmin doesn't currently support Mac OS X (although I'm told that they will have a Mac OS X version of their map products on the market by year-end). The unit ships with a great set of icons that can be assigned to your waypoint markers. The icons allow you to easily identify different waypoint categories by the icon displayed on the map. For instance, it allows me to mark a trail head using the "hiking" icon, and then mark a campsite along that trail using a "camping" icon. The trip computer is a fantastic hiking/backpacking companion. It tracks the number of miles you have hiked, moving & stopped time, max & overall speeds, etc. The "tracking" feature is one of the most useful. It automatically creates a track log for your trip. It diplays the track as an overlay on the terrain map so you can see exactly where you are currently and where you came from. The track log is a life-saving feature and it is the one that I rely on most when I'm in the forest. The Sun and Moon page is a nice feature to use when you are overnighting in the forest and want to get an idea of when to begin your day or start setting up basecamp.
  
  GEOCACHING (4/5 stars): The unit offers a special geocache menu that keeps track of the caches that you uploaded into the unit and have yet to find. Since I have a Mac, I'm not able to hook the unit up to my computer and upload the waypoints from geocaching.com. I manually enter the waypoints from the information provided on the web site. The manual provides *no* information on how to manually enter geocache waypoints -- I figured it out on my own. The manual also did a poor job of explaining how to mark a cache as "found" in your GPS so it automatically updates the cache status and enters the "find" date/time in the calendar. Once you figure out how to do everything, it does a good job of managing your geocaches.
  
  DESIGN OF UNIT (5/5 stars): The unit looks rugged and seems to be designed to handle the rigors of outdoor use. The subdued color scheme makes it an ideal backwoods companion. The layout of the buttons is logical and they are easy to use.
  
  MAP SOFTWARE (3/4 stars): I use the Garmin TOPO map software (preloaded on the microSD cards). I think the maps are average. I find that, in some areas of Nicolet National Forest, the map software provides a lot of detail and accurate forest road information, but in other sections it has barely any information at all. The inaccuracy of the map is probably the most irritating issue with the unit. I find that I still have to consult my DeLorme Gazetteer to get accurate road information in certain parts of the forest. My expectation of the unit when I purchased it was that it would take over the role as my primary navigator, and I'd only consult the Gazetteer in case of emergency. I was a little disappointed when I discovered that the Garmin map software wasn't an adequate replacement.
  
  ROUTE-CALCULATION/CAR-NAVIGATION (1/5 stars): The route calculation function is the biggest failure of this unit. The routes that this unit recommends defies logic in many cases. I asked the unit to create a route to take me from my home to my favorite trail head in the forest. The route it recommended was acceptable until it had to figure county and forest roads into its trip plan. The unit seemed to become confused and, had I followed its directions, would have routed me directly into the trunk of a giant tamarack. The route appeared to be too complicated for the unit, so it just drew a straight line to the trail head from the nearest state highway -- ignoring instructions to follow roads only. The unit has failed to compute an accurate route nearly every time I asked it to do so. It doesn't even do a good job of trip planning from one large city to another using major roads. I should point out that this GPS wasn't designed for these functions (route-calculation/auto-navigation). It can perform them, but the unit is intended to be used in offroad and backwoods type environments. If you require a GPS for use in your car, then I recommend that you buy one designed specifically for that purpose. I don't consider the unit's poor performance in this area as a huge negative since it falls a little outside the unit's area of expertise.
  
  AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT: The addition of the microSD card was a great feature, but it is almost criminal that the unit can't use free space on the card for additional storage. My biggest complaint with the unit is that the limits on the number of waypoints, tracks, and routes seems arbitrary and almost inexcusable given the fact that the unit has almost limitless storage available through the use of microSD cards. I'd gladly pay extra money for a unit that allowed me to save the track log for every trail I hike, along with the waypoint for the trail head, without any internal limit on the total number I can save. This is a serious weakness for the unit, and is the only thing that prevents me from giving it a perfect 5 star rating. As a hiker, I hike several trails that follow old logging roads, cross other trails, or go "off-trail" in some areas. I find it irritating that even though I have a GPS, I still have to rely on memory to some extent, to remember which path I need to take at critical intersections. I understand I can mark those intersections with additional waypoints but, again, the unit limits the number of waypoints you can store. It also limits the number of tracks you can save.
  
  OVERALL (4/5 stars): I think this is the best GPS currently available for hiking/backpacking. It excels in outdoors/backwoods environments and has all the features necessary to ensure that you are aware of your current position, the type of terrain you will encounter ahead, and how to return to your start position quickly and with ease. I feel confidant hiking into areas of the forest that I'm not familiar with using this unit as my guide. Potential buyers should be aware of some of the limitations that I mentioned in my review: 1) The unit's route calculation, when using it as a GPS in your car, is awful. If you need a GPS for your car, then buy one designed for that purpose. 2) The Garmin maps are acceptable, but don't expect them to have every country backroad documented. 3) The internal storage limits could cause problems for some users.
  
  

• Nice Unit, Bad Support

  
  By A3NH9EJGCN1YFM on 2006-04-10
  The review is more for how well Garmin handles/supports their product..
  
  E-mailed their tech support a few days ago because my new 60CSX isn't indicating a "D" fix (WAAS)or any signal from a PRN above 30. Got this in reply:
  
  "I'll be glad to help. The new SiRF units are not really capible of obtaining a WAAS fix at this time. Alone, the units can get down to 6-7 feet of accuracy without WAAS, and according to engineers, even with WAAS the correction is less than 6 inches at best. At this time, I am not sure if they will go though the effort to make the units work with WAAS or not. Most likely the option will be dropped with future updates because of the lack of
  benefit."
  
  Umm right.. First of all the box indicates that it's WAAS enabled, the website says it's WAAS enabled, and there are gobs of other users on the Groundspeak forums who are getting DGPS fixes and much better EPE's than I am. My older units are outperforming circles around this thing. It has some of the worst positional drift that I've seen in a HH GPSr. (sitting on a chair in my backyard for 30 minutes this afternoon, the trip odometer logged .6 miles) As such, I've had it for a couple of weeks and consider it not much more than a pretty paper weight.
  
  The unit has excellent TTFF, is great to look at/use in any condition. But having been sold on a WAAS unit only to have a tech rep tell me that the packaging doesn't match the product gets me a little riled up.
  
  Truth in advertising anyone? I'm gunna confirm this issue with others at Garmin, and if what the rep told me winds up being true, I'm going to pursue it with the FTC....
  
  

• Expect to pay more $$$ for any mapping

  
  By A1J1LFUQUV6H60 on 2006-02-19
  I purchased a garmin GPSMAP 60CSx. I like a fool for purchasing this unit. I am returning it.
  
  Don't get me wrong. The display is wonderful. The unit is small, light and easy to carry. The display is easy to read even in daylight. The unit even comes with a "bonus cable enclosed," according to garmin. But wouldn't you expect them to enclose the cable? Isn't the whole purpose of spending the additional $$$ for this unit to receive the ability to connect it to your computer and download the maps you want to use on your hiking trip (or whatever)? They had better include a cable, right?
  
  And, what about the maps? The base map that is preloaded on this unit is useless. Do not purchase this unit if you expect any mapping functionality from the base map. To get any half-decent mapping functionality from this unit, you will have to shell out another several hundred dollars to garmin and only to garmin. As far as garmin knows, no other maps will work on their units. By the way, garmin's maps don't rate that well by customers either.
  
  I feel cheated by garmin, because all of their marketing, including the box cover, shows only the additional maps. Sure, they cover their butts by including small print that reminds us all that the wonderful pictures of the amazing display are, of course, "Shown with optional MapSource data." However, the optional data could be the font for all one knows. There is nothing that details or even mentions the exceptionally poor quality of their base map.
  
  Do not purchase this unit unless you are willing to shell out another several hundred dollars to garmin for maps. The cost of the unit is only half of what it could cost you to put maps on this thing. I had wanted mine to use for hiking, sailing and perhaps even driving. The maps alone would have cost me over $600.
  
  Unless you are willing to shell out several hundred dollars more for maps, do yourself a favor and purchase a less expensive model and pick up some topo maps. The lesser expensive models will still give you grid coordinates like this one will. You can use the extra cash to buy a new tent, a new stove and probably some climbing gear.
  
  On a more personal note: I would also ask that you don't purchase garmin products because we shouldn't support companies that do business this way. The maps should be available for people who purchase their products. They shouldn't be screwing over their customers like this.
  
  
• A very fine piece of equipment!
  By A31FFZ0FIHV0Q on 2006-07-30
  I purchased my Garmin GPSmap 60CSx in June 2006 from Amazon, because they had the best price available ($100 less than any place else I could find). I also purchased and installed Garmin MapSource USA Topo software on my 60CSx. I recently returned from a 10 day canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which is in northern Minnesota adjacent to the US-Canada border. I paddled and portaged over 100 miles, and used my Garmin GPSmap 60CSx throughout the trip. It performed flawlessly! Some particulars:
  
  - I used the tracking feature to keep an exact record of where I went. I set the sampling frequency to "least often" so as to not fill up the unit's internal memory with track data. This unit begins overwriting the existing track data once memory is full, so I wanted to avoid this. Despite sample frequency being set to "least often" the unit still kept an incredibly detailed record of my track. What's more, at the end of the trip I had only used 45% on the unit's internal memory!
  
  - I purchased a 1GB microSD card for my unit, so that I could load as many topo maps as possible. Interestingly, I found that Garmin's MapSource Topo software limits the number of maps you can load onto the unit's removable memory. As a result, I was up against the map limit number long before I was up against the 1 GB limit. I understand that Garmin may be working on a fix to correct this limitation. I'm sure this was no problem for Garmin until the recent arrival of 1 GB cards.
  
  - My GPSmap 60CSx was water resistant as advertised. Mine got wet regularly as we paddled, and on a few days when it rained. I kept right on using it, with no ill effects at all.
  
  - Advertised battery life is 20 hours on 2 AA batteries. I purchase a set of 8 Energizer 2500mA NiMH rechargable batteries for less than $10 at Wal Mart. I ensured that all 8 were fully charged before I left, so I had 2 fresh batteries in the unit and 6 spares. I returned home with one set of spare batteries completely unused! I found that a set of batteries lasted 3-4 days on the water, using the unit 8-10 hours each day. I guess Garmin's 20 hour battery life estimate assumes standard AA batteries. (Note: If you use rechargable NiMH batteries - and you should - be sure to go into the settings menu of your unit and set it for NiMH, because the factory default is Alkaline.)
  
  - I recommend you purchase a Garmin carrying case to protect the screen from scratches while using it in a wilderness area.
  
  - I found the SIRF chip in this unit to be very sensitive. It readily tracked several satellites - even under dense forest cover. When we were portaging I put my 60CSx inside a zipped up daypack, and it still maintained a solid track. Very impressive!
  
  In summary, I found this unit to live up to all of Garmin's advertised capabilities, and in some cases (i.e., battery life) even exceed their advertised performance. I am very pleased with this purchase, and I highly recommend the 60CSx for hiking, camping, biking, canoeing, or boating.
  
  
• Great unit, but do your homework!
  By AUOL8284BYMV7 on 2007-05-14
  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!
  
  
• You've got to pay to play
  By A1ERWR5A8OVLDH on 2006-03-11
  My first day impression. I'm pretty certain you already know all of the written specs on this GPSr.
  
  Good:
  
  Very quickly locks satellite signals, even inside my house. The SIRF receiver technology is great. The display can easily be read in the day. Uses the same power cables as some of the older Garmins. Magnetic compass turns on automatically when you walk at a normal pace which keeps the arrow pointing at your waypoint (cache), assuming your magnetic north is close to true north. The GPSr includes a thumbnail microSD memory chip for adding digital maps. It is located inside the battery compartment. Battery door has a rubber seal to keep out water. Color display is very nice. Using the arrow mode with the magnetic compass in this high sensitivity receiver makes geocaching much easier. The GPSr should work well in urban jungles.
  
  Needs work:
  
  Can't read the display at night without turning on the display light. Oh well. That's what battery chargers are for. The included Americas base map is a very bad joke. Doesn't show a single city main street. Only major highways. My ancient, plain vanilla, Garmin GPSIII+ has a significantly better base map. Because of this you will probably be FORCED to buy the Garmin City Navigator DVD. Then comes the fun of installing the included Waypoint Manager CD and drivers. It took me two tries to get the drivers to install and talk to the microSD chip. When all this is finished you'll quickly discover that the 64mb chip only has enough room to hold one or maybe two City Navigator state maps. At that point you'll probably want to buy a 512mb microSD chip.
  
  I hoped to add a street map for an upcoming vacation in London but I'm now in major map price sticker shock because of the price Garmin is asking. It seems that Garmin has developed a perfect business model. Include a truly bad base map in your receiver and then pick your pocket for usable maps.
  
  
  
• Outstanding accuracy and versatility
  By A286BUI3J3CM83 on 2006-12-11
  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.
  
  
• My thoughts on the 60csx
  By A3OS5M8BO19GWK on 2007-09-23
  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. ;)
  
  
  
• Best GPSr for at this price point.
  By A1ZPRX85P1L7O on 2006-02-26
  I just received my map 60cs-x in January from Amazon. Anyway, I really like my "old" 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 refuses make their products MAC compatible. But Magellin dosn't work with MACs either (nativelly) so, whatchagonnado? A visit to MACgpsPro dot com gives hope, but not full functionallity. The only solution i found to this MAJOR flaw from either manufacturer is Virtual PC. Yuck!
  
  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
  
  
• Great all-around GPS
  By A3LGVRZ5UO2CIZ on 2006-02-27
  I recently upgraded to the GPSMAP 60CSx from the 60CS. I've had a chance to run the "x" through its paces and am very happy. The reception is excellent-- manifest in very fast time to initial position and good tracking under tree cover, amongst tall buildings, inside some buildings!, and from within a backpack or pocket.
  
  I use the unit (as I did its predecessor) for auto-mapping when I travel and also for outdoor fun. In the spirit of full disclosure, I own and use the Garmin TOPO and City Navigator North America software (about $100 each).
  
  Auto-Mapping:
  I never travel to a new city without the 60CSx loaded with the appropriate City Navigator data. Finding hotels, appointments, dining, airports is now an absolute breeze. Unlike the StreetPilot units, the 60CSx doesn't provide voice feedback and the interface takes a little practice--but these are small concessions when you consider the handheld flexibility of the 60csx. The automatic route calculation works well and provides very good guidance at the point of turns, etc. The CS could hold data for 2-3 destination cities-- but I can load destination data for everything west of the Mississippi onto one 512mb chip in the CSx. Pre-load 3 chips and you'll have the full US. This increased storage capacity and flexibility was the feature that motivated my upgrade.
  
  Outdoor Fun:
  With the help of the Topo software and some USGS quadrangles, I've had great success plotting waypoints and creating routes on backpacking and hiking trails. I typically do all of the plotting on the PC and upload the data to the GPS--it is a great comfort to have the route and waypoints in-hand as you explore new areas. On a recent cold weather bacpacking trip, the CSx kept my position locked under dense foliage while the unit was in my breast pocket-- under similar conditions the CS reception would have been spotty (but still useful). It is amazingly fun to return from a hike and upload your track (electronic breadcrumbs) to the PC and then view the data in GoogleEarth.
  
  I think the CSx has slightly poorer battery life than the CS. Hours of battery life varies widely with conditions--my current pair of Energizers have sustained the unit through about 10 hours of cold weather hiking (hard on batteries) and another 3-4 hours of auto-navigation. The battery level navigator is down to a single bar and I'm going to replace them before the next trip.
  
  I heartily recommend this unit for the all-around user--it's not often you get a toy that is so much fun while still being useful.
  
  
• Best reception available
  By A2J23OJE5C6N7Z on 2006-06-04
  The SiRF chipset in this unit is amazing. When I first saw the 60csx in person, it was in the middle of a giant warehouse-type store, and it *had reception*. No other unit can get as strong a signal indoors, under trees, inside my backpack, etc., as this one can. (Of course it still won't work in the middle of a windowless room, for example -- it isn't magic!) That alone was what sold me about it. Everything else works as all the other reviewers have described -- the software is very intuitive, and the compass and altimeter work great.
  
  My one complaint is that the SiRF receiver is *so* sensitive that when indoors, it can pick up a poor signal that yields relatively inaccurate position data. That means your track log will "jump" around all over the place. I hope that Garmin will provide better filtering to detect when the unit is not in motion in the future, but for now this is an acceptable compromise since it's better to have slightly inaccurate location info (within 50 meters instead of 5 like you get outdoors) than none at all.
  
  There's one important note I'd like to make about the future expandability of this product. In regard to B. Goodman "Coaster"'s review which stated that you can't save tracks, waypoints, routes, etc., to the microSD card, Garmin has apparently made steps to remedy that problem, at least with regard to tracks. Firmware version 2.71 (which is currently Beta, so I wouldn't recommend installing it just yet -- and please note that Garmin might very well change what I describe here in the future) supports saving tracks to the microSD storage! Presumably this will give you an effectively unlimited track log. I've tested this new feature, and the way it currently works is that it saves a duplicate copy of the "active log" to the microSD card. This lets you periodically erase the "real" active track log, while keeping the backup which you can view later on your computer. This is perfect for long trips when you don't want to carry your laptop. The tracks are saved in standard GPX format, and even include time and elevation data (unlike the normal "saved" tracks that you can save and view on the receiver itself).
  
  The new 2.71 (Beta) firmware also enables a USB Mass Storage interface, so you can view the files on the microSD card directly, which will let you easily upload third-party maps (not very high-quality, but available from sites like mapcenter.cgpsmapper.com). You can also use this to retrieve the saved track logs. And you can do this even from a *Macintosh*! This proves that Garmin is committed to providing OS-X support by the end of this year, and also that they're committed to providing continued support for their current (and older) products, rather than saving all the new features only for new products.
  
  
• FANTASTIC Device, But Be Prepared to Buy Map Chip
  By A1UJ5ZMLHB9CEW on 2008-01-02
  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.
  
  
• This unit has it all!
  By ARFT3FMQLEUDG on 2006-05-04
  This is my fourth handheld GPS (I have 6 total). My handhelds are an old first-run eTrex, an eTrex Vista, and a Magellan Meridian Platinum. The 60CSx is definately the best. The most important aspect of any GPS unit is the ability to pick up the satellites. The 60CSx does this without fail while hanging from a belt loop, while in deep woods, at the bottom of 500 foot ravines in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. My other units have to be held up overhead at full arms length and get only spotty reception at best. The Magellan is definately the best of the others but I do not like the size of it or the button locations or the software nearly as much as the Garmin 60. I can palm a basketball, yet the Magellin is too large for my hand to comfortably operate the buttons. The stability and reproducability of the 60CSx is excellent. Consider my return trip to the trailhead on a recent hike. At one point the 60CSx said I was about 150 feet off the earlier track. This seemed too much. I bushwacked over about 150 feet to find the trail and then realized that a cross country ski path intersected with the trail and I had not noticed it on the way in. In my humble opinion this is excellent performance. I purchased the MapSource software which has all the trails I will ever need for about $100. My only complaint is that top quality, alkaline, batteries only last about 10 hours, and not the 30 hours listed in the ad copy. I carry another set of batteries for a day hike. I am very happy with this purchase.
  
  
• Basemap Desparately Needs Updating
  By A2P34FE2TI945P on 2006-05-08
  I was disapointed that my new Garmin 60CS still has the old exit numbers for I-95 in its integrated basemap. The planning and migration to the new exit numbers has been in process for years. Yet Garmin has not taken the time to update the exit numbers for their newest GPS units. Garmin's response to my inquiry was "yes, the basemap is old" and "no, we aren't planning on updating it." At $500 a unit, I feel customers deserve an accurate basemap.
  
  
• Complete Versatility
  By A3I92N6EHQI3IP on 2006-12-03
  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.
  
  
• Impressive
  By A2TGXVUPHSUD5T on 2006-06-24
  When I buy this unit, it will be my 4th hand-held GPS. My current is an eTrex Vista, which does everything I could ever want except work when I really need it! The Vista looses signal in not-so-steep canyons, under moderately dense trees, and when storm clouds get too thick.
  
  I took the CSx for a spin at REI. It wouldn't lock inside their big metal wearhouse building, of course, so I took it outside. It worked fine and did NOT wander when I was standing still. If I took one big stride (~5 feet) it noticed, but added some noise into the odometer too. (said I went 9 feet instead of 5. I can live with that)
  
  Next I held it right up against the 30 foot tall concrete wall of the store, expecting it to lose 1/2 the satelites. Nope. Signal strength dropped but it stayed locked.
  
  Finally, I took it back inside the store, which again has a solid sheet metal roof and only occasional skylights. It struggled there, but kept enough satelites locked (throught the skylights?) to tell me where I was. That's VERY impressive.
  
  In a car, I have to throw the vista on the dashboard so it can see through the windshield. I expect the CSx will work fine in the passenger or back seat. I also expect I can leave the CSx in my pocket or daypack while hiking and it will track. (The vista only works if I rig it to the shoulder strap of my backpack)
  
  The e-compass was just a toy. I always carry a paper map and old-school compass anyway, just in case the batteries die or I drop the thing and break it. (learned that one the hard way, when my first GPS's batteries froze on the way down shasta)
  
  Can't tell if I'll use the barometer and altimeter or not, but I'll give it a shot. At least you can shut it off to save batteries.
  
  Overall, I'm very impressed. I'll keep this unit for a long time, I think.
  
  
• Good Job Garmin!
  By A2KMKV9FBNBZL6 on 2006-06-30
  As the owner of a GPSII+ who has used computer-or PDA-based GPS solutions exclusively for the past five years, I'm amazed with the progress that Garmin has made since way back when I last used their stuff. Not that their devices were ever substandard, but I just hadn't been paying attention to the developments, and I can't believe that this little gizmo can do everything I was doing on my laptop or PDA (albeit with a smaller screen), and then also do things my other software GPS' can't. Plus it's small and light, and waterproof. The expansion cards are a little expensive, but in my opinion very much worth it. The thing I find interesting is that I expected working all this technology with the limited buttons and small screen would make it harder to use, but in fact the designers of the unit have taken that into account (as they should), and optimized everything from the color scheme, to the layout, to the features, so that everything is very easy to get to. Quite a departure from computer systems, where everything often feels hashed together, and the designers don't have to worry about having enough buttons or screen space, so they don't put any effort into designing their interfaces efficiently. Overall I'm very impressed. I will be even *more* impressed when Garmin releases Mac versions of their software (since that's what I have, and which they have promised to do). Way to go Garmin!
  
  
• Great unit once it is setup
  By A2J2D0S2Q7SIFV on 2006-09-05
  I would have given it 3.5 stars but it was not an option. I only give it 3.5 stars because of the poor software and useless base maps. The unit itself is a nice unit.
  
  I have had the 60CSx for about a few weeks now. There was a learning curve at first but now I have it setup to my preference it is a pretty nice unit. It took a week to get use to how the unit functions. After that it was pretty simple to use and navigate through the GPS functions.
  I was looking for a unit that had mobile capability like my eTrex Legend and yet wanted something that had the detail map and Navigational capability like my Garmin 2720. I purchased the 60CSx as a well rounded solution for my needs. So, far it fit perfectly with some additional cost of course.
  
  Pros: Handy unit, it can be removed from the car and carried unlike the 2720. Screen was large enough to read. Well laid out buttons. Rugged. Good screen resolution.
  
  Cons: Software that comes with the 60CSx is pretty much useless. Need to buy the extra memory Card and additional software for better maps, I purchased and extra 1gb memory chip ($$$$). The 1gb chip was an over kill but I like the flexibility. Without the extra items the 60CSx is no better than a eTrex Legend.
  
  Fortunately, I also had a Garmin 2720 with the North America NT V7 software w/ full unlock code. If you register on-line with Garmin you can reuse the code to unlock another GPS unit (2 units max) - you need this to download sectional maps to the 60CSx. If I did not have the other units unlock code and software I would have spend another ~ $150 for additional software.
  
  To figure out how to get the unlock codes to work and download better maps to the on the 60CSX took another 1.5 weeks. Not an intuitive process. Email tech support several times, it was much faster than calling them and waiting on the phone. Email response was less than 2 days.
  
  Update: The 60CSx works with the Garmin 2720 external antenna. Sat lock on much faster...even thou the 60CSx does lock on pretty quick already. Ordered the window suction mount, waiting for it now.
  
  
• Will not work with Mac -- even with Windows NT/Parallels
  By A4FNQSSGFKFSK on 2006-11-26
  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.
  
  
• Git-R-Done with the 60csx !
  By AQBB9L2FL3QD9 on 2006-12-02
  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.
  
  
  
• Crippled by Proprietary Maps (=Garmin Greed)
  By A2JR10TRIJXJ3R on 2007-05-14
  The restriction that Garmin places on the file format for maps is crippling for the consumer. This is simply greed on their part. They create a captive market and exploit it as much as they can. Why should we have to pay nearly $500 (GPS + Garmin map files) to be exploited? The quality of the Garmin Mapsource maps is mediocre at best, and since there is zero competition it will stay that way.
  
  For example, Garmin only sells detailed (1:24,000 scale) topographic maps for certain (not all) National Parks. However, most people (professional or recreational) do their serious hiking and camping away from National Parks, and 1:24,000 scale U.S.G.S. maps are the standard for hiking. I can get a full two-CD set of U.S.G.S 1:24,000 scale topographic maps for my computer (for $30!), and these would easily fit on a 2 Gb microSD card in the 60CSX. Trouble is, the 60Csx won't load maps that aren't purchased from Garmin. Nice.
  
  Eventually a competitor will adopt an open standard for the map uploads and Garmin will be left in the ruins of their little closed-system, attempted monopoly. I hope the day comes soon.
  
  
• Not reliable for cycling
  By A2212DYDFHGYGD on 2007-05-16
  I bought this unit to use when bicycling, and mounted it on my handlebars using the Garmin bar mount. The unit shuts off whenever moderate road vibration is encountered. It shuts off so much it is completely unusable. After searching the web, it turns out that this is a common problem with most all Garmin GPS units, caused by the batteries breaking contact when the unit is vibrated. I unsuccessfully tried all the "fixes" described on the internet to hold the batteries in place, but it turned out the problem is caused by bad design - the internal battery connector is not hard wired to the PC board in the unit, instead a metal connector presses against the board. When vibrated, the connector breaks contact and the unit powers off. Garmin apparently applies only a temporary fix to the unit and does not hard wire the connector when units are sent back to them.
  
  
  
• Amazing Performance This Unit Rocks
  By A1PEQJZSS40O4K on 2006-09-05
  First, a couple years ago I had an e-trex legend, non-color. That thing stunk, always losing signal, very slow, and pretty much painful. My job had given me a really nice Dell Axim X30 so I decided to d/l a gps program for it (destinator) and buy a bluetooth GPS receiver. This worked ok. Really fast and was ok for the car, but still I hated the cables and rechargers and stuff I had to use. and frequently, right in the middle if driving it would lose bluetooth connectivity... annoying. No good for hiking/off-road either which i really missed and hated using the etrex also.
  
  So finally, after reading some reviews and comparing this product to the older gpsmap 60CS which you could have just purchased for dirt cheap at REI btw, I sucked it up and spent the money and bought the 60CSX.
  
  This thing is great. I ahve been using about 2 weeks now. I get amazing reception even in the middle of my house nowhere near a window!!! Unheard of! It has yet to ever drop a signal driving in the city (downtown boston) or through really deep woods in the white mountians. I have used this thing a lot and I am still on my first set of batteries for it. No complaints there. Others must have the backlight on full blast while they sleep or something...
  
  Also, this thing re-draws really fast like when panning and zooming. Way faster, maybe even 2X or more the 60cs.
  
  Navigation in the car is great to. The display is obviously not as big and pretty as my Dell Axim was but I can still see all i need to and more while driving.
  
  Complaints:
  1) The basemap is worthless as everyone says. Seriously Garmin, we spend all this $$$ for the top-of-the line and you chince out...
  2) The city navigator software is critical if you want to use it for driving, and thats another $130 !!! what a SCAM! And good luck trying to d/l this. you cant. no one has broken it so dont wast your time. Luckily I already owned US Topo East (which is not locked so I could use it)
  3) lastly, there should be adjustable volume for the alerts for turning etc... It is not very loud.
  
  All in all, this product is the perfect comprimise of in-car navigation combined with outdoor functionality. Really is the best of both worlds. I see why it has won the "Gear of the Year" award.
  
  
• Reliability in the palm of your hand!
  By A1S9OTNC5LLRFG on 2007-08-13
  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.
  
  
  
• Great Unit - Poor Topo Maps
  By AVJKZ7WTMURPM on 2006-09-08
  This is without a doubt the best non-professional GPS one can buy today. The only problem is with the topo maps which you are required to purchase either on a insertable memory card, or as software. In order to get any detail for hiking you need to use these maps. Compared to other Topo Maps, specifically National Geographic's State Topo or Delorme Topo 6, the Garmin maps are significantly outdated and inferior in quality/level of detail. I actually contacted Garmin and asked why they would produce such poor quality maps for such an oustanding device and are there any plans for something better. They replied that compared to the two competitors, they agree and are (always) looking at ways to improve the MapSource product - with no further committment. I currently upload an appropriate section of Mapsource into my 2G memory card (an option), but transfer all Waypoints and Tracks after a hike to my PC NG or Delorme Topo maps.
  
  
• Excellent performance upgrade from 60CS
  By A3JK88AEYENY4Z on 2006-04-04
  The new "x" series is the only way to go.
  
  I recently upgraded from my 60CS and am amazed at the increase in performance in the new unit.
  
  The 60CSx quickly locks in a signal even in the house, where my 60CS rarely worked. Under tree cover it does not lose the signal.
  
  Scrolling on maps is much faster and cleaner.
  
  Tremendous improvement over the solid performing 60CS series...
  
  
• For geocaching
  By A2ZMESO3BJV1QG on 2006-06-26
  I purchased this item specificaly for geocaching, and for that purpose it is excellent. I think that the dedicated "talk to you units" are better for driving directions, and I have no idea about marine use. For geocaching the unit starts up very quickly, has excellent error margins of typically 15 to 20 feet or so, and down loads the coordinates for the caches, keeping them separate from other way-points. It even lists the caches you have found separately from the ones you have yet to find. Note that you do NOT need to purchase the Map Source and Waypoint Manager, as this is included with the GPS unit.
  
  
• Simply Amazing with the additional software
  By A39NGYK97FBZM3 on 2007-02-08
  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.
  
  

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