Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Great all-around GPS
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Customer Review: Mostly good with a few quirks and one flaw
Summary: 4 Stars
UPDATE: Within the past few weeks, I took another Southwest USA road trip and the unit demonstrated the same route calculation error problem. Attempting to route from Las Vegas to Page, AZ (both locations were route options/selections within the Garmin's list), the unit would start to calculate the route and after a few seconds, it stopped and displayed an error message -- and no route. It can route within a city / town and can route between cities -- sometimes. I would not take it on a road trip with the intention of using it for routing. (Note: the Avalon rental car I was driving did have a GPS system and it had no problem generating the route(s)). While I did a lot of research before purchasing, I did not find any reviews which mentioned this problem -- possibly I have a defective 60CSx.
INITIAL REVIEW:
Purchased the 60CSx after spending months reviewing different GPS products. My main needs were: ability to store and export track points and waypoints for photo EXIF lat/lon info, rapid startup / connection to sats, works globally, large storage for world maps and US (and other country) street / city maps, and portable. I found all of these features in this device and have used it in Malaysia, Singapore, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and plans for Budapest, Canada, and Italy this year. I have found two quirks so far: (1) with tracking on and the 60CSx in a stationary position, the tracking roams in an erratic manner - no fix for this that I can find. (2) During a recent trip to Texas, through New Mexico on I-10 east, the 60CSx could find but not establish a route to White Sands National Park - the route calculation process would error out. The rental car GPS had no problem establishing the route.
Otherwise, it has worked everywhere else and provided host of help finding lodging, gas stations, ATMs, visitor sites, etc.
For you photo / GPS mappers out there: I have found that using waypoints is much simpler and more reliable than using track points. Just have to remember to press the "mark" button on the 60CSx when you take a picture. My MacBookPro has no trouble connecting to the 60CSx via USB and GPSPhotoLinker provides an excellent way to pull the waypoints down from the 60CSx and writing the waypoints to photo EXIFs.
In summary, while this device has a few quirks, it delivers on the majority of what I needed it to do. It has many, many features (don't forget to press the "menu" button for hidden options / capabilities on each screen) and, for now, is the best device for my needs.
Customer Review: very good product
Summary: 4 Stars
Okay, I'd rate it five stars, but the unit wont make coffee in the morning.
I used a small etrex while deployed to Iraq. Easy to use and dependable it gave me good coordinates faster than the military GPS units we carried with us. Sad, but true. When I got home I bought a Magellan Explorist and I ended up HATING that unit. It was difficult to use the small buttons, wasn't intuitve to use, the little knob thing was terrible, and wasn't easy to use tactically with gloves on.
Okay, this isn't a Magellan review. I purchased this one when my Magellan's display broke. I did a lot of looking around and comparing notes and went with this model. I also bought the topographic maps CD and installed it. I'll say now that if you buy the topographic map you don't have to buy the streets maps CD as it installed the streets onto my GPS also when I downloaded the Oregon topomap to the unit.
I use it a lot for Geocaching and I really dig how I can download the geocache straight into my Garmin directly from the website. I click on 'find' and select 'geocache' and it has all the caches listed from nearest to farthest away and you can select 'found' after you find one. Easy.
I did not read the manual at all when I got it. I put the batteries in and started fooling around. Easy to use and not a lot of tomfoolery with buttons like on the Magellan. The electronic compass that is on it works fine. Not as well as a regular compass, mind you (and it is a good skill to learn anyway, how to use a compass and map). But it works a LOT better than the latest version of the military GPS unit. Really... who makes those things... not infantry guys who have to move and handle rifles, that's for sure.
I used the GPS with the streets to cruise to another city and find a location. It worked fine and once it gets dialed in it was spot on when I made my turns and when passing POIs.
I've not used it in its more specific mode yet. When I did I noticed the battery drained faster. I turned it off as I didn't need it to find what I was looking for. I did notice a bit of a drift with it, but this is to be expected with a GPS unit... it must have some error in it after all as per military/civilian gear agreements. Funny thing is, I was able to get accurate to within 5 meters with my little Garmin side by side with the military Plugger getting much worse.
Great GPS. Works great. Rains a lot on me while using it and, because it is submergable, it doesn't affect its performance.
Customer Review: This is an ideal GPS for outdoors.
Summary: 5 Stars
I realize that this basically a last generation GPS, it doesn't have a 3D display or a camera with geotagging. However, I cannot recommend this GPS enough.
I got it primarily for hiking and mountain biking, twice having found myself off a trail and lost in unfamiliar woods. So last year I loaded my 60Cx I've been on many regional mountain biking trips in unfamiliar woods armed with this GPS and the topographical maps and set out. The quality of the device is apparent the first time you use it. It doesn't have a colored 3d display, but it does have all of the land relief and contour information at your finger tips. It's very easy to see what kind of a climb you have in front of you when you're holding this thing. It breadcrumbs your route as well, so you can see real easily how to backtrack if you get lost. Mark landmarks or trailheads, and have it route you back to them later.
It's constructed very ruggedly. It waterproof and shock resistant. It's been over the handlebars with me quite a few times and it has never even received a scratch. I bought a plastic protective case for it, but I don't think it even needed it. It also goes out in the rain with me a lot. Never had an issue.
Another thing that this product has going for it is a large installed user base who are obsessive about mapping. It's not difficult to find someone who has mapped the trails of any excursion you plan to take. Those tracks are readily available a click away on the internet.
Another great feature this GPS has is one that's going by the wayside these days: It uses standard AA batteries instead of a proprietary rechargable battery. Think about it, if you're off several days into the woods, and it dies, are you going to be able to find an outlet or computer to plug it in to? You're much better off with standard AA batteries in that case. And the battery life is excellent anyway. I will change them once a summer, after taking several weekly day trips.
Note to buyers: This product only comes with what is called "base maps," which aren't good for road or trail.
You do have to buy to external products to get the most use out of it. You'll need to buy Garmin's topographical map set to get the off road benefits, and you'll need to buy City Navigator if you plan to use it for driving. Those can cost upwards of $100 each if you buy the entire US. Approx $50 if you buy individuals regions. Factor that into the cost of the device.
Customer Review: Excellent features, but doubtful accuracy
Summary: 3 Stars
I have been using this GPS for about a month and I have come to some conclusions you may find useful.
I bought this model to use for both adventure touring on motorcycles and as a back up GPS when I go sailing. It has worked well on my motorcycle up to a point and it has proven unreliable for navigation inside harbors.
On my motorcycle it rides on the bike mount, which does manage to hold it securely (but I still tie a lanyard from the GPS to the handle bar) and it is reasonably viewable during most daylight hours. The sun can wash out the screen when low over your shoulder. The audio prompts are useless over the ambient noise and the visual turn alerts are often missed, requiring frequent glances down at the screen in unfamiliar routes.
I also bought the street map software to help me find my way around urban areas. Finding new addresses is slow and inconvenient. The interface is clumsy and time consuming. The accuracy of the street map is dubious and I often found that the exact addresses I entered were not found by the software. The database search often required me to enter a less accurate address and scroll through a sometimes long list of possible destinations. Not confidence inspiring when looking for places I have never visited before.
If you travel slow enough or stop for a few seconds, the location indicator starts to wonder all over the screen. I had stopped to have lunch for about thirty minutes while on a trip and discovered that the location marker had wondered almost a mile from my true location. Worse still, the auto tracking function had recorded the wondering position marker as though I was moving and added almost three miles to my trip log when in the real world I was stationary. This is not acceptable. I use distance on a trip to find trailheads, turns, and points of interest. With this kind of error the GPS becomes a liability rather than an asset.
The location variance is even more appalling on the water. I wanted to have a handheld GPS on the helm while making night time and low visibility approaches to docks and while entering harbors. But the wondering location marker makes this undoable.
On the plus side, the unit is very durable and I have had several occasions to validate the water proofing. The buttons are easy to access and the menus are workable, if not overly intuitive. Battery life is above par and the screen lighting is bright and easily adjustable.