Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS
Customer Review: Great all-purpose GPS
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this GPS to use both on my bicycle and in my car. I also own a 60Cs from Garmin.
The Vista HCx is a better GPS in every way. It is smaller, the screen is higher resolution (though physically slightly smaller), the arrangement of buttons is better for one-handed operation, battery life is at least twice as long. The Vista also has a micro-SD slot which is a great feature. The 60Cs has 64MB of memory, enough to load say northern Illinois and part of souther Wisconsin. I put a 2GB micro-SD card in the Vista and was able to load maps of the entire U.S. and Canada. No more switching map sets before long trips!
The high-sensitivity receiver is great, it receives signals and maps my position while sitting on my couch! I used the 60Cs a couple years ago on a bike trip and found it lost reception when the trees extended over the road or trail. I rode the same route this summer with the Vista HCx and reception was perfect.
I have the City Select maps for North America which I loaded on my 60Cs. Garmin allows their maps to be loaded onto two devices so I was able to load and activate the maps for the Vista.
I also purchased the bicycle handlebar mount for this unit and it works great as well (though a bit pricey for what it is).
Currently I have only one complaint about the Vista HCx. The backlight does not automatically stay on when running on external power. You must press the On/Off button briefly to activate the backlight. With the 60Cs if the GPS was running on external power the backlight automatically came on and stayed on. This is a minor complaint but since it could be fixed with a firmware update it would be a nice feature to include.
Customer Review: Lots of Bang for the Buck but still some bugs to work out
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this unit as a replacement for the E-trex legend CX. I was plesantly pleased with the speedy delivery by Amazon. The menus and functions are almost identical to the prior GPS with a few exceptions. The electronic compass makes stop and go waypoint finds very easy as you don't have to be moving to get an accurate arrow. The altimiter is nice to have, but unless you're a meterologist or skydiver, it really has no practical use in my part of the world. The GPS links easily with my laptop computer. The seperately purchased mapping software loaded like a dream on the micro SD card that I also had to purchase seperately. The unit is waterproof (accidently tried this feature out).
There is a downside, though......If you plan on using this GPS in cold weather, 45 or below, keep it in your pocket. When the screen gets really cold, the backlight makes the entire screen have a white hazy appearance until it warms up. Cold start-up satellite acquisition time is less than honorable, but the reception is awesome once it locks on. I can sit in my living room at home and lock on satellites!
There is a firmware update that had to be installed right out of the box, but it only takes a few minutes to load. No biggie.
The battery life on this little guy is teriffic. The longest I had it on was 35 hours using rechargable lithium batteries.
If you hunt or fish in rough, thick terrain, this GPS is for you. If you have a bad habit of abusing your toys, this GPS is for you. If you graduated 6th grade and can read English, you will be able to work this GPS. I couldn't give it five stars because of the cold screen issue and the firmware update. I really enjoy this device.
Customer Review: My third HCx
Summary: 4 Stars
I just bought my third Garmin Vista HCx. They seem to last me about two years. The first one gave up the ghost in the middle of the Appalachian Trail after about three years of abuse. On one occasion, I left it on the dashboard for about three hours of Oklahoma mid-summer midday sun. It was too hot to touch but happily recording data. The second one was stolen out of my car a month or so ago. Before HCx, I had had a couple of lower-grade Vistas. I just love to use it to record my adventures, and for geocaching. On the AT, I downloaded tracks for the whole trail from an internet site, edited them into four pieces with widely-spaced points to guide me along the way; in a few cases when I lost the Trail, I used it to get back a little ahead of where I lost it; on other occasions, it helped me to choose among alternative paths. Mostly, it just reassured me I was still on-track I really like to be able to plan my route for hiking, biking or kayaking, then feel confident along the way.
Sensitivity comes into play when searching for a geocache. I'm often 50 or 60 feet off, which can be really hard in a very bushy place, but I can't really say the error is due to my Garmin, the hider's GPS, or current geometry and atmospheric conditions.
Documentation is not very helpful. It usually just tells what you can find out by pushing the buttons. But that's just par for the course for software documentation these days: whoever writes the manual doesn't know anything more than a casual user. For one thing, it really doesn't tell you how to use WAAS.
Battery life is, I think, best of breed. I really do get the 25-or-so hours. And I use the electronic compass a lot in geocaching.
Customer Review: Excellent GPS unit.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been playing with this thing for over a month now. Great unit, very sensitive. The only place that I don't get signal is where I work, but the building is shielded, what can I expect? Other than that no problem: In the house, malls, hills, you name it. This baby knows where it is all the time. The basic map is basically basic, no much fun, so I installed City Navigator 2008, and here is where this thing shines. You get turn by turn to your destination. Of couse, you will need a MicroSD card to install the maps, do yourself a favor, get the 2GB, here at Amazon the price is just right to pass.
Now, after you install the map, go to "setup" then to "routing" and pick faster time, then below that menu, pick "Follow road Options..." and disable all the "avoid". I thought this thing lost its mind, it was routing me all over the streets to my destination, until I came to this menu and disable all the "avoid."
Pros: Very sensitive.
Able to use a MicroSD card.
Small and rugged.
Cosn:
Wish to be able to scroll back and forth, so far you can scroll forward only.
To test the unit, press the rocker switch down and turn it on. To see additional info, get to the computer trip, then press the rocker switch up, right, down then left.
In my opinion, this unit is more advanced than those for your dashboard. Of course, you don't have voice guidance, traffic update, etc.
Usually, I come to Amazon.com to read reviews, some are very extensive. In my opinion, people that write reviews here are more mature in most aspects, so these are my two cents.
Customer Review: simply the best hiking GPS
Summary: 5 Stars
For many years I used a Garmin eTrex Vista. It was sooo reliable. So when it came to upgrading (I wanted a USB rather than serial port, data card for mapping and waypoints) I chose Garmin eTrex Vista Hcx. This is an amazing GPS for hikers and trekkers. It has everything. Long battery life, very high sensitivity (it works inside my house or my work office), fast satellite acquisition, memory card for detailed maps, excellent track log facility, small size, light (180gm inc. protective jacket and Li batteries), waterproof and easy to use (I still haven't used the manual). The main problem with GPS is that none of the manufacturers offer proper support for Apple Macintosh computers. However Mac GPS Pro is excellent. The cost is reasonable $49.99(US). This software also makes it easy to see your tracks and waypoints on Google Earth!
A couple of months later:
OK, the sensitivity of this little GPS is AMAZING. Tested under tree cover - no problems. It's a sensitive as my in-car GPS (Nuvi 660)!! V fast acquisition times. These two items are really important for GPS's. And of course it loads maps. These vary in quality and are not related to an individual GPS - the maps run on many models.
About the only thing that is missing from this little device is Blue Tooth or Wfi. If it had (switchable) Wifi, there would be no effect on battery life (which is fantastic!) and they could waterproof it even better. I have my doubts about the weather sealing around the USB socket!
But still, I am blown away by this units power, sensitivity and endurance. Simply amazing.