Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

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.

I have had this unit now for several weeks. My previous handheld was the old GPSMap 76s. Man, what a difference! I've also had various other gps units in the past, mostly automotive types, so they really don't apply here.My review here is all about the unit, not maps. You need to understand that this unit comes only with a very limited detail base map. Detailed maps are available from Garmin or from OTHER sources. Now, back to the hardware.....This is NOT a unit designed for navigating in an automobile.This IS a unit designed for portable use on the trail while on your person.Battery life is exceptional. Uses two AAs.The box said it came with a 64MB micro SD card. Mine had a 1 Gigabyte card in it!! Bonus!!Case: tough, attractive, water-proof, and a great size to fit just about any hand.Screen: Clear and crisp, good color, very readable. This is an OUTDOOR unit, it is designed to have direct sunlight on the display. The more light hitting this display the better it looks. There is a backlight for indoor or low light conditions. I bought the Invisible Shield by Zagg. Having tried a few, this is the absolute best one I have tried. I also use one of their products on my Blackberry screen for protection. Tuff as nails and protects your screen from scratches. Get it and be done with it, you won't be sorry.Operation: Straight forward Garmin-style buttons and menus. Set-up is a snap for experienced users, and novices will find the unit intuitive and quick to learn.Sensitivity: I've never seen anything like this unit when it comes to snagging sats. Indoors, under tree canopies, in your pocket, in the car, in the truck, it don't matter. This thing has much more sensitivity than I expected. I stick it in my pocket when walking the dog, just to see how far we go as we try different streets and routes in the neighborhood, it's just a fun and fantastic tool.Accuracy: Most of the time the unit indicates an accuracy between 7 feet and 9 feet. I don't get to turned on about this metric since my uses do not require accuracy better than this. Unit utilizes WAAS to further improve accuracy.SD card slot: The card required is the Micro SD card. It fits in a socket that lies just under the batteries. I bought a 4 Gig card, loaded it up with 3.6 gigs of planimetric and topomaps, and use the unit to turn maps on or off depending upon which one I choose to view. Sweet!Powering the unit: Of course the internal batteries are the main power source. There are also two more ways to power the unit. One is via the USB port, utilizing the 5 volts DC available on any USB line or USB charger. The other is the Garmin 4-pin connector. This connector uses two pins for power, and two pins for data send-receive (serial). I prefer the Garmin connector due to it's design being more resistant to moisture.Bonus uses: If you have mapping software on your laptop computer and that software supports GPS connectivity (i.e. Delorme Street Atlas) , just connect your 60CSX to the computer via USB and use your 60CXS as a great GPS sensor for your laptop as you travel down the road or as you creep through the woods.Sensors: This unit has a barometric altimeter sensor. GPS derived altitude is usually not very accurate, but when used with the altimeter sensor, the altitude calculations are pretty darn accurate as far as I can tell. The unit also has an electronic compass which is a really cool bell and whistle. Do yourself a favor when on the trail and carry a real compass...Silva grade or better.The unit comes with some Trip and Waypoint management software as well.So anyway, that's about it for my review of the 60CSX. Happy GPSing!

Je cherchais un GPS ayant de l'autonomie et trés sensible pour fonctionner en forêt ou dans les rues encaissées.Je cherchais un GPS qui ne mette pas dix minutes pour se caler sur les satellites.Il correspond à la perfection à ce que je cherchais.Son tracklog et ses waypoints sont directement exploitables dans mon logiciel de "géotagage".Merci Mr Garmin !