Top of the line!
The primary reviewer didn't actually do his exploration before he purchased this or else he would know that it only comes with basemaps. The other fact he would recognise is that that's how all GPS venders work. They want you to buy their maps separately and only their maps will work on their hardware.
Now, I antecedently owned a 60CS which I loved after merchandising in my Vista. With the newly upgraded 60CSx you get a couple of further and added 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 sensible and super fast. You may lock onto satellites even in your house in a lot of cases! No longer will you loose reception in tricky situations. Most of the time you may even keep the 60CSx in your backpack and it will still track your movements.
The other highly requested function for a heap of years is the elaboration memory, now in the form of a microSD. Now you may load closely half of the U.S. into 512mb of microSD. Later, more spectacular capacity microSD cards will be freed that will concede 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 proceed 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 persons 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
Lots of persons are expecting this GPS to be the perfective GPS. I in truth like it so far and I don't have any complaints. Most of the complaints you'll see are humans comparing the features of this GPS to the 60CS. The issues most humans are complaining when it comes to are in truth 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 a heap of humans will like it and galore will not.
No alarm: I have regarding 10 gadgets with an alarm clock on them I don't see where not including this feature is such a huge 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 largely unused feature.
Expectation of indoor reception: I may personally get reception in my house. This is not going to hold true for everyone. It's still a GPS and needs a more or less unobstructed view of the sky. The new receiver is a HUGE betterment over the old one altho and gets a lock much more immediate 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 buyer GPS and is fixed as to the accuracy it may 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 precise people totally trust the number the GPS is reporting and assert the 60CSx is less accurate. This isn't the case nevertheless 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 have a tendancy to walk around when stopped for a while causing the stopped time and distance traveled to be inaccurate. Garmin is conscious of the problem and has stated it will be fixed with a firmware release.
Mini SD Card issues: This is the primary supplying by Garmin with a removable memory card. There are a few limitations nonetheless equated 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 likewise complain that there is no way to view selective information with regards to 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 genuinely tiny in regards to the size of a fingernail. People without good dexterity might have issues altering the card.
This is a genuinely great GPS. If you have a 60CS already you need to cautiously weigh your decision to upgrade since this unit will actually 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
Before I begin my review, I want to give the reader galore selective information when it comes to my background to put this review in proper context.
This is the firstborn GPS unit I've ever owned. I'm an avid hiker and I likewise take delight in backpacking. I'm likewise an occasional geocacher. I purchased this GPS as a supplement to the traditionalisti map & compass. I use it principally to mark trail heads, track my emplacement when hiking, and navigate the forest roads in the Nicolet & Ottawa National Forests.
ACQUIRING SATELLITES/LOCATING POSITION (5/5 stars): This unit has splendid sensitivity. It may acquire satellites and determine my position while inside my home. The performance was likewise magnificent under a dense forest canopy. It likewise acquires a position rather quickly.
EASE OF USE (3/5 stars): I'm a gadget junkie and tech geek in general. I seldom need to read a manual to figure out how a piece of electronics works. I will have to confess that I had a little difficultness with this GPS. The learning-curve was a bit steeper than I anticipated, but after a couple of weekends of continuous use, I managed to figure everything out. The user interface isn't intuitive, so it takes a heap of 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 a lot of other GPS units, so experienced GPS users will probably experience few issues operating this one. First-time users will have to suppose to spend a few hours in the field with the unit and manual before sentiment 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 specially indispensable to me since I'm a Mac user and Garmin doesn't presently aid Mac OS X (although I'm told that they will have a Mac OS X version of their map productions on the market by year-end). The unit ships with a great set of icons that may be assigned to your waypoint markers. The icons concede you to without apparent effort tell apart dissimilar 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 mechanically brings about a track log for your trip. It diplays the track as an overlay on the terrain map so you may see incisively where you are presently 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 get started your day or commence setting up basecamp.
GEOCACHING (4/5 stars): The unit offers a particular 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 competent to hook the unit up to my computer and upload the waypoints from geocaching.com. I manually enter the waypoints from the info provided on the web site. The manual provides *no* data on how to manually enter geocache waypoints -- I figured it out on my own. The manual also did a poor occupation of explaining how to mark a cache as "found" in your GPS so it mechanically 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 occupation 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 system makes it an idealisti 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 galore areas of Nicolet National Forest, the map software provides a lot of detail and exact forest road information, but in other sections it has hardly any data at all. The inaccuracy of the map is in all likelihood the most irritating issue with the unit. I find that I still have to consult my DeLorme Gazetteer to get precise road info in sure parts of the forest. My expectation of the unit when I purchased it was that it would take over the role as my indispensable navigator, and I'd only consult the Gazetteer in case of emergency. I was a little disappointed when I came across 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 some cases. I asked the unit to construct a route to take me from my home to my bestloved trail head in the forest. The route it commended was satisfactory until it had to figure region and forest roads into it is trip plan. The unit seemed to become confused and, had I followed it is directions, would have routed me directly into the trunk of a giant tamarack. The route appeared to be too elaborated 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 precise route almost each time I asked it to do so. It doesn't even do a good occupation of trip planning from one big city to another using major roads. I ought to point out that this GPS wasn't designed for these functions (route-calculation/auto-navigation). It may carry out them, but the unit is intended to be applied in offroad and backwoods type environments. If you require a GPS for use in your car, then I commend that you buy one designed distinctively 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 outstanding feature, but it is closely criminal that the unit can't use free space on the card for further and added storage. My biggest complaint with the unit is that the limits on the number of waypoints, tracks, and routes seems arbitrary and closely inexcusable given the fact that the unit has almost unlimited storage available through the use of microSD cards. I'd gladly compensate extra cash for a unit that permitted me to save the track log for each trail I hike, along with the waypoint for the trail head, without any internal limit on the total number I may save. This is a severe weakness for the unit, and is the only thing that prevents me from giving it a perfective 5 star rating. As a hiker, I hike various trails that follow old logging roads, cross other trails, or go "off-trail" in a heap of areas. I find it irritating that even though I have a GPS, I still have to rely on memory to numerous extent, to do not forget which path I need to take at critical intersections. I perceive I may mark those intersections with further and added waypoints but, again, the unit limits the number of waypoints you may store. It likewise limits the number of tracks you may save.
OVERALL (4/5 stars): I think this is the best GPS presently available for hiking/backpacking. It excels in outdoors/backwoods environments and has all the features necessary to ascertain that you are conscious of your current position, the type of terrain you will encounter ahead, and how to return to your start out position speedily and with ease. I feel confidant hiking into areas of the forest that I'm not intimate with using this unit as my guide. Potential buyers will have to be conscious of some of the limitations that I noted 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 suppose them to have each country backroad documented. 3) The internal storage limits could cause difficulties for galore users.
