Garmin GPS 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator

Garmin’s MAP60 CSx is an all-purpose upgradeable handheld locator that lets you load up your own digital maps for better reference. The reflective 256-color display lets you find your way on the map in almost any lighting. It’s got a long-life battery for up to 20 hours of outdoors adventuring. The new MicroSD card slots make it simpler than ever to find those out-of-the-way places — just put them on a MicroSD card and load it up. Internal Memory – 64MB MicroSD Card slot Celestial tables Quad helix antenna Battery life – 20 hours (requires 2 AA batteries) Includes belt clip and USB cable

Garmin GPS 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator The venerable Garmin 60CS just got a whole lot better. The 7.5-ounce GPSMap 60CSx now features an insanely accurate, high-sensitivity GPS receiver by SiRF that tracks your position even in tree cover and canyons. Plus, you get a bright, sunlight-readable color TFT display and an included a 64 MB microSD card for storage of optional map detail. Add all that to the 60CSx’s integrated barometric altimeter and electronic compass, and you’ve got a unit that is ready to take you anywhere on land or sea.

You can use the 60CSx’s memory card slot with preprogrammed microSD cards from Garmin (sold separately) that provide topographic maps, city streets, and nautical charts. In fact, the unit is compatible with most Garmin MapSource products including BlueChart, City Navigator, U.S. Topo 24K, and U.S. Topo and Recreational Lakes with Fishing Hot Spots. The unit comes preloaded with an Americas autoroute basemap that provides automatic routing capabilities including highways, exits, and tide data. There’s also a preloaded marine point database. You can even get turn-by-turn directions when you’re driving, and an integrated trip computer provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed, and more.

The 60CSx’s 2.6-inch, 256-color TFT color display is designed to present mapping and trip information clearly and accurately in any lighting conditions. Plus, the case is lightweight, rugged, and water resistant to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards (can be submerged in one meter of water for 30 minutes). When using two AA alkaline batteries, you’ll get up to 20 hours of battery life from the unit. The unit’s barometric altimeter system features automatic pressure trend recording while providing current elevation, ascent/descent rate, minimum/maximum elevation, total ascent and descent, and average and maximum ascent and descent rate. Meanwhile, the electronic compass allows you to get accurate headings while standing still.

Another key feature of the 60CSx is the 10,000 point automatic track log; 20 saved tracks (500 points each) let you retrace your path in both directions. There’s also a large-numbers option for easy viewing, as well as a dual-position display mode.

The 60CSx’s trip computer provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed, and more. Meanwhile, a fast processor allows the 60CSx to provide quick auto-routing, turn-by-turn directions, and audio alerts when you use the optional MapSource software, which can be stored on the unit’s included 64 MB microSD card. Downloading information is quick with the USB or serial port interfaces. Using the dedicated serial port, the 60Cx can share navigation instructions with repeaters, plotters, and autopilots. The four-position rocker pad and dedicated high-use buttons make navigating through the unit’s features easy, even when your fingers are cold or wet.

Finally, the GPSMap 60CSx is packed with some extra fun features. An integrated outdoor calendar provides ideal hunting and fishing times, plus moon rise/set/location information. There is a dedicated geocaching mode for those of you into the hot GPS community treasure hunt game. Finally, there are indoor/outdoor GPS games to help you and your friends enjoy the outdoors.

Garmin GPS 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator Reviews

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.

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!

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