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Great unit
I just received this unit a few days ago. I was planning on comparing it to Magellan Tritton 500 in some field tests, but there's no comparison. Out of the box, the user interface is so much better. The satellite locking so much faster. And believe it or not, no freezes or half finished bits of functionality - which was the case with Tritton. I love it.Best Unit for Biking or Hiking
I spent 2 weeks surfing the Net for reviews of GPS units before I settled on this one. Couldn't be more satisfied. After I learned how the thing works, I mounted it on my mountain bike and went to a trail I had never been to before. I fell 3 times before I even got to the 2.5 mile marker. Fell 2 more times after that. Walked up half the hills, and spent the last 3 miles of the 15.5 mile trail riding in a major thunderstorm to get back to my van. Throughout all this, the Garmin never blinked, and never lost track. It's one rugged unit. Never had any of the problems people have reported in other reviews. If you are into biking, this is the one to get.So Far So Good
I haven't had any freeze-ups or lock-ups with my unit. I wanted the high sensitivity, the mass storage capability, and I thought the compass would be nice. So the Vista HCx fit the bill. Everything has worked as expected. I know the compass is a small feature, but I really like it, and my wife will like it when trying to tell me where to go. Occasionally, I can even get satellite signal in my office at work, which is like a cement basement with no windows. I knew that the mapping software was going to cost extra, so that wasn't a surprise. I recently found some legit and legal free road maps that work on this device though. The free maps won't offer nearly as much as City Navigator does, but it will work until I want to spend another $100. Cloudmade offers OSM maps in the img format. Create a folder on your MicroSD card called Garmin, download the map into the folder, then rename the map "gmapsupp.img" Then load the MicroSD card back in. I think doing it this way only allows for one map at a time. I don't know much about computers and have a mac so this was the easiest way for me to do it. It does take some playing around with to get used to all of the features. But I bought this as a toy not as something I need, so it's fun. This manual is pretty useless, but I have heard that some of the other manuals for different models that you can find online are much better. If I start experiencing lock-ups I will definitely add to my review.Nice GPS but sub par software
I bought this GPS mainly for use while kayaking in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The GPS itself is very nice, with tons of usable features, and is an excellent value. The color screen works great, and a lot of thought went into making this fine handheld GPS. Of course the GPS is only minimally useful without the optional maps, as are almost all similar GPS units, and I have no complaints about that, but the fact is, their Inland Lakes software is not up to par, and that flaws an otherwise excellent GPS unit. The first thing that's missing from the software is that only 1200 Minnesota lakes are included. I'll give them credit that the lakes they do include are the major ones, but they could at least provide a simple outline of most of the rest. Another problem I have with their lake maps is that they don't show where many lakes link to each other, such as where Lake Calhoun connects with Lake of the Isles via canal in Minneapolis. This seems true of every lake that doesn't have a half mile wide connection with another, and makes exploring new lake chains more difficult, since you would have to guess whether or where there is a connection, and that is a serious flaw in the software. The final problem I found was missing sections of rivers and creeks, including sections that connect to lakes. It's puzzling that the software wouldn't show the entire river if they show a part of it. These flaws make me consider selling my new GPS and buying a DeLorme PN-20 which comes STANDARD with Topo USA including topographic, lake and street maps, and comes with a $100 credit for USGS Quad maps, aerial and satellite maps for about the same cost as the Garmin Vista HCx and one set of flawed optional maps. I really like my GPS unit, but the maps aren't in the same league as the GPS is, and that's not good enough. Besides, Garmin doesn't even have USGS Quads, satellite or aerial maps.eTrex Vista HCx
Great product. It's simple to use but finding cities and other locations (not waypoints) not within your area is difficult. Other wise, a great product. Very good for geocaching, allthough it seems to jump around when near buildings. I like how it fits in one hand and how I can use that hand to press the buttons.Keyword : gps
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