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

Finally a GPS unit that simply works the way it's supposed to! Ok... I admit I am still on my honeymoon with the Garmin Map 60Cx, but so far it has worked like a dream and has exceeded my expectations.This unit was very easy to use intuitively right out of the box. My greatest surprise was when I turned on the unit for the first time and, literally within a minute, I had locked 6 satellites! (with another 4 on the way). I just have to mention that with my previous 3 GPS units, I would have to wait 10 to 20 minutes for a lock on the minimum 3 satellites. Also, this Map 60Cx seems to keep lock well even with buildings, trees, and obstructions (whereas my previous GPS units would frustratingly lose lock when I entered a forest or even stood next to a building). This really makes the Map 60Cx a great pleasure to use. It initiates right away and keeps lock, just like it should. The displays are easy to read and interpret and it easily navigates through the different pages with simple intuitive controls (with Windows-like menus). Oh! and the colour display is great, very easy to see even without the backlight.The difference between the Garmin GPS Map 60Cx and the Garmin GPS Map 60CSx is that the 60CSx has an electronic compass and a barometric altimeter built in and it usually costs about $30 more than the 60Cx. I opted for the 60Cx (minus the compass and altimeter) because I already had these instruments on my wrist watch, they were redundant with the GPS compass and GPS altimeter already included with the unit, and I noticed that compared to the 60CSx with an 18 hour battery life, the Map 60Cx sips power with up to a 30 hour battery life. Since the only difference between the two are these two additional instruments (compass and altimeter), I can only surmise that the exta power drain must be related to them.As for battery life, I have not encountered any problems yet. One of my reasons for choosing this product is because it did NOT use an internal or proprietary rechargeable battery. I needed a unit that used plain, readily available, easily replaceable alkaline batteries. Rechargeable batteries do gradually lose their effectiveness over time (as another reviewer noted and attributed to the GPS unit). For me, it is easier and more reliable to just pop in 2 fresh Duracells than to wonder what the current max charge is on my rechargeables (or to pay $20-$30 for some exotic hard to find "EL-1078-4a" battery when it finally dies). This principle holds true for most consumer electronics. I try to avoid anything that uses some special battery (even a CR123 at $5 each) or worse, some specific proprietary battery made just for the device.Another key feature that I required was waterproofness. I use my GPS unit on, in and over the water (not to mention inclement weather).The base map is sufficient for my needs so far (hiking and geocaching), but eventually I will pick up the City Navigator software for road directions when I travel. I have seen this software in use on my friend's GPS Map 60CSx (the sister unit to the 60Cx) and despite the seemingly high additional cost, I think that for what you get, it is a good deal. Not only does it upgrade the unit into a highly effective turn by turn road navigator, but it also adds a nice city guide feature that allows you to find restaurants, gas stations, hotels, and Starbucks.Also, having had some previous experience in law enforcement and familiarity with the California Vehicle Code, I would like to mention that the suction-cup mount accessory for the windshield is illegal in the State of California. It's CVC 26708(a).UPDATE TO REVIEW 5/20/08:Ok, I've used this product for a year now, the honeymoon's over... LOL... ...and I still love this product. It has performed superbly way beyond my expectations. First of all, it is indeed very rugged. I've dropped this unit many times, abraded the casing against rocks, accidentally given it impromptu dunkings in rivers and streams (not sea water yet!), and have taken it into extremes of temperature from freezing 20 below, to 120 degree desert. All I can say is, it has endured all of this abuse admirably.Secondly, the unit when hooked up with the North America Map Pack and the car power cord (which illuminates the display constantly) serves as an excellent turn-by-turn driving GPS. Sure a bigger screen might be nice, but the GPS and directions work (with audible alerts), so I have no complaints. The big advantage is that you can easily unhook it and take the unit with you since it was designed to be handheld, thus avoiding the biggest new temptation for auto burglars.Thirdly, much to my delight, the base maps pre-installed with the unit include INTERNATIONAL locations also! I was able to use my GPS extensively while traveling abroad 1) ensuring that I could not get "lost" and 2) keeping an automatic, constantly updating travel track log for me. This has turned out to be a wonderful extra benefit of traveling with a good GPS unit. Everywhere I went, every interesting site, every store, every restaurant, every beautiful vista, was accurately and duly recorded, and when I got home and uploaded this track log to my computer, I have a perfect travel diary of my journey. Also, marking waypoints and actually labeling them is quite easy with this GPS unit, and I've been able to do it with gloved hands. If I'm in a hurry, I'd just set a "marker" and then come back and label it later.I burn through batteries at a consistent rate of 2 AAs every 3 or 4 days (as I power down at night), which is fine with me, to avoid all the hassles of recharging or degrading performance of rechargeables.Any negatives??Well, I wish that instead of suspending all functions and wasting power to give me multiple and redundant audible and lit up "pop-up" warnings that my "BATTERY IS LOW", that it would just go ahead and try to function with what little power is left until I run out of power. This is an annoying idiosyncracy of many small electronics including cell phones and iPods. I mean, I can't help but wonder how much longer these units might have functioned if they didn't expend their last gasp of power on these incessant low power warnings.I think I would have extended the grippy rubber covering to the sides of the unit also. The times that I've dropped it were usually because it simply slipped out of my hand while holding it along the sides.Alas, the nifty plastic belt clip did not last long under field use. Replacement clips are hard to get (and pricey too). I finally had to upgrade to a rugged military grade nylon web pouch (designed to hold a single smoke or flash-bang grenade).

After alot of research into all of the GPS units out there, I decided on this handheld unit. My choice was based on my need to cover both automotive and marine needs. I've been using GPS since the late-80's on a sailboat that converted from Loran. I'm quite accustomed to navigation, and the terminology and concept of GPS. Others who are new to navigation may be confused by the terminology. Since I race sailboats (and I drive), Bearing/Heading/Velocity Made Good, etc., all made sense to me. This unit is one of the few that is useful for my land and marine requirements. The internal memory and expandable MicroSD slot allow for conversion to either mapset.The base map that comes with this unit is limited. Aside from showing major highways, it isn't much useful beyond that. I took it on a road trip in the first few days after my purchase, and the base map it came with was very limited. Aside from telling you what state and major highways you're on, it won't tell you much more than that. But I was surprised that it new the approaching highway exit name, even with just the base map. Shortly after my purchase, I invested in the City Navigator software, and wow!, what a difference. Suddenly it is smart enough to plot my route to specific addresses, although it doesn't pick the best route...it just picks a route that works (would've had me going on some small roads unnecessarily).I've also begun geocaching with this unit because it is set up nicely for that purpose. This unit allows you to enter waypoints easily, and it comes with various icons to depict most waypoint types.This unit is bulkier than some of the automotive units on the market. But I've found that many of those "card deck" size units don't work well for marine use. They are limited mostly to automotive needs. But it's amazing that they can pack so many features into this small device.I decided on the GPS Map60Cx rather than the Map60CSx. The Cx simply doesn't have an electronic compass or altimeter function. Interestingly, the unit does plot heading and bearing (both directional and degrees), but you have to enter a waypoint so it knows where you want to go. You just can't stand still and get a compass heading. Also, the unit will tell you your altitude above sealevel, so I'm not clear on what the CSx altimeter could improve on. Since I don't fly or climb mountains, I didn't see the need for an altimeter. I also don't mind taking a step or two to determine my compass heading. These two functions seemed irrelevant for my needs.I had difficulty getting my PC to recognize the GPS unit. But after exchanging a couple of emails with Garmin, my problem was solved (it seemed to be a missing Registry command which Garmin Tech Support helped me work through. I thought that was nice considering the problem appeared to be my PC, not the driver or unit itself. I have to say that Garmin Tech Support was very good with me. My only comment would be that live tech support is only available during daytime hours which might make it difficult to handle if you work all day (and who doesn't?). But even so, I corresponded with Garmin through email and they responded quickly and accurately. I'm pleased.I intend to purchase the Bluechart map software (marine use), but even with the base map, the unit recognized the Freighter Channel, Range Lights, and International Border found in Lake St. Clair (Michigan).One note when trying to decide whether to purchase the maps on MicroSD card versus DVD software, I understand the MicroSD card can't be viewed on the PC, while the DVD software is viewable on the PC and you select which "areas" you want to download to the GPS unit. The download speed is relatively slow, but not rediculous. I loaded up the 64 meg card in about 10 minutes. I've read that a 2 gig card may take an hour or more. I've also read that if you intend to load a 2 gig card, you're better off with a card reader rather than the USB interface.I can't think of a single "Con" for this unit except that the maps are too expensive, considering you can get the same detail on a $3.00 paper map (but then you couldn't enter an address I suppose). Still, the maps aren't cheap. It isn't as pretty as the automotve GPS's on the market, but then, you can't trek through the woods or sail a race course on the automotive units either. The screen size also isn't as big as the automotive units, but this size is perfectly functional too.

I chose this because I got lost in my mission field in China.You can buy the map online and install it in this GPS and ready to drive.Of course this is a great tool for a pedestrian.It catches the signals very fast as soon as you turn it on.