Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS
Customer Review: Fantastic, very satisfied
Summary: 5 Stars
I will keep this as short as possible. The only drawback is the small screen, but that's what you sacrifice for extreme portability and honestly, it doesn't bother me that much.
I'm in Iraq and most civilian GPS systems and even some of our own can't get a signal inside our armored trucks w/o an external antenna, but this one can even without the high-sensitivity feature turned on. I've taken it out on four patrols for a total running time of about 36hrs and the batteries only read half-drained. Granted they're lithium batteries and I use the backlight VERY sparingly, but still, very impressed.
It's everything I would want in a GPS, I had the RINO and while that was nice, this is so much better since I RARELY used the radio feature. It's worth the money, shop around, I found mine for just over $200 new.
If you don't already know, the loaded maps are sparse, so don't expect a lot of detail w/o shelling out some cash for new maps, but that's the case with any GPS.
Bottom line, great product, Garmin impresses me again. If it's good enough for me in Iraq, I don't see where this bad-boy would fail.
Customer Review: Great Device - Replacing Nuvi
Summary: 5 Stars
I just received my HCx the other day. I wanted a more portable unit than my Nuvi and had prior experience with the Legend.
You really need to play around with this thing for a few days to get the customization settings to where you want them. The unit probably has a lot more information available than you will ever use.
The color screen is easy to read. I just set it in my dash in front of my RPM meter and have an instant navigator.
I had an old Mapsource program and was able to load the entire country on it with an extra 2GB SD microcard. Surprisingly Garmin let me update the map prior to loading it into the unit. So now I have a map of everywhere in the country. However, the street routing is poor. It may simply be a function of the old Mapsource program I had (Ver. 1).
Garmin products have always been a good value and I think the Etrex is an especially good bargain in that it is lightweight, portable, extremely sensitive (there is a usable signal inside my office), and most important, easy to read.
I would recommend this product for most users.
Customer Review: The Vista HCx has it all
Summary: 5 Stars
The Vista HCx Is the best GPS I ever used. I have owned the etrex, the venture,and now the Vista HCx. This small machine is a wonder. Besides a wide range of features, I appreciated the most the battery life, the color screen and n exceptionally sensitive antenna. When I first unpacked it from the box (I live in Lebanon, Middle East, it took so little time to discover 3 satellites and that's from inside the house, 2-3 meters away from the nearest window. The regular Vista took about 20 minutes on the first run and in dense forests I lost coverage for long distances. I used it on my snowmobile, my ATV and in my Mercedes Gwagen without any problem. It's completely waterproof and works fine in extremely cold weather conditions. The Vista batteries lasted for at most 10 hours, while the HCx could run on up to three times that tiem on two batteries. It's connectivity is great (the serial cable of the models before gave me a hard time). One only drawback is that its' accessories such as the power cable are very expensive. I recommend the Vista HCx for everybody who plans to buy a GPS. You won't be sorryCustomer Review: great for geocaching
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this GPS solely for geocaching, upgrading from a yellow Etrex. Like many people, I was stuck between a 60CSX and the Vista HCx. I went to REI and tried the two out, and found that I liked the buttons and click stick on the Vista better, so I got it from Amazon. It arrived in a couple of days, in fine shape.
This GPS works great for geocaching. It picks up satellites quickly, about 45 seconds or a minute for a cold start. Once you've gotten it booted up and then shut it off again, it can acquire in more like 10 seconds. I can constantly get 8 to 11 satellites in the woods, which is fantastic. The high resolution screen works really well for looking at nearby caches...with my old Etrex, the letters were very big and all the names overlapped. This screen is very crisp. The interface isn't all that hard to figure out if you mess around with it a bit. Overall, this is fantastic for geocaching.
If you've read any reviews at all, you know that the basemap stinks. It only shows interstates, highways, etc, but I knew this before I bought it.
Customer Review: The eTrex Vista HCx is a great bargain!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the eTrex Vista HCx as a back-up to my Garmin Map60 CSx since it appeared to have most of the same features for about half the price. I was very pleased with my decision because this little brother of my other one works just as well and has all the really necessary features as the more expensive model. In fact I can't see that it is missing any features except a way to plug it into a cigarette lighter for power or a way to hook up an external antenna--two features I really don't need.
I like its small size (the antenna is built into the housing), the color screen is great and big enough to see, it handles a memory card, etc. It's easy to operate, though I find the Map60 CSx easier just because the buttons are on front and there are more of them. On the eTrex Vista HCx the buttons are on the side (except for the "joystick") and each button handles a couple of features. But with a little practice, it's just as easy and efficient as the Map60 CSx.
It's a fantastic GPSr--and a great value for the dollar. I highly recommend it.