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| GARMIN 010-00630-00 Etrex Vista GPS Receiver | 
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| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: $299.99
Buy New: $209.95
You Save: $90.04 (30%)
New (71) Used (4)
Avg. Customer Rating:  139 reviews
Sales Rank: 392
Platform: Not Machine Specific
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Tracks: 20
Batteries: 2
Batteries Included: No
Native Resolution: 176x220
Display Size: 2
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Size: Garmin Part #010-00630-00
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 2.2 x 1.2 x 4.2
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: eTrex Vista HCx
Model: eTrex Vista HCx
UPC: 753759071134
EAN: 0753759071134
ASIN: B000PDR1LS
Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Garmin eTrex Vista HCx GPS unit April 28, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm very pleased with the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx. Good battery life, high sensitivity -- the unit can receive nine satelites from inside my house! Once you get used to the functions, it is easy to move from page to page and the unit itself is excellent. However, the people who write the technical manuals (instructions) need to go back to school. The manual describes all of the functions well, but if you are a novice user, it leaves you with all kinds of questions about how this or that works. In short, it does not explain how it can be used, only how it works. Except for the instruction booklet, I am very happy with the product itself.
 Garmin eTrex Vista HCx April 27, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The HCx has turned out to be better then I had anticipated. It did take a couple of weeks to get familiar with the buttons, and changing displays, but I have never liked to read manuals when working with a new product. The manual however once opened did have the simple answers.
Althought it doesn't speak, it does get annoyed when I decide to deviate from my pre-planned routes. It does come with a basic base map which however is not detailed enough to get you to specific addresses (such as mapquest). I'll be using my eTrex for hiking in Switzerland this fall and discover the the maps I'll require are more expensive then the price of the eTrex.
Very Impressed April 21, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I got this unit for my wife, who also happens to be my geocaching partner. It hardly seemed right that I was the high priest of the GPS receiver, so she clearly rated one of her own. At the same time, she viewed my Garmin GPSMap 60CSx as "kinda klunky" (not my beloved 60!). So this unit fit the bill exactly. It's small enough to carry in a pocket or a purse, it doesn't look as nerdy as a 60 (it looks like a cell phone), but it's every bit as sensitive and reliable as my 60. And with two different signals on the hunt, we find that we can locate caches a little more quickly than we could with just one.
very nice April 15, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I bought this to use kayaking. My first real test of it though was on a rafting trip. The audible proximity alerts were nice. Knowing that something was coming up without having to look at the gps every 5 minutes was good. Overall very pleased. My only gripe is you have to spend a couple hundred dollars on the gps unit that just showed major highways. Had to spend another hundred to get the Inland Lakes map software to show waterways. Oh well, it was worth it.
eTrex Vista HCx worthy successor to eTrex Vista C April 13, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I purchased my Vista HCx to replace my Vista C, which at three years of age was beginning to show signs of case wear. The HCx is almost identical to the C in form and function, and conversion to the more capable device was therefore easy. If you like the Vista C you will love the HCx, since installing a 2 GB Micro SD memory card in this unit can theoretically provide 80 times the map storage capacity of the 24 MB Vista C.
The biggest challenge was loading maps onto the HCx. I own Topo USA 2008 and it seemed "reasonable" to transfer the entire database into my handheld. I immediately ran into two limits. First, the Topo USA 2008 dataset is approximately 3.8 GB, which required choices regarding which maps would go onto the handheld. After editing out the flat center of the United States, I ran into limit number two--the HCx can only recognize 2025 map files. My 2 GB mapset was composed of over 3,000 map files, which forced another edit session. Eventually I decided to load Hawaii and the West into the handheld (I live in California and vacation and travel in WA, OR, NV, ID, MT, and UT from time to time). I eventually selected some 2000 map files which use approximately 1 GB of memory.
Data transfer was painful--apparently the HCx uses USB 1.1 for data transfer, not USB 2.0. The unit took 1.5 hours to set up the transfer file, and another 1.5 hours to actually transfer the information. Hence the data transfer itself took over three hours, which was in addition to the two hours or so I spent working with Topo USA and discovering the maximum file limits of the HCx. At least I should not have to transfer data again any time soon.
Given the current file limits of the HCx I probably would not bother buying a 2 GB Micro SD card if I had a chance to do things over--a 1 GB card should be perfectly adequate.
I think the unit is probably worth its $330 suggested retail price, and it is definitely worth the steeply discounted price I found on Amazon.
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