kawal

May I ask what I could expect for battery life on the PN-40? That's one of the features I love about the Vista Hcx - the great battery life. It's good to know the PN-40 also has the electronic compass. I really like that feature as well. And it sounds like the PN-40 doesn't need to be held horizontally for it to work. What I found was that the repeatability of the PN-20 track over the same route was not as good as the Garmin handhelds. Nor was the speed of getting a signal and seeing lots of satellites in tough conditions. For me, it was an easy choice to keep the Garmin handheld instead of the PN-20. But it sounds like the PN-40 is an improvement.

I just got in the mail an ad for the DeLorme PN-40, so I've been reading this thread with interest. Last year I bought a PN-20 and ended up returning it to DeLorme after I tried out a Garmin 60Csx and an Etrex Vista Hcx. Here's the link: PN-20 vs 60Csx vs Vista HCx I ended up keeping the Vista Hcx because of its portability and great battery life, and I'm very happy with the Vista Hcx. But I know technology is advancing, so I'd like to ask: 1. Is the PN-40 a lot better than the PN-20? I found the PN-20 to be slower at startup and found less satellites than the Garmins, especially under cover and in canyons. 2. Are the new Colorados that much better than the 60Csx and the Vista Hcx? Just as a background, I was an old Magellan user until last year. And I love the DeLorme map programs, especially Street Atlas that we use on our laptop for road trips. The Vista was my first Garmin. So I don't think I'm prejudiced in any way. For me, the Garmins just outperformed the PN-20. But maybe I should be looking at these new ones for hiking and geocaching? Thanks, Ray

Perhaps this thread may help you decide: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=194570

I wonder if this thread may help you: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=194570

Being a new 60Csx user, I wonder if perhaps you have your compass set with a "Course Pointer" instead of a "Bearing Pointer"? When I first got my Vista Hcx, I was concerned about the pointer also being inaccurate and not pointing to my next waypoint. But then, after reading the manual (like I should have done in the first place), I found it was set to "Course Pointer" - which I don't care for, personally. I simply set it for Bearing Pointer and it points perfectly to the next waypoint - once the electronic compass is calibrated of course. Just go in the menu from the Compass Page, and select Bearing Pointer - that's all there is to it.

Look at the Etrex Vista Hcx too! I just posted a thread on a comparison with the 60Csx, but both are excellent units and the choice is mostly a personal one. Performance on these Garmins is superb. The electronic compass is well worth getting as well.

Don't forget to order a micro SD card, because the Vista doesn't come with one. The 60Csx does, but its small size is pretty useless. You can get a 2 gb micro SD card from buy.com for only about $13 with free shipping. 2gb lets you transfer more than 1/3 of the entire U.S. onto the card. Actually, 2 gb would allow you even more, but I believe you are limited to about 2000 of the individual Garmin maps, so you can't fill the card. If you're going to use this mostly for hiking as a handheld, you'll also want to get the Garmin Topo 2008. It goes for around $80. Another nice feature about both of these Garmins is the electronic compass. Before I tried it, I didn't know anything about it - but it is really a nice feature to have (only some models have it).

One thing I forgot to mention for people who are considering both handhelds is the size of the screen. The 60Csx appears to have a much larger screen if you look at the specifications. But the usable area of the map on the 60Csx is decreased because Garmin chose to display some information such as battery life, compass on, etc. all the time at the top of the screen. This information takes up map space which I think most of us would rather see. On the Vista Hcx, you have that same information immediately if you just push the power button.

As a long-time Magellan handheld GPS user and a long-time DeLorme map enthusiast, I recently decided I needed to upgrade my Magellan Sportrak Pro. So I started reading the forums and two handhelds seemed to pop out as the best ones to buy - the Garmin 60Csx and the DeLorme PN-20. Almost everyone liked the 60Csx but quite a few people chose the DeLorme PN-20 because of the excellent DeLorme maps. Many users claimed the PN-20 performance was equal to the 60Csx, and because the maps were better, the PN-20 was the better choice. DeLorme was running a special on the PN-20 for $299, which included the complete Topo 7.0 map sets, as well as the optional lithium battery set and all sorts of chargers - USB, 12 volt, and 120 volt. It sounded like a great deal with a 30 day trial period, so I bought one. It also used an SD card which I happened to have quite a few because of my digital cameras. I tried out the PN-20 for about a week and I was impressed, especially when compared to my old black and white Sportrak Pro. But it picked up satellites much quicker and it saw a lot of satellites when my Sportrak Pro could only see about four or five. The maps were nice, and I was used to them because I've had the DeLorme Street Atlas packages which I upgrade every year. The new Topo 7 has all of the points of interest and routing features of the Street Atlas, so it is quite versatile for travelling and planning trips. But I still wondered about the Garmin 60Csx and how it might compare. Then I read on the forums about the Etrex Vista Hcx. Although it didn't have the same renowned chipset as the 60Csx, the reviews were very good, and the performance seemed similar. Since the layout and the size were different than the 60Csx, I wondered which I might prefer. I found a good price on both on Walmart.com, so I decided to order both and compare them against the PN-20. I also bought the Garmin Topo 2008 map package to use on both of them- they weren't included like the DeLorme package. The Etrex Hcx arrived first, but I had fortunately already received a 2 gb micro SD card, which the Garmins use, so I first had to acquaint myself with the Garmin map software. It was a LOT different than the DeLorme map software, with not nearly as much information on them, and no points of interest and no routing capabilities. But I did like the various waypoint options and also the neat feature of clicking on View and selecting the choice of viewing your area and waypoints on Google Earth - and Excellent feature in my opinion! To me, since I do not use my handheld GPS for car travelling - I use DeLorme Street Atlas plus their Bluelogger (bluetooth) GPS on my laptop or my in-dash GPS navigation system - the points of interest and routing capabilities for a handheld don't mean much to me. I just want good maps with good waypoint capabilities and most of all, good GPS performance in tree cover and canyons. Upon first trying out the Etrex and the PN-20 together, the first thing I noticed was the blazingly fast satellite pickup on the Garmin. I had thought the PN-20 was fast, but I had the Garmin already tracking within 15' accuracy before the PN-20 found its first satellite! My wife and I take a two mile walk every morning on the same route up a zig-zag trail to the top of a hill. I carried the PN-20 in one hand and the Etrex Hcx in the other. Since we duplicate our route up and down, it was a good comparison to see how accurately each of them tracked. It didn't take long to see that the Garmin unit outperformed the PN-20 in satellite pickup and reception and consistent tracking. I came to like the Garmin maps just as well on the handheld unit and in some ways even better than the DeLorme. After a couple of days it was obvious which one was going to be sent back. I called DeLorme and said thank you very much, but I'm returning it. I wrote them a letter and said it was a nice unit, but it just doesn't compare to the Garmin. When overlaying tracks from our daily hike, the PN-20 was always less accurate than the Garmin, when tracks up and down the same route scattered on either side of the Garmin tracks. Next, after a few days playing with the Garmin Vista, I received the Garmin 60Csx. I immediately liked it, and loaded the same local maps to duplicate the maps on the Vista. Both units are very versatile in setting up each page you want to enter and the information on each page. I had set up the Vista just how I liked it, so it was simple to set up the Garmin 60Csx the same way. I also liked the front button layout on the 60Csx - it is a bit easier to use because each button is marked so you don't have to think about which button to press. On the Vista Hcx, most of the buttons are on the side and you have to learn which button does what function - once you use it for awhile, it's simple - but just not as obvious as the front 60Csx buttons. Next came trying both Garmins out on our daily two mile trail. I was wondering whether the 60Csx would outperform the Vista, considering its excellent reputation. What I found was both units picked up satellites with the same speed, and found the same number of satellites, and the accuracy was just as fast on both models. We did our same hike numerous times with the 60Csx in one hand and the Vista Hcx in the other. Every track was essentially the same. Even in the house or under heavy tree cover, both units picked up satellites and maintained accuracy within about 15 feet. The little Vista seemed to do everything the big brother 60Csx would do. Every day I would upload both tracks to the computer and compare them - they were essentially identical. I liked two things better about the 60Csx - the button layout on the front as I mentioned above, and the little bit larger screen. The 60Csx is just a little easier to read because it's slightly bigger. But I liked a number of things better on the Vista Hcx. One of the big advantages to me is the small size - it fits easily in any shirt pocket - its almost as small as a lot of subcompact digital cameras. It also weighs less - about 5 oz. compared to 7 oz. for the 60Csx. So it is just easier to carry. Another nice feature is the extremely long battery life. I'm still on my first set of AA alkaline batteries in this little beauty - they seem to last forever! My old Magellan Sportrak went through a set of AAs in about 6 hours. The Vista Hcx claims 25 hours. This beats the 60Csx 18 hr. battery life. For night time, the Vista Hcx screen is MUCH brighter than the 60Csx. Both are very readable, but the the extra brightness is nice. Finally, the Vista Hcx is considerably less expensive than the 60Csx. The best price I've seen on the 60Csx is about $300 - the Vista Hcx at Walmart.com is $219. So although I really liked both Garmin handhelds, I ended up keeping the Vista Hcx. It seems to do everything the 60Csx does just as well, and the other advantages outweighed the nice button layout on the bigger unit. You can't go wrong with either one, but I'm very happy with my choice of the Vista Hcx. I ended up buying the Garmin holster for the Vista, and I like that a lot too. I hope this helps others in making a choice for the best handheld out there.