More Very Basic Questions....

[julieingermany]

I managed to miss the 60c on Amazon.com for $250 - gr! Now I have to rethink my gift-giving slightly, and I'd appreciate your advice.

 

Between the Garmin Vista, Vista C, Legend, and Legend C, does anyone have any preferences? I know the non-C versions have no color, but I'm wondering what, besides that, makes a difference between these models. Also, how important is color?

 

Thank you in advance!

[+briansnat]

The color units also support autorouting, have better reception and a USB connection.

 

The b/w Vista has the advantage of 1,000 waypoints to 500, but that's about it.

 

Of the ones you listed, I'd go with the Legend C. I don't think the altimeter and magnetic compass in the Vista C are worth the extra $$$.

[+mpiercecfp]

I suppose you will get lots of different answers to this question. I'm a Vista C user myself and am very satisfied.

 

Garmin does a poor job of marketing these products by naming them Vista or Vista C (or Legend or Legend C), because you think that the only difference is one of color or b/w. That is not the case. The Vista C has more waypoints and is much faster. It really is an entirely different GPSr than the Vista.

 

The best comparison is to go on the Garmin site and compare them side by side:

http://www.garmin.com/outdoor/compare.jsp

 

When I priced these different models, it didn't seem like I was paying much more for the many benefits I received from the Vista C.

[julieingermany]

Would the 60C be worth $80 more than a Legend C? Thanks.

[+briansnat]

Would the 60C be worth $80 more than a Legend C? Thanks.

If you need the extra memory, yes. Where do you live? If you're nowhere near a major metropolitan area you may not need the extra memory. If you are in one, you probably will. The 60C also holds 500 more waypoints than the Legend C and has a jack for an external antenna, whle the Legend C doesn't.

 

The Legend C does have the advantage of being nice and compact.

 

The Vista C has more waypoints and is much faster

 

Actually not true. The older Vist has 1,000 and the C only has 500. The C is better on all other counts though.

Edited December 21, 2005 by briansnat

[julieingermany]

We live near NYC and travel to DC frequently. We'd use this handheld for driving, but also for mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, etc. Would the 60C be preferable for all of the above?

 

The side by side comparison was very helful, thank you!

[+briansnat]

We live near NYC and travel to DC frequently. We'd use this handheld for driving, but also for mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, etc. Would the 60C be preferable for all of the above?

 

The side by side comparison was very helful, thank you!

Yeah, you're gonna need the 60C's extra memory. Being MTBers, hikers and backpackers you'll probably want both topo maps and road maps and the extra memory in the 60C will be critical. The NYC and DC areas chew up map memory. If you were in Montana I'd say go for the Legend C, but living where you do and traveling to DC you're going to find the 24 megs of map memory lacking.

 

I live in northern NJ and work in the DC area and my 60CS just barely holds enough to cover both areas with City Select maps and topo for northern NJ. Not to give you another decision, but have you considered the 76C? Functionally its essentially the same unit as the 60C, but with double the map memory.

Edited December 21, 2005 by briansnat

[rickertk]

At least for biking, form factor is (or can be) important. If I'm just tracking a ride, a jersey pocket works well for my VistaC. If I want to see the GPSr while riding, the handlebar mount works fine. With some of the other models (particularly the 76 series, which is rather larger), I'm not sure that it would be as convenient to carry in the same way. I'll also say that as a MTB rider, the Topo maps may not be that useful. I've looked at the Garmin Topo maps for a lot of the parks where I ride, and the contour lines are far enough apart that it's not really that helpful to judge what might be coming up - even the bigger climbs I do only cross 2-4 contours. (This is terrain with a lot of short rolling hills, some steep, but no huge mountains). There's not enough detail on trails to be useful at all; the streams information is there but doesn't really play too much into what I want to do. I'd recommend looking at their maps for the areas you're planning on using them, and thinking about your intended usage, as to whether or not you'll really want topo maps on the GPS. I'd also recommend looking at some actual units to figure out where you want to be form factor wise. How important memory is also depends on what your ability/tolerance for reloading maps might be, and how large an area you want to travel in without reloading maps.

 

Keith

[+Les Nomades]

For owning both the LegendC and 60C, I really wouldn't know which one to keep If I had to keep only one.

 

LegendC: small and light - 60C: Find and Mark button idientified on panel

 

LegendC: higher screen resolution - 60C: bigger screen also excellent

 

LegendC: better satellite reception (well just a little) - 60C: more memory

 

LegendC: USB powered when connected to PC - 60C: external antenna possible

 

I mean both of them have their personnality so I guess I'll keep both

 

PS: one thing is sure, a color screen is a must

Edited December 22, 2005 by Nomade

[Neo_Geo]

We live near NYC and travel to DC frequently. We'd use this handheld for driving...

I live near DC and have traveled to NYC on a few occasions. My 60C just barely cuts the mustard with the 56MB of memory. 24MB MIGHT get you to Philadelphia.