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60csx - Buy now or wait?


Julian

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Well, I've finally decided to buy a new GPS unit. And I've finally decided upon the 60csx.

 

But I can't decide if I should go ahead and buy one right now, or wait a while.

 

Technology keeps changing so darn fast! The 60csx seems like it's been around for a while. Is there a new and better unit coming on the horizon (say the next six months or so?) that will make the 60csx obsolete? Anyone hear any rumors that Garmin might drop the price on the 60csx after the Christmas Holidays? How much is too much to pay for a 60csx right now?

 

Maybe I've just been burned too many times when buying a computer, only to find that it's obsolete before I can get it out of the box. :laughing:

 

Buy or wait??? Buy or wait??? :):D:D

 

Anyone have any news/rumors/advice?

 

Thanks.

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Well I know Garmin has a $50.00 rebate on for the 60csx so that should entice you. I also know that a lot of people are choosing the new Etrex "H" series because of it's smaller size and also having the new higher sensitivity chip along with the micro SD card as well. I guess whichever will suit your needs. I would go to a store that sells both and try them out and see for yourself which one would suit you better.

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Well I know Garmin has a $50.00 rebate on for the 60csx so that should entice you. I also know that a lot of people are choosing the new Etrex "H" series because of it's smaller size and also having the new higher sensitivity chip along with the micro SD card as well. I guess whichever will suit your needs. I would go to a store that sells both and try them out and see for yourself which one would suit you better.

 

Ditto - hold them both in your hand and see which one works best for you. If there's an REI nearby they will usually let you turn one on and fiddle with it. I had a 60cs and loved it but just switched to the vista hcx because i wanted a true pocket model. Hcx is quite a bit cheaper as well.

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Well I know Garmin has a $50.00 rebate on for the 60csx so that should entice you. I also know that a lot of people are choosing the new Etrex "H" series because of it's smaller size and also having the new higher sensitivity chip along with the micro SD card as well. I guess whichever will suit your needs. I would go to a store that sells both and try them out and see for yourself which one would suit you better.

 

Ditto - hold them both in your hand and see which one works best for you. If there's an REI nearby they will usually let you turn one on and fiddle with it. I had a 60cs and loved it but just switched to the vista hcx because i wanted a true pocket model. Hcx is quite a bit cheaper as well.

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I have just purchased a Garmin Csx as my first gps and it seems to be working out pretty well. There is a lot of features on it and being a typical male I learned thru trial and error as opposed to reading "the book". I researched a number of sites and it seemed like the most bang for your buck, especially with the $50 rebate. I wanted to get a unit that I wouldn't be wishing I had a better one in a few months. I've been quite happy with it so far. The only other thing I bought was a 2 GB memory chip for it so I can store topo's for all western Canada on it without having to change chips. Two thumbs up. :laughing:

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If you can hold out I would. I just upgraded my 60cs to a 60csx, and while it is really nice, It's not like going from a yugo to a ferrari. My guess is that Garmin will update the 60 line after the holidays. But if you wait for a new one, which may be years off, you'll get to pay full retail for it, instead of the discounted price on the 60csx. Kinda damned if you do damned if you don't.

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Between the two I think the HCx has the edge on the 60CSx for many reasons now that the H chips have been added.

 

However if you have your heart set on a 60CSx then my gut reaction says wait for 6 months because I feel pretty sure that a new one will come out that will not be earth shattering but will restore the 60CSx (or whatever it will be called) back to its rightful position as the top dog.

 

If you must have a gps now then get the HCx however if you can wait a few months into the new year you will have a better idea if any new 60CSx may come out. Almost certainly it will have a better screen and hopefully a better designed rocker switch which is an ergonomic disaster.

 

Look at it this way, if you get an HCx now you won't really be bothered if a new 60 comes out in a few months but you'll be mightily annoyed if you get the 60 now and a new one comes out and you find that not only do you not have the top dog but you don't even have dog number two.

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I have used both the HCx and 60Csx side by and both operated the same. Same accuracy and same resulting location. The difference: The HCx is smaller, cheaper and cut the clutter in my geocaching bag. Every geocacher I have seen as of late seems to either have the 60cs or 60csx, so I guess to be a "cool kid" you best get the 60. For me I am VERY happy with HCx. :rolleyes:

 

Rontro

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60 CSx is not long in the tooth, by any stretch of the imagination. The 'H' series eTrex models have just caught up to it. I would be comfortable with the performance of a Vista HCx, although my personal preference is for the 60 CSx.

 

I haven't seen anything that suggests the 60 CSx is about to be replaced anytime soon. The handlheld product line seems pretty stable at this point--76 CSx for handheld marine use, 60 CSx for hikers, and the eTrex line as the general consumer line, topped off by the Vista HCx, which is pretty much the performance equivalent of the 60 CSx and the 76 CSx.

Edited by imajeep
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Every geocacher I have seen as of late seems to either have the 60cs or 60csx, so I guess to be a "cool kid" you best get the 60. For me I am VERY happy with HCx. -_-

 

The thing is that the 60CSx was by far and away the top Garmin hand held for a year and a half, due to the SiRFStar III chip. So lots of people who wanted the best would have already bought it.

 

However once the HCx came out a few months ago the main thing why the 60CSx was a 'must have', is no longer valid. Now that the 60CSx no longer has any advantage with regards to ability to hold a signal in difficult conditons, then the extra bulk, weight, bad battery life and extremely dull screeen, must be considered. Not to mention the bad ergonomic design of the rocker switch. Also, with the HCx screen you get to see more map as well.

Edited by gallet
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I too now own both a 60CSx and a Vista HCx.

In MY opinion, neither unit is superior. I like the buttons on the 60 better, I like the size and using the click stick for inputing data on the Vista.

Garmin has run rebates before, I don't think it shows the end of the line. They probably will update it or replace it sometime though.

 

I have a solution. Buy it now, send it to me (for Mama) and I will send it to you in 6 months! -_-

PP

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I am new to the geocaching sport, but not with technology. Today I just purchased the Garmin 60Csx from Eastern Mountain Sports, and I am rather happy with the receiver after spending several hours out there caching. After a quick review of the 'Quick Start' guide and about a half hour fiddling around with the unit, I was on my way to downloading caches to the receiver and subsequently hunting them out. The unit performed flawlessly.

 

Furthermore, EMS is selling them for $449 on sale from $499....but a wiser buy would be from walmart.com as I seen them advertised for a $100 less. I did not want to wait to have the unit shipped, and thankfully so. The unit I bought was a display model and the only thing wrong with it was the rubber lanyard hole was broken so the clerk gave me 20% off...totaling to $377. So I am happy about that.

 

Anyways, I have read many good reviews on this model, and hence the decision to purchase it.

 

Happy Hunting,

-psyber7

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The 60CSX is only $247 here. -_-

 

Do not buy from them...they are bait and switch companies. Look up reviews on the companies, all bad.

Maybe, but there were three other places on that link too. Anyhow, there is currently a $50 rebate on the 60CSX regardless of where you buy it. Amazon has it for $289 with the rebate.

 

They are all the same company, go ahead and place an order with any of them. You will need to call the company to confirm your order before they ship, once they get you on the phone the sale pressure starts. If you keep saying no to what they want to sell you, next they tell you the unit you placed the order for is in japanese and for more money you can have the american version. Trust me I dealt wiith them.

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The 60CSX is only $247 here. -_-

 

Do not buy from them...they are bait and switch companies. Look up reviews on the companies, all bad.

Maybe, but there were three other places on that link too. Anyhow, there is currently a $50 rebate on the 60CSX regardless of where you buy it. Amazon has it for $289 with the rebate.

 

They are all the same company, go ahead and place an order with any of them. You will need to call the company to confirm your order before they ship, once they get you on the phone the sale pressure starts. If you keep saying no to what they want to sell you, next they tell you the unit you placed the order for is in japanese and for more money you can have the american version. Trust me I dealt wiith them.

Then go with Amazon! I've dealt with them and they are great! :anicute:
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The 60CSX is only $247 here. -_-

 

Do not buy from them...they are bait and switch companies. Look up reviews on the companies, all bad.

Maybe, but there were three other places on that link too. Anyhow, there is currently a $50 rebate on the 60CSX regardless of where you buy it. Amazon has it for $289 with the rebate.

 

They are all the same company, go ahead and place an order with any of them. You will need to call the company to confirm your order before they ship, once they get you on the phone the sale pressure starts. If you keep saying no to what they want to sell you, next they tell you the unit you placed the order for is in japanese and for more money you can have the american version. Trust me I dealt wiith them.

Then go with Amazon! I've dealt with them and they are great! :anicute:

 

I would agree with that, hard to beat Amazon's service and reputation. :lol:

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...extremely dull screeen, must be considered.

Good grief, give it a rest! I have several friends with the 60CSX. It may be less dull than the HCX, but they never use the backlight during the day when they are geocaching and it is plenty bright in the car at night.

 

You can like it or not but it is an objective fact is that if you put the 60CSx and HCx side by side on the same screen and you set the 60 to 100% you will need to set the HCx at 20% to match the brighness.

 

"Plenty bright in the car at night" Rolls on the floor laughing and choking on bits of my own vomit. What if you want to use it in the car in the day? You see, one of the excuses left for buying the 60CSx is that even though the screen is lower res it is nonetheless fractionally brighter and therefore in the car it can be used a tiny bit further away. But even this is negated by the massive brightness discrepancy, in that the HCx on 100% is far far easier to see in the car than the 60CSx even at the same viewing distance.

 

Look common sense is going to tell you that if the 60 is bright enough then surely the HCx at twice the brightness would be more than adequate. And to have the HCx at twice the brightness it needs to be set at 50%. So why, when battery life is so important, would Garmin make it 400% brighter? Answer can only be because they deem that there will be times when even twice the brightness of the 60 is not enough.

 

But then you may say why did Garmin make the 60CSx so dull then. I would guess that as the 60 is already only getting 18hours battery life that they can't make it any brighter without sacrificing the battery life.

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I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to reply to my question with some really good information and advice.

 

Although it sounds like some people suspect a new and better unit might be coming next year, it doesn't sound like anything firm is known yet, so I think I'll take the plunge and buy now.

 

I've boiled down the opinions here into a plan to visit my nearest REI store and do a hands-on "test drive" with both the 60csx and the HCx and see which one "feels" right to me. I think the size issue might be more of a deciding factor than the brightness of the backlight.

 

Thanks again, everyone.

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I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to reply to my question with some really good information and advice.

 

Although it sounds like some people suspect a new and better unit might be coming next year, it doesn't sound like anything firm is known yet, so I think I'll take the plunge and buy now.

 

I've boiled down the opinions here into a plan to visit my nearest REI store and do a hands-on "test drive" with both the 60csx and the HCx and see which one "feels" right to me. I think the size issue might be more of a deciding factor than the brightness of the backlight.

 

Thanks again, everyone.

 

I think you've made a good decision. One thing to consider... as you've probabbly seen in the other thread, REI will have the Vista hcx on sale for $219 starting I think the 16th - just something to consider if you decide on that unit - waiting a couple more days could save you $80.

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Always a tricky one buy or wait. Of course with technology prices will always come down so you can never end up buying anything. The way I view things is as follows: If a GPS is $200 now and you expect it will be worth $150 new in 6 months time, then the choice is do you think you will get $50 worth of value from the product in those 6 months. Of course it is hard to accurately predict prices in advance, but this gives you a scale on which to work. Me, I got my calculations totally wrong waiting months longer than expected for Magellan to bring out their Triton :laughing: Wish I had bought a Garmin as even if the Triton is better value, would have made up that value in the meantime.

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