Colorado 400T VS GPS MAP 60 CSX

[+JRobi59]

I have an etrex legend and am considering either the Colorado 400 or GPS MAP 60 CSX....any opinions? My main interest is accuracy......Thx

[+PhilAun]

I don't have a 60CSx and cannot comment on that unit from personal experience, but I went from owning a Vista HCx to a Colorado 400t - I'm happy with my purchase, but my main interest is Geocaching, and my Colorado does well for me.

 

But to answer your question, from reading the endless discussions on this board about this very topic, and given your main interest, you'll want to go with the 60CSx, hands down.

[+briansnat]

Judging from all the complaints I've seen about the Colorado and how happy I and most owners of the 60CSX seem to be with it, I recommend the 60CSX.

[yogazoo]

I've owned both. Go with the 60CSX. It's a tack driver for accuracy and the features offer serious tools.

 

The Colorado has been out for 9 months now and it still has a bagfull of bugs and glitches that may never get worked out since retailers are unloading it at a bargan price already.

[+Team Chinook]

a lot of people have no issues with the Colorado. I would guess that a majority of users are happy with the Colorado. True, it is new and the software is getting revved to address bugs.

 

The 60csx has been out for awhile now and is a work horse, but the reason people jumped from the 60csx to the Colorado/Oregon is because it isn't that geocaching friendly. You can't paperless cache with it very well.

 

So, if you want a unit for geocaching AND other gps features, check out the Colorado. If it has a major defect then return it. If you don't want to geocache with the unit then by all means go w/ the 60csx.

 

As a consumer, I'm happy that the Colorado price is dropping. Didn't the iPhone price drop a lot after 6 months and those that bought early got burned? I think Garmin invested a lot of money in the Colorado and Oregon and will do what it takes to get it right. If they punt on those units, why would anyone buy their forthcoming phone?

 

There is a lot of vim and vigor around the Colorado on this forum and for good reason, but you need to take that with a grain of salt...

[+RonFisk]

I own both. I prefer the Colorado for geocaching even with it's occasional quirks. I depend on the paperless ability of being able to access the description, previous logs and also the hints. The 60CSx is superior for what it's designed for, but that's not geocaching. My vote is for the Colorado for caching and the 60CSx for almost everything else...

Edited August 27, 2008 by RonFisk

[+JRobi59]

Thanks for all the great advice....so just when I decide on the Colorado 400T where the price was 400 bucks at Walmart and Amazon all week the price is now back up to 475.......

[+flarbear]

CO 400t should still be $450 through Labor Day at REI. Not quite as cheap as $400, but better than the current Amazon and Walmart prices and they have a *much* better return policy (open-ended and liberal).

[+Tigerz]

Thanks for all the great advice....so just when I decide on the Colorado 400T where the price was 400 bucks at Walmart and Amazon all week the price is now back up to 475.......

Wow ... make that $480 ... and it's off their clearance rack to boot! Yesterday, Amazon had it at $456, but as has been suggested, go with REI because of their return policy. Keep in mind those prices get you in the door, but won't give you a completely functional unit. You'll also want an SD card and a car power cable as a minimum ... and maybe high-end rechargeables.

 

Incidentally, I own both a 60CSx and a CO 400T. The 400T is certainly both cleaner and handier in terms of cache information, but I have the vast majority of what I need with GSAK macros on the 60CSx. The 60CSx is also stable, can be seen in direct sunlight, and is accurate to a button ... errr ... nano.

[+Ratsneve]

I have an etrex legend and am considering either the Colorado 400 or GPS MAP 60 CSX....any opinions? My main interest is accuracy......Thx

Everyone turning the Colorado down in favor of the 60CSx might want to consider the Oregon a little. It may not be quite as accurate but has paperless geocaching and ... uh, never mind. You better stick with a 60CSx. On the other hand, unless you also must have the larger screen you might want to look at the DeLorme PN-20 and/or the newer PN-40 coming out mid October too?

[+flarbear]

Keep in mind those prices get you in the door, but won't give you a completely functional unit. You'll also want an SD card and a car power cable as a minimum ... and maybe high-end rechargeables.

I never needed an SD card for my CO 400t - I even loaded the full City Navigator NA maps onto it with room to spare in its internal memory for all the geocache and track logs that I think I'd ever want. It depends on what you want to load on it - 1GB is a lot of room for many users.

 

On the other hand, SD cards are dirt cheap these days - I've just never needed to pick one up for my CO...

[Scorch07]

I just got the 60CXs, and I absolutely love it. It's amazingly accurate and a great choice!

[+Tequila]

In Canada, Costco has an extremely generous returns program. I know at least two people who bought a CO, field tested it for a month and took it back.

 

I own both a 60CSx and a CO. My CO has been in the Montreal Repair Depot for the last 35 days. They can't fix it and have no replacement units to send me.

 

I geocache but I also use a GPS for K9 Search and Rescue. I WOULD NEVER put myself into a search environment with the Colorado. I have had it give position errors of close to 250 meters. I was standing on a cache one day. The 60CSx said it was 2 meters away. The CO said it was over 240 meters away. A power off/on was needed to fix it.

 

If you already have a GPS that you can use for the close up work, the CO makes a great Paperless PDA

Edited August 28, 2008 by Tequila

[+Team Noodles]

I'd just like to say thanks for giving a huge amount of info here which has finally helped me make my choice.

For about 2 weeks now i've been scouting around trying to decide between the 60csx and the colorado.

 

So Glad I found these forums (duh, I shoulda registered sooner with geocaching)

 

Anyway, thanks again for the info peeps!

 

*edit - I went for the 60csx

Edited August 29, 2008 by Ryuchan

[+JRobi59]

I too want to thank all for their advice and am playing it safe by getting the 60CSX...hopfully down the road I will be able to upgrade with confidence! Thanks guys...

[+Ratsneve]

Interesting... I hope Garmin will start seeing results soon from the numerous problems they have sown. Even the Oregon with its touchscreen, paperless geocaching (60CSx doesn't have), and better accuracy (then CO) can't stop everyone from won't stop some from falling back to a previous and proven GPSr.

Edited August 30, 2008 by Ratsneve

[+flarbear]

Even the Oregon with its touchscreen, paperless geocaching (60CSx doesn't have), and better accuracy (then CO) can't stop everyone from falling back to a previous and proven GPSr line.

Can't stop everyone from falling back, but by the same token not everyone wants to fall back either. Many of us are perfectly happy with our Colorados and even happier with our Oregons.

[+DanOCan]

I have had my 60CSx for almost a year and I still love it. IF it had the ability to do paperless caching it would be the perfect unit for caching.

 

The majority of locals I know with Colorados love them and most of them upgraded from the 60C(S)x series. A number have commented that the new interface takes getting used to but they just love having access to the GPX files in one unit.

 

I ran into one local cacher last night who actually owns a Colorado but has been using his old eTrex for caching because he finds the Colorado isn't accurate enough. He commented the Colorado worked well on a road trip though -- the bigger screen and higher resolution being a factor there.

 

I'd love to own a Colorado but I can't justify the cost right now, especially considering my 60CSx is less than a year old, is a proven device and I can still paperless cache with my trusty old PDA.

 

Similar to XP/Vista in the sense that the majority of people who don't like the Colorado have never used one?

[+GeoFevre]

Hey DanO,

I use the 60 CSX and with a GSAK macro file, the 60 could be pretty close to paperless. It isnt as convenient as the Colorado, but it is still better than carrying a pda or print outs of all caches.