Garmin 60CSX or Delorme PN-40 for Newbie?

[squirrel33]

Trying to decide between the two for me as a first time unit. Want something mobile that I can use in my Jeep or dirtbike/mtn bike. Looks like more people like the Garmin for ease of use and Delorme is better mapping wise but am interested in what someone who might have used one or both think. Thanks for the help.

[+Team Geofrog]

Trying to decide between the two for me as a first time unit. Want something mobile that I can use in my Jeep or dirtbike/mtn bike. Looks like more people like the Garmin for ease of use and Delorme is better mapping wise but am interested in what someone who might have used one or both think. Thanks for the help.

 

I haven't used a Delorme, but I do have a Garmin GPSmap 60csx. I LOVE the 60csx. It is a great unit. You would also need a 2GB micro SD card and City Maps North America. Then you could put the entire North American road map on the card. There's a lifetime update you could purchase as well and then you can update the maps every quarter. The mapping works just fine.

[Migs]

I agree with the Garmin 60CSx choice. Garmin is the biggest GPS company, and I have been using their GPS for many years with good success. Their customer service and repair is top notch. I have never had to pay for a repair, and in two cases they returned me a new (refurbished) gps far better than I sent in. (I have had many of their models through the years). Also, their desktop software keeps getting better and better.

-Migs

[+Chi-Town Cacher]

If it were me this would be a no brainer. For me it would be very silly to buy a GPSr that is not capable paperless caching instead of one like the Delorme PN-40 which is a paperless caching GPSr. In case you're not familiar with paperless caching it means that right in your GPSr you'll have the entire cache page as you'd see it on gc.com. The only difference is that images would not be on your GPSr. So while you're out hunting geocaches you have the entire cache description page, including hints, at your disposal. The other GPSr you mention is very good at getting you to ground zero, but it's not designed as a paperless caching GPSr so it's going to do a good job of pointing you to a geocache and telling you how far away it is and that's about it.

 

I do own a Delorme PN-40 and I love it and am always very happy to recommend it. There's no doubt about it that Garmin sells lots more GPSr's than Delorme, but I believe that's mainly because the Delorme line of GPSr's is relatively new so of course Garmin would be more well known. If you'd like to see a list of what I personally think are both the pros and cons of owning a Delorme PN-40 you can CLICK HERE . In that post there is one point I'd like to clarify. The part is when I mention carrying 4 little AA batteries with you I should have said 2 might be needed if you're caching for a full day and the other 2 are emergency spares which I believe you should always carry no matter what GPSr you are using.

 

Good luck in finding the best unit for your needs!

[+monaghme]

Hi, I am a newbie and had the same question but I ended up going with the PN-40 although I was hesitant because of the comments that it's hard to use. I am not technically savvy but was able to use it literally within minutes. I took me 10 minutes tops to load the regional maps and then I loaded the topo 8 maps onto my computer which took about 30 minutes. I haven't gotten as far as putting the topo/aerial maps on my unit because I was in a hurry to get outside...but I'll let you know how that goes, I'll probably do it this weekend.

 

Anyway, I used it my first day out, very easy to use! I went outside and quickly found a bunch of satellites, came back inside, plugged the gps into the computer, selected "data transfer", logged onto this site and searched my zipcode for caches and when I found ones I wanted I simply hit "send to gps" and I was out the door.

 

I came onto this site today and found out what pocket queries were....now I will be able to load large groups of caches without having to do them one by one....(I figured there must have been a way to do it.)

 

Have fun with whatever one you decide to get. A few of the deciding factors for me were price...PN-40 on Amazon for $199, the maps were included and I can get unlimited maps for $30 a year (less if purchased through amazon I think), paperless caching is super....all of the coordinates, hints, people's comments, etc. were right there for me to read when I was looking for the container. Plus, I can see on my map little icons that represent other caches in the vicinity....(ones that I sent to my gps). The screen was bright, clear and it appears to be very sturdily made. I can't wait to utilize it to it's fullest.

 

I bought an expensive Garmin car GPS for a trip to Europe and it broke after just a few weeks....I haven't gotten around to having it repaired yet so I can't comment on their customer service...anyway that also swayed me toward giving DeLorme a shot.

[+IBcrashen]

Owning both my thoughts.

 

Duribilaty- 60 Its been out for years and durability is proven. A year from now hopefully this is a tie also.

 

Screens- 60 The PN is a smidge smaller but really moot. Brightness, clarity, see ability pretty much the same.

 

Ease of use- tie on the units. Neither come with good manuals. There are good sites on the web for that though thanks to users. Think most of the learning curve on the PN is on the pc software side. Its slow/clunky (Delorme has always been) but has more features that most people will never use.

 

Accuracy—tie tilting to the PN. The PN doesn’t update as often so gives the impression of being more accurate/stable, the 60 readings will jump around some. People claim the PN is more accurate when at the cache but more than likely that cache reading was taken with a garmin or megellan so….. wouldn’t that make them the same????

 

Paperless- PN I can put all the same info on my 60 but its across more pages via POI`s. PN is pretty smooth on this.

 

Batteries- 60 The 60 last longer but use rechargables and it’s a moot point except for the time changing or charging them. I have broken 2 battery covers on my 60 now ( replace free from garmin) but its my fault for forgetting the right way to take it off. Duh

 

Auto routing- tilt towards the PN. I havent really used the PN for it yet but because on the 60 side you are going to have to dish out another $100 for the maps. There are free auto routing one out there for some areas but couldn’t comment how they work.

 

Pricing- PN at the prices you can get the 40 now ( or if you don’t need the compass and barometer, the 30 is $40 cheaper).

 

Maps- PN more detail without putting out more $$. There are some great free ones for garmins though. Unlimited maps kind of/ sort of. Hi res sat maps are not available in a lot of areas. Do you have the time to download and then there are other problems downloading. As the PN gps`s gets more popular the times are getting slower. Lots of new Christmas presents out there. Your at the mercy of Delorme. Are they going to up there band width?? I`ve been trying for 3 days now and nothing. Had those problems well before Christmas time.

 

Help- Garmin As with most caching problems there are lots of people on both willing to help with problems. As far as brand help have to go with Garmin.

 

I love my 60 though and its still the one I grab most often. (: .ɹǝɥʇıǝ ʇǝʎ ʇı ʇnoqɐ ʍouʞ ʇusǝop puǝıɹɟ1ɹıb 'ʞo

Edited December 31, 2009 by IBcrashen

[+Pax42]

I've owned both models.

 

I bought the 40 when it first hit the shelves last year but hang on to the 60csx because I wasn't sure how I'd like it. I've since sold the 60csx. The 60 was a great unit but the paperless caching features of the 40 help make caching so much more fun.

 

I will say this, if you need the unit for road routing as much as offroad caching/hiking, the 60csx is clearly better at that task. It's not an issue for me as I also have a Nuvi. Some people think the 40's road routing capability is fine but honestly, the Garmins do a better job at it.

[+apollosmith]

I recently did A LOT of research and playing around with these two units before deciding on my first GPSr. For me, it came down to the following:

 

- Screen - PN-40 has a smaller screen, but it is easier to see and seems more detailed with better contrast and brightness.

 

- Mapping - PN-40 is the best, hands-down. The built-in maps are MUCH better than the Garmin and for $30/year you can get all the satellite, USGS, waterway, etc. maps (and even layer and customize them in your GPS) you want through Delorme. It costs 10X this much to just buy the Garmin maps that make it even equal to the Delorme out of the box. If you want high quality maps and want to add to your map collection, Delorme is the answer.

 

- Road routing - 60CSX. The road routing on the Delorme is very weak, inaccurate, and slow. If you are using this for your car GPS, the Delorme is probably not the best pick.

 

- Battery - slight edge to the 60CSX. However, I found myself wading through the menus and looking at the 60CSX a lot more, possibly negating any battery advantage.

 

- Usability - Definitely the PN-40. Garmin users complain about how difficult the Delormes are, but it's really just that it is very different, not bad. I sat them side-by-side and tried to figure out basic functions without the manuals and with very little prior experience with either and the Delorme was MUCH easier and quicker.

 

- Accuracy - I could tell no difference at all. Both are very accurate. I experienced the same levels of drop-outs with both units. The Delorme picked up twice as many satellites in my house as the Garmin - though I don't do much GPSing indoors.

 

- Software - I'm not sure here. TopoUSA would take the vote here, but I'm a Mac user and it is not Mac native. I have TopoUSA running in VMWare on my Mac with good success, though the 3D view causes the program to crash (still working on a solution to this). Because of the Delorme map subscription service, I have to go with Delorme here - though their software is MUCH more difficult to use and learn.

 

As you might have guessed, I went with the PN-40 and have been very happy. I'd probably also be happy with the Garmin, but it was ultimately the better mapping functionality (especially the high resolution satellite imagery) of the PN-40 that tipped the scales. I feel like I can go hunting with the PN-40 and could leave the USGS maps at home - I'd definitely need them in conjunction with the Garmin in order to go into the back country and be very comfortable with where I'm at and going.

[+Ballsy]

I've owned both models.

 

I bought the 40 when it first hit the shelves last year but hang on to the 60csx because I wasn't sure how I'd like it. I've since sold the 60csx. The 60 was a great unit but the paperless caching features of the 40 help make caching so much more fun.

 

I will say this, if you need the unit for road routing as much as offroad caching/hiking, the 60csx is clearly better at that task. It's not an issue for me as I also have a Nuvi. Some people think the 40's road routing capability is fine but honestly, the Garmins do a better job at it.

What about using the pn40 in canda?? I am in ontario...does it have topo here for us??? any deals around here to buy one??

[+Pax42]

I've owned both models.

 

I bought the 40 when it first hit the shelves last year but hang on to the 60csx because I wasn't sure how I'd like it. I've since sold the 60csx. The 60 was a great unit but the paperless caching features of the 40 help make caching so much more fun.

 

I will say this, if you need the unit for road routing as much as offroad caching/hiking, the 60csx is clearly better at that task. It's not an issue for me as I also have a Nuvi. Some people think the 40's road routing capability is fine but honestly, the Garmins do a better job at it.

What about using the pn40 in canda?? I am in ontario...does it have topo here for us??? any deals around here to buy one??

I know TOPO 8 that now ships with the PNxx includes detailed roads for Canada and Mexico but I can't answer as to what other downloaded imagery is available. I know there are several new PN owners from Canada that have posted both here and on the Delorme forums and their comments seem positive so far. I believe in one case the buyer used a friend in the U.S. to get the PN-40 for him.

[+pyro07]

im going to go slightly off track and recommend the Dakota Series from Garmin you get a touch screen interface and it it very easy to use and simple to navigate thru all the menus and stuff and it can be found fairly inexpensive bundled with garmins topo software as well as a silicone protective case and a few other things

[+briansnat]

I have both. If somebody held a gun to my head and said I'd have to give up one, I'd keep the 60CSX without hesitation.

 

I like some things about the PN40, particularly the paperless caching feature. The maps are nicer, but Garmin is now coming out with better maps and there are free maps that work with Garmin that are quite good as well, so DeLorme's edge there isn't as big as it used to be.

 

The 60CSX has the edge with reception under difficult conditions. I use the PN40 for geocaching most of the time because of the paperless feature, but I always have my 60CSX with me for when I can't keep a lock with the PN40.

 

Battery life on the 60CSX is far better. The PN40 eats them like potato chips. I often use rechargeables and with some of the older ones I'm lucky to get 3 hours out of them with the PN40. The 60CSX gets 3 times that. Same with cheapie alkalines. Recently I went through 3 sets of Rayovac alkalines caching and hiking all day with the PN40, and the 60CSX was still using the original set at the end of the day.

 

Now that I'm at the age where I need reading glasses, I find the menu fonts on the PN40 diffidult to read. I need my reading glasses to see the unit, but I don't have that problem with the 60CSX.

 

Autorouting in the car the 60CSX wins hands down. I've used it for years for automotive navigation and the City Navigator software works great. The PN40 has a very rudimentary autorouting feature that is barely usable. One really annoying thing with the PN40 is that if I miss a turn it has a very hard time recalculating the route. I have to pull over and let it do its thing, or else it will just go into a loop. It also doesn't know about things like jughandles and many one way streets . Nor does it give you a closeup of the intersection when a turn comes up which is important with the small screens on the hand helds.

 

The 1,000 waypoint limit in the PN40 is also problematic. I can load thousands of caches into the 60CSX (as POIs), but I'm limited to 1,000 with the PN40.

 

There are also numerous small things that are nice features on the 60CSX that the PN40 doesn't have. For one the 60CSX puts newly created waypoints under the "recently found" so you can find them easily. The PN40 doesn't do this. Also the address lookup on the PN40 is substandard (I've actually yet to find an address on the unit in the nearly year I've had it).

 

The Topo8 software is a piece of junk. It's not intuiative at all. I've been around technology for over 30 years and can usually pick up any software very quickly, but it took me a while to get Topo 8 down and sometimes I get it to do things but can't figure out how I did it.

 

I do like the triaxial compass on the PN40. Big edge over the compass in the 60CSX. And the paperless feature (as well as Cache Register) are awesome. It's why I use the PN40 for geocaching and the 60CSX for everything else.

[+Ballsy]

Well I was unsure about the PN-40 in Canada since it is heavily promoted in the US so I just went and ordered the 60Csx as it has be proven time and time again to be a very reliable unit...should be next week...and can start some easy caches to start....likely better in the summer but atleast I will be able to run it good by then!!

[+Pax42]

The 1,000 waypoint limit in the PN40 is also problematic. I can load thousands of caches into the 60CSX (as POIs), but I'm limited to 1,000 with the PN40.

Just so you know Brian, since firmware 2.7 was released, there's no longer a 1000 waypoint limit on the 40. You're only limited by the size of the SD card.

[+missionMode]

Well I was unsure about the PN-40 in Canada since it is heavily promoted in the US so I just went and ordered the 60Csx as it has be proven time and time again to be a very reliable unit...should be next week...and can start some easy caches to start....likely better in the summer but atleast I will be able to run it good by then!!

 

That's too bad. I am one of the new Canadian PN-40 owners. The only trouble with the Delorme units is getting them to Canada. Apparently they are working on that but it wasn't ready for me and obviously not for you either. I wish I would have seen this thread a few days ago but after a while we get sick of reading threads of this same title since the same arguments are bound to happen.

 

I live fairly near to the border so I had my unit shipped to a town about 1/4 mile from the border and then picked it up from there. Only taxes were added, no duty. The Canadian regional maps that come in the box (but not on the unit) were quick and easy to install and I was up and going in just a few minutes. Also there are Topo maps for much of Canada and I have seen that there is decent PN-30/40 support at Navionics.com for lake and marine maps. I have also heard that some of the Garmin map services are offering versions of thie maps for PN-30/40 even though they don't advertise it.

 

I can't imagine not being paperless at this point. I am very happy with my PN-40.

[+flask]

they're both very fine units; they are the gold standard and you can't go wrong with either.

 

crashco has one, i have the other. we like them just fine.

[+Wyoming Travelers]

they're both very fine units; they are the gold standard and you can't go wrong with either.

 

crashco has one, i have the other. we like them just fine.

 

+1

[NordicMan]

...I am one of the new Canadian PN-40 owners. The only trouble with the Delorme units is getting them ...

Also there are Topo maps for much of Canada...

 

Really? When did this happen? I thought Delorme only had road maps for Canada at this time?