Thinking about getting Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx

[Logan211]

My daughter and I are just getting started. I enjoy touring Civil War Battlefields and my daughter thought it would be fun if we got the whole family involved. We are thinking about buying the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx. Is this unit OK or is there something better for less money? We already have Garmin StreetPilot c330 for the car, but I don't think we can use that or can we? Any help or comments would be helpful.

[+SSO JOAT]

That unit is nearly perfect.

 

I prefer the 76CSx over the 60 series, but internally they are the same thing. What I don't like about the 60's is the external antenna poking up and the placement of the keypad. To me, the keypad on the 76 is a much easier to use, one-handed operation; plus it floats, the screen is a scoshe bigger, and it is in a nice rectangular package. Another little quirk... the lanyard hookup on the 60, when placed around your neck, holds the unit the wrong way for quick viewing and you'll be fumbling with the lanyard and the orientation of the GPS a lot. The 76 is setup perfectly while on a lanyard.

 

Price wise, you'll find that Amazon consistently has the best prices on Garmin GPSr's even though you can occasionally find a slightly better sale price around.

[+briansnat]

The 60CSX has been around for a while but I still think it is the best all around hand held GPS on the market. There are other units that have better geocaching specific features, or do some other things better but the 60CSX is a great unit and extremely popular among geocachers.

 

As SSO JOAT mentioned the 76CSX is functionally identical but it has a very different form. Some prefer it, but most seem to prefer the 60's form, which is why you can often find the 76CSX cheaper than the 60CSX even though the list price is higher.

[+Prime Suspect]

As briansnat said, the 60CSx and 76CSx are functionally identical. But the physical differences are not insignificant. The 60 has a more compact and ergonomic shape. The buttons are on the bottom, like a cell phone, so you're not blocking the screen with your hand when you're pressing buttons with one hand. The 76 has the screen at the bottom. The 60 had a belt-clip, while the 76 doesn't. The lanyard connection on the 60 lets it hang upright, so it's still in the optimal position to receive satellite signals. The 76, when held by the lanyard, hangs upside-down. Because of it's larger size, the 76 will float, while the 60 will not.

[+BrrrMo]

Love mine!

[+StarBrand]

The 60CSx has long been considered the finest handheld GPS on the market but it is really showing its age these days. The most significant feature you will miss for Geocaching is the lack of true paperless capabilities.

 

The Garmin Oregon, Colorado, Dakota, Nuvi 500 series all support out-of-the-box fully paperless Geocaching.

 

Other units that support paperless are the Lowrance Endura Series, The Delorme PN series.

 

Opinions abound but probably the easiest to learn and to use of all the above is the Oregon series. Best value for the money is likely the Endura Out&Back at about $160.

[Logan211]

The 60CSx has long been considered the finest handheld GPS on the market but it is really showing its age these days. The most significant feature you will miss for Geocaching is the lack of true paperless capabilities.

 

The Garmin Oregon, Colorado, Dakota, Nuvi 500 series all support out-of-the-box fully paperless Geocaching.

 

Other units that support paperless are the Lowrance Endura Series, The Delorme PN series.

 

Opinions abound but probably the easiest to learn and to use of all the above is the Oregon series. Best value for the money is likely the Endura Out&Back at about $160.

 

What is the "paperless" feature? What does that mean?

[+StarBrand]

.....

What is the "paperless" feature? What does that mean?

The ability to carry all of thepage listing details from a cache page out into the field with you on the GPS and be able to read it (hints, terrain, difficulty, logs, description, etc) when you need it most.

[+Chrysalides]

.....

What is the "paperless" feature? What does that mean?

The ability to carry all of thepage listing details from a cache page out into the field with you on the GPS and be able to read it (hints, terrain, difficulty, logs, description, etc) when you need it most.

It also includes the ability to take short notes (too painful to enter long notes) and, when you're ready to log, to upload the list of finds and DNFs to Groundspeak, so you don't need to hunt down all the caches all over again on the site in order to log them.

 

What paperless does not do is download the photos, which can be important for some geocachees, and some pages using a lot of HTML may not display properly.

 

You'll need to be a premium member to download GPX files so that you can take advantage of the paperless features of those units.

[+briansnat]

The 60CSx has long been considered the finest handheld GPS on the market but it is really showing its age these days. The most significant feature you will miss for Geocaching is the lack of true paperless capabilities.

 

The Garmin Oregon, Colorado, Dakota, Nuvi 500 series all support out-of-the-box fully paperless Geocaching.

 

Other units that support paperless are the Lowrance Endura Series, The Delorme PN series.

 

Opinions abound but probably the easiest to learn and to use of all the above is the Oregon series. Best value for the money is likely the Endura Out&Back at about $160.

 

I wouldn't call the lack of a paperless feature showing its age. In fact they recently upgraded the chipset in the 60CSX so the technology is not dated.

[+Chrysalides]

I wouldn't call the lack of a paperless feature showing its age. In fact they recently upgraded the chipset in the 60CSX so the technology is not dated.

I'm not sure if the change from SiRFstar III to MediaTek is due to Garmin's desire to improve the GPSMap 60 series, more likely due to SiRF's legal problems and possibly cost. I do not have any hard data so I'll decline to speculate on performance of one over the other.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

A sidenote (pointed out to me some time ago): Floating GPSr is good unless it is dropped into a fast moving stream. In that case, the sinking one is better!

 

Go paperless now. You will sooner or later anyway! Most all upgrade at some point. You should be able get a good paperless model for little (if any) more than a new 60CSx.

[Logan211]

A sidenote (pointed out to me some time ago): Floating GPSr is good unless it is dropped into a fast moving stream. In that case, the sinking one is better!

 

Go paperless now. You will sooner or later anyway! Most all upgrade at some point. You should be able get a good paperless model for little (if any) more than a new 60CSx.

 

What would you recommend? Is going paperless really important? Couldn't I just keep a notebook of the cache that I have found? I have to give my daughter's something to do besides complain.

[+cerberus1]

That's what I do. Some think it's "old fashioned" I guess.

Just stick a mini composition notebook in my pocket for the info, keepin' it simple.

Also have a 60csx - excellant gpsr.

[+Night Stalker]

I am one owner that can attest to the advantage of having the 60CSX over the 76. Mine came loose from its belt clip and bounced down a hill into a large river in the chicago area. Since it did not float I was able to see the nice bright waterproof screen and the bottom of the river, and was able to retrieve it.

 

As far as paperless is concerned. I have a used Ipaq 3955 that carries all the cache information. This unit has done everything I have needed for several years. It may not be quite as handy as having everything in one unit, but I have a holster on each side of my belt so it isn't that big a deal.

[+VO2WW]

I have a 60C, had it for years and just got a Dakota 20 because of the paperless caching feature and the ability to load bigger mapsets, the 60CSX would load more maps but still no paperless caching. I think the 60 is a easier to use unit for Geocaching and indeed better for all around use. One quirk with the Dakota is you cannot mark a Geocache, well at least I could not, just mark waypoints. Too having to use a computer to do stuff is a bit of a pain to me.

Oh well eventually I will get used to the Dakota I guess but for now I seem to carry both in the truck.

[+Fiver1]

Boy! I am really behind the times. I still use an 8 year old GPSV and a small notebook for geocaching. Works for me. For the auto, I have a Garmin 255WT that I can also load caches in if I want to.

 

Wonder if I should catch up with the world?

 

However, now, I'm looking at the new Oregon 450 series. Looks real interesting for paperless caching.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Fiver1

[+popokiiti]

Whatever works for you is good. We have had two Oregons, the first was replaced as it died within the first couple of months and the touchscreen on the second went belly-up recently. Just our bad luck, I guess. Even I found the 60CSx easy to use...but it does involve printing out the cache sheets again. I do recycle them as notepads at home and work, and I hate to use that paper and ink.......but I NEED to go caching!!!

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

A sidenote (pointed out to me some time ago): Floating GPSr is good unless it is dropped into a fast moving stream. In that case, the sinking one is better!

 

Go paperless now. You will sooner or later anyway! Most all upgrade at some point. You should be able get a good paperless model for little (if any) more than a new 60CSx.

 

What would you recommend? Is going paperless really important? Couldn't I just keep a notebook of the cache that I have found? I have to give my daughter's something to do besides complain.

To the OP:

We used to print out the cache pages, switched to simply printing the GPX. But you are correct, with team caching, having everybody with something to do is a good thing. A clipboard, with pages on it is an excellent method of making notes for later logging online. No mistakes and/or logging the wrong cache info, helps to keep track of which traveler came from (or went into) which cache.

 

Paperless certainly is nice, but not being paperless is not the end of the world, by any means.

[+Prime Suspect]

I have a 60CSx, and use my smartphone to hold all the cache info (and its memo feature to write my logs on site). I'm not going caching without my phone, so nothing would be gained by having a "paperless" GPS unit. I'm still carrying the same amount of equipment. And the 60CSx has a much more readable screen in sunlight than the Colorado and Oregon.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Prime Suspect

[+Chrysalides]

What would you recommend? Is going paperless really important? Couldn't I just keep a notebook of the cache that I have found? I have to give my daughter's something to do besides complain.

It's real value is in providing information on caches you have not already found, not to keep track of your finds. I have about 1500 loaded into mine.

 

Give your daughter the GPSr and let her navigate to the cache.

 

Paperless is a great convenience, but depending on how often you geocache, and how organized you are, may or may not be important.

[+CSI:CacheSceneInvestigators]

To the original poster, you can't go wrong with the 60CSX. I have a 60 CSX, 60CS and a Legend color. I really prefer my 60CSX out of all of them.

 

Also, if your interested in starting to use paperless caching, I have a HP/Compaq Ipaq that is like new that I would make you a deal on. Just let me know. I don't need it any more as i have an iPhone now. One you go paperless you won't go back. ;-)

 

csijeep@gmail.com