Thinking of going from 60CSx to 62st

[+gregmc12]

My trusty 60CSx was the greatest inanimate object I ever owned. Alas, the screen broke a few weeks ago so I bought an Oregon 400t. As the topic description states, I find its "upgraded" features lacking and/or unnecessary: the screen is harder to read than the 60CSx's, the touchscreen is more trouble than it's worth, and the menus are difficult to slog through. (I mean, when you have to search around to activate the "Man Overboard" button, doesn't that defeat the purpose?)

 

Knowing that Garmin's old visual interface is dead and buried, I'm looking for people who went from the 60CSx to the 62st (or from an Oregon series to a 62st). I'd like to know your thoughts. The 62st's button array looks superficially similar to the 60CSx's. Is it? Is the screen as easy to read? You can type in coordinates, right? (That you can't with the 60CSx is about its only disadvantage, at least to me.)

 

Thanks for your time.

[+Timpat]

I'm with you 100%. I also loved my trusty 60Cx and when the power button failed I was lost. I own two Colorados (300 and 400t) and two Oregons (200 and 550) and when the price dropped bought my 62s. The 62s is simply awesome. Coming from the 60Cx it has the same look and feel, button position, and helix antenna. I never cared for the touch screen on the ORs, or the screen readability.

 

The screen display is great in all conditions, the accuracy is awesome like the 60Cx, and of course you can type in coords. Plus, it is paperless for caching, holds 5000 caches with full description in addition to 2000 regular waypoints. Uses BirdsEye imagery if you go for the annual subscription of $30. It handles custom kmz map files, too. It is chirp enabled but not Wherigo capable. It has the best of our old 60 series plus has the DNA of the newer CO and OR devices, to me the best of both worlds. I think you will love it! My 62s is always at my side!

[GeoBobC]

I am going through the same experience. After thousands of hours with a 60Cx, it died. I purchased a 62S as a replacement. It's similar but there are some significant differences, as well as some minor differences. The significant differences are primarily good but take some getting familiar with. For example, you can send and use multiple .img files on the micro SD card rather than just one. The track logs work differently, as you can "archive" and retrieve as many tracks as your card memory allows. There's one example of an "insignificant" difference that I don't like: your options for the active track are "Record and Display", "Record and Do Not Display", and "Do Not Record". If you want to record a track segment, turn tracking off, record another segment and so forth - it can be done, but every time you select "Do Not Record" it hides all the other active track segments. There needs to be a "Do Not Record and DO DISPLAY the other current segments".

 

Satellite acquisition from a cold start is significantly faster.

 

Birds Eye imagery: I haven't tried this, and probably won't.

 

As for recording accurate track logs: my experience to date has been that the 62 is not as accurate as my 60Cx and 60CSx units. It's good, but not as good. I do quite a bit of trail mapping in heavy tree canopy, and I have never found any GPS that matches the consistent track log accuracy of the 60X series.

 

Battery life: limited experience; specs indicate similar life.

 

Screen: I don't think the 62 screen is as readable in daylight as the 60 screens. Not bad, but not quite as good IMO.

 

Menu layout: similar, but takes some getting used to.

 

Lots of little quirks that irritate me: the track log display on/off, for example. I haven't found a way yet to reset the new waypoint counter to 001. The welcome screen data cannot be changed on the unit itself (it's a text file that must be edited via a connected PC).

 

Deleting waypoints can take quite a few more keystrokes, depending on which menu they are activated from.

 

NO ALPHABETICALLY SORTED LISTING OF WAYPOINTS. (What was Garmin thinking on this one)?

 

Lots of good things, a few bad things, quite a few minor irritants, and some relearning required.

 

Overall, I like it.

Edited October 6, 2011 by GeoBobC

[+W7WT]

I went to the 78s from my old 76CSx and bought a new 60CSx for the wife. I just didn't feel confortable with the 78s that i bought at REI. And I felt the 60CSx was out doing the new 78s, so I sent the 78s back and got a 60CSx at around $220 which was what I got the wife's for. We already had paperless geocaching on our Nuvi 550 and we are real happy with what we have now. Maybe I should have stuck with the 78s a little longer.

Edited October 6, 2011 by W7WT

[gps_dr]

I went to the 78s from my old 76CSx and bought a new 60CSx for the wife. I just didn't feel confortable with the 78s that i bought at REI. And I felt the 60CSx was out doing the new 78s, so I sent the 78s back and got a 60CSx at around $220 which was what I got the wife's for. We already had paperless geocaching on our Nuvi 550 and we are real happy with what we have now. Maybe I should have stuck with the 78s a little longer.

On the 62 & 78, the old page/quit menu access is still available instead of clunky ribbon if you desire.

I find it easier & quicker to use "Classic" menu while pedaling, don't have to look at screen.

I do like the larger buttons, and newer body seems easier than old one for my big hands.

The hill shading makes the display too dark for my tastes, and takes an extra moment to update screen.

[+WIIarefamily]

O.K. I may be in the minority here but I do not always feel that newer does not always equal better. After reading all of the reviews I could get my hands on, playing around with demo models in the store, and reading lots of posts on forums I have made a decision to buy another 60csx before they are all gone. Yes the 62 has a "cool factor" but for someone who is looking for a workhorse GPS the 60csx is the way to go. I have one I bought many years ago, it still works fine but now is a great time to get a replacement for a good price.

The build quality is now the same for the 62 and in my humble opinion the creature features just are not worth the change. But the one feature that sent me back to the 60 was the limit of the tracking features of the 62. I love to hike and keep a track of each hike. When I discovered that there was a 10000 point limit for a track that along with other small "well the 60 will do this but the 62 doesn't" features was all I needed to make my decision.

I'm sure the 62 is great for a bunch of folks but it's just not right for me and my needs.

That's my 2 cents, probably not worth much more than that.

[gps_dr]

The 60 series also has a 10K track point limit.

And that is for the active track only! Limit of 20 saved tracks on unit 500 points each max.

 

The 62 allows 200 tracks, 10K limit each. Nice for maintaining a network of trails.

 

However, I've seen some indications that if you have multiple segments in the active track log, it will only show the current one. On the 60 & 76, it will show all of the segments in active track.

(A requirement for me as I may turn track off/on or change batteries and want to see my way back.)

 

Will have to validate this on a 62 at work, hopefully tomorrow.

 

Also the area calculation is a little cleaner (function on menu) on newer units.

But some people like to record waypoints as they walk a property border and you can't do that with newer units. (have to exit area calculation function)

 

My 76CSx is still working fine...

[sviking]

My trusty 60CSx was the greatest inanimate object I ever owned. Alas, the screen broke a few weeks ago so I bought an Oregon 400t.

 

The screen "just broke"? In other words...how did you break it?

[+luvvinbird]

My trusty 60CSx was the greatest inanimate object I ever owned. Alas, the screen broke a few weeks ago so I bought an Oregon 400t. As the topic description states, I find its "upgraded" features lacking and/or unnecessary: the screen is harder to read than the 60CSx's, the touchscreen is more trouble than it's worth, and the menus are difficult to slog through. (I mean, when you have to search around to activate the "Man Overboard" button, doesn't that defeat the purpose?)

 

Knowing that Garmin's old visual interface is dead and buried, I'm looking for people who went from the 60CSx to the 62st (or from an Oregon series to a 62st). I'd like to know your thoughts. The 62st's button array looks superficially similar to the 60CSx's. Is it? Is the screen as easy to read? You can type in coordinates, right? (That you can't with the 60CSx is about its only disadvantage, at least to me.)

 

Thanks for your time.

Doesn't Garmin have a replacement program? You pay a set fee and get a refurbished unit with a 90 day guarantee? The 60CSx is a great unit to hang on to even though it's not paperless. I still use mine as often as my 62s. I like them both although the 62s gets higher praise due to it's paperless and other features.

[sviking]

Doesn't Garmin have a replacement program? You pay a set fee and get a refurbished unit with a 90 day guarantee?

 

Only works if they still have them in stock, as the 60CSx has been discontinued for quite a while now. I'm betting they don't (or won't for long) and whatever surplus is left is already out on shelves somewhere...

Edited October 7, 2011 by sviking

[+luvvinbird]

Doesn't Garmin have a replacement program? You pay a set fee and get a refurbished unit with a 90 day guarantee?

 

Only works if they still have them in stock, as the 60CSx has been discontinued for quite a while now. I'm betting they don't (or won't for long) and whatever surplus is left is already out on shelves somewhere...

I damaged the case and sheared a button on a 60Cx I own. I called Garmin's Canadian repair center (in Quebec) and they have refurbished stock on hand of that older, discontinued model. It's worth a call.

[+gregmc12]

Thanks for your responses, everyone (keep 'em coming if you've still got something to add.)

For the record, I already sold the damaged 60CSx to someone who used it to make a Franken-60CSx, by borrowing a healthy screen from another unit.

I managed to get my hands on someone's 62st yesterday...I think they sold me.