GPS Map Products Versus Montana

[Percy Fawcett]

After using a Garmin GPS Map 60CSx for eons, I have been giving some thought to upgrading to a new unit. Some less than stellar reviews of the GPS Map 64st have made me hesitant to go there but the new Montana 680t “appears” to have the same features I am used to plus obvious improvements.

 

My question is, other than looks and ignoring the obvious larger touchscreen and addition of GLONASS; what exactly IS the difference between the larger screen Montana/Oregon/Monterra products and the GPS Map series?

 

What I do know is, I have never had reception problems with my trusty 60CSx and for the most part it does what I want a GPS to do so I don’t want a bigger screen or some other “extra” bells & whistles at the expense of reception.

 

I also suspect the GPS64st may be going away. If so, is a new GPS Map product on the horizon and worth waiting for?

 

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.

[+Red90]

There is nothing wrong with the 64. Not sure why you believe there is.

 

All the units are basically the same software with different screens and input methods.

[Percy Fawcett]

The less than stellar reviews I read on the 64st came from Amazon.

 

While I know enough to take all reviews with a grain of salt, my 60CSx works just fine and my desire for a new unit is based on want, not need.

 

Based on the way I use my 60CSx, what intrigues me most about the newer units is a larger display, more characters permitted for waypoint names and more custom waypoint symbols. Since I already know the 680t has all three, if I can expect as good reception, accuracy and features, there may be a 680t in my immediate future once some reviews become available.

 

Thanks for your input!

[+Red90]

Like, I tried to say. They are ALL the same other than screen size and input method....and, of course, price. The software is the same.

 

The people in those reviews are complete morons.

[+ecanderson]

With Garmin products, you have to discount any review in the first year having to do with the embedded firmware. We've all come to realize that for some years now, these products are released long before the code is ready. As expected, it wasn't entirely stable at release, and that generated a lot of early complaints.

 

So fast forward to more recent reviews and things improve a fair bit. I note that many of the Amazon reviews of that product aren't necessarily directly related to the device (e.g., complaints about the topo, Basecamp, etc.), and that some users aren't happy about the UI and may benefit from one of the other models to better suit their preferences in that regard.

[+Mineral2]

The major difference between the GPS Map and the Oregon/Montana lines is the interface - GPS Map uses buttons to navigate the screens and menus, the Oregons and Montanas use a touch screen. Aside from that, the features are nearly identical. The Oregon and Montana do have a higher resolution screen, which may or may not be important to you.

[Percy Fawcett]

I really appreciate the input from y'all!

 

I asked Garmin a bunch of questions and have pretty much decided to bite the bullet and buy a Montana 680t (considering my accumulated Cabela's points will cover the cost) once I get a coupon to sweeten the offer even more.

 

What is especially huge for me over my old 60CSx is the additional characters available for waypoint names and in the notes fields, more custom waypoint symbols and the recent discovery (after asking Garmin) that the Montana supports categories which will make my life especially easy with all of the waypoints I use.

 

Interestingly enough, I could care less about the bigger screen and touch screen capability...

 

Thanks again!

[eaparks]

What is especially huge for me over my old 60CSx is the additional characters available for waypoint names and in the notes fields, more custom waypoint symbols and the recent discovery (after asking Garmin) that the Montana supports categories which will make my life especially easy with all of the waypoints I use.

 

Since it sounds like you like to create quite a few waypoints, you will quickly appreciate the touch screen models for how quick you can create and name new waypoints, add comments, and assign a symbol as compared to your 60CSx. Been there done that, still have my 60CSx but only as a back up. After having used a touch screen model (Oregon) for about 6 years now, I would never go back to one with buttons, but then I'm always creating a lot of waypoints and saving tracks for my custom vector maps.

[+Red90]

What is especially huge for me over my old 60CSx is the additional characters available for waypoint names and in the notes fields, more custom waypoint symbols and the recent discovery (after asking Garmin) that the Montana supports categories which will make my life especially easy with all of the waypoints I use.

 

Interestingly enough, I could care less about the bigger screen and touch screen capability...

 

Every current handheld models will do those things. Like stated above, the software is all basically the same.

 

The category thing does not have a lot of functionality though. I suspect you are going to expect more from it than you will get. IMO, you should be using custom POIs if you have a large amount of points. It is easier to keep these in different lists, with different symbols. You could do that on the 60csx as well.

[+Mineral2]

I really appreciate the input from y'all!

 

I asked Garmin a bunch of questions and have pretty much decided to bite the bullet and buy a Montana 680t (considering my accumulated Cabela's points will cover the cost) once I get a coupon to sweeten the offer even more.

 

What is especially huge for me over my old 60CSx is the additional characters available for waypoint names and in the notes fields, more custom waypoint symbols and the recent discovery (after asking Garmin) that the Montana supports categories which will make my life especially easy with all of the waypoints I use.

 

Interestingly enough, I could care less about the bigger screen and touch screen capability...

 

Thanks again!

I know the Oregons support all that you want here, and I'm pretty sure the 64s does too.

[Percy Fawcett]

Unfortunately, I may have got some bad information from Garmin regarding the ability of the new Montana 680 to support categories. While I never had the feature before, in my Nuvi it is a HUGE plus in helping to sort waypoints. I was really psyched that I could get this benefit from the Montana.

 

(FWIW – custom POI’s won’t work for my application for many reasons, it has to be waypoints.)

 

The remaining advantages (to me) over my 60CSx (longer waypoint names & more custom symbols) can only be realized by doing a LOT of work to my existing waypoint lists in MapSource. To be honest, without the categories it isn’t worth the effort or the $600. I’ve got by for a LONG time with short waypoint names and only 24 custom symbols.

 

I guess at this point, I’ll stick with my 60CSx for another 10 years in the hope Garmin will eventually come out with a product that serves my purposes.

[Grasscatcher]

Get the Montana 680 and you will never regret it and never look back.....

 

Do your own waypoint categories...

Separate your waypoints in however many categories you want them.

 

Make each category a separate / single GPX file.

 

Place those GPX files on the mSD card.

 

Some waypoints you may even want to put into more than one category. That will show up as duplicate in Waypoint Mgr list but you can solve the confusion as to which is which by adding an identifier (single letter or #) to the name to specify which category / GPX file it goes with, or even easier by using a different symbol for each GPX / category.

Those files with all the waypoints will load on startup totally as usual.

 

If you need to edit any category, you only need to work with that specific GPX file. When hooked up to your PC in mass storage mode, just select the "card drive" /Garmin/GPX/ "file" and make whatever changes. Changes can even be done with the unit still connected to the PC, or changes can be made on the original PC ver of the GPX file and then just replace the file on the card with that one.

[+Red90]

Get the Montana 680 and you will never regret it and never look back.....

 

Other than the insane price....

[+Mineral2]

You can categorize waypoints if you convert them to POIs.

[+Red90]

You can categorize waypoints if you convert them to POIs.

 

There is an echo in here.

[Percy Fawcett]

You can categorize waypoints if you convert them to POIs.

 

There is an echo in here.

 

Can you create custom POI categories and name them whatever you want and can you assign custom symbols to the custom POI's?

 

If not, that won't work for me.

[+HHL]

[...]

Can you create custom POI categories and name them whatever you want and can you assign custom symbols to the custom POI's?[...]

 

Yes, you can. You can even build sub categories.

 

Hans

Edited November 3, 2015 by HHL

[Percy Fawcett]

I will have to experiment to see if this would work for me.

 

What if anything can I do in my 60CSx as far as creating custom POI's and custom POI symbols & categories?

[+Mineral2]

You can use your 60CSx to get the coordinates of your custom POI's. Otherwise, you start with known coordinates and make waypoints in Basecamp (or excel), then use Garmin's POI loader to convert and install them as points of interest on your GPS.

 

http://www8.garmin.com/products/poiloader/creating_custom_poi_files.jsp

[Percy Fawcett]

What about custom symbols and categories?

[+Viajero Perdido]

Custom symbols: yes, some tinkering involved.

Categories: I don't think so.

[Percy Fawcett]

Another question: Custom POI's live on the micro SD card yes? If so, what happens when your card is about maxed out with Map Sets?

 

I realize the obvious answer is "buy a bigger card" but I believe there are limits to the size card you can use, at least according to Garmin.

[+Red90]

Yes, custom symbols and categories, even on a 60csx.

 

POIs take up little room, so I can't believe a memory problem is an issue. They only need to be on the card for old units like the 60csx. New units can be internal or external memory.

[Percy Fawcett]

Thanks Red!

 

I have to play with this a bit on my 60CSx and see what is involved although not being able to see custom POI's in BaseCamp unless the unit is connected may be problematic for my application.