Garmin 66 vs 62S

[+Berta Nick Zoey]

I went from a 60Csx to a 62S several yrs back.   

 

A few of my dislikes on the 62s is the battery life, even with a 2 min screen timeout.   The calibrate compass is really a pain since it is 3 axis. 

 

I have not been keeping up with the releases until I was at REI today and saw the 66s.   

 

Any one who has had a 66 for a while, could you please comment on battery life and features that I may not have seen on the two units I have owned.

Thanks

[+Red90]

So to step back....  What problem are you having with battery life?  It should be the same for a 62 as for a 60, around 12 hours.

 

As for as features go, the 66 is quite different and it is well liked around here.  Have you look at the list of differences yourself first?

[+mikeD]

To be specific in reply to queries I have had a 66st for 9 months now 

Very pleased with it 

Getting 8-10 hours with AA Panasonic pro Eneloop batteries which  I can recharge in 40 mins via USB

The screen has much greater sharpness  and is  daylight readable.  I don't have the backlight on at all.  Screen timeout only kicks in if you use the backlight. You won't need it 

Mirad  of other improvements 

The one to have 

[Geoticca]

You leave the Panasonic in the gpsmap 66 and can load it fully in about 40 minutes via USB?

 

mine take about 6-8 hours for loading in the 66

[+Atlas Cached]

This:

 

2 hours ago, mikeD said:

The one to have 

 

8^)

[+BAMBOOZLE]

Your 62S is a great unit......as said use the Eneloop Batteries, I always run down before my unit does.

Every outing I install freshly charged Eneloop Batteries and can go over a year or more and never have to calibrate the compass....the voltage is very steady.

Its also important to use a good charger.....I like MAHA.

With MAHA charged Eneloops your 62S problems will be over.

[+iridium7777]

i went with a 66 because it's an only garmin unit (outside of biking dedicated units) that i can use with high frequency recording interval:

 

- it has 20,000 point ability vs. <=10,000 for other units

- most importantly if you're recording an activity as a .fit it has unlimited point recording.  so i can go on a 6 hr bike ride and not worry about having split tracks at the end of the day.

 

while still not a clean interface like a new iphone, the auto loading gaches based on where you point your map to (without having to downoad anything to computer first, etc.) is a great feature.  also very much like that you can download birdseye - for a lifetime - directly to the unit without ever having to log into basecamp.  i also hacked my unit so it can accept .njx files generated from SAS planet, something that 62 and 64 also have.

 

[+Atlas Cached]

Lost me here:

 

3 hours ago, iridium7777 said:

  i also hacked my unit so it can accept .njx files generated from SAS planet, something that 62 and 64 also have.

 

[+iridium7777]

@Atlas Cached you don't need to have a birdseye subscription to generate .jnx files (satelite views) for your gps - you can do it through a 3rd party application SAS Planet -- google search is your friend.

[+Atlas Cached]

Thank You!