+Shifty Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Hello. So here I am waiting for my tax return from the government so I can finally place an order for my handheld GPS unit. I spent a good amount of time researching into what units do what and what I would need it to do. Finding online for a grand total of 287.63. I can have delivered to my doorstep a brand new Legend C. I got bored today so I ran down to the Bass Pro Shop to play with it. During my playtime I was also shown the GPSMAP60C. Now, searching the net I have discovered that this unit normally around 450. Can be delivered to my house for 295.00 (After 100$ mail in rebate) (https://www.gpsexplorer.com) Doing a side by side comparison of these two units. I only see the following diffrences. 60C Has more memory, slightly bigger screen, can hold more waypoints, a dedicated Geocaching mode, and Quad Helix Antenna with external antenna port. Nothing like throwing a little chaos into my life now eh? So I am curious about which unit would be the better way to go. I have read pretty much equal arguements from both owners but nothing that really says one unit is better than the other. So can someone provide that? Any owners of the legend C that swear by it? And transversely, gpsmap 60C owners that think their unit is king poop?? In the end I guess it just all falls back on me and how much money I want to spend. I just like hearing other peoples points of views when it comes to expensive items. Thanks for the time. Shifty Quote Link to comment
peter Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 The $50 Garmin rebate applies to the LegendC as well, so you should be able to find it for around $230 after rebate. If you plan to use the unit for car trips with Garmin's CitySelect-NA maps, then I'd recommend the 60c for the larger memory. 24 MB can be pretty limiting when you include the auto-routing data. The external antenna connector and inclusion of both USB and RS-232 ports are also plus points, the latter especially if you ever want to hook it up to any other NMEA devices (chartplotters, fishfinders, auto-pilots, VHF, APRS radios, etc.). Quote Link to comment
+Shifty Posted March 6, 2005 Author Share Posted March 6, 2005 (edited) Well I have a Streetpilot 2620 already, But if a Cache is off of a road I am kinda outta luck so I need a handheld Unit. Just tryin to narrow down to 1. The 295 price does reflect the garmin rebate. The website is selling the unit for 295 with a 50$ rebate through them along with the 50$ rebate from Garmin = 100$ in rebates total. Their rebate is only good until the end of march though. S Edited March 6, 2005 by Shifty54 Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 I think you have done your home work. That you have a GPS in your rig, means you can go either way and probably be happy. If you didn't have the one in your rig the 60C would be the clear winner. Quote Link to comment
+GrnXnham Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 I have the 60C and the Legend (grayscale version) The quad helix antenna inside the 60C is superior to the patch antenna in the various legend models most of the time especially in heavy tree cover. Also, the processor speed is much faster in the 60C than the Legend. However, I am unsure if the processor speed in the Legend C is faster than my grayscale Legend. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 The word in the forums is that the newer GPS units that use the patch like the Legend C and explorists are improved over the older ones. I haven't had the use of one to tell in a side by side comparison. But people report being favorable impressed when they have upgraded. Quote Link to comment
peter Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 The 295 price does reflect the garmin rebate. The website is selling the unit for 295 with a 50$ rebate through them along with the 50$ rebate from Garmin = 100$ in rebates total. That was already clear wrt the 60c. I was talking about the LegendC price where the only one you list is $287. The $50 Garmin rebate applies there as well, and the same source as the 60c has the current price after rebate of the LegendC as $219.95. So the decision you need to make is whether the 60c is worth $75 more than the LegendC. The performance of the two antennas seems pretty similar from what I've seen, but there's a clear difference in how they need to be held for best results. [Note that the sensitivity of the LegendC antenna appears to be better than that of the Legend.] So for mounting on a bicycle handlebar I'd pick the LegendC since it works best when nearly horizontal whereas I'd pick the 60c for use on a car dash where it'd be more vertical. For hiking I'd think either one could be held and/or attached in the appropriate orientation. If you didn't have the 2620 I'd definitely recommend the 60c, but as a second unit it's hard for me to see it being worth that much more - and the LegendC seems handier to carry. Quote Link to comment
+Searching_ut Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 The geocaching mode is the same on both the Legend C, and the 60 C. Myself I much prefer the eTrex series for handheld use. Once you get the hang of the buttons, and program the screen sequence to your preferences they're great for quick and easy one handed use. You sacrafice waypoint storage, a serial port, memory and an external antenna port for the convinience. Speed wise etc. they seem pretty equal to me, and if anything the color eTrex displays are slightly brighter, albiet smaller. My own preference is for a different unit for vehicle navigation than I use for handheld use. I can't imagine not having voice direction in a vehicle unit. As for the price, I got a little confused on what it's actually costing you. If you go to TVnav, you can get a Vista C for $330, with shipping ranging from $5 up to around $20 as I recall for overnight. With the $50 garmin rebate you could have one of those for under the $295 total you mentioned for the Legend. Quote Link to comment
+badlands Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 (edited) As long as you are waiting for your tax refund anyway, you may want to consider the Explorist 600 that will start shipping soon. It runs about $358 at tigergps.com Edited March 6, 2005 by badlands Quote Link to comment
+Rubberhead Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Best I can remember the 60CS has the advantage in: Memory (56M vs. 24M) Antenna (Quad Helix vs. Patch) Eternal ports (both have USB, but the 60 also has a serial/power port and an external antenna port) Power supply (direct 12 VDC for the 60CS while the Vista C has to have USB power) Easier access due to more available buttons The Vista C has the advantage in size and the often overlooked power-over-USB. I really wish Garmin had implemented USB power for the 60/76 series. Quote Link to comment
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