Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS

Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS
 List Price: $299.99
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Manufacturer: Garmin
Average Customer Rating: Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5

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Batteries Included: 0
Batteries: 2
Binding: Electronics
Brand: Garmin
EAN: 0753759071134
Feature: Handheld GPS navigator with high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver
Is Autographed: 0
Is Memorabilia: 0
Label: Garmin
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
Manufacturer: Garmin
Model: eTrex Vista HCx
Native Resolution: 176x220
Number Of Tracks: 20
Platform: Not Machine Specific
Publisher: Garmin
Studio: Garmin
Features
Handheld GPS navigator with high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver
Built-in electronic compass and barometric altimeter for calculating direction and altitude
MicroSD card slot; detailed basemap with lakes, highways, railroads, and more
256-color, sunlight-readable TFT display; 1,000 waypoints with names and symbols
Requires 2 AA batteries; measures 2.2 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches (W x H x D); 1-year warranty
Accessories
TOPO! National Geographic USGS Topographic Maps, California
DIGITAL HUB READER
Garmin Bicycle Mount for eTrex and Summit (010-10267-00)
Garmin Carrying Case for eTrex and Summit (010-10314-00)
Garmin MapSource WorldMap CD-ROM for Garmin GPS Units (010-10215-01)
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Editorial Reviews:
Neither deep foliage nor steep canyons will faze the rugged Garmin eTrex Vista HCx navigator. Equipped with a high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, the unit locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover. The advantage is clear: whether you're traipsing through thick woods or strolling near tall buildings and trees, you can count on the Vista HCx to help you find your way when you need it the most. The Vista HCx also includes a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing information even when you're standing still, along with a barometric altimeter that tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. You can even use the altimeter to plot barometric pressure over time, which can help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions.

Adding maps to the Vista HCx is easier than ever thanks to the device's microSD card slot, which accepts cards preloaded with MapSource data for your land and sea excursions. Just insert a MapSource card with detailed street maps, and the Vista HCx will provide turn-by-turn directions to your destination. Plus, the card slot is located inside the waterproof battery compartment, so you needn't worry about it getting wet.

Besides appreciating its small size, users will also be happy with the Vista HCx's unique button layout, with five buttons located on either side of the unit. The benefits of this design are twofold: First, the Vista HCx is a breeze to operate with just one hand, and, second, with the buttons on both sides of the unit, the bulk of the front is dedicated to the 256-color, sunlight-readable TFT display. This makes it easy to distinguish map details regardless of the time of day.

The Vista HCx basemap, meanwhile, contains lakes, rivers, cities, interstates, national and state highways, railroads, and coastlines--in short, a host of helpful details for your outdoor adventures. Other details include an IPX7 waterproof housing, 1,000 waypoints with names and graphic symbols, a built-in patch antenna, a USB interface, a hunt/fish calendar, sun and moon information, and a geocaching mode. The Vista HCx, which runs for up to 25 hours on a pair of AA batteries (not included), measures 2.2 by 4.2 by 1.2 inches (W x H x D) and is backed by a one-year warranty.

What's in the Box
eTrex Vista HCx, basemap, MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager software, USB cable, wrist strap, quick start guide, user's manual.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Summary: Replaced the B&W Vista for cycling
Comment: A few years ago I purchased the black and white eTrex Vista. I just replaced it with a Vista HCx with color. It is vastly superior.

The good: Obviously with the color I no longer confuse roads and rivers. When I hit a bump, it no longer shuts off. The sensitivity is fast and excellent even under tree and power lines. The batteries last twice as long - or even more. Tracks automatically log to the SD card. The menu system is much more intuitive. Though the old cycle mount back does not fit, the HCx includes a clip that hooks onto my old cycle mount - a much better solution. The altitude screen is configurable. The USB transfers data to and from my PC much faster than the old serial connection.

The bad: My old US Topo and Metro Guide software work for reading maps but does not work for routes. It requires another purchase of software - Garmin City Navigator NT North America. But on the good side, it re-routes on the fly - very impressive. You also have to buy a micro SD card. I bought a 2 gig one, they say the U.S. fits onto 1 gig and you have another gig for a history of your tracks (GPX format).

Overall: Garmin sells two mapping GPS for cycling. If you don't need cadence or heart monitoring, this is just as good, for far less money.
Customer Rating: Average rating of 2/5Average rating of 2/5Average rating of 2/5Average rating of 2/5Average rating of 2/5
Summary: It DOES work beautifully with Macs! Dismal Documentation, though!
Comment: After being content with my Garmin Vista, I decided it was time to upgrade to the latest Garmin Vista eTrex HCx. With a new MapSource Topo USA for MAC available, and the ability to transfer National Parks Topo Version 3 from PC to MAC I thought it would be an ideal time to "upgrade" to this model. The HCx has a beautiful color screen, is highly sensitive-acquiring satellites and able to navigate much more effectively! Response is quick-virtually instantaneous. Ergonomically the toggles are awkward and its easy to toggle into the wrong place-not a big deal and I image I'll get used to it. This being said the documentation that comes with the unit is almost useless, covering just the basics. Forget about how to setup (at least for a MAC). The cd that comes with it is for PC's only and there is absolutely no information on what a Mac user needs to do. You think a quick look at the Garmin website would have these answers. Nope! Nada! The website is a joke-as is customer support. I waited 32 minutes to speak to a rep and then was told I would have to be transferred to their Mac Dept. Okay fine. Another 34 minute wait. Thats; okay, I'm willing to wait-except the tech I finally get is about as helpful as a cord of wood. No help. I ask questions he doesn't know the answers and doesn't sound like he cares-hardly a Mac enthusiast. In fact I felt like he actually dispised my call. From simple things like where's the serial number (I think you need this to activate)? to do I need drivers to download to make this work, etc. Here I am with a beautiful device that does what my old Vista did-except this one, is of course, much faster, and more effective-if I could get some information on it! If Garmin is going to claim they are moving toward Mac compatibility they should at least-add a word or two on their website (other than press releases on how they are now Mac friendly) or perhaps a few sentences in the manual explaining exactly what Mac users need to get this thing up-and-running, transferring maps, able to communicate with Mapsource software and just basic stuff. I would like to give the HCx five stars, but because of absolutely no assistance for Mac users on their website or manual I give it two stars and sit here with a $270 GPS-$200 worth of new MapSource Maps (another product-another review) and a beautiful little machine that has quicker response and is much more capable than my old Vista-but just as useless on a Mac. My enthusiasm dissolved after trying to upload maps or connect to my computer. Dealing with Garmin software reminds me of Windows '98 or Millennium as that's about where they are in the software department. Customer service-a BIG ZERO stars!

REVISED 6/30/08 Okay, finally! I got someone at Garmin customer service (very nice in the Mac Dept.) that could explain what-exactly needs to be done to get this puppy up-and-running: I had already downloaded the Garmin MapIntsall software (which you need to open, then select the device-in this case the HCx); there you will find all your maps (in my case the Topo Natl Parks and Topo USA for Mac). With the GPS plugged into USB port you simple select all the maps you want from one program and then go to the other set of maps and select the ones there). Works like a dream! Now if they would just make this clear somewhere (and believe me, it is not CLEAR anywhere). That being said, the experience I had today was much better. While I had to wait another 30 minutes to get customer service (who told me the serial number is located inside the battery case on the back) and then another 5 minutes to get to the Mac specialist-all my questions were answered! Both techs were very nice and helpful! Today's experience would be 5 Star Customer service! while I have rated the device 2 stars-I would probably change to 4 stars. Why the missing star? Initial frustration that could have been alleviated if Garmin took the time to stuff some extra instructions in the box specifically for Mac user's and made their website a little more friendly-and informative. The 24k NATL PARKS maps are beautiful on the color screens-as are the TOPO USA 2008 for Mac. The toggles are still awkward and unruly-but I'll get used to it. So, in a nutshell; You can download multiple maps on to your Garmin Vista Hcx using MapInstall (dowload from their website) to your applications folder. Once downloaded, connect your HCx to USB and select device and have fun selecting your maps. One thing I was not real clear on until today is that "Bobcat" is strictly for viewing maps and transferring wayspoints, etc. It has nothing to do with uplading maps to your GPS. Use MapInstall to upload maps to the GPS. Today's experience brought my faith back in Garmin customer service and technology. Thanks Garmin, for FINALLY becoming Mac compatible. I'm going to be a happy camper with this wonderful little GPS!
Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: Garmin Etrex Vista HCX gps
Comment: I am 100% satisfied with purchase of this product. It's ability to lock on to satellites while inside buildings and vehicles is amazing. It's tft display is very easy to see in daylight. I would recommend this product to anyone interested in purchasing a handheld gps receiver.
Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: HCX: X-cellent!
Comment: I have owned several different GPS units over the past few years both Garmain and Magellan I use them for both navigation and Geocaching. This is one of the best I have seen.
If you already have the maps for the I-Que series, those maps can be used in this unit as well. The colors are bright and easy to read and the turn by turn feature is as good as Tom-Tom or the I-Que.
If you don't already have the maps, it is still worth buying because of the GPS accuracy and strong satellite tracking and quick aquisition. I am very happy with this unit and I would buy another in a heartbeat.
Rixart
Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: Excellent; I highly recommend this handheld
Comment: This is my review of the Garmin eTrex Vista Hcx handheld mapping GPS unit. I purchased this GPS in early June of 2008 and have had it about 3 weeks as of this review. I own two other GPS's: a Microsoft Streets and Trips + GPS from 2005 and a Garmin Nuvi 200 I received as a gift Christmas 2007. MS S&T is a really nice program and it works well with its accompanying GPS receiver. But, it requires that you use it with a computer (the receiver plugs into a USB port). And the Nuvi 200 is a great unit as well, but it's more for finding a route and directions while driving--finding your way to a destination.

I wanted a portable unit mostly to use while walking, hiking, or biking that would track my journey, with a color display, memory expansion capability, and alititude tracking. I did lots of online research, reading reviews and user manuals at Cnet, Amazon, and several GPS-specific sites and eventually narrowed it down to three possibilities, all Garmin: the eTrex Vista Hcx, the GPSMAP 60 CSx, and one of the new Colorado units. In the end, I selected the Vista because: I felt the Colorado was too new and I'd seen negative reviews (and it has features like 3D I didn't think I'd need), and the Vista was proven, reliable, and less expensive than the 60 CSx. Also, it had all the features I wanted and was lighter and has longer advertised battery life than either of the other two units.

In a word, I consider this unit to be: exceptional. It meets or exceeds its advertised functionality and my expectations. Some specific items:

--Accuracy: I had read some reviews that complained about the accuracy of other similar units and I was worried. But I've found this unit to be very accurate, down to within a couple meters. And in my case it seems to make no difference whether the WAAS feature is enabled or disabled.

--Altitude accuracy: not quite as good as I'd like to see, but adequate. In a couple cases while hiking it has actually been off by as much as 1000 feet in altitude, but I attribute this to the vagaries of barometric altitude measurement, not to a defect in the unit itself. In cases where the altitude doesn't seem so accurate, I find that the altitude relative to an entire track still reports where I've gone up and down hills, so I'm satisfied. Also, I have not yet tried manually setting the altitude or barometric pressure at the beginning of a trek, but I'd guess that would improve its overall performance.

--Battery Life: my first set of regular old AA Eveready Alkalines lasted slightly longer than 25 hours, the advertised life. I'd bet that I could stretch this to longer if I paid attention to turning off the backlight when I don't really need it on.

--Size: I was surprised at how small the unit is. For some reason I had in my mind that all units around this size would be a bit bigger; it's about the size of a deck of playing cards, but slightly thicker.

--Display Visibility: no problems at all here. I use the unit frequently in bright sunlight attached to my bike while wearing sunglasses and I can see the display fine from a few feet away.

--Map: the map that comes with the unit by default is entirely inadequate for anything but highway driving, but I knew this when I bought it, and had purchased Topo 2008 as well (which is very nice for both city and on-trail tracking). There are very few trails actually in the mapping software itself, but this isn't the Vista's deficiency itself.

--Sturdiness: biking can sometimes be a bit bumpy. Yay for solid state components; this GPS has worked fine over bumpy roads.

I'd highly recommend this unit to anyone looking for a handheld GPS, especially one to be used for walking, hiking, jogging, or bike riding. If you're looking for something to give you directions while driving a car, this unit is not for you--stick to the Nuvi series.
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