Summary: I had a Garmin eTrex Vista Cx briefly before I bought this HCx, and this HCx is much stronger and faster to gather satellites (for example, this HCx will find the satellites even indoors where the Cx would not). I have been using this unit for over 4 months for geocaching, and I have become used to the somewhat non-intuitive interface. Once you get used to it, it makes sense. I like the size and feel of the unit for hiking. It seems to be fairly rugged, and water resistant, with decent battery life. I really like the USB port, and I connect it to my Macintosh to download geocache information. I did purchase some Garmin maps on microSD cards, and they work great. The unit does come with a very basic map built in, but it only shows very major roads. Overall, I am happy with this GPSr.
Reviewed by: Hilliamb on 18-Oct-07Rating:
Strengths: accurate, easy to use, downloading waypoints via USB is great
Summary: I've been using it for geochaching and it's great. you'd need to upgrade the base map if you want to use it for road navigation. i would definately recommend it.
Reviewed by: mmszucs on 19-Dec-07Rating:
Strengths: Excellent ability to lock on satellites quickly & in almost any location. Small & very portable. Excellent for backpacking. Works great for highway use with friction mount & cigarette lighter adapter.
Summary: I have previously used both the Etrex Vista & Vista C and am extremely satisfied with my purchase of the Vista HCX. The HCX uses all the accessories I had purchased for my Vista C (carry case, vehicle power adapter, bicycle mount - used on my motorcycle, portable friction beanbag mount using the dash mount). I purchased the Vista HCS primarily for the newer high sensitivity receiver and the addition of the micro SD card capability, and WOW! What a difference! This unit outperforms the Vista & Vista C by leaps and bounds. Signal aquisition seems almost instantaneous in comparison. With the micro SD card, I have loaded all the U.S. maps from my City Navigator software onto the GPS at one time and no longer have to lug my laptop computer around on trips to load additional maps due to lack of internal memory (Vista C only had 24mb of internal memory with no expansion capability). I'm also pleased with the ability to change user preferences; ie. display colors, sounds, etc. Overall, I would highly recommend this handheld GPS to anyone looking for a great all-purpose navigation tool.