Garmin GPSMAP 60CSX : Why This GPS is the Best

There are a lot of GPS units out there. Trying to figure out what makes a GPS better than another can be overwhelming. My husband has owned over 5 GPS units, all of them very different, but when he purchased the Garmin GPS 60CSX this unit stood out. The reason is the fact it can lock onto satellites in the heaviest of cover and buildings. You can even lock onto a satellite from inside your house which most units can not. This gps is great for hunters, hikers, fisherman, and even skydivers.

Easy to use and navigate. Has a rocker button that lets you scroll to the item you want to highlight and then you just press enter. It's that simple. It's waterproof and weights only 7.5 ounces. It will fit in the palm of your hand, and you can actually use it one handed.

The 2.2 inch Color Display is anti-glare, when the sun is beating down on it, you can still read it.

What's inside the box? The 60CSX unit, a 64 mb microSD card, belt clip, USB cable, lanyard, owner's manual and quick start manual. The retail cost is $399.99

The features of this unit is as follows:

Supports optional bluechart, marine, TOPO24K and City Select Maps

Long battery life 18 hours in typical use with 2 AA batteries

Built in basemap which has database of cities, interstates, state and county highways, exits,lake and river outlines

Electronic Compass and Barometric Altimeter

Expandable Memory on a microSD card

Waterproof, light weight design

10,000 point track log, you can save 20 tracks at 500 points each

Six games for entertainment memory race, virtua maze, gekosmak,nibbons, gekords and Beast Hunt.

Sun and Moon when sunrise, and sunset is for selected dates and locations great if you are hunting or hiking.

Jumpmaster- for skydivers, with elevations, and altitudes

Best times for hunting and fishing based on locations.

With optional software can be used for driving directions, where you can find food, fuel, lodging, and shopping.

GPS unit will save the last 50 things you have searched for automatically.

The main menu has tracks,routes,highways,calendar,calculator,stopwatch,hunt and fish, and games.

Can store up to 1000 waypoints and 50 routes.

Software that is included with the GPS is mapsource trip and waypoint manager.

The pros of this unit is the microSD card which is hidden in the battery compartment. You no longer have to worry that your data will get compromised. Even though it comes with a 64 mb card, you will want to purchase at least a 1 GB card to save additonal maps.

As you know with any GPS you buy, understand that to get the most out of this GPS you will have to buy additonal maps for it. Shop around, my word of advice on this unit is to buy the unit as a kit, my husband bought it with the TOPO map software included, and it was a hundred dollars cheaper than buying the software separately.
You can only use Garmin software in this GPS. We bought the kit which includes the unit from the GPS Store with TOPO for $379.95, which is less than retail stated on Garmin's website but includes the software.

One of the complaints of the unit is that if used for driving directions it is hard to see the screen, and there is no voice. This GPS is made more for hunting, hiking, and fishing, even though it does get you to where you need to be with the turn by turn directions, unless you have someone who could read the directions to you, buy a unit made more specifically for driving directions with voice.

We have also noticed that if you live the backlight off you won't go through batteries as fast, in the coldest of weather we have had batteries last about 12 hours compared to the 18 they claim.

Even though this is an older GPS, just the fact that this can lock onto satellites in a matter of seconds, no matter how dense the woods, is worth the money in my opinion. We hunt in a location that is miles upon miles into the thickest of cover, and my husband will get at least 3 to 4 satellites without being in a open field. We never get lost. His other GPS units wouldn't pick up any satellites.

Shop around for the best price, do the research almost everyone loves the GPSMAP 60CSX that has it, just google the GPS model with reviews, and you will see why this GPS is worth your consideration in buying it.