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Reviews

You can't go wrong with this GPS. It's one of Garmins most popular sellers and I know why. Solid construction and well designed. Using the keyboard for text input is awkward, but then you can use your computer to do that stuff then just upload to the GPS. That is really not a big deal. Even though the battery life is rated at 18 hours, I still have the cheapo batteries it came with and they are at 75%. This GPS really pulls in the satellite signals. I can get reception inside some buildings and easily inside my house. Add the external antenna and it will grab every satellite it can at full strength. I bought this for trail use and it really excels at that, but can also be used on the road. It may not be as easy to use on the road as a GPS made for your car, but it comes real close. Maps are really the expensive part here. You can spend hundreds of dollars buying the maps you need. The best maps to buy are the ones on DVD otherwise you can't make a backup. The maps are detailed and updatable. My OS is Windows 7 and Base Camp and MapSource software is flaky on this OS so I hope there will be some significant updates soon to make them more reliable and stable. GPS software is rock solid. The GPS itself has performed flawlessly. All in all, this is a great GPS.

I have been using a Garmin 12 Map for years, but wanted one that I could upload and download easier. The Garmin 60CSx is easy to use and has an improved capability to access a signal inside a car. I needed an external antenna for the 12 Map, but the 60CSx does not need that external antenna inside the car (although it does pull in more signals when it is attached). Upload and download are great - can upload and download waypoint info from Google Maps and Google Earth, which is a real asset. I have not purchased or downloaded the Garmin City Maps or other software - too expensive for the amount that I need. I still use USGS contour maps along with GPS waypoint info when hiking - I find it easier to read a large paper map than the smaller GPS contour map that would appear on the screen. Waypoints that I save on the GPS plot very close to the same position on the Google Maps, so I have to assume that accuracy is good.

This is a great GPS and I would buy it again. In fact, I did. We use our GPS for geocaching so it gets turned on and off several times a day. With all that use, the power button broke on it and we got another. The power button isn't cheap or shoddy, we just used it A LOT. I will say though that it is a very firm button so I think part of the reason it broke was how much force is required to power it on/off and doing that so many times broke it. It is by far the most accurate GPS we have seen and we meet a lot of people with GPSs. This also includes the more expensive Garmin Oregons. The Oregons are cooler looking and have about the same features but the accuracy just isn't there. This level of accuracy isn't required by everyone but it is when geocaching so I really appreciate it. Here are a few notes: - This model has the electronic gyroscope as a compass which needs to be calibrated. I find it's WORTHLESS unless you hold the GPS very flat or else it will give you a random heading. You can set the GPS to calculate heading based on your movement (taking a step forward) anyway so I just do that. Since it is a simple fix, I don't really count that against it. - High quality construction. You wouldn't believe how many times we've dropped this on rocks, concrete, etc. It still works great. - The maps that come with it a pretty bad of course. Only highways and major rivers which is on par with every other GPS so that you have to pay for additional maps. One suggestion, though, Garmin maps come on MicroSD card or DVD. I suggest the MicroSD card because the maps HAVE to be registered to a GPS. Now that we bought another GPS of the exact same model, we can't use the same map disk! - It has built in features for geocaching which is great. - One cool thing that the Oregon can do that the GPSMap 60 can't is store multiple maps. The Oregon can store street maps and topographic and you can switch to either type or overlay both which is cool but I don't need it. If you did have both sets of maps on MicroSD then you could just swap them out. - Depending on which maps you get, it does support turn by turn navigation but not with the maps that come with it. - I'm not really covering most of the features because they work as advertised so no need to mention each by name. To summarize, this GPS is all about hard core construction and accuracy with a rich feature set. This is perfect for the outdoor type. If you plan to use it heavily for turn by turn navigation, you might want to think about alternatives. For the outdoor person though, this might be the best there is.

Simply the most accurate hand held on the planet....I live in the mountains of PA and have used this on the mountain tops, valleys etc...still live in an area where cell phone coverage is sparse. I don't think I've ever had less than four satellites, usually six are available. A friend has an older model and I've adjusted many of his waypoints. This is a great, rugged gps if accuracy and mapping is what you are looking for. The biggest con is the use of the keyboard to name waypoints, and move around the menu...once used to it, not so bad but obviously not as easy as the Colorado series etc....but I digress to the point above....I would recommend this to anyone.

The Garmin GPS 60 CSx Handheld is an excellent product and widely used by the military. It has many outstanding features and can be used effectively for both marine and outdoor use.