Handheld GPS Reviews - Customer reviews - Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS

Manufacturer: Garmin

List Price: $299.99
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Used Price: $213.99

Average Customer Rating: -

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Name: David Lisowski
Location: Clifton,NJ
Date: 2010-06-25
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Excellent unit, could use better PC software to support it.
Comment: I have had this unit for 6+ months and have used it traveling in Italy and France, for biking, for hiking, for skiing and for auto navigation in the USA. I also use it to geo-tag photos that I take while traveling around. The unit comes with very little software i.e. the maps that make this a useful device. The maps get pricy and of course there are strict licensing rules that seem to rule out having the software on your desktop and laptop at the same time.

I have the Topo US 100K and the City Navigator. City Navigator on this small unit is still very nice, even although there is no sound other than the warning beep that a turn is coming up it works pretty well. For biking it works very well as long as you get the correct handle bar attachment which is not the simple rail mount kit but the larger handlebar mount. Just don't stare at the GPS unit too much while biking. The unit collects useful statistics but the software does not give you a lot of them neither Mapsource or Basecamp. In the past I have used Delorme software which will give you total climb and decent and other things that you really want to know when planning a trip or reviewing the statistics from a completed trip. The same would go for hiking. Planning a trip with too much vertical climb on either a bike or hike can be a real bummer. The software does not give you this information, just the profile with a marker you can move from a starting point to an ending point. Hence I am looking for third party software or write my own to process an output GPX file.

For trips to places like Europe where I did NOT want to spend a lot of money for another map product that I would rarely use, I found public domain maps that worked fine at [...]. These maps do not have the navigation functions, they just have an image so you can see where you are. By directly dragging their IMG file onto the SD memory card I was able to install these maps. I was very happy with the results - knowing where I was all the time and where the nearest Paris metro station was at any time! It even knew which fountain I was standing to the palace of Versailles.

The software provided by Garmin could be integrated with Google earth better. The software will export and kick off Google Earth, but it does not import anything from it. For example since I lacked navigation in Europe I set push pins in Google Earth and then exported and had to convert to gpx and then import them one at a time. This was very useful but it should have been able to read the Google formats and not force me to spend hours marking important landmarks. Having done that I was able to Find-Waypoint-MyHotel and always be able to find it. I love never being actually lost.

When taking pictures I the Garmin files can be downloaded and used by external software (Copiks) to add GPS coordinates to your photos. Just having the time set on the camera correctly allows the software to compare your tracks and mark the photo.

Sensitivity is much better than my old Garmin 12XL. The little joy stick to move around menus and select things could use some improvement but this little unit does a lot for me and I am very happy with it. Now if they improve their software products it could be even better.

Name: John J. Smiertelny
Location:
Date: 2010-07-04
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Great Mapping Device, poor choices in map downloads
Comment: I've had my Garmin eTrex for about two months now and by itself it's good product, but when you couple it with a fully functioning map software, it's great. It's small, compact, easy to use, and you can carry it with you anywhere. There's just couple of things to be aware of. When I purchased the eTrex I assumed the mapping software included in the purchase was sufficient to guide you almost anywhere. I was wrong. You almost have to purchase the mapping software, in order to get up to date information on locations, waypoints, areas of interest etc. That's an additional $100. But you have to be careful which of the three choices you choose. Down loadable directly to the device, a CD Rom, or a SD card preloaded with the software. I chose the down loadable version which took several hours to download via FIOS connection, only to find it was not compatible with the software that Garmin provide at the time of purchase. The way to go is to get the CD rom so you can manipulate the information on the computer that you would like to see on the hand held. So the software that I have on my computer that Garmin provided is virtually useless without some type of mapping software. I would prefer that Garmin package the software and the device together, but I imagine the price would not make it conducive to the consumer.

Name: Gary L. Gill
Location:
Date: 2010-07-29
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Garmin eTrex Vista HCx GPS receiver
Comment: This is the third Garmin product I have purchased. The eTrex Vista HCx works well for me while cycling. The memory card slot was an important feature for me. I use MapSource and topo maps for navigating country roads. The altitude feature is great for tracking elevation climbed while riding.

Name: MKAZ
Location:
Date: 2007-09-15
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Great receiver
Comment: This is my first GPS receiver and I couldn't be happier. I have used it for geocaching and as a bike computer with the Garmin bike mount bracket. I have never lost satellite coverage. Highly recommended.

Name: R. Metzger
Location:
Date: 2007-11-30
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Fantastic, very satisfied
Comment: I will keep this as short as possible. The only drawback is the small screen, but that's what you sacrifice for extreme portability and honestly, it doesn't bother me that much.

I'm in Iraq and most civilian GPS systems and even some of our own can't get a signal inside our armored trucks w/o an external antenna, but this one can even without the high-sensitivity feature turned on. I've taken it out on four patrols for a total running time of about 36hrs and the batteries only read half-drained. Granted they're lithium batteries and I use the backlight VERY sparingly, but still, very impressed.

It's everything I would want in a GPS, I had the RINO and while that was nice, this is so much better since I RARELY used the radio feature. It's worth the money, shop around, I found mine for just over $200 new.

If you don't already know, the loaded maps are sparse, so don't expect a lot of detail w/o shelling out some cash for new maps, but that's the case with any GPS.

Bottom line, great product, Garmin impresses me again. If it's good enough for me in Iraq, I don't see where this bad-boy would fail.

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