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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Offers (61)

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Name: Attwater
Location: Houston, USA
Date: 2009-08-05
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Vast Improvements over Earlier Models
Comment: Having owned, used, and been extremely pleased with the eTrex Vista C for a number of years, I was a bit disturbed by needing to purchase a new upgraded unit to take advantage of maps of New Zealand (live in USA). However, I was totally surprised by features advertised, but irrelevant to my upgrade purchase: the Vista HCx's dramatically improved sensitivity and seemingly resultant improved accuracy. I went heli-skiing in New Zealand with the HCx zipped up in a pocket of my ski jacket to record my tracks. Track accuracy for my skiing as displayed on Google Earth was phenomenal, much better than anything I had seen with my Vista C. Using the old Vista C inside a vehicle, I had to keep the unit on the dash with a view of the sky through the windshield to maintain lock on the satellites and hence my location and track. The Vista HCx maintains track with good accuracy continuously sitting on the lap of a passenger inside a vehicle. This helps tremendously when you need a passenger to help with navigation in a city with which you are not familiar (both the Vista HCx and Vista C can be used for city navigation, but they are optimized operationally for trail use).

So, if you have been happy with the Vista C, and it is a few years old, you probably will find an upgrade to the Vista HCx well worth it, especially with the prices you can get through Amazon. Any maps you had for the Vista C will work with the Vista HCx, and you can use all the NT (New Technology) maps now available and supported by Garmin. I have really enjoyed both the better sensitivity and increased storage (2 Gbytes on a micro-SD card - <$10 now) for maps with the HCx. Nothing appears to have changed operationally between the two units, so there is nothing new to learn to use the new HCx. Interestingly however, the software seems to have improved in efficiency. An upgrade that is worth it.

Name: T. L. Guse
Location: Minnesota United States
Date: 2008-07-13
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Best Trail GPS
Comment: This is the best trail GPS I have owned. I have been using it for a few months now and here is what I have observed:

1. Battery power is a big one for me. This gets the 25 hours that is says it gets. I often backpack camp for a few days at a time and don't like changing batteries all the time.

2. Size is great. If you have a case with a clip you can attach this to your pack or straps and it's barely noticeable.

3. The software and programming is a plus. You can easily make waypoints with the waypoint manager software. The on board software has many features as well. I tend to use tracking a lot. Geocaching management is built in. Maps are expandable if you use topo of street maps purchased seperately and are stored either on board or on the optional sd card card that can be put in.

My recommended additions for this product:

1. Get a solid case like the case from foarm. The one that comes with it is ok but if you do a lot of bushwhacking you'll was a more protective case.

2. Get a screen protector like InvisibleShield. It's worth the investment.

3. Since this is a trail GPS, buying the Topo 2008 DVD or whatever is current from Garmin is a plus and you won't regret it.

So overall an excellent product with room for expandability and is very durable. This is a perfect companion for hikers and backpackers.

Name: Per Nyström
Location: San Diego, CA
Date: 2008-09-10
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Easy to use
Comment: Bought one for my trip to California. Was a bit put off by the reviews that said it would be hard to use, I think it is very intuitive and has worked great for be. If you use a mac you need to convert the maps using Mapconverter in Windows, which will generate a map file that you can use on the mac. This might be considered a bit of a hassle.

The sensitivity of the GPS is really good, mine localized satellites even when indoors. Battery time is superb.

Only drawback was that it froze a couple of times when I started using it, but since I upgraded the firmware it has worked without problems.

Highly recommended.

Name: B. Bocchi
Location: VANCOUVER WA
Date: 2008-11-24
Customer Rating: -

Summary: wow
Comment: I HAVE THE VISTA HCX. I JUST SPENT A WEEK IN THE MT ADAMS WILDERNESS HUNTING.I BOUGHT THE PRE LOADED MICRO SD WITH THE 2008 TOPO MAP. IT WAS SO EASY JUST PUT IT IN AND THERE IS A NEW ICON ON THE MENU.. THAT SIMPLE. EVEN IN THE DEEPEST DARKEST FOREST I NEVER EVEN CAME CLOSE TO LOSING RECEPTION. IT WOULD RANGE BETWEEN 10FT AND 40FT. ALL FIVE TIMES THAT I TOLD THE HUNTING PARTY WHERE I COULD BE PICKED UP AT DARK I EMERGED FROM THE WOODS EXACTLY AT THAT POINT USING THE PROXIMITY WAY POINT FEATURE. I WAS GETTING ABOUT 18 HOURS OUT OF A PAIR OF KIRKLAND BRAND AA BATTERIES NEEDLESS TO SAY THE OTHER THREE GUYS ARE GETTING THE VISTA FOR NEXT YEAR.

Name: Bigfoot
Location: Oregon, USA
Date: 2008-12-12
Customer Rating: -

Summary: Huge Leap Forwards
Comment: I started out with the original yellow eTrex years ago. From there I migrated through the Venture, Legend, GPSMAP 60Cx, and now to the Vista HCx. The 60C(S)x series has a SiRF GPS chipset, whereas these new eTrex HCx models are rumored to carry the MTK GPS chipset. Well, whatever Garmin has placed in these new high-sensitivity eTrex units is amazing. Battery life is phenomenal -- using cheap alkaline cells I'm getting over 24 hours of use with the Vista HCx (w/minimal backlight use). Sitting inside near a window I'm regularly seeing +- 9 foot accuracy. Comparing the Vista HCx to my GPSMAP 60Cx they are both close in performance, with the edge going to the Vista HCx for both satellite reception and battery life. The small form-factor is a plus, too. The only negative comment I have is that due to the additional pixels in the screens for the HCx models, viewing them indoors or in the shade with no backlight is difficult. However, outside in the sun they are bright and crisp, as well as when the backlight is on. This GPS is a keeper!

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