Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4865 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Garmin
• Model: 010-00630-01    
• Released on: 2007-09-13
• Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, .2 pounds
• Display size: 2.1

Manufacturer's Description
Deep foliage, nor canyons faze the rugged eTrex Vista HCx. Its high-sensitivity receiver holds a GPS signal in the toughest environments. Similar to the Vista Cx, this handheld navigator also has a bright color screen, barometric altimeter, electronic compass, microSD™ card slot and automatic routing for wherever adventure takes you.

Enjoy Clear Reception
With its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, eTrex Vista HCx locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. The advantage is clear — whether you’re in deep woods or just near tall buildings and trees, you can count on Vista HCx to help you find your way when you need it the most.

Get Your Bearings
The Vista HCx has a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing information even while you're standing still, and its barometric altimeter tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. You can even use the altimeter to plot barometric pressure over time, which can help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions.

Expand Your Memory
Adding maps is easier than ever with Vista HCx's microSD card slot. Conveniently plug in optional preloaded microSD cards with MapSource data for your land and sea excursions. Just insert a MapSource card with detailed street maps, and Vista HCx provides turn-by-turn directions to your destination. The card slot is located inside the waterproof battery compartment, so you don't have to worry about getting it wet.

Take It Anywhere
Like the rest of the eTrex series, Vista HCx is lightweight and compact — the perfect size for all your travels.

Box Contains

• Garmin eTrex Vista HCx
• Basemap
• MapSource trip and waypoint manager
• USB cable
• Wrist strap
• Owner's manual
• Quick reference guide

Customer Reviews

Excellent piece of kit
I always find these product reviews helpful as they are based on personal experience and hopefully not predjudice.This is my 3rd e trex and is a fantastic navigation tool.The first was left in my walking trousers and endured a full wash cycle to survive another day and function perfectly well! Such is the reliability of Garmin products.The Legend HCx acquires a fix extremely quickly and hotstarts within 3 seconds or so.This means out in the field,it can be switched on and acquire virtually instantaneously.If left for a day or so,the cold start is 45seconds approx and on switching off,the next "hot" start is 3 seconds.
Battery life is as claimed,20 hours plus.I use NiMh rechargeables.As the unit will not be on throughout a walk(remember hot start time)I think it possible to have a 7 day trek on one set of batteries.I bought the Topo GB which is a stripped down version of OS,showing all tracks and paths.It is easy to use,but for route planning I find it easier to use in conjunction with a map.Once the route is planned,it can be sent to the device.On activation in the device it will be displayed as a purple line,with your position shown as a black triangle.It is possible to name waypoints created to give a name to your location eg,Blackden Edge,Dove Crag etc.I have found that when using a PDA for navigation(can they be machine washed?)sunlight can make reading the screen very difficult,particularly if there is snow about.The Legend HCx loves the sun,just like the rest of us.Finally if you want something reliable rugged and inexpensive (I'm sure the tight folks out there will disagree!)buy it.

A major disappointment after the original Vista
I got my original Garmin eTrex Vista in 1999 complete with UK Metropolitan map. It served me well, it functioned flawlessly from the day I got it to the day I replaced it. There were however good reasons for replacing it in late 2007:
1 - Geocaching had been invented! The new Garmin GPS receivers all support geocaching game functions.
2 - Cold Start time. When out with geocaching friends, their newer units would have acquired the satellites, given directions to the cache and they would often have found it before my unit had even got a fix!
3 - Battery life. The old Vista devoured batteries - a new set of alkaline batteries would last about 4 hours.

I got the eTrex Vista HCx as my replacement. I overlooked the
Garmin GPSMap 60CSx which is hugely popular with geocachers and has very similar functionality. So, why was I so eager to get the upgraded Vista and why have I been sorely disappointed?

The positive points:
+ The hot start time of ~3 seconds is brilliant
+ The much improved cold start time of ~30 to 90 seconds is much better than the old one
+ The battery life on a single set of NiMH 2500 mAH rechargeable batteries is about 20 hours, compared to about 2 hours for NiCD batteries in the old one
+ The colour screen is much nicer to use than the old monochrome one
+ The geocaching and other new features do exactly what's required of them
+ The accuracy of the unit is much greater than the old one
+ It works reasonably well under trees, the old one was hopeless in woods.

The negative points:
- The unit freezes time and time again. When it's in a 'bad mood' it can ruin your day, if caching.
- The rubber gasket that fits around the side of the unit slides around as the glue that holds it is inadequate. The gasket on the old Vista is fine after 10 years. Everyone I know who has the newer eTrex units has the same problem.
- The old Metro maps load, but the new turn-by-turn navigation does not work with them. Time to fork out extra £££ for maps you already have.
- The limit of 1000 waypoints remains, even if you have a huge capacity memory card installed.
- Waypoint names are restricted to 16 characters and comments to 32 characters. This is inadequate for recording observations.
- The maps sometimes "disappear" during use, or are not there from start-up. Restarting the unit sometimes cures it. Other times it is necessary to restart the unit without the memory card, then restart it again with the memory card.

So my verdict: don't buy the Vista HCx, spend the extra on the GPSMap 60CSx instead and you won't suffer from the worst of these deficiencies, but get all of the same advantages. The menus and functions of the Vista HCx are quite different from the old Vista, so there's a familiarisation process anyway. The greater number of buttons on the 60CSx make many frequently used functions more accessible.

Purchased for Christmas present for my husband
He thinks it's fantastic.
He uses it in conjunction with Tracklogs Digital Mapping V3, so he can easily plan walking/cycling routes and drop these onto the eTrex. Track logging is very accurate and can easily be downloaded from the eTrex onto Tracklogs - so he can see and record on his PC exactly where he's been.
We also used it to locate some geocaches and so far it has proved to be extremely accurate, beeping when you are within just a couple of feet of the target.
The mapping provided is very very limited, but if you use the device in conjunction with something like Tracklogs, and also carry an OS print of the area, it's good enough. That said, I think he's interested in the TOPO mapping for Great Britain, but appreciates that this is only vector based and will not provide the detail of current OS 50k maps.
The eTrex also works with RoboGEO software (about £25), which automatically geotags the photos he's taken when out walking - again this has proved to be extremely accurate and saves all the hassle of trying to remember exactly where he took the photos. RoboGEO can also upload photos to Flick and automatically place them on the Flickr map.
All in all, a fantastic device and well worth the money.