Garmin GPS 60CS

I saw a news show about "geocaching" and immediately thought it would be fun. I enjoy camping, and this could be another facet of getting out of doors for fun (and less work). I checked out the geocaching.com site and read up on their recommendations of a GPS unit. After much review, I decided on a Garmin. I really wanted either the 60 CSX or 76 CSX, but their costs were a bit high just to see if I was going to like geocaching. Financially, it became a toss up between the 60 CS or 76 CS. I ended up with a used 60 CS and it does everything I want it to. I even splurged and bought the City Navigator program because I can see how helpful a GPS unit can be while traveling.

The "CS" indicates the unit has a colored screen and an electronic compass.

As for geocaching use ONLY, the 60 CS and all you need. If you think you'd like to use it for traveling as well, spend the money on either the 60 CSX or 76 CSX. (The "X" indicates additional memory card can be used to provide more memory depending on the size of card being used.)

Great for GeoCaching

I didn't buy this to get around town, I got it for wilderness hiking and geocaching. It is great for this. Works like a champ and gets you to within feet of your goal. Has a great back tracking feature, works for refinding the car. Lightweight, accurate and easy to load up both for hiking and for geocaching, ties right into the geocache site. I could use a little brighter screen in bright sunlight, but it works well enough. Not so great for traveling on the roads, but I didn't get it for that myself, if you want a gps for driving, you might want to look for something else. I'm very happy with the way it preforms for the applications I got it for.

Value and Versatility

I recently picked up a Garmin GPS 60cs to cover several bases, and am still discovering how well it performs. This is my 5th Garmin GPS unit, and this one covers the almost all the functions of the units I've owned previously.

My original intent was to use this as basic instrumentation for my dirt / dual-sport bike. The screen can easily be set up to display speed, odometer and time information (or any combination of factors). 3 criteria on the bright screen make for a very readable display, and the unit's buttons and menus make it easy to navigate among other functions once you learn your way around the layers of setup choices.

I've used both the stock Garmin handlebar mount and an aftermarket Ram mount. While I liked the flexibility and solidness of the Ram, I just couldn't position the unit so the brake cable wouldn't flick it out. With close to 100 miles on the stock Garmin handlebar mount I'm happy to report no unintentional releases, and after trying out every remaining open spot on the bars I've found a location that's readable and accessible.

On a 4-day river trip I got a chance to demo both the road navigation functions and back-country navigation. The basemap is adequate for street navigation, and turn-by-turn, time and distance to destination and other factors can be set up in fairly short order.

I used the provided MapSource software to load free (and very detailed) topographic maps to the unit from gpsfiledepot before I left home. The GPS60 will hold a surprising amount of detail in its internal memory, and transfer is relatively easy. (Other models with removable micro SD cards might be quicker and could store more.) You can use the in-out buttons to zoom to a readable level of detail, and the bright display renders contours and labels well. Aftermarket maps are expensive, though, and I'm not tempted to try them at this point.

A pair of lithium AAs will last a couple days; stated life is 20 hours. The unit is light enough to be unobtrusive while hiking, although a little bulky. Careful users will want to get a case or screen protector - the display cover is easily scratched by grit.

While I've not used it for the purpose, this would be a great unit for sailing, power boating or for casual sport aviation. Geocaching functions are also easily accessible. Basic navigation functions unique to these applications are all in - things like velocity made good and altitude - and as long as it has a clear view of the sky it will maintain a lock.

For value it's certainly 5 stars in my estimation: light, good battery life, and very versatile functionally. While there might be other units with more specialized characteristics - heart rate on the ForeRunner series or larger displays on the automotive Nuvi units - the GPS 60 covers the widest variety of uses and does it admirably. The only ding I can give it are the clunky and deep layers of setup menus. Time spent with the manual (RTM!) will pay you dividends when you need access to something on the fly.

No surprise Garmin still produces this almost unchanged; a rarity among e-gadgets!

It just wasnt for me, if a friend wanted a gps for navigating, id say yes

I bought this product for geocaching, was curious to see what
Garmin had to offer. For me it was frusterating to use, i couldnt get it to the screen i wanted when i wanted it. It didnt have special features like the cache size, any hints or previous log ins from other cachers, it just gave location coordinates. Its not the GPS's fault, it was me. Im sure its a great unit, i had mine for two days and traded it for a compound bow.

Garmin 60CS GPS Receiver

Color screen, battery life, and features are everything you will every need. The 60CS will do everything the new ones will do except the removable card. The 56megs of memory is plenty for all the areas that I travel, so I don't think the card is worth the cost of a new one. Because of the new ones being on the market, prices have dropped on these that have been discontinued. This unit is the best deal on near top of the line GPS's.