Hi all,

For my trip to Spain I would like to take a Garmin 60 csx or cx along.

Which of the 2 would you guys prefer?

Could you point me in the direction of a trustworthy US online dealer. I know they don't have the EU-basemap but I would rather spend the 150 EUR price difference on some nice cava.

Thanks!

Luca

Hi Luca,

When importing from the USA, I tend to use Amazon.com

Garmin GPSMap 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator is available at Amazon for $353.00 or 262.154 EUR excluding international postage and local taxes of course. Available at,

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-GPSMap-60CS...=A23M3KL3V61UGY

According to specifications it doesn't mention whether it is EGNOS capable for improved DGPS accuracy. But it should be, as the much cheaper Garmin eTrex does. As for the preferences between the 2 GPS's you have mentioned, I would actually stick with the cheaper eTrex, purely because it is simpler and has greater battery life. Although the 60CSx is a powerful GPS system electronic compass, barometer with a rolling map display capabilities, I still prefer paper maps and a simple Silva Compass such as the Ranger 3 or the Expedition 4. I wouldn't like to rely on just an electronic navigational means only. The eTrex Camo has some other built in functions such as a fishing time calculator. Although if you drop it you might not be able to find it again

Edit - With Shipping, Total cost comes to $480 dollars, very steep shipping costs!! You may want to look elsewhere on the amazon.com website for a better featured merchant deal. i.e pay slightly more but a whole lot less shipping.

You might want to check out MYRON GLOBAL ($359.75 + $30-40 shipping) featured seller on amazon.com

Thanks Benttiran,

Amazon.com won't ship such items to EU these days. Only books and DVD's are allowed.

I did check out Myronglobal (he's an Ebay-seller as well).

Does the Etrex also have the Sirf III chipset?

The main reason or me to go with the 60CSX is the fact that it's both a nice handheld for wandernig around on foot (waterproof, small size, good reception in valleys and under foliage) and a routing device for in car use.

Due to Garmin's crazy EU pricing, I'mm pondering to take the step/risk and order in the US for half the price. That's shipping included. (I'll try and sneak it passed customs to avoid VAT).

Luca

The difference between the csx and the cx is that the former has a barometer and electronic compass. I bought the model without those.

My main reason is that I will always have a separate magnetic compass anyway, along with a map as backup, so I don't feel I need another one built into the GPS. I also have both compass and barometer in my watch. To be honest I don't really trust electronic compasses anyway (I don't know what the GPS one is like).

I gather the barometer helps give a more accurate altitude than GPS alone, but that's never seemed important to me. I guess if you need it, you know you need it. In the UK once you know your location you can pretty much get your altitude from the map.

So I didn't feel I would get much benefit from the extra sensors. I don't like paying for things I don't need, and the difference in price is about £40 in the UK, and these things aren't cheap to begin with. (You can buy a lot of beer for £40.)

The other thing you have to watch is battery life. The extra sensors take electric power, and I don't think you can turn them off when you don't need them. According to the website we're talking about the difference between 30 hours and 20 hours.

Obviously your milage may vary. There's always the thought that having the extra features could one day save your life. However, maybe that's just paranoia making you spend more money. I've had the Garmin 60cx for about a year and don't regret getting the cheaper model.