Originally Posted By: falcon5000
Originally Posted By: JohnE
For those who use a memory card GPS, any issues arising from the use of the cards?

My only complaint about the micro SD cards on the Garmin HCX Vista is that it only allows you to hold 2 gig of data or 2011 maps whichever comes first. I wish I could put a 16 gig card in and be done with it, so unfortunately I have to carry a small container with it for my maps. It is unique to me and may not apply to you but the maps I carry have topos,road and marine maps of most of the world and are quite a few micro SD cards. I wish Garmin would lift the restrictions of map sizes on the newer GPS. My goal is to have a AA powered GPS with maps of the entire world for my traveling. I'm slowly getting there....

Note: I have yet to find a better GPS for my needs than the Garmin Vista HCX but I'm always looking.

Advantages:
1. Small (pocket size)
2. 2-AA batteries (universal batteries with a long long run time)
3. Will give routing directions in street mode
4. waterproof
5. Can load topos,road and marine maps for many scenarios
6. Can run 100% (with no batteries in the unit) off a 40 watt portable solar cell
7. Highly sensitive GPS chipset that can be used under heavy canopy
8. In the event of a military satellite failure the maps are still usable like paper maps are and with solar capability a loss of the electrical grid system isn't an issue for recharging batteries or what have you.
9. Durable and reliable


I've been watching reviews on this, it may overcome the one or two etrex limitations.
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=145&pID=11019#specsTab
I fit just under 2011 maps on a 2G card, I did the lower 48 us states from city navigator then all the topo east of the mississippi. I figured if I needed a few more I could drop the CN west of the mississippi then do another card with CN and topo west of the mississippi and swap cards there.
I'm thinking having more than 2000 maps on a card would get unmanageable anyway, scrolling through the menu now to enable or disable one is a pain since there are so many.