Customer Reviews
Refurbished had to be sent back and replaced 
2008-08-30
The Garmin eTrex Vista CX Color handheld works great EXCEPT that it will not power on without taking the batteries in and out each time you turn it on. It was a reburbished one with a year's warranty from Garmin. Seller told us to return it to Garmin. Garmin has given great service and we are supposed to get a replacement in a week's time.
Garmin eTrex Vista CX Color Handheld GPS 
2008-08-24
This is a great little handheld GPS for hiking and geocaching. Has a micro SD card expansion slot which is perfect for upgrading the maps and using the eTrex as a USB flash drive. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars because it does lack on the getting satellite locks while inside buildings and loses satellite reception if you put it in a pocket. Other than that, if you are in the open or hiking through the trees, this is a perfect inexpensive GPS for hiking and geocaching.
WOW! 
2008-08-19
My Garmin Vista continues to amaze me with the different ways we find to use it. As I become more familiar with its functions I see how useful it really is- for fun and for information. Thanks for a great product.
Lots of features in a small, inexpensive package 2008-08-15
I like to hike and backpack, and a friend recently turned me on to geocaching. After a lot of research, and I mean A LOT, I decided to go with the Vista hCX because it seemed to do everything in a small compact unit. The unit is pretty rugged, apparently waterproof (although I don't want to find out) and has a great color screen.
First the user interface has a TON of features but it's not terribly intuitive. I have to say I'm pretty quick to learn technology like this, and I didn't have much trouble learning how to do all of the things I want to do with this. The only complaint with the unit itself is that the screen is kind of small, but honestly what can you expect in a little handheld? I would say the screen works great considering the small size, and I really shouldn't complain since I wanted something small.
The basemap is useless. I would recommend purchasing the Topo maps for this, which I did. The Topo maps have a lot of detail including lakes and streams. The unit seems to know exactly where I am at all times with considerable accuracy, but I have to say I feel the Topo map is a little off. There were times where I was hiking along the shore of a lake, and the unit said I was walking in the lake. Although the unit itself is really accurate, where I was hiking (Jefferson Park, Mt. Jefferson Oregon) the map itself seemed to be off by about 20 feet. However, when I got home and downloaded my tracks to the computer and looked at it on Google Earth, the track looked perfectly accurate. Actually that's one of the coolest features of this unit, the fact that you can look at your tracks on Google Earth - it is a lot of fun to do that after a long hike.
The City Navigator maps are pretty incredible too. I never expected a little unit like this to know where all of the restaurants, ATMs, grocery stores, banks, etc are, AND it gives turn-by-turn directions. I'm very impressed that this unit can do that.
Overall I recommend this unit. There are very few flaws, the biggest being that some people might find it difficult to use, but believe me it's not THAT bad. Like I said I have found out how to use it and customize it the way I want, but it's not terribly intuitive. If you are in need of a handheld unit, I say the current market price of $230 is well worth it.
The UI makes a good GPS painful to use 
2008-07-29
If all you want is a GPS, sure it works fine, even with reasonably heavy tree cover. I've only seen one glaring track error, on a recent ride out and back along a shoreline trail, where two miles of one leg is shown a few hundred yards out into the lake.
However, the UI is non-sensical and the "get started guide" useless. I don't get why Garmin supposedly has a reputation for good UI.
Take the back-light button: who in their right minds makes a back-light button bring up the back-light UI and not the back-light?
The clock is even funnier. You'd think a GPS would know where it is, and thus the time zone, but no, on the Idaho Panhandle twenty miles west of the Montana border the clock will be off not one, but two full hours.
By the way, the top right button is the primary button you're supposed to use, and you'll just have to circle through 8 UI screens to go back and forth between the two screens you want.
Finally, the MapSource Topo software is well past useless: it can't even provide driving directions to trail heads for the small fraction of logging roads it knows about (only some of which actually exist.)
When you're in the woods you'll really wish the topo lines were distinguishable on screen from fire roads and you could toggle between a zoomed in and a zoomed out version of the map.
The good news is I have yet to be eaten by a grizzly bear or any of the theoretically endangered wolves who've taken to howling at all hours of the night just up the hill from my house.
Tested in Patagonia 2008-06-24
You won't miss a thing when you take this rugged, lightweight, easy-to-use handheld out hiking, biking, boating or even geocaching. Pack more detail into your adventure with the eTrex Vista Cx. The eTrex Vista Cx is loaded with the same popular features found in the eTrex Vista C, including barometric altimeter, electronic compass, sunlight-readable color and advanced GPS routing capabilities - all in a waterproof design. In addition, it comes with a blank 64 MB microSD card for storage of optional map detail. Download maps directly to the card or purchase microSD cards preloaded with MapSourceTopo and inland lake maps, BlueChart marine cartography, and City Navigator street maps. Support for English, Spanish, Portugese, and French languages. Automatic route generation, off-route recalculation, turn-by-turn directions with alert tones, and icon-driven menus for finding points of interest (when combined with Garmin's optional MapSource CDs) navigate you safely to your destination Longer battery life for more hours of outdoor enjoyment Mini-USB port for fast, convenient download of map data from Garmin's entire library of optional MapSource CDs using a PC Geocache Ready - Basically, geocaching is a high-tech version of treasure hunting. Geocachers seek out hidden treasures utilizing GPS coordinates posted on the Internet by those hiding the cache BlueChart compatible - MapSource BlueChart serves up the best offshore cartography around and works in seamless integration with a wide range of Garmin products WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) enabled - WAAS consists of approximately 25 ground reference stations positioned across the United States that monitor GPS satellite data. Assures accurate readings
Recevied with problem on the ON/OFF switch 2008-06-09
I recevied the device in good packing kondtion but, when i switch it on and switch it back off i can not restart the device back antel i renstall the battery again. is there and way i can send you back the device for repair or replecment?
please advice
Great backpacking GPS 2008-04-07
I love this GPS. When I bought it new, it did everything I wanted it to. There's no weather information but I figure I am outside I can see what the weather is. The accuracy is typically 5-7ft when in open terrain and anywhere from 6-14ft when in semi-dense trees. I use this GPS for skiing, biking, 4wheeling, and backpacking. Get some rechargable batteries like the energizer 2200mAhr AA, they will last a good 24+ hours with the backlight off and with tracking on. The newer units have some slight improvement but not enought to spend the extra money. I love the expandable memory for additional maps. I really can't say enought great things about this GPS. I wouldn't suggest this as a car use GPS for turn by turn directions as the screen is very small for that use.
Some problems but great support 2008-03-31
I own this product but did not purchase it through Amazon. I have been happy with the versatility of the unit, I use it both on and off road. I have had a couple of problems requiring me to send in the unit for repairs. Each time it was just after the 1 year warranty expired. I am very impressed with Garmin Support and how they stand by their products. Even though I've had a few problems, I wouldn't hesitate to buy more Garmin products.
Garmin eTrex Vista CX 2008-02-27
This is the 4th Garmin GPS I bought - GPS 2, GPS 5, Nuvi 660 and now the Vista CX. I bought the Vista CX to replace my GPS 5 primarily for mapping my local parks via mountain biking so I could plan trips, track mileages and also to get into geocaching. The first couple of times I used it in an outer pocket of my Camelbak while riding around through the woods in late October - after most of the leaves had fallen from the trees - and it lost coverage several times ending in incomplete track logs. I then tried it clipped outside with similar results. I found it not much better than the GPS 5 for tracking. However, the display and battery life are excellent and the menus are easy to navigate through. I wound up returning the Vista CX for the 60CXs which I absolutely love. The big difference is the SiRF III chipset. I can now pick up 3 or 4 satellites inside my house and have mapped over 130 miles of trails so far. I would definitely recommend the 60CXs over the Vista CX, price notwithstanding.
