HikeArizona.COM

See http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.as ... armin60CSx

Great deal! I've noticed that the unit says it comes with a 64K card, yet the one I bought came with 1 gig card, as did a friends. Hard to beat this unit... and deal.

Sounds like a good deal. Are these refurbished units? I know Amazon often sells remanufactured devices at cheaper prices. Sometimes you have to read the fine print to pick this out, but they usually are up front about it.

I believe these are new (not refurbished) units. I have never known Costco to sell refurbished anything. In any event Costco has a very good return policy and I don't believe they would ever sell you anything refurbished without telling you in advance.

My son (that little fella on the left in my avatar) will appreciate the original post; I just ordered him one for his birthday.

Amazon.com also has the Garmin 60csx (new not refurb) for $200 right now, not sure how long their deal will last though.

Woooot, my new 60CSX arrived today from Amazon. Now the learning curve begins. Hopefully I can figure things out before I'm too old to do much more than wander around the senior center with it.

hell yeah dood, mine just came in today too!!!

For those without a Costco membership, REI also has it for $219. The extra $19 may be worth it for REI's lifetime warranty (not quite as good as Costco's policy but still very good)...

http://www.rei.com/product/735607

Thanks for the tip. I just ordered the 60CSX from Costco. They still have them for $200.

This will be my first introduction to GPS so I probably have some pretty ridiculous questions. I mainly want it for out in the Superstitions.

Can someone offer any advice on what else I'll need? Do I need to download or purchase special maps or anything for the Sups or will it be ready to go right out of the box?

Thanks

Garmin pretty much makes you pay for everything extra. Here's pretty much what I do:

--nonot has compiled topo maps, hydro data, and routes that you can download here: http://www.hikearizona.com/garmin_maps.php
--you'll need also to download a free program called Mapset Toolkit to install them into your Garmin Mapsource software
--when I hike I have the route, hydro, and topo maps of the area loaded onto my Garmin but I usually have the topo map turned off unless I need it because it seems to slow down my Garmin and complicate the screen. If I need it for reference, its always there though. What I do to keep reference points of the area's layout without keeping the topo map up all the time is set waypoints for peaks, geological formations, springs, etc. The route and hydro maps are pretty small and I keep those on screen even though I usually have a preloaded track of my plans for the day (unless its something I've done a bunch of times).
--one important thing to note is that your GPS does not replace your compass. It only points the correct direction while moving which can make things very confusing if you've stopped and are trying to figure out where you are.

Tough_Boots wrote:-one important thing to note is that your GPS does not replace your compass. It only points the correct direction while moving which can make things very confusing if you've stopped and are trying to figure out where you are.

the 60csx has an electronic compass that will work when stopped... but it is much better to keep it turned off. battery life is much greater when it is deactivated...

Tough_Boots wrote:--one important thing to note is that your GPS does not replace your compass. It only points the correct direction while moving which can make things very confusing if you've stopped and are trying to figure out where you are.

95% of the time I had my GPS displaying the map screen, so I used to think I had to be moving to as well... until I remembered... oh yeah, there's a compass heading screen.

On both my first GPS, a Garmin GPSMAP76CS and my latest GPSMAP76CSx all I have to do is go to the Compass screen, hold the GPS out level in front of me and it displays the direction I'm facing. Then I'd just drop back to the map screen and it all made sense.

I haven't seen a 60CSX but I would think it has a compass heading screen as well.