Neither deep foliage nor steep canyons will faze the rugged Garmin eTrex Vista HCx navigator. Equipped with a high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, the unit locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover. The advantage is clear : whether you’re traipsing through thick woods or strolling near tall buildings and trees, you can count on the Vista HCx to help you find your way when you need it the most. The Vista HCx also includes a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing information even when you’re standing still, along with a barometric altimeter that tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. You can even use the altimeter to plot barometric pressure over time, which can help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions.

Adding maps to the Vista HCx is easier than ever thanks to the device’s microSD card slot, which accepts cards preloaded with MapSource data for your land and sea excursions. Just insert a MapSource card with detailed street maps, and the Vista HCx will provide turn-by-turn directions to your destination. Plus, the card slot is located inside the waterproof battery compartment, so you needn’t worry about it getting wet.

Besides appreciating its small size, users will also be happy with the Vista HCx’s unique button layout, with five buttons located on either side of the unit. The benefits of this design are twofold : First, the Vista HCx is a breeze to operate with just one hand, and, second, with the buttons on both sides of the unit, the bulk of the front is dedicated to the 256-color, sunlight-readable TFT display. This makes it easy to distinguish map details regardless of the time of day.

The Vista HCx basemap, meanwhile, contains lakes, rivers, cities, interstates, national and state highways, railroads, and coastlines–in short, a host of helpful details for your outdoor adventures. Other details include an IPX7 waterproof housing, 1,000 waypoints with names and graphic symbols, a built-in patch antenna, a USB interface, a hunt/fish calendar, sun and moon information, and a geocaching mode. The Vista HCx, which runs for up to 25 hours on a pair of AA batteries (not included), measures 2.2 by 4.2 by 1.2 inches (W x H x D) and is backed by a one-year warranty.

What’s in the Box
eTrex Vista HCx, basemap, MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager software, USB cable, wrist strap, quick start guide, user’s manual.

5 Responses to “Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS”

1. Josh Egrakama says:

   June 7, 2010 at 12:00 am

   Gave this produce 5-stars because it is packed with features. Especially like the hi-sensitivity of this unit. I know I have heard of complaints about other hiking GPS brands/units, but the eTrex Vista HCx shines even in the deepest thickets, etc.

   The only complaint is that I am finding the learning curve to be a bit steep, but it’s probably because it’s the first time I am using a hiking GPS unit.
2. G. Howard says:

   June 6, 2010 at 12:00 am

   It’s my first GPS handheld and I’m very pleased. I have had none of the problems that I read about in the other reviews. It’s very responsive and accurate to 9 ft outside, as it says on the sat screen. It comes with only a base map but you can get free topo and street mapping at ([...]). I’ve been playing with it for several weeks and figured out how everything works, not much help from the user guide, it’s very lax in all the ins and outs of the units software interface. It’s excellent on batteries. I’m on the second set but only because I fell asleep playing with it and it was left on all night. The buttons on the sides take very firm preasure while the toggle on the front can be easily triped while putting it in your pocket. I’d give it 5 stars but because of the poor user guide, lack of mapping and the toggle issue I’ll give it 4. I’m very pleased with my purchase in spite of the 3 issues.
3. mondele says:

   May 17, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I’m really not sure what I can add to the other comments and reviews. The etrex Vista Hcx works well, connects nicely to my Mac, and I’ve uploaded a map from gpsfiledepot that gave me streets in my area. This map is not, however, routable, so I’m still stuck with the basic highway map included with the unit. I’m considering buying the City Navigator NT maps to solve this, and I won’t know until then how satisfied I am with driving instructions. There’s a definite learning curve with this unit, but I’m already feeling more comfortable with it, and it’s only my second day of use.

   If I was stuck with Garmin maps I’d probably rate this lower, since it’s pretty expensive as it is, to then not have decent topo maps or city maps included, but the ability to use third party topo maps makes it a good deal for me. Additionally, the use of a microSD card allows me to choose how much storage I want in my unit.

   All in all, I’m very pleased with my purchase, and I’m looking forward to using it biking and canoeing in the Boundary Waters.
4. William W. Davis says:

   April 18, 2010 at 12:00 am

   QUICK SUMMARY: The Vista HCx is a fine choice for outdoors use, but can serve as a road map, too. However, my experience with the Garmin Venture Cx dampens my enthusiasm for this device. Read on to learn why.

   Background: This is my second GPS purchase. My first was four years ago when I bought the Garmin eTrex Venture Cx before a road trip to North Carolina where I was going hiking for a few days on the Appalachian Trail. This new Garmin offering, the Vista HCx, is essentially like my old Venture Cx except it has a compass and altimeter, and a chip that supposedly does a better job at finding and tracking satellites, even under a lot of obstructions (I haven’t gone hiking yet with the Vista HCx to know that for sure).

   A lot has already been said about the Vista HCx, so let me make only four points, based upon my experience with Garmin and my eTrex Venture Cx.

   1) Be wary about the black, rubber band that goes around the four edges of the Vista HCx — it’s prone to stretching and detaching from the GPS. After three years, the black band around my Venture Cx hung limply around the device’s housing. I can still use the GPS, but I have to align the rubberized buttons “just so” before I can use the GPS functions.

   2) Garmin won’t send you a replacement rubber band if the black rubber band does stretch and detach from your eTrex GPS. Plead all you want, talk to a Garmin supervisor, but they won’t send you any replacement parts for your Garmin — they want you to ship your GPS to them so they can send you a refurb GPS. They’ll want you to spend $100 (really!) to fix something that should cost about $5 to fix. If you negotiate hard, you can get them to halve that cost, down to $49. They’ll send you a refurb GPS for a problem that should only cost you a few bucks and some glue to repair. Stupid!!

   3) Maybe because it’s new, but the Vista HCx takes a LOT more pressure to depress the GPS’s side buttons (I’m comparing my Vista HCx to my 4-year-old Venture Cx). I used a postal scale to get an idea of the difference. My Venture Cx takes about two pounds of pressure to click a button, the Vista HCx takes about four pounds of pressure. Maybe that eases some after using it for a while, I don’t know.

   4) If you’re new to Garmin, be forewarned that the map loading process can be a horrible experience for some — but not all — Garmin owners. You’ll need to buy City Navigator NT if your want to use road maps on your Vista HCx, and then later, you can buy the nuvi Map Updates to update your City Navigator road maps. At the least, loading maps onto your Garmin GPS is more troublesome than you’d think it would be. Be sure to read carefully how to load maps onto your device. BTW, you’ll need to buy a microSD memory card (at least 2GB) to load all of North America onto your GPS.

   One last thing. When doing the setup for the Vista HCx’s compass, be sure to lay it on a flat surface when you spin it slowly twice in the same direction. My compass setup kept failing because I was spinning it on my laptop (which was on my lap, so it wasn’t quite flat). The setup worked just fine once I put the Vista HCx on the coffee table.

   I’ve really enjoyed having my eTrex Venture Cx, and was disappointed that the Venture HCx (the latest model) no longer has a microSD card slot anymore, so I had to pay the extra $$$ to buy the Vista HCx which has a microSD card slot.

   Conclusion: At least now, if you buy, you’ll be buying with your eyes wide open, knowing some of the potential pitfalls of your purchase decision. I like the eTrex series because they’re rugged, watertight, small, you can operate them with one hand, they’re accurate, and they’re versatile. I can recommend the eTrex series, with the noted concerns I named above. If you buy this GPS, I might see you on the Appalachian Trail this summer!
5. Frank J. Haggard says:

   April 16, 2010 at 12:00 am

   This product operates and performs as advertised. Fast and easy to use.Very sensitive in most buildings.