Reviews of the Garmin GPSMap 76CSX

Real Reviews Submitted by Real Users!

1. This is an amazing device. A bit big for merely hiking in the forest, yet I use it for travel in my vehicle and on my 1-5 mile strolls. This is an improvement from a Garmin GPS 12-MAP (which is not manufactured anymore). The color display is crisp and simple to read in different natural light sources I have encountered thus far. The size is ideal for use in a vehicle and the buttons are a superb size (not like the buttons found on a blackberry where you almost require a stylus to push one button at a time.)

Navigation in the menus is like the 12-MAP with improvements. The Geocache is new to me however I will be trying geocaching with my relatives and having a good time. Have not had the opportunity to check out the marine part of this device yet.

2. This is one excellent GPS system!! My spouse and I went hiking up the North Shore of Lake Superior the other week and the 76CSx went beyond our expectations. It captured satellite signals swiftly and never dropped them, even in very thick forest. The display was vivid and clear, the trip odometer and altimeter were wonderfully precise, and after hours of hiking, the batteries (Energizer rechargeables) were still working great.

Furthermore, I had bought a MicroSD card of the Upper Midwest and we were very happy at the amount of detail it displays. I would certainly advise doing this instead of purchasing blank SD cards and going through the work of downloading topo maps. It may cost more money, yet with all things considered it is the best thing to do.

The ONLY negative aspect is the size; it would be great if it were the size of the Vista or the newer Colorado. However, with all the excellent functions (including it being waterproof and can float…we will be trying our out on kayak excursions too) and with its reasonable cost, I think that 76CSX gives you the best value for your money spent.

3. The GPS came in a few days and operates well. The rocker switch on the device sucks. It makes inputting data challenging. The GPS is extremely sensitive and operates inside my trailer away from any windows. My old device was an E-Map and it had to be next to a window to operate. In addition, this device operates well in deep forests. The device is known as a mapping unit. This is correct if you buy the City Navigator software that costs $115. The mapping does not function with the 2008 Topo software. I installed a 2 GB chip to hold the topo map. The result was that the device would only store less than half of the topo map and only used 700 MB available. As well, it took over 2 hours to download the topo data.

4. The electronics of the Garmin 76CSx are top-notch yet is has two problems that lessen the product. The ergonomics of button positioning for accessing menus and keyboard are the worst of any Garmin I have bought. They are placed too close together. The positioning of the buttons on the eTrex lineup was more ideal, however the rubber protective band for them did not stand the test of time. The whole power of the electronics is only accessible to hackers or by communicating with them. A more detailed and updated manual would be great.

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