Strengths: Connects to satellites fairly quickly and holds signal pretty well even under tree cover and near city buildings.The high sensitivity gps is great and does just what it claims.

Weaknesses: Maps seems to be a little outdated in some areas.

Summary: The unit is well designed and easy to handle. The reception is better than GPS 12 XL which I used earlier. The satellite signal is rarely lost. It is a nice size and very light.

Strengths: accurate, easy to use, downloading waypoints via USB is great

Weaknesses: it's kind of annoying to have to calibrate the electornic compass with every battery change, so i ususally don't use that feature (map screen shows direction, anyway)

Summary: I've been using it for geochaching and it's great. you'd need to upgrade the base map if you want to use it for road navigation. i would definately recommend it.

Strengths: Reception, size, screen, battery life

Weaknesses: Bundled maps

Summary: This is my first GPSr. I've read a lot of positive reviews for it and decided to take the plunge when I saw it on sale through one of my favorite retailers. The reception on this unit is great. Being able to use it in forested areas was a concern of mine, and this unit has yet to fail. This GPSr is also small and inconspicuous. It was designed for outdoor use, but I've been using it lightly for auto navigation as well. It works well enough there, but I had to purchase additional mapping software to enhance this functionality.I would recommend this GPSr for the outdoors as well as for those extended backpacking trips through foreign countries. There, the Vista HCx doesn't stand out too much, provide the ruggedness of being tossed around in one's backpack and whatnot, and provide the convenience of long battery life and easily replaceable AA batteries.

Strengths: Compact size, strong satellite reception, bright screen, accurate.

Weaknesses: Non-intuitive interface, lack of detailed maps built in, very minimal user manual.

Summary: I had a Garmin eTrex Vista Cx briefly before I bought this HCx, and this HCx is much stronger and faster to gather satellites (for example, this HCx will find the satellites even indoors where the Cx would not). I have been using this unit for over 4 months for geocaching, and I have become used to the somewhat non-intuitive interface. Once you get used to it, it makes sense. I like the size and feel of the unit for hiking. It seems to be fairly rugged, and water resistant, with decent battery life. I really like the USB port, and I connect it to my Macintosh to download geocache information. I did purchase some Garmin maps on microSD cards, and they work great. The unit does come with a very basic map built in, but it only shows very major roads. Overall, I am happy with this GPSr.

Strengths: Excellent ability to lock on satellites quickly in almost any location. Small very portable. Excellent for backpacking. Works great for highway use with friction mount cigarette lighter adapter.

Weaknesses: Expensive mapping software (a must have!). Inability to scrole backwards through the menus.

Summary: I have previously used both the Etrex Vista Vista C and am extremely satisfied with my purchase of the Vista HCX. The HCX uses all the accessories I had purchased for my Vista C (carry case, vehicle power adapter, bicycle mount - used on my motorcycle, portable friction beanbag mount using the dash mount). I purchased the Vista HCS primarily for the newer high sensitivity receiver and the addition of the micro SD card capability, and WOW! What a difference! This unit outperforms the Vista Vista C by leaps and bounds. Signal aquisition seems almost instantaneous in comparison. With the micro SD card, I have loaded all the U.S. maps from my City Navigator software onto the GPS at one time and no longer have to lug my laptop computer around on trips to load additional maps due to lack of internal memory (Vista C only had 24mb of internal memory with no expansion capability). I'm also pleased with the ability to change user preferences; ie. display colors, sounds, etc. Overall, I would highly recommend this handheld GPS to anyone looking for a great all-purpose navigation tool.

Strengths: Acquires signal in treed areas; easy to use and intuitive; compact and good battery life.

Weaknesses: No memory card

Summary: This GPS is a great improvement on the entry-level etrex. It has great satellite reception and is perfect for trail running in the mountains. Unit has a speedy acquisition time and seems to be quite accurate with distance traveled. Only weakness identified so far is it doesn't come with a memory card.

Strengths: Small, lightweight, waterproof. Easy to use with one hand. USB instead of serial connection. Numerous accessories available for bike, backpack, auto

Weaknesses: no internal memory to download MapSource maps. You must have microSD card. I like the fact that it accepts external memory, but not having any memory of its own for downloading is a negative.

Summary: Overall I like the unit. It does what I want. It picks up satellites much quicker than the eTrex Vista Platinum I purchased four years ago that was recently stolen. Do wish it had some memory like my old eTrex Vista. After I got the unit, I had turn around and order memory. Don't buy memory from Garmin. You can get a lot more for a lot less at Adorama or BH Photo.

Strengths: accurate, easy to use, excellent for backcountry hiking, great battery life, rugged and compact

Weaknesses: additional maps can be expensive, no memory card which had been supplied in previous model

Summary: I upgraded to this new unit from the eTrex Vista CX for the improved reception in difficult areas such as dense forested areas and canyons. The improvement is awesome! Very fast satellite acquisiton time and no signal problems even inside the vehicle. Great color display that is easily visible even in bright sunlight. Use rechargeable NiMH batteries and you will get excellent battery life. The electronic compass and altimeter features make this the perfect tool for hiking.

Strengths: Small, compact, lightweight, color screen, great satellite reception, lots of features for the cost,

Weaknesses: Poor operating instructions, Somewhat cumbersome to navigate through the menu,

Summary: I am new to the GPS world so I am a novice user. I have used the HCx for about 4 days now and learning its ins and outs. I just went on a 140 mile trip and the unit worked flawlessly with the city and road software I purchased from the dealer. I am very impressed with the battery life to date. I have used it for about 12 hours now, alot of the time with the backlight on, and the battery indicator still shows full. I am anxious to learn about and use all the features that I have read about in other reviews. I purchased this unit and software from GPSNOW.com and am very happy with their 2 day delivery service. The people from GPS called and confirmed the order with me prior to shipping. I would highly recommend them.

Strengths: Accurate, acquires and holds signal quickly, compact, long battery life

Weaknesses: Difficult to operate, screen is a little small, altimeter is flaky

Summary: I bought this two days ago and I immediately started playing around with it. I bought this unit primarily for hiking and so far I am impressed with this product. It has long battery life, it acquires the signal quickly and automatically logged my tracks. It's menu system was particularly complicated to figure out, but the unit is surprisingly configurable. I was able to load different types of map data (City Navigator, US Topo). Note: that you must purchase map software and a microSD card if you want to do much with this unit. It was easy to download .gpx (route) files and geocache locations and load them into the unit. I took it off the trail for an impromptu excursion and it has a back-track capability that can be used to return to where I came from. The altimeter seemed to track changes in elevation well, but the elevations it reported did not correspond very closely with the elevations on the topographical map (this is with the altimeter calibrated to GPS elevation). This unit has many other features that I have not yet begun to explore, but I will refrain from commenting on these.