Product DescriptionThe eTrex Vista® C is Garmin's pocket-sized handheld that brings color, automatic routing, longer battery life, plus more to the popular-selling eTrex Vista. You won’t miss a thing when you take this colorful, lightweight, easy-to-use handheld out hiking, biking, boating or even geocaching. The eTrex Vista C is Garmin's smallest, least expensive product to combine a color TFT display and advanced GPS routing capabilities in a waterproof design.
FeatureseTrex Vista C:
Barometric altimeter provides extremely accurate elevation for hikers and climbers
Electronic compass so you can get a heading when standing still
256-color, sunlight-readable display makes it easy to distinguish map details and see where you’re going
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
Of course the eTrex Vista C still includes those popular features that users have come to love and expect in the eTrex product line, such as a compact, lightweight, waterproof design and user-friendly interface. It is WAAS-enabled, and like all eTrex units, the primary controls are oriented on the side of the unit, so the user can conveniently operate it with one hand. Also, an innovative rocker switch is located on the face of the unit that enables the user to input data easily, scroll through menus, or pan the map page.
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Reviews
| skotty | Different experience | | 
Hasn't voted | I too have the Garmin eTrex Vista C, but am not as satisfied with it as the reviewer is. Problems I've had with it:
- In mountainous terrain I regularly loose reception.
- The graphic representation of elevation change inexplicably stopped working; it stays flat regardless of elevation gain or loss. Several calls with Garmin tech support did not resolve it.
- There have been several occasions when it simply goes crazy; e.g. I'll be traveling in a relatively straight line for a few miles yet the track log looks like it was the creation of a hyperactive toddler on an Etch-A-Sketch, like I've traveled imposibly long distances in an erratic pattern.
- The electronic compass often freezes requiring the unit to be shutdown and restarted to reset the bearing, a time consuming process as satellites have to be re-acquired.
- The routing feature sometimes directs me to take a strange circuitous route when there is an option to travel on a route that virtually follows a straight line.
- In relatively mild heat in my pack, the adhesive that holds the rubber housing on liquefied and never regained its full adhesion; if I grip it tightly, the rubber housing starts to slide right off in a sticky mess.
Other then that, I still use it on an almost daily basis on the road where I find it useful to track time, distance and to SUPLEMENT other navigation methods, having learned that it can't be relied upon.
Overall, after defending its faults for a couple years, they eventually became too prodigious to deny that this unit is essentially a piece of crap. I just don't know if there are any better alternatives. | | Posted Feb 7, 2007 12:52 am |
| jfox | My thoughts... | | 
Voted 4/5 | While this specific model has been discontinued in lieu of the newer Vista Cx, it is pretty similar and they can still be found. I have used this GPS a lot in many area's of the country (Ohio, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah) and it has performed well. It holds lots of maps if you buy the accompanying mapping software. I loaded every topo from Golden to Dinosaur CO into it and had room to spare!
It is very water tight as mine has gotten soaked and still works. I have even dropped it several times onto rock (much to my chagrin) and it still works. I bought the windshield mount for auto use and the maps scroll and keep up with fast driving well.
The color screen is great and the resolution is outstanding IMO. Worth the $$ if you ask me...I like color. It lights up bright and the illumination on the display is not needed in the daylight. Even in bright sun I can read it well.
I have only rarely lost satalleite reception and that was due to dense tree coverage and while in narrow canyons w/o much sky view.
All in all it is a great GPS. My only gripe is the toggle switch is a bit hard to get used to and sometimes hard to manipulate. | | Posted Mar 1, 2007 6:16 pm |
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