Garmin eTrex Vista C Waterproof Hiking GPS

by Garmin

Product Details

Product Manual [2.68mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 4.2 x 2.2 inches ; 5.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002MQ74E
• Item model number: 010-00368-00
• Batteries: 2 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description Garmin's pocket-sized eTrex Vista C handheld GPS unit combines Garmin's popular eTrex Vista with a color screen, automatic routing, and longer battery life, making it one of the smallest, least expensive waterproof products to combine a color TFT display and advanced GPS auto-routing abilities. You won't miss a thing when you take this lightweight, easy-to-use handheld out hiking, biking, boating, or geocaching.

The main menu feature icons. View larger.

Crisp, color display for easy map viewing. View larger.

Altimeter display provides elevation information. View larger.

The eTrex Vista C packs loads of GPS features into a compact, handheld device. View larger.

The unit offers a bright, transflective color TFT display with daylight viewability, 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). And you'll get up to 20 hours of use on two AA batteries. The unit offers 24 MB of internal memory, and its mini-USB port lets you download map data rapidly from Garmin's library of MapSource CDs (not included) using your PC.

You'll enjoy outstanding accuracy of less than three meters (10 feet) when the device is enabled to receive enhanced GPS signals from the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) in the United States and of 15 meters or less in normal GPS mode. As on all eTrex units, the primary controls are located on the unit's side, so you can operate them with one hand. With the innovative rocker switch on the unit's face, you can input data and scroll through menus or pan the map page.

Other key features include an auto-route basemap (featuring general map data, including highways, major roads, rivers, lakes, and borders), a waterproof design (to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards--submersible in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes), 500 waypoints/routes/tracks (with graphic identification), 50 reversible routes, 20 saved tracks, 10,000 trackpoints, TracBack technology, alarms (waypoint proximity, anchor drag, and off-course, as well as a built-in alarm clock), a GPS patch antenna, selectable audio tones and color schemes, a stopwatch, a hunting/fishing calendar, sun/moon calculations, and a trip computer.

The Vista C also features an electronic compass for accurate bearing information while standing still; a barometric altimeter with local pressure and a 48-hour automatic pressure-trend recorder; and an elevation computer (which provides your current elevation, ascent/descent rate, minimum/maximum elevation, total ascent and descent, average and maximum ascent, and descent rate).

The Vista C includes a built-in, permanent basemap-- Americas Recreational--which cannot be altered. The Americas Recreational Routable Basemap v2 includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central and South America, and covers the area from longitude 30 to 180 degrees west and latitude 60 degrees south to 75 degrees north. The basemap includes a high-level worldwide map featuring borders and major cities.

Standard map coverage includes oceans, rivers, lakes greater than 30 square miles, lakes greater than 5 square miles in the United States and southern Canada, lakes greater than 10 square miles in central and northern Canada, principal cities, some smaller cities and towns, major interstates, principal highways, political boundaries (state and international borders), major airports, and a database of Interstate exits. This last category includes many establishments within about 0.25 mile of exits, including restaurants; diesel and gas stations; hotels, motels, and inns; overnight RV parking; dumps; campgrounds; truck stops; medical facilities; shopping and outlet malls; ATMs; and many other attractions.

What's in the Box
eTrex Vista C GPS receiver, basemap (Americas Recreational), MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager CD, PC/USB interface cable, wrist strap, quick reference guide, and owner's manual.

Product Description

The eTrex Vista C is Garmin's exciting, new, pocket-sized handheld that brings color, automatic routing, longer battery life, plus more to our 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 along with the eTrex Legend C are Garmin's smallest, least expensive products to combine a color TFT display and advanced GPS routing capabilities in a waterproof design.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

135 of 137 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars awesome unit if you're willing to accept it's short comming, September 26, 2004

By 

Jian Chen (brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Garmin eTrex Vista C Waterproof Hiking GPS (Electronics)

I've own the original Garmin Vista and currently own the high end Garmin 60CS.

I was expecting the Vista C to be just a colored version of the original vista but I was wrong it's actually the little brother of the 60CS. OS, feature and hardware wise it's like the 60CS in a smaller Vista package.

the Vista C is a HUGE improvement over the original vista. it's faster, better screen, better battery life, seems to track satellite better and faster. TONS of features. It works almost the same way and have same features as the more epxensive and bigger 60CS.

the "click stick" is not as easy to use as the dpad on the garmin 60CS. sometimes when I want to press in on the stick it would go left or right. and the button are not that "nice and easy" to press. tho there are "shortcuts" with the buttons like on the 60CS. it's not really that bad, just not as easy and initituive as the 60CS because it has less buttons. I'm use to and familiar with the way the 60CS work so it took me only about 30 minutes to figure how they assign the buttons. but for someone new it will probably take an hour or two to learn the buttons and shortcuts.

if you're use to the easier button interfac of the 60CS you won't like the buttons of the vista C as much.



Pro
- alot faster than the original vista & about same speed as the 60CS (perhap same cpu?)
- updated OS and interface as the 60cs.
- Color screen is easier to read even in daylight than the original Vista.
- USB port
- External antenna port.
- all the software features and hardware of the bigger 60CS in a smaller package.

Con
- screen is kinda small so incar navigation is not as easy to read like the 60cs (but to it's credit it's not meant for car navigation)
- only 24 megs of ram. and you can't expand it.
- garmin propietory interface only load garmin maps/programs

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic unit, prefer over the 60CS., September 14, 2005

By 

Philip C. Cody (Ripon, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Garmin eTrex Vista C Waterproof Hiking GPS (Electronics)

After trying the 60CS and the Vista C I chose to buy the Vista C. While I like the 60CS a lot, there were several reasons why I chose the Vista C over it.

Size: while they are similar in size the Vista C is clearly smaller. On a hot day in shorts and tee shirt the Vista was much nicer to carry around in my pocket. The 60CS was definately more of a burden. The 60CS is not slightly bigger than the Vista C, by my calculations the Vista C is more than 40% smaller than the 60CS (by volume).

Price: Some of the reviews here point out that the Vista C is similar in price to the 60CS and that is definately not the case now 9/05. The Vista C can be bought for nearly $150 less than the 60CS.

Reception: tried them both in the same spots and came up with similar results. The 60CS definately has the edge but not by a huge margin. Granted, I have not compared them in a lot of different terrain. I tried them in a hilly wooded (tall hard wood) area and in the open. The 60CS is faster in getting a lock but the Vista C is still very fast (and tons faster than my old eTrex Summit).

What is really came down to for me: is the bigger screen, slightly better reception, and more ram of the 60CS worth carrying around a substantialy bigger unit and for a lot more money? For me it was not. If I was using the GPS mainly for car navigation I probably would have gotten the 60CS.

Hope this helps!

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another hit from Garmin, August 18, 2004

By 

Amazon Buyer (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Garmin eTrex Vista C Waterproof Hiking GPS (Electronics)

I was reluctant to give up my trusty Garmin Etrex Legend, but I really wanted an altimeter and digital compass (for the unintiated, GPS compasses only work while you are moving). So, I took the plunge.

All I can say is... WOW. Garmin does such a great job with GPS!

The pros:

1. Brilliant color display-- better than expected. You really can read it in the light, especially with the strong backlight. Also seems speedier in terms of redraws than the old Etrex. I was a little worried that the screen is slightly smaller than before (the whole thing looks like a runt compared to the old etrex series) but honestly the color more than makes up for it.

2. Straightforward interface and controls-- Similar to the interface on the older etrex units with some new additions/ revisions. For example, you can now select which pages you can flip through from the right side key... pretty cool.

3. Weight-- practically the same as the old Etrex! Someone over there at Garmin understands what backpackers care about.

4. Battery life-- I havent' tested it to the limit yet, but if it really does last 20 hours, hallelujah! No more swapping batteries mid-trip.

5. Accuracy-- Others have complained about GPS accuracy in general, but in my testing with this unit thus far, it has been dead-on-- just like my old etrex Legend. Obviously, enabling WAAS improves accuracy. Altimeter and compass seem to function as advertised.


The cons:

1. Complexity-- There are so many features on this little thing that newbies may have a problem comprehending them all at once (I believe there are videos for those needing step by step instructions) Take it one feature at a time and practice, practice, practice. Non-auto-based GPS is NOT like an Ipod-- in order to take full advantage of it, you have to know about waypoints, tracks, routes, declination etc. It also helps to know how to navigate using traditional methods (i.e. map and compass), which you should always carry as a backup anyway.

2. Reception-- All Etrex's use a patch antenna, which used to cause me headaches due to lost satellite reception. However, I discovered that the anntenna works great IF the face of the unit points to the sky. If you don't want to tote this thing in in front of you like a geo-nerd you can belt-clip it to your backpack shoulder strap so it faces upwards. Using this method, I've hiked in some pretty thick forests in vermont, Minnesota, and upstate new york with satellite lock 99% of the time.

3. Cost-- This unit ain't cheap, but I have to say you get what you pay for. If you want something more down to earth with 75%-80% of the functionality, try the etrex legend or vista (non color). Those are a little simpler to operate as well. My old etrex legend saved my butt in the wilderness many a time, and I would totally recommend it.

Overall, I am totally satisfied. A solid upgrade to the Etrex series.