Garmin GPSMAP 62S Handheld GPS Navigator

Prior to the 62sc, my experience with GPS units was bi-modal: I had extensive experience with a GPS72 and GPSV (both Garmin units) for personal use, biking, hiking, geocaching, etc and a Trimble GeoXT for general field GIS use; basic surveying, mapping, data collection, etc. The Trimble has insane accuracy and precision as you'd imagine to get from a $2k GPS, while the two garmins left a bit to be desired in that department. The GPS72 was my preferred GPS, as it was very easy to use and read, and, provided I was in an open enough area, got a lock relatively quickly. The GPSV got a lock a bit faster due to its helix antenna but it's awkward to hold.So, I just broke down and decided to buy a high end GPS. A lot of people told me to get one of the touch screen units, the Oregon or whatever, but I want one that I can use with gloves and not have to worry about the integrity of the screen. This unit is a bit expensive, but I have found it to be worth every penny.For one, it gets a lock very quickly and under almost any circumstances. My apartment is the bottom half of a split level in a valley in the Appalachian Mountains; the GPS72 and GPSV could barely get a lock in my back yard. The 62sc gets a lock with 30ft accuracy sitting on my couch! Its real test was my trip to southern Utah, where I went hiking in and around canyons. As soon as I turned it on it would get a lock with as many satellites as possible, reporting an accuracy of 7 to 9 feet. For a consumer GPS that's absolutely incredible! With my arms outstretched (I'm 6'5") I can essentially make a 7ft circle around myself. With my two older garmin units I'm used to an accuracy of 20-30ft in these situations, which was next to useless when trail mapping, though fairly useful for position reporting. Even in deep canyons (e.g. Zion) I could maintain a 7ft lock despite the hundreds of feet of rock walls on either side of me.This particular gpsmap 62 also comes with a carabiner clip which is the best thing ever. I can clip it to a belt loop and, despite looking like more of a dork than usual, I can have fast and easy access to the GPS and it's not at all in the way or is the antenna obstructed. I used to do something similar with the GPS72, but due to its patch antenna being opposite the lanyard loop, it would almost always lose a signal, so I was forced to hold on to it - something that gets to be a real nuisance when you're doing near-technical climbing!I was very suspicious of the altimeter, but I have been pleasantly surprised. When I first got it I hiked out to a nearby USGS benchmark and calibrated it, and since then it has been perfectly accurate to the foot. The same goes for the compass, very accurate, and very handy.The camera takes better pictures than I would have imagined, too. Here's an example from Utah: [...]It's a decent quality picture, especially from a 5MP camera with a tiny little lens. The field of view is much wider than I would like it to be, but if I just want to snap a quick picture and I don't have any other cameras with me, it's very useful - especially to have them be instantly geotagged.I put a cheap screen protector on it as soon as I got it because the screen looked to be covered by a softer plastic and I didn't want anything to happen to it. I haven't dunked it under water yet, but I have used it in heavy rain and snow with no issues whatsoever. Overall the screen is bright and easy to read in all conditions, including direct sunlight. Battery life has generally been exactly what garmin says it will be.I highly recommend serious users get a piece of software called G-Raster which will allow USGS and USFS quads to be easily made for the device, which is much cheaper (and yields much higher quality maps) than garmin provides at a very high cost. If you're handy with GIS you can also get free high resolution orthophotos from NRCS or NationalMap and put them on the unit, making it incredibly powerful.I think the only thing I don't like about this device is the fact that we're only allowed one custom map at a time, so you can't switch between orthophotos and quads and a custom map, they all have to be displayed at once. I imagine this is because they want you to buy their products.

I absolutely love this GPS. I've used a Garmin Oregon 300, Garmin Etrex and vista, Garmin gpsmap 60Csx and a Garmin Rino 530 and this GPS is better than all of them. The accuracy is great on this, usually around 9 ft regardless of whether or not I'm under tree cover or near large metal objects. The unit is also incredibly sensitive and does a good job measuring speed whether walking (slow pace to fast pace), biking, or driving in the car. The screen is very easy to see in direct, bright sunlight or at night. The paperless geocaching is amazing. So far, I have mostly used it for geocaching and it generally takes me directly to the cache. There is a menu bar that allows you to add shortcuts you easily jump to by using the quit and page keys, which makes switching from map to compass, to geocaches to elevation plot extremely easy, especially while riding a bicycle. I had trouble navigating the touch-screen oregon on my bike, and this gpsmap 62s is a breeze.The only issue I have had with this GPS was when I updated to the 2.70 software. It was loaded on, booted up then turned off after about 30 seconds to a minute. I reset the gps (by using the appropriate button combination, I don't remember what it is at the moment) and since I reset it, everything has worked perfectly. I took this unit hiking yesterday and it tracked my route/elevation very accurately.A lot of people have complained about this unit "squeaking". Yes, mine squeaks too. Only near the power button, and only on the side the power button is on. I guess this would be a personal preference, but the squeaking doesn't bother me at all. The gps still feels very rugged and tough. I took this out in the pouring rain and since the unit isn't broken, I'm assuming the waterproofing isn't comprised by the squeak. Also, I feel that the whole squeaking thing has been way over dramatized. To me it's not a big deal at all.I've only used the 60 csx once, but from what I've read about it, it seems that this gps is just as accurate (if not more so) than the 60 csx. If you're into geocaching, I would highly recommend this unit because you can utilize the paperless geocaching, which is incredibly convenient. Previously I had used my phone to view logs/hints, but there is no way I would have been geocaching in the rain if I had to lug my cell phone with me. All around amazing gps unit, especially if a little squeak doesn't bother you.