Garmin eTrex Vista HCx GPS Cycling Review
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I've been using the etrex vista hcx to record my cycling adventures for about four months now. This is my first experience using a GPS unit for cycling. I did a bit of research by asking other cyclists what they were using and also spent quite a bit of time on Garmin’s website. After much deliberation, I narrowed my search down to the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx for my cycling adventures.
My first impression of the Vista HCx when I pulled it out of the box was, wow, its about the size of a thick bulky cel phone. My second impression once I put the batteries in and started pushing buttons was, oh boy, this is going to take some time to learn and get comfortable with. It was definitely a bit intimidating.
The base map that comes on the etrex hcx seems weak. You will only find the basic main roads listed. At first I thought it was messed up and they forgot to put the details in there. I think the pictures of this unit on Garmin's website are misleading when you see the lake, elevation lines and campgrounds listed. You need to buy the Garmin MapSource Topo U.S. 2008 to download onto your unit or buy a preprogrammed microsd card that has the TOPO detail loaded onto it if you want your GPS unit to show all the detail. I believe most units are set up this way. The Edge series from Garmin that are marketed to cyclists do not have this capability. It looks like you have to get into the more expensive Garmin Edge 605 unit for the same options as the etrex vista with much less battery life, only 15 hours.
Another thing you will need to buy is a MicroSD Memory Card to record your route data. It does not come with one. The unit will not hold information otherwise. I stole a 256 mb SD card out of my cel phone and have been using it ever since. I have gone on 9+ hour rides and it only fills about 35% of the card up with data. You could go 2 or 3 days on a 256 mb microSD card before you would need to download the information. You can buy a bigger card of course and go weeks without having to download any data.
You endurance junkies might be asking, how long do the batteries last? The Garmin website lists this unit lasting 25 hours. I would say that is very accurate. Which is pretty amazing for a color screen which lights up. I had the unit give a low battery warning and I continued riding for another 4 hours without it dying. The data seemed solid during those 4 hours as well.
View Larger Map Route I captured from my GPS unit and easily loaded into Google maps
The first thing I figured out after I started getting familiar with the unit was the GPS device by itself is only half the package. To bring out the full potential you need the connectivity of a computer. By connecting the Garmin GPS unit to your computer you are able to download existing routes, maps, and waypoints to the device as well as upload your route and waypoint information from the GPS unit into the computer (it comes with a USB cable in the box). Once you have taken your GPS unit on your favorite epic ride, you can upload that route information and really have some fun with it. Garmin has a website at www.trail.motionbased.com which once you sign up for an account will take your GPS information and put it into an activity dashboard which shows your cycling route on an interactive Google map, your speed, elevation, distance, temperature, wind speed that day plus much much more. Here is an example of this information from a section of the Great Divide Route I did in Colorado and Montana.
My absolute favorite thing is to take my bike route and upload it into Google Earth. You can push the play tour button and this program will navigate your route from start to finish as if you were flying in a plane over the path you took. I explained how to do this with my bike commute route. You can go into Google Earth preferences and adjust tour speed, camera angle and viewing range. Once you figure this out you will be giddy, guaranteed.
So lets get back to connecting the GPS unit to the computer for route information. When I did a section of the Great Divide Route in Montana I had the full turn for turn maps from Adventure Cycling Association but I also noticed they offered the GPS route information on their website. I pulled the section I was interested in into the software that came from Garmin. I selected the routes which included Helena to Butte and downloaded them into the vista etrex hcx. I then selected the routes icon in my GPS unit and selected navigate. What this does is shows the route and how close you are to it. You then follow the colored route line and turn left or right as needed. The arrow points on the GPS points you in the right direction After the first 15 miles or so I was totally trusting the GPS unit for directions. You are able to zoom into the route with a view of 20 feet for super accurate detail. If you are in a rural location you will not see any other road, trail or map detail around you without purchasing the detailed TOPO maps I spoke of earlier. You will just see your route in a sea of yellow nothing. I have not purchased these detailed maps and I'm not sure if I’m going to for my current needs. If you are going to be spending multiple days out on unfamiliar trail then I would recommend getting them.
In addition to the GPS unit navigating routes you have downloaded, recording your speed, elevation and 20 other pieces of GPS geek data, it also maps the route you just took and shows it to you so you can back track if needed. What this means is you will never ever get lost again! This came in handy for me on the Monarch Crest Trail when we misread our map. I was able to see on the GPS unit the latitude and longitude of where I was currently standing and luckily the maps had latitude and longitude readings on the edge of the page. I was able to confirm we were indeed off route by 2 or 3 miles. We then back tracked, following the dotted line we just created, to the correct latitude and longitude where we should have turned left.
The reception has been outstanding. The only time I have ever lost reception is when the Great Divide Route in Montana went into an old train tunnel going through a mountain.
The data my unit has recorded seems very accurate when downloaded. The Vista HCx unit has the new high sensitivity receiver. The Vista Cx version has the older receiver, don’t confuse them. I have however noticed some elevation gain discrepancies which were pretty obvious. The information from my ride from Frisco to Hartsel over Boreas Pass listed the elevation gain as over 10,000 feet of climbing. I was going to make a comment about this obvious miscalculation on the Motionbased website when I noticed a box you can click to fix elevation variance. It recalculated the elevation gain as 4, 447 feet. I believe this is because the etrex vista hcx gets its elevation data from barometric pressure readings which can fluctuate depending on the current weather conditions. I’m guessing when you check the box it recalculates from known elevation from the satellite latitude and longitude readings from your route information (not sure about this, just my guess).
I purchased the Garmin eTrex Bicycle Mount to attach the GPS unit to my mountain bike handlebars. It looked very flimsy and I predicted it would last one or two rides. I was totally wrong. It has held up over some insanely rough conditions. It is indeed tough.
Oh yea, The Vista HCx also has a trip computer function just like your bike computer except this one gets data from a 100 million dollar satellite. The trip function shows current speed, max speed, moving average, moving time, stopped time, odometer and elevation.
The little toggle button on the front which navigates you around the units interface is difficult with full finger gloves. You can eventually get to the intended page but you will have a few wrong moves along the way.
I have been very impressed with the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx for my cycling adventures. For my first GPS unit I must say I made the right choice. It took me about 3 weeks to get over that intimidated feeling I had when I first pulled it out of the box. Now I can maneuver through all the functions like a whizz.
What better way to be livin' the Good Life... never getting lost again!
