Scratchery: The two units do basically the same thing except the Vista HCx is in a smaller package. I like the size of the Etrex units for a couple of reasons. When out fishing I am normally in the stern of my boat. When I get a hookup I like pulling the Etrex unit out of a shirt pocket and creating a waypoint to return to that spot. It gets windy where I fish and I might end up a few hundred feet from the hookup point. When I started using the gps to return to the hookup point, the number of fish in the ice chest increased.
When I purchased a Garmin 76C and later the 76Cx, and 530 Rino HCx I lost the ability to work out of the shirt pocket. I ended up using a small camera case with a strap over the shoulder. The plus side of the case is I carry a pencil, notebook, and two extra batteries in it.
The 60CSx is very popular with my friends in the emergency response business from wildland fire fighters, law enforcement, and snow rangers. Many of them like the 60CSx because of its larger screen. Some of them have a mount in their response vehicle for the 60CSx and once at the incident the gps is pulled and it goes with them.
Battery life in the 60CSx with good batteries is adequate for a most shifts, if the shift goes to 24 hours the advantage goes to the Vista HCx.
The lack of screen brightness most likely can be track back to the operator. I have had both a GPS map 76C and a GPS map76Cx. They share the guts with the 60 Series # but in a different waterproof case. As a fisherman –hunter I went with the waterproof units that float rather than the 60 series. If the operator goes into Main Menu>Setup>Display>Enter>there are a number of lighting options. I have my Display Mode in Auto. The 4th box down called Backlight Timeout can be selected and entered. There are five back light options the user can select. The greater the backlight the greater the drain on the battery.
The last box down (option) is BACKLIGHT LEVEL, the user can select from 100% to 0%. I currently have mine set at 50%.
Normally the 60CSx cost about $100 more than the Vista HCx, and with the addition of the Topo 100K DVD it is worth about $200 more than the other unit. Prices are on a yo-yo so things are changing. I think your wife did good.
I had an etrex legend that I gave to my son and I gave the 76C to a brother. I miss the eTrex Legend because it was handy in the boat and when backpack hunting because it fit just about anywhere. Before Christmas I was out bear hunting and using my Rino 530HCx. I was carrying it in a camera case and that was not a problem even with a daypack. It may have been a problem if I had my larger packframe on my back because of the location the shoulder straps fasten on the bottom of the frame.
All signs are the 60 Series will be replaced with the 62 Series, but that does not devalue the 60. In fact it might make buying the 60 Series at a low price a great value. Garmin has discontinue a number of units in the eTrex series in the last few years so do not bet the Vista HCx will not be discontinued I believe they discontinue the original Vista, the Vista C, and the Vista Cx. There will be a continuing turn over in the market place to entice the consumer to spend his money.
The 60CSx has both a mini USB port and a Serial port.
