Garmin GPSMAP 62St Handheld GPS Navigator

Did extensive research for years before purchasing a handheld GPS. Originally considered the Gpsmap 60 series long ago. For my money, the 62st was easily the best cost / performance combination. I have been using a Gpsmap 276C in car and boat. Really like the technical reporting features of it and similar features of the 62st. I know that the touchscreen units may seem more appealing, but the 62st is very easy to use and I really like the former factor and quad helix antenna. The unit cold starts quickly and gets to 6-10 foot accuracy in a snap. The included 100k topo map, while not routable, was only a small increase in the unit price. I will use the purchased 24k topo for my region and may also spring for the full North America street map for routing and POI info. In summary, this unit is rock solid and a good value. Great battery life and easy to use on the trail. Also great for downloading and locating Geocaches.

I previously had a MAGELLAN EXPLORIST 210 as my starter GPS. Though very basic, with a steep learning curve, and no longer in production, it got me started as to how these units work. Now I am planning some serious hiking in remote areas of the Nevada desert and wanted to upgrade my GPS unit. I compared them all online and finally decided on the Garmin GPSMAP 62St. I have been working with it on short hikes for 2 months each time I appreciate it more. First it has a well designed, conforms to the hand, comes with a handy carabiner for attaching to your hiking vest belt, and has a rubber-like covering that resists shock. Initial setup was easy. The menus and screens are intuitive, and one can do basic functions without even using the instruction booklet. Satellite fix is fast and accurate. Choice of screens is simple using the "page" button. The information screens can be tailored to your needs and the choices are infinite. Setting up waypoints, routes and tracks is easily performed. The screen is well lit, even in bright daylight. Accuracy in most instances is down to 10 feet. This is not a touch screen device, so no problems with cold finger tips not registering and no issues with inadvertently hitting the wrong icon. The buttons are responsive and soft. There are three varieties of this model, the base 62S, the St (topomaps) which I have, and the all in one Stc which has topo maps and a camera. If you purchase the base model and then decide that you want maps or satellite views, then this can be added later via the Garmin website. Special menus exist for geocaching, "Sight and Go", area calculation, photo viewer (photos can be downloaded for use in the field even without the camera model), and a host of other features. Routes and tracks can be downloaded for other sources and shared with others with similar devices. The included booklet is just for startup, a more detailed manual is found on the Garmin site as well as informative videos. However, more intricate information is provided by people online. Even though I am sure that the newer MAGELLAN GPS are comparable (I have not tried one yet), the high end ones are touch screen, and I prefer the use of the buttons. Finally, whether you are a beginner or more sophisticated GPS person, you will not be disappointed in this device.

Don't get me started about how much I love this thing. I'm an archaeologist and I prefer the use of my own unit when allowed as opposed to glitchy old Trimbles. You can take points when needed and it has its own software to get it onto the computer. It's sturdy and super simple and IT'S NOT A TOUCH SCREEN. I am really anti-touch screens when I'm out in the field. They drive me nuts. It's small and lightweight also which has been great for recreation. I didn't have trouble learning how to use it, but if you go from a touch screen to this kind of device, you may have some trouble. I'm also glad I didn't splurge for the model with a camera - honestly it would have been a waste. You really don't need it. This model is great.

I recently purchased the GPSMAP 62st from Amazon.com. The unit did not work properly right out of the box. It would not locate satellites, and kept shutting off after 30 seconds. I tried everything, call Garmin, they could not help me. Finally I call Amazon for a RA, and sent the unit back the next day. Amazon was execellent! They gave me credit over the phone with no questions. I went back to Amazon and ordered the Garmin Oregon 550t GPS. It works great. I took the GPS on an ATV trip and mapped my entire track. This was the first time I ever used a GPS and it was so easy. Thanks Amazon!

Expensive, but works right out of the box. This one had the topo map, so didn't have to pay extra and get frustrated trying to download maps. Not really any instructions in the box, but after a couple of weeks of playing around was able to program it for what I needed and use most of the features that I wanted. Very nice to use in the field, actually gets coverage indoors, surprising since you always hear about reception problems with other gps's under trees or with clouds.

If you use lithium batteries and set for save battery. They last a long time. You can also install a Game and Fish map SD card for your state, that is very useful. Especially as it gives you landowner name and property lines. Also hunting areas. Works in the trees. You don't have to find a clear spot. Elevation map, distance, speed, average speed, and waypoints. Calendar, geo cache, best hunt and fish times. Has everything.

I did a lot of research before I purchased the Garmin 62st and could not be more pleased with my decision. I use it for backpacking and hunting and generally want to know "where am I, where am I going, and where have I been." The Garmin fits the bill to a T. It is easy to use and comes with very good owner's manual (download). The preloaded base maps are reliable and sufficiently accurate for all of my needs. When I called customer service with a question, the Garmin rep was courteous, helpful and knowledgeable.

After using it on a few hundred hikes now, I still have not come to like it. I've had Garmin GPS's before and was extremely satisfied, but this model has dampened my enthusiasm for anything Garmin. Using the automatic setting, the Trip Computer reads a full 19% too high! If you do a hike in which the track reads 10.0 miles the Trip computer will show 11.9 miles. Completely unacceptable! After NUMEROUS calls to Garmin support, the recommendation was to set the unit to set points by TIME and set it a point every second, but at that rate it will reach the maximum 10,000 points in 2.7 hours of hiking. For someone who does up to 20 mile hikes in one day, that it simply WORTHLESS! I've set it to mark a point every 10 seconds and it still reads about 8% too high. The electronic compass is also worthless... to the point I take a cheap compass along. With my previous Garmins I NEVER had to wait more than a second or tow for the compass to stabilize when I stopped to take a reading. With this unit, forget about a compass reading while stopped. Even the map jumps all over the place... Garmin tells me I need to be moving. What?! Again USELESS! Garmin support also tells me to make sure it's calibrated. I only had to recalibrate my old Garmin 76CSx if I was over 100 miles from the last calibration point, but this 62ST must be calibrated many times on even a short hike. Further, sometimes it takes 3-4 attempts before the calibration is a success. But it can be 5 minutes later and it can't find North again. VERY frustrating! And Garmin's firmware updates... I hate them because for every 'fix' they do, they seem to break something else. When I got the unit and 'saved' a track, it would put it in the SAVED folder on the GPS. Another option was to 'archive' the track, which would place the track in the ARCHIVE folder. But after several updates, while the SAVED folder is still there, I can no longer save the track in that folder, ONLY in the ARCHIVE folder. I want to save the current track and decide later if I want to keep it archived on the GPS or not. But now with many tracks archived, I have to wade through the whole list instead of have only one track in the SAVED folder. Oh yeah, and 'Clear Current Track' must be done the moment you start a hike or it will include the distance back to the end of the previous hike, and that EVEN AFTER clearing the current track immediately after the previous hike. I better stop here before I get my dander up about Garmin once more... Suffice to say, I would not recommend this product to anyone, nor any Garmin product until they fix the huge discrepancy between the actual distance traveled and the Trip Computer reading. (I've heard the same complaints from many folks in a high-traffic hiking forum for most of the new Garmins... it seems Smart Phones with tracking apps are more accurate, but I doubt I'll own one of those anytime soon) While I don't fault the support techs at all, they only have so much to work with, but I do fault the atrocious engineering of the firmware/software. They have GOT to come up with a better algorithm so the Trip Computer is at least halfway close to reality. (On my previous Garmins the worst I ever saw was 8% error, but with my settings it was under 2% error, very acceptable)