Decision time....

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by Pantah

Good Boy!

My 60CSX is only 18 months old, but I really wish I would have waited for the Montana. The large screen and the touch gizmo would be enough even at full price. Well, I gotta get another season out of the gear I have.

Rats

The solution is obvious: sell the 60. It still has a following but the longer you wait, the less it's worth. I sold a bunch of crap to get my Montana: a Garmin Oregon, a netbook I rarely used, a camera flash I hadn't touched in a year.

Soon enough, I had all I needed to get the 650. It all adds up.

[nhbubba]

Decent price, but $500 is still a helluva lotta cake!

I think I posted elsewhere, but I finally broke down and bought a mid-grade Nuvi from the outgoing lineup. It is not waterproof and useless off-road. But it does do routing and has free lifetime US/North America maps. All for $150. It arrived yesterday and has already pissed me off four or five times. ... Must be electronic.

Originally Posted by Boatman

Also was quoted by Garmin for the $110 flat fee to repair my 60Cx. Seems like they just exchange it for a refurb.

I looked again and by golly you guys are right, $110 flat fee. Also I mis-spoke; mine is a 60CSx. So I have decided to pay the fee and RMA it. Now I'll have an on-road and an off-road setup, sadly just not in the same unit.

Also, Garmin telephone support has the nicest people. Call 'em, don't email!

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by nhbubba

Decent price, but $500 is still a helluva lotta cake!.

The thing is, we forget how much cake went into buying it, while you won't forget how your cheapie keeps pissing you off.

But really, they're just a tool and if the cheaper one works for you, that's all you need.

[Northwoods Yeti]

GPS noOB here tired of playing following the leader on tracks. I was looking around at the 60csx because of the superior power cord vs. the 62 line. Now the Montana seems to be the way to go [newer technology vs. old and good power cord set up]

..but...My question is how durable is the touch screen in a dusty environment? The constant dragging of fine dust particles across the screen must build up scratches? Or is their a protective film you can buy replace from time to time? If so how does it effect the sensitivity of the screen?

Riding season 2012 is upon us and I need to pull the trigger any thoughts would be much appreciated!

[Countdown]

Originally Posted by Northwoods Yeti

GPS noOB here tired of playing following the leader on tracks. I was looking around at the 60csx because of the superior power cord vs. the 62 line. Now the Montana seems to be the way to go [newer technology vs. old and good power cord set up]

What do you mean by "following the leader on tracks"? If you really mean "following the leader" vs. "following tracks" that is what really brought GPS to pure dirt riders. No more riding in dust, just download tracks to a bunch of friends and then each guy just follows them, no waiting at each corner for next guy.

The big difference between 60/76/62/78 and Montana is not the power cord or screen, it is what are you going to do with it. If you are just dirt and serious Dual Sport riding with tracks only, the 60-78 work just fine, but if you want advanced routing features plus all the tracks features, then the Montana is unit of choice. If you want state-of-the-art for both a dirt bike and your door slammer then Montana looks like the one size fits all (at a big price) to me. You can buy a 76 for your bike and a Nuvi for car for less than an Montana.

[DRTBYK]

Originally Posted by Northwoods Yeti

GPS noOB here tired of playing following the leader on tracks. I was looking around at the 60csx because of the superior power cord vs. the 62 line. Now the Montana seems to be the way to go [newer technology vs. old and good power cord set up]

..but...My question is how durable is the touch screen in a dusty environment? The constant dragging of fine dust particles across the screen must build up scratches? Or is their a protective film you can buy replace from time to time? If so how does it effect the sensitivity of the screen?

Riding season 2012 is upon us and I need to pull the trigger any thoughts would be much appreciated!

There are no durability issues as long as you use a screen protecter. Garmin supplies three antiglare films with the AMPS Rugged Mount or you can use another brand. You might just start with the Garmin protectors and then change if you want something else. When you do decide to remove a screen protector for a touch screen device like the Montana, search the Montana thread for the "proper" procedure.

Cheers,

[Northwoods Yeti]

Originally Posted by Countdown

What do you mean by "following the leader on tracks"? If you really mean "following the leader" vs. "following tracks" that is what really brought GPS to pure dirt riders. No more riding in dust, just download tracks to a bunch of friends and then each guy just follows them, no waiting at each corner for next guy.

The big difference between 60/76/62/78 and Montana is not the power cord or screen, it is what are you going to do with it. If you are just dirt and serious Dual Sport riding with tracks only, the 60-78 work just fine, but if you want advanced routing features plus all the tracks features, then the Montana is unit of choice. If you want state-of-the-art for both a dirt bike and your door slammer then Montana looks like the one size fits all (at a big price) to me. You can buy a 76 for your bike and a Nuvi for car for less than an Montana.

First of all thank you for the response Countdown and DTBYK.

No, no .. you’ve got me all wrong “..follow the leader on tracks” is exactly want it sounds like. I don’t have a GPS hence I have to follow someone who has in order to enjoy all the wonderfull GPS tracks people share with each other. I am definitely pro GPS and pro Tracks!

I was under the assumption that the Montana has a better external power source [A row of external contacts that connect to the cradle mount] vs a venerable USB?

I was leaning 60csx to start with but thought maybe a step forward tech wise might be good. But do I really need more features? Do I really need a touch screen? I would have to say no on both. You're right, that is a lot of coin for something that will be bouncing around on my handle bars and car when I could have two units for the same $$$!
I’ve seen refurbished 60csx units on Overstock.com for $274 does that seem fair? To me it does, if Garmin charges $110 to refurbish it.

Thanks again

A 60 series for the woods and a Nuvi for the roads should be good enough for a newbie like me to at least get started.

[Countdown]

Originally Posted by Northwoods Yeti

I’ve seen refurbished 60csx units on Overstock.com for $274 does that seem fair? To me it does, if Garmin charges $110 to refurbish it.

OK, follow the leader months later with really no dust.

$274 way tooooooo high for a 60, going price for 76Cx (don't need "S") is $150 at WestMarine.com best starter GPS there is. It will last you for years. 62 is non-starter for me because of no 12 V input, 78 is interesting with more track memory but why not jump to do-it-all Montana for the price difference?

[wbbnm]

I am thinking about maybe buying a Montana later this year. I was really hoping it has a brighter screen than my 60Cx, but nobody mentions that in extoling the virtues.

Is the screen brighter?

A guy I ride with has bought one, so I will be checking this out on some upcoming rides.

The enhanced track and map storage features of the Montana are also attractive features for me.

[DRTBYK]

Originally Posted by wbbnm

I am thinking about maybe buying a Montana later this year. I was really hoping it has a brighter screen than my 60Cx, but nobody mentions that in extoling the virtues.

Is the screen brighter?

A guy I ride with has bought one, so I will be checking this out on some upcoming rides.

The enhanced track and map storage features of the Montana are also attractive features for me.

And all of this time I was expecting folks to start getting on my case for talking up how great the display was on the Montana.

You must have missed the first hundred pages or so of the Montana thread.

Cheers,

[wbbnm]

I have looked at the Montana thread a few times. IMHO it contains 1% useful information and 99% rubbish.

I would hate to have to rely on it to find out something I really need to know.

The community would be much better served by having many topical small threads instead of that monster.

Sorry for being such an opinionated a-hole.

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by wbbnm

Sorry for being such an opinionated a-hole.

To be fair, I'm sure you didn't choose to be one.

Don't forget: nobody's paying us to share our experience, and you're not paying anything to read it, so you're getting your money's worth.

[Nanuq]

Originally Posted by Boatman

Sooo,,, I'm ready to lay down the credit card for a Montana..... anyone find a better price than GPS City ($460) recently??

Somebody may have already addressed this but, I always buy from REI. REI has a phenomenal return policy and they bend over for the REI members. I had my 60csx for five years and used it extensively for work and play. I dumped my bike doing a transcontinental Iron Butt run and scratched the screen bad and smashed up the buttons and it didn't quite function. They exchanged it for a full refund. I bought the 62 and it worked nicely but I took it back to REI and exchanged it for the Montana. I've been happy with the Montana 650. I just ordered the garmin 665 from REI, it was a special order because they don't normally stock it. I wanted REI service and return policy, I use there store extensively for my work so my dividend is juicy- over $500 and I applied it towards the new garmin. I will have both the Montana and the 665 mounted on my bike, which is glutinous, but hey, I'm a gear whore and I'm not the least bit ashamed.

[Xylx]

Originally Posted by nhbubba

I agree. That's why I'd stay away from the 650 and 650T.

I'm in the hunt for a new GPS toy too. I had a 60Cx which died on me. Garmin quoted me > $200 to repair... so I am of the opinion I should just throw that money at something newer, bigger and better.

Really digging that this Montana unit can be put into 'nuvi' mode and yield what looks like 90% of the zumo/nuvi features with a couple button presses.

Now to wait to find one on sale. Looks like REI is having a 20% off deal for 'members'. That potentially brings the price for a 600 down to ~$415.

I started to buy a GPS on the REI 20% off sale. D'oh. It only applies to select items that end in .99 or some other ending. I had to get all the way through the screens to the final click before I realized they weren't giving me the 20% off. I'm done with REI after all these years.

[OneEffinName]

I bought the Montana when they first came out. Its the first GPS that is big enough that I dont have to look at the map (although I still always carry one). Since then I have had thousands of kms of riding deep in the bush on very rugged terrain (think of your nasty A rider hare scrambles) and the Montana has had no problems (once the lithium battery issue was taken care of). Great GPS.