My wife and I currently use a Garmin eTrex Legend as our primary GPSr. Recently the click stick started flaking out; it only occasionally recognizes “up” which is quite frustrating for certain operations. The other directions and clicking capability seem to be fine for now, but a few days ago “up” seemed to have stopped working entirely.

I browsed around online and learned that this a fairly common problem with these units. I also learned that sometimes it can be fixed by opening the case and cleaning the electrical contacts of the click stick and/or the ribbon cable connecting the two boards. I tried both and put the unit back together this afternoon. “Up” seems to work better than it did before, but it’s still hit or miss.

Even with the slight improvement I think it’s probably going to drive us nuts in short order, so now I’m looking for possible replacements. I think something like the Garmin Colorado is what I’d eventually like to get because it supports paperless caching in one device and has other appealing features. However, I decided against it because the cost is still pretty high and most agree the screen is difficult to read in sunlight. If I’m going to shell out that much cash, I’d rather be sure I’m getting a screen I can read. Now I’m thinking something in between what I have and what I ultimately want would be appropriate.

Two likely options seem to be the Vista HCx and the GPSMap 60CSx. Both get good reviews and would be a nice upgrade from what we have now, but I’m torn. The Vista HCx is cheaper and has an interface we are familiar with, but since it IS the same form factor it could develop the same problems. Considering our eTrex Legend saw pretty light use over 3+ years, I don’t have a lot of confidence in the design. Then again, I’ve never seen a 60CSx in person and it’s at least $70 more expensive depending on where you look.

Does anyone have any thoughts/recommendations one way or the other? I’d appreciate any input.

Thanks,
Carson