Garmin GPSMap 76CS Review

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For more current recommendations, please refer to our handheld GPS buyers guide or our Garmin handheld GPS comparison chart.

The Garmin GPSMap 76CS, while billed as a marine GPS unit, is very popular with landlubbers as well, due to its 115 MB of memory (enough to load highway maps for almost the entire state of California). An ideal unit for boaters, the 76CS floats and is waterproof, and comes with an Americas marine database that includes navigational aids.

Confused about the 76 series? Here’s the low-down on the differences. The 76 and 76S have black and white screens, while the 76C and 76CS are color. The 76 has 8 MB of memory, the 76S has 24 MB, while the 76C and 76CS both have 115 MB of memory. Units with an S have an electronic compass and barometric altimeter, while the C units, in addition to color screens, have turn-by-turn routing capability. Finally, the 76CS has recently been updated with the new 76CSx.

14 readers at Amazon gave the GPS Map 76CS an average 4-1/2 out of 5 star rating.

Here are some other resources on the 76CS…

• Surprisingly, there aren’t many reviews out there on the 76CS. Fortunately for you, GPS Information.net offers their usual complete treatment with this review of the Garmin 76CS.
• Here is the official Garmin GPS Map 76CS web page.
• And link to a PDF version of the 76CS owners manual.
• Want to see how the 76CS stacks up against other units? Use this handy Garmin GPS comparison tool.
• Finally, here is a link to an active Yahoo 76C / 76CS discussion group.

Related posts:

• Handheld GPS buyers guide
• GPS for hikers
• GPS for geocachers
• GPS for cyclists