Online: www.REI.com
URL for this product:

From the U.S. and Canada — Call 1-800-426-4840
Mon. through Sun., 4 a.m. through 11 p.m. PT.
International — Call 1-253-891-2500
Mon. through Sun., 4 a.m. through 11 p.m. PT. English language only.

GRAY/RED

Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS

$350.00

(24)

Item # 805907

REI Members get back an estimated $ 35.00 on this item as part of their annual member refund.

The REI Member Dividend

The REI dividend is a unique benefit of membership in the REI co-op. It's comprised of your member refund—typically 10% back on eligible purchases—and/or your REI Visa® card rebates.

Each March, active REI members and REI Visa cardholders who earned a rebate receive a refund in the form of an annual dividend notice.

Only active members receive annual dividend notices. To maintain your active status as an REI member, you need to make net merchandise or shipping purchases of at least $10 per year, unless you joined that year. Member numbers are issued in one name and only that person receives the member refund. Your number can be used by others in your family, but it cannot be transferred to someone else.

Questions? Call us at 1-800-426-4840 for more about your dividend or its redemption.

Learn more

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Gear and Advice You Can Trust

This item ships for free! Learn more

To view videos or use the zoom feature on REI's websites, please download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.

NOW PLAYING

The robust Garmin GPSMAP 62s offers all the features of the GPSMAP 62, plus a compass, barometric altimeter and wireless connection to other compatible Garmin units.

3-axis, tilt-compensated electronic compass shows your heading even when you're standing still and holding the unit upright or at an angle
Altimeter tracks changes in barometric pressure to pinpoint your altitude; it also plots pressure over time to help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions
Share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with other compatible Garmin devices so your friends can easily enjoy your favorite hike or cache
Built-in worldwide basemap with shaded relief helps you navigate with ease; photo navigation lets you download Garmin Connect™ photos and navigate to their locations
Quad helix antenna and high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled receiver with Hotfix® satellite prediction locate your position quickly and maintain reception under heavy cover
1.7 gigabytes of onboard memory make it easy to add maps; choose from Garmin's wide array of detailed topographic, marine and road maps (sold separately)
Garmin GPSMAP 62s supports BirdsEye™ satellite imagery (subscription required) that lets you download satellite images and integrate them with your maps
Compatible with free Custom Maps software that transforms paper and electronic maps into downloadable files
Easily connect GPSMAP 62s to your computer and the Internet to get a detailed analysis of your activities and add tracks using Garmin Connect™
Garmin Connect lets you map your movements on Google Earth, explore routes uploaded by other Garmin users and share your experiences on social networking sites
Supports OpenCaching.com GPX files for downloading detailed geocache descriptions, terrain, difficulty and hints directly into GPS unit; visit OpenCaching.com to start!
Waterproof design meets IEC 60529 lPX7 standards (can be submerged to 1m for up to 30 min.)
The Garmin GPSMAP 62s comes with a carabiner clip and USB cable

Please note: Garmin products can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.

Imported.

Item 805907

View all Garmin products

REI Membership

REI Membership $20.00

Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS

3.6

(based on 24 reviews)

74%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Rugged (10)
Waterproof (8)
Cleans easily (7)
Easy to use (6)
Accurate (4)

Cons

Best Uses

Hiking (7)
Geocaching (5)
Day trip (3)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Advanced (10), Casual/ recreational (3)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (17)

Reviewed by 24 customers

Sort by

Displaying reviews 1-10

Previous | Next »

Apr

2013

4.0

Decent size and features for hiking

By Brimus

from Lawrenceville, GA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Install
Portable
Reliable
Waterproof

Cons

Best Uses

Camping
Geocaching
Hiking
Outdoor

Comments about Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS:

Use for camping and hiking. Also works well for geocaching.

Comment on this review

Jan

2013

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Should have purchased one sooner.

By Lone Man

from Medford, MA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy to read
easy to use
Reliable
Very Accurate
Waterproof

Cons

Alarms Could Be Louder

Best Uses

Hiking
Outdoor

Comments about Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS:

I tested it on a training hike and was amazed by the accuracy. I easily went to to destination within 15 feet and when I reversed the track I came right back to my car. Too bad there is no way to make the alarm tones louder when you wander off trail / track they are too low to hear at least while crunching through a snowy trail. I wish I had bought one sooner when I began my quest to complete bagging the 48 4,000 footers in NH. Would recommend this device to anyone (but buy the package with the maps included).

Comment on this review

Dec

2012

(5 of 13 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Tech Nightmare

By DouglasMark

from Edmonds, Washington

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Difficult To Install
Horrible Software
Hours To Learn If At All
User Unfriendly

Best Uses

Who Knows

Comments about Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS:

I bought this almost a year ago to use for backcountry splitboarding and bike touring. It has been totally, completely useless for both. Without question it has been the biggest waste of gear dollars I've ever spent.

Beware that unless you're really exceptionally tech savvy and love to spend hours and hours trying to learn a device that comes with almost no meaningful documentation, this device will be a total nightmare and time drain. Garmin's Basecamp software is pitifully poor, frequently crashing and not connecting to the device.

And good luck trying to use better route-making software such as Nat Geo's Topo!, Google Maps, or Hillmap. Garmin has made it super difficult to import from other sources. Many steps that should be simple and intuitive have been made dense, confusing, and counterintuitive. I am tech savvy and have spent dozens of hours trying to load maps, create routes, searching GPS websites for help, etc. all to no avail.

The GPSMap 62S has lots of bells and whistles that (altimeter, compass, sunset/sunrise, etc.) that are cool, but those aren't all that necessary and certainly don't make up for the failings of it's primary function (or disfunction). For me, it's a useless piece of expensive garbage.

Comment on this review

Aug

2012

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

THE BEST in GPS

By BlackBalloon

from Stanaslaus National Forest, CA

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Cleans Easily
Rugged

Cons

Easy screen scratch

Best Uses

Backpacking

Comments about Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS:

I have backpacked over 50 miles using this GPS and it works better then i imagined. If you are going to invest in a GPS, i would suggest saving up a bit and get the 62s. It's screen pracatally lights up when in the sun making it very easy to view the screen. It has a very low glare when in the sun, and it's super rugged. The only thing is the screen scratches very easly- which isn't a con, just more of a caution. I looked at the case the made for it and it was very bulky when i tried it on. I instead bought a screen protector for an iphone and cut it out to the right size- it works great! Make sure if you are finished using it, turn it off- like when you get to camp. the batteries will die if left on thru the night. You will NEED a few pairs of batteries for longer travles. What i did was use a Nomad7 solar pannel charging system to charge a set of 4 batteries- it works great. all in all, it's a great device, espically when backpacking.

Comment on this review

Jul

2012

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Depends

By Vassagogo

from Tustin, CA

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Cleans Easily
Dries Easily
Good Waterproofing
Rugged

Cons

A lot of menus
Heavy

Best Uses

Backpacking
Kayak Camping
Trekking

Comments about Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS:

If your using it for and a occasional hike or run, Don't get this unit!! It is way to heavy and cumbersome. The Software is way to time consuming and way to much information for your little 10 mile hike. BUT, if your going to Big Sur like I did, It was well worth the money. Software provided other tracks of users and I just uploaded and went. I bought this particular model because I didn't need the camera and wanted better maps then what came in a bundle. I didn't need the extra stuff. I bought the topo 24k and saved money. You do have to get used to all the menus.

Comment on this review

Jul

2012

(2 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Software not user friendly

By Lato in the Field

from San Luis Obispo, CA

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Accurate

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS:

I was looking for a device offering some more detail and information about my hikes. Overall, the 62s is a capable instrument that deserves your attention. However, I have been frustrated by the software, which is not very user friendly. May be I am spoiled by my Macs, but the operation of the software is not intuitive (which depends on the user to some extent). I spent hours learning the operation, and even more frustrating hours trying to download the BirdsEye Imagery, with many failed attempts. I still don't know why the route that I see on the map does not show up as the same line on my device after I transfer the folder to the device. I have been in the field with the GPC four times and enjoyed using it for tracking but planning a trip, creating a route and then using in the field seems almost useless. Again, failure of the BirdEye Imagery to download properly is frustrating. I am spending so much time on the computer that I don't need a device that is so clunky to use that I have to spend hours to set up a route that does not transfer in the same way as I see it on my map of the GPS.

Clearly, these devices have their place and usefulness, but I wasted a lot less time looking at maps for my past hiking trips than I have using this GPS to prepare my next one. So far I have not gotten lost with a map. I am asking myself why I have bought this device.

Comment on this review

Jul

2012

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Vast improvement over older model

By Botany Bob

from Madison, WI

About Me Professional

See all my reviews

Pros

Cleans Easily
Ease of use
Fits well in the hand
Good Waterproofing
Lightweight
Rugged
Speed of signal capture
Start up time

Cons

Cost

Best Uses

Field research

Comments about Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS:

I had a Garmin 60 CS purchased in 2004 that just never got good satellite reception unless out in the open, with no trees around, and even then it took it's time. I've had the 62s now for a few weeks and it works great, much faster at getting the signal; so fast, in fact, that I don't hesitate to turn it on and off to save batteries, as it will pick up the signal again so quickly. The battery compartment is much improved with far more solid, secure connections to and containment of the batteries. I haven't had any problems yet. Unlike other reviewers, I do not find the menus clunky or difficult. They are much like previous models and other Garmins, quite straightforward with a few exceptions. I regularly get 3 meter accuracy in the field and I use it every day in unfamiliar terrain to locate waypoints in all types of weather and canopy coverage, although I have not used it yet in heavy conifer cover or in the mountains.

Comment on this review

May

2012

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Does just what we bought it for

By MaximumAdventure dot net

from Pasadena, CA

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Batteries last long time
Cleans Easily
Dries Easily
Easy to use
Good Waterproofing
Lightweight
Rugged

Cons

No map of Asia Hawaii

Best Uses

Day Trips
Hiking
Kayak Camping
Mountaineering
Trekking

Comments about Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS:

This GPS does exactly what we expect of it. We weren't looking for a crazy combination device that would take pictures, navigate our car, call our mothers on holidays, etc. We wanted a rugged device that would survive the extremes of the Himalayas or the canyons near our house. This Garmin 62s does all of this.

We did a great deal of research before we finally decided to buy, and we've been very happy. We use the GPX files created by friends to navigate to trails they've done, but also post our own GPX files of our adventures.

Basecamp, the software used to manage and modify maps, is easy to use, especially with BirdsEye, the add-on that allows for map creation in places where there aren't good topos (like Nepal).

Comment on this review

Apr

2012

(3 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Generally useless

By Kayaker70

from Cincinnati, Ohio

About Me Professional

See all my reviews

Pros

None

Cons

Software is useless

Best Uses

Impress your firends

Comments about Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS:

The software is terrible. It is not intuitive and the Owner's Manual is written poorly. The accuracy and precision are overstated. The Garmin 24K maps are not much better than the free maps that come with the device. I purchased the device to collect location data for research and for navigation in the backcountry. The simplest topo map is far superior to this instrument.

Comment on this review

Oct

2011

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Not for Search & Rescue

By cwabney

from North Georgia

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Add own free maps
Cleans Easily
Dries Easily
Good Waterproofing
Rugged

Cons

Poor Interface Options
Sluggish PC software

Best Uses

Comments about Garmin GPSMAP 62s GPS:

It's going back to the store this weekend. I liked much of what it had to offer, and it would be perfect for a casual user or geocacher. Unfortunately, in their quest to make something appealing to the sportsman / day hiker / geocacher, they removed a crucial feature for Search & Rescue, while adding in a bunch of unnecessary gadgetry. To be specific, there is no setting that allows one to change the default waypoint or insert the date / time the waypoint was created, short of jamming it in by hand. (But it will tell you the celestial charts, when hunting and fishing is the best, and can allow you to do paperless geocaching...)

In terms of the device itself, I really wish the operating system had been better. It is solidly constructed, has a caribiner built into the belt clip, is quite waterproof, can accept free maps from the internet, and accomodate an SD card for additional storage. Really, I wish it was going to work for what I need to do with it.

So, a lot depends on what you're going to use it for. For casual use, it is a great unit (albeit, a bit pricy at this point), but steer clear if you're hoping to use it for military, police, or search & rescue type operations.

Would I recommend it to a friend? Well... it depends on the friend.