Garmin announces new handheld GPSMAP 66.

I think the GPSMAP 64 series is in there somewhere. I sold a Montana and replaced it with a 64s.

GPSMap 64 series was announced by Garmin in January 2014. And the Montana 600/650 is even older, announced in May 2011. There is also the Oregon 600 series announced in Jan. 2013

Thanks for the info.

I know it's been a Long time since Garmin put out any new handheld units.

Looks good

One interesting feature of the new GPSMap 66 is that it contains a free lifetime subscription to BirdsEye Satelite imagery with direct WiFi downloads. Birdseye subscriptions on all other Garmin handhelds require a $30 annual fee and are loaded to the device via BaseCamp.

I've had a handheld Garmin Colorado 400C marine version since about 2010. It's still holding up fine other than needing a rocker roll, wheel replacement about two years ago.

However, it's probably about time I get a handheld. Therefore, I much appreciate this info as I would have missed this or not seen it for quite some time.

I subscribed to Birds Eye Imagery for a time. I dropped it due to memory issues with my handhelds. The downloaded images chew up a lot of MB's and can fill an SD card when trying to map out a long trip.

The 66st has a modest 16 gb of internal memory and I see no specs on how big an SD card it will accept. The WiFi download feature might reduce this problem though since you have the ability to download images on the fly by accessing WiFi through a smartphone.

I've had good luck reducing the memory problem by loading saved images from Google Earth on an SD card via Garmin's free "Custom Maps" program:

https://www.garmin.com/us/products/onthetrail/custommaps

In most cases, I can reduce the image quality to better control the file size.

Still, the 66 st looks interesting. I'll keep my eye out for a future refurb.

Thanks for the heads up Alan.

Good to know, thanks

I had a 60SCx and presently have a 64s. This is a fantastic format, Garmin really has this segment done. The most important enhancements the 66 has are the 16 GB of built-in memory, and that it can handle 15,000 map segments. My 64s can only handle something like 4,000 map segments and that has been a hurdle as to what I can load. So in that respect, the new GPSMAP66 is a great improvement. I think most users will now be able to put just about all their maps on and not mess with partial loads.