I picked up a 530 HCX just after Thanksgiving from Walmart online for $294. That deal lasted about a week and then they jacked up the price to be in line with a few other places at around the $360 mark. I just rode for three days with it in McCall and not only was I extremely pleased with it, but the other guys in my group plan on getting the same model now too.
A couple thoughts on the unit.. I'd read that some people had trouble with the battery not working well in cold weather or not holding a charge, and this actually spurred me into putting a 12v plug in my dash so I could recharge while riding if necessary. Turns out it wasn't a problem at all. After 5 hours of riding in temps ranging from 5 to 25, the battery was still more than three quarters full. Also, I'd learned through researching on here that most people opt for the Ram Mount to secure it to the sled rather than Garmin's mount. I went with the Ram that mounts to the handlebars and am very happy with that choice. On my Pro RMK there's some vibration through the handlebars at idle that can make it hard to look at, but as long as the glare isn't across the screen, I can zoom in on my map and follow my route pretty easily on the trail or in the trees. Plus, the altimeter is pretty slick when hillclimbing and fine-tuning your machines for altitude. Since I was the only one in the group with one this trip, I didn't get a chance to play with the 2-way radio or polling feature.
Finally, if you read around you'll find that the best maps are the 24K Topo maps. I ride in Washington and Oregon mostly, with an annual trip to Idaho. Garmin (not so) thoughtfully packages their maps in regional bundles, so I ended up biting the bullet and buying the West dvd for Washington and Oregon, and then having to buy the North Central dvd for Idaho (and most of the rest of the United States). I went with the dvd's and put them on a SD card so I could have all the maps on one SD (rather than having to risk losing the one not in the GPS, or accidentally deleting it), and I just like the idea of having a backup.
I'm still learning the ins and outs of saving tracks and so on, that part of the program could be a little more user-friendly. But overall, I think if you pick up a 530HCX and put the Garmin topo maps on it, you'll be happy in the long run. I keep watching to see if the price comes down again, I'll be picking up another one when it does.
