| |
Nick
New Brunswick
May 18, 2012
|
OREGON 450 FOR MY SXS
Pros: great features and price for those features
I think this is a great device. The screen is very clear although hard to see in some light, which they all are. I am waiting to recieve my Topo maps from backroads as the factory maps are very basic.
GPS City has the best prices and are excellent to deal with
Recommend? YES
3 viewers found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
|
| |
Sid
Seattle,WA
May 9, 2012
|
DISAPPOINTMENT
Pros: easy to use,easy to return
Cons: poor reception
we were excited to receive our Oregon 450. We headed into the woods to go geocaching and the satellite was gone. we were not under heavy leaf cover, it also had poor reception in the car. We would not recommend this GPS if you live in an area with lots of trees. Garmin worked with us to try to get better reception. We appreciated their help.
Recommend? NO
7 viewers found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
|
| |
Skip
Las vegas
May 4, 2012
|
OREGON 450
Pros: downloadable maps
Cons: max zoom on satellite images produces a fuzzy imag
Very nice features, almost to many. The ability to download maps of specific areas is a nice bonus.
Recommend? YES
5 viewers found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
|
| |
bobki
Hamilton, On
Apr 24, 2012
|
BOBKI GEOCACHER
Pros: ease of use, reception, functions, options
Cons: sometimes with a touch screen you can change thing
My Magellan gave out after about 2 yrs use. I upgraged to the Garmin 450, with some advice from other Geocachers. I have had it now for 2 Months and am enjoying its functionality. There are lots of options to try for the various functions and with experimation you can choose the ones that work for you. I installed Ont-Trails and that has greatly added to my caching experience.
Recommend? YES
6 viewers found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
|
| |
Flamand
Port-cartier
Apr 20, 2012
|
TRèS BIEN...
Pros: beaucoup de fonctions
Cons: contraste et résolution de l'écran
Très bon en général, les points faibles sont le contraste de l'écran et sa résolution un peu faible.
Recommend? YES
9 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Denito
Montréal, QC
Apr 16, 2012
|
GOOD PRODUCT
Pros: display, easy of use.
Cons: nothing
As expected, work very well, good display.
Recommend? YES
9 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
bckiwis
Victoria BC
Mar 27, 2012
|
ALMOST PERFECT
Pros: works as advertised
Cons: screen hard to see in daylight/sunlight
It works as advertised, functionality is good. We're using it with a Mac computer. Took it to NZ on vacation and plugged in a NZ/Australia NT Card, and it worked fine. My only complaint, the screen has poor contrast in bright sunlight. I knew that from reviews prior to buying it, though "ah heck it can't be that bad"... but it is. We will live with it, but next time people comment a GPS has a dull screen in sunlight I will believe them!
Recommend? NO OPINION
9 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
bill
massachusetts
Mar 26, 2012
|
NICE GPS
Pros: fast clear easy to use
Cons: none
the 450 is very easy to use . fast clear i added maps .works great with my topo program. i put all my waypoints on my maps and off i go !!!
thanks
Recommend? YES
9 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Graham
Stewart Valley, Saskatchewan
Mar 21, 2012
|
GARMON 450
The only problem we've had with the gps is that for some reason it "freezes" and we have to shut it down and start it up again. Also, if you get close to a cache and actually pass it, even by a few feet, then it will disappear altogether. I'm sure this is something that we're not doing correctly. If you can give us some insight, it would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise, very happy with GPS. Thanks!
Recommend? YES
14 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Jakfrost
Eastern Ontario
Mar 6, 2012
|
OREGON HAS POOR READABILITY IN SUNLIGHT
Pros: size, features, function.
Cons: poor screen readability outdoors.
I was impressed with the size and funcionality of the Oregon 450, but disappointed with the screen visibility in the sunlight. Since I had planned to use this unit snowmobiling it wasn't suitable and I returned it.
Recommend? NO
10 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Dan Fournier
Brossard QC
Feb 20, 2012
|
DAN'S REVIEW
Pros: data display, size,
Cons: energy consumption, user friendlyness
So far I had little experience with the device. I found the mapping transfer a little cumbersome. Garmin can improve on user friendlyness and documentation. The device is also hard on batteries. Rechargeable is a must. Screen is good. I like the ability to change the display with different data. Transfering data to web interface is excellent. I am use to apple and this touch screen is somehow misleading because you have to use keys to navigate.
Recommend? YES
10 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
JB
Saint John,New Brunswick
Feb 13, 2012
|
GARMIN OREGON 450
Pros: size
This is the the fourth Oregon 450 that we have purchased for our family. It is easly to use and we can transfer caches from one to another.
Recommend? YES
9 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Kerry
Cloverdale, B.C.
Feb 11, 2012
|
THE NEVER GET LOST HAND HELD GPS
Pros: light weight, touch screen easy to use
Cons: would like to have a more indepth manual on line
My first GPS was a Garmin Ledgend which servrd me well. I chose the Garmin Oregon 450 because of the additional features and large screen. There was an option on a higher modle for a camera but I just wanted an acurate GPS so that I could enjoy the sport of Geocacheing. The advertiment was acurate and the Garmin Oregon 450 has exceeded my expectations. We took it to Las Vegas and found over 20 caches and had a great time searching.
If there was a down side to this fine instument would be in the information given in its small and somewhat incomplete user manual. I would like to see a more indepth maual avalible either online or in print format. As it is I am learning through trial and error on how to use the great features this GPS has to offer. I have no problem either recomending the Garmin Oregon 450 GPS or the fine service I received from GPSCity and will purchase from GPS City again because they offer great prices, affordable shipping and excelent service.
Recommend? YES
11 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
lonepinemax
Lone Pine, AB.
Feb 10, 2012
|
OREGON 450T
Pros: works well
Cons: too many options
I bought this unit before Christmas and am very happy with it so far. I have read that the screen is hard to read in bright sunlight but have found if you just turn the back light all the way down in bright light it is quite viewable, much more so than with back light on. I also like the turn by turn directions for getting to geocaches that are close to a road.
Recommend? YES
11 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Deep Blue Sea
Montreal, Quebec
Feb 4, 2012
|
AS GOOD AS I EXPECTED!
Pros: lcd brightness, gps size, battry life, tough!
Cons: not found yet!
I bought this Oregon 450 with a Zagg screen protector, a Garmin bike mount, and a Garmin carrying case. The delivery was quick, I received them in 2 business days.
The carrying case is very big for this GPS. Almost two times as big as the GPS itself. I read in its review that it is big and you can put two AA batteries with GPS inside. However, I didn't find it usefully as the GPS works almost 14h with one series of batteries. I didn't like the carrying case so sent it back without opening the box. Fortunately, GPS City reimbursed me completely in 2weeks. I just paid the shipping cost.
I am completely satisfied with the rest (3 items). As the first test, I did a geocaching at Montreal (where I live) in a -28 Celsius winter day. All the area was covered by (almost) 40cm snow. It was surprising that it was working pretty fine at this temperature and also the display was enough bright under sunshine. I fell couple of times and my GPS got snowy but no problem. She is really tough!
Recommend? YES
10 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Bernard
baie Comeau
Jan 18, 2012
|
MERCI!
Aucun problème merci pour votre service.
Recommend? YES
11 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Hikeallegheny
Michigan
Jan 13, 2012
|
NICE REPLACEMENT
Pros: compact touch screen easy to use
Cons: lacks some geocaching functions
Needed a Mac compatable replacement for my Delorme PN-40 that no longer plays well with my Mac. Wasn't sure what to expect with the touch screen based on some reviews. Having usered it with and without gloves, touch response is great either way. I also don't have any problems with the screen brightness, even in direct sunlight and a zagg screen protector. There are a few geocaching functions that I miss (proximity alarm and a better caching screen) but over all nothing that makes me regret not getting the PN-60.
Recommend? YES
15 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Coupza
Coaldale, AB
Jan 9, 2012
|
OREGON IN THE CLASSROOM
Pros: touch screen, robust design, feature packed
Cons: still a bit pricy for a classroom budget
Our school purchased 20 units at an education discount and so far they have been great. Easy to set up and add maps to and even easier for students to navigate with. Touch screen works great and is very intuitive. Very little direction required because the user experience is so good. The only thing Garmin should start doing is wifi to allow geocaches to download wirelessly to the device without managing from a computer. For classroom use it would be great if the wireless transfer of data could sync to multiple devices at once.
Recommend? YES
10 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Gordon
Vancouver, BC
Jan 6, 2012
|
NEWBY REVIEW
Pros: to be determined
Cons: documentation, accuracy under trees
This is the first GPS device I have owned, so my problems may be due to inexperience or unrealistic expectations. I will try the forums to see if I can address the issues that way. I have a couple of comments: - first, the documentation on the use of the device seems to be cursory and at a high level. However, perhaps once I become more familiar with the device, the documentation will make more sense. Second, the device works great, and seems very accurate, out in the open. However, under heavy tree cover, it seems to be much less accurate. One of the reasons I chose the 450 was because the comments I saw indicated it did work well under trees. In searching out geocaches under trees, it had me going back and forth over a 500 foot square several times.
Also, I wish there was a way of deleting geocache files on the device itself. Instead, you have to connect to a computer and manually delete the files from the micro SD card.
Recommend? YES
9 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Sprisain
Quebec City QC
Jan 3, 2012
|
FULLY SATISFIED
Pros: easy to use, fits well in the hand.
Cons: owner's manual not enough detailed about features
Easy to use. Sturdy built. I use it mainly for geocaching.
Recommend? YES
10 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Steve
Syracuse, NY
Dec 31, 2011
|
WORKS IN THE CAR TOO!
Pros: very easy to navigate menus. improved on etrex hcx
Cons: not so easy to see the screen on a grey day
I didn't buy the 450 for use in the car, but when my wife and I both needed a gps, she took the Garmin Nuvi. I decided to try the Oregon using automobile routing. After changing the setup to Setup>Garmin Interface>Garmin Spanner, I was able to run the Oregon using the USB powered from the car. It was easy to use and almost as good as the automobile specific Nuvi. The only substantial downside was the Oregon didn't show which lane to be in for upcoming turns. The fact that it beeped, rather than spoke was, in my opinion, better.
Recommend? YES
12 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
SMEE
Petawawa Ontario Canada
Dec 30, 2011
|
I BOUGHT AN OREGON 450
Pros: better than the etex
I should have bought this years ago. Now I know better. I already had an Etrex Legend HCx. If you want a better GPS, buy the Oregon 450. It is all touch screen. It is so much better. It works really well in the cold and is easy to see when ATV'ing. The guy on the phone helped me with all the accessories.
Recommend? YES
25 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Kodydog
Illinois
Dec 29, 2011
|
GREAT BUY!
Been shopping around for a geocaching gps and for the price at black friday and good quality I had to get it here and it was a great Purchase!
Recommend? YES
9 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
mick
ste-adele qc
Dec 9, 2011
|
great product for hiking whit 3d map exellent
Recommend? YES
11 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Tosha
Kamloops BC
Dec 8, 2011
|
DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR LOOKING FOR IN A GPS
Pros: bright screen. perfect fit in my hand
Cons: short battery life
I knew I was getting a GPS that sucks the battery life, but I wanted a GPS with a bright display so I could see the screen despite bright sunshine. I'm happy with my decision. It means an extra few batteries in my pocket, but whatever. I guess it's not an ideal situation if you're planning on backpacking for a week or two, where every ounce counts. You don't want to be hauling a flat of batteries from Costco. But for day trips, and short over-nighters it's a manageable solution.
Recommend? YES
15 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Alain
Montréal
Dec 1, 2011
|
FIRST GPS PURCHASE
Pros: efficient touchscreen, easy navigation
Cons: none so far
Aa a multi year user of a simple compass, I finally had to acquire a GPS for hunting for obvious reason. Chasing and tracking animals will get you lost in no time.
A friend of mine gave me a few pointers and in no time I was feeling confortable to go deep in the woods, on and off trails (they all loook the same) and back where I needed to be. Real please with it
Recommend? YES
11 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Geoff
Albany, Australia
Nov 28, 2011
|
OREGON 450 REVIEW
Pros: fast shipping, good service
Cons: nil
Great product, fast shipping, great service
Recommend? YES
16 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Georges
Granby, Quebec
Nov 21, 2011
|
Pros: paperles. larger screen
Cons: screen has to be lit. i enjoyed the 60csx
I use a gps 60csx and I have to learn from scratch. Seems faster but not as acurate.
Recommend? YES
16 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Marc
ontario
Nov 17, 2011
|
OREGON 450
Pros: easy to use, compact,
Cons: none so far
Good GPS, easy to use, battery life and screen brightness acceptable
Recommend? YES
16 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
2katz
Houston, TX
Nov 8, 2011
|
GREAT FOR GEOCACHING
I have not yet used the Oregon 450 for hiking, but have used it for local geocaching. It's a great unit, loads GPS coods quickly and download field notes back to record your finds!
Recommend? YES
17 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
matokuwapi
London, ON
Nov 8, 2011
|
I LOVE MY NEW GARMIN OREGON 450
Cons: i can't think of any.
I purchased this with Geocaching being the main reason. I also bushwhack looking for places to fly fish as well and I just enjoy hiking in wild places. The Garmin Oregon 450 is perfect for my needs. I can use my topo map sets and programs (Basecamp). I can even make my own maps. How cool is that?!?! I can also customize icons for my needs. My previous GPS was a Garmin MAP76S ...a nice unit but I purchased it second hand. It was old. Obtaining and holding satellites was growing more and more frustrating. It ate batteries too. It also didn't have a lot of memory. I finally gave up on it...had some extra cash and went for the Garmin Oregon 450. I'm sure glad I did. It's completely paperless with regards to Geocaching. It's easy to get familur with and operate. It beats the pants off my old unit for picking up Sat signals and holding on to them...even in thick woods and hilly areas. My old unit would not work at all well in the car or forested areas..forget gullies and never from inside a house. The Oregon does all that better than I has expected. I do not regret this purchase in the least. I'm loving it and now gaining a renewed interest in Geocaching.
Recommend? YES
21 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
boasark
New Virginia, Iowa
Nov 8, 2011
|
GREAT GPS
Pros: small, lightweight and easy to use.
Use for geocaching. Went from a Magellan Meridian Color GPS that I had used for about 5 years. Loved the ease of using it, but when I went to events they were unable to download coordinates to it. I would have to save them on a flash drive and download to my computer and then to the GPS. Had been wanting to purchase a new GPS and looked at several before I decided on the Oregon 450. Friends have one, so got to play with theirs for a short time and fell in love with it. Received my new GPS and couldn't wait till I could go out and use it. Downloads in an instant! and so far pretty easy to use. I love the feature where I can save my found caches and send them to my computer - then log them from there. Also like the paperless caching - had been doing this for some time, but with the laptop - only problem was that I couldn't take it into the field. Now I have it all in my hand wherever I am. Unit is much smaller than my old GPS, so that is a plus also. All in all I am very happy with this GPS. Thinking about getting one for my granddaughter who caches with me. She grabbed it the first time we had it out and had it figured out in a few minutes. I did have one issue with it at the last event I went to - screen seemed to stick on the main menu screen and just kept jumping from side to side. Shut it down and removed batteries several times and it still kept doing it. Finally just kept pushing one of the icons and it came out of it. So far no more problems.
Recommend? YES
23 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
OutdoorBob
Victoria AUz
Nov 8, 2011
|
GOOD OUTDOOR GPS
Pros: great screen, touch screen is great.
Cons: mounting system, mini-usb data/power connector
I brought this to replace a Garmin GPSMAP 60CS which I thought I had lost. Well I found it again, but have used the Oregon 450 exclusively since purchase. The screen is great, navigation is easy. The only issue I have with it is the mounting system does not seem as good as the 60CS nor is the mini-usb connection which seems like a stupid idea. The GPSMAP had a very solid mounting and very solid cable connection, the same cannot be said here. The mini-usb is not waterproof and does not seem to be destined to last. We shall see. I also don't think it is as accurate (not much in it) nor as good as tracking satellites as the 60cx.
Recommend? YES
15 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Marty
Parry Sound, ON Canada
Oct 27, 2011
|
OREGON 450
Pros: custom mapping, processor
Cons: screen can be dim in bright sunlight.
Purchased this unit for forestry work. Wanted the option of adding cusomized mapping and imagery. Works pretty good for both. You can create cutom imagery that you can overlay with maps with some inexpensive third party software (G raster and Mapwel). Would like to have option to load multiple image files and select which to have on - but unit only allows you to turn all on or off - not a big issue.
Recommend? YES
20 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
halemeister
Winnebago, IL
Oct 26, 2011
|
VERY NICE GPS
Pros: touch screen, accuracy.
Cons: hard to see the display the shade, no lanyard
I have had my new Oregon 450 for about a month now, and I have to say that it is everything that I expected it to be. I mainly bought it for geocaching, and it's a good unit for it. I really like that it supports paperless geocaching, as my previous unit did not. There are many options and the the screen is a pretty decent size. It powers up and locks onto satellites fairly quickly.
There are a few things that I don't like about it though. The display is kind of hard to see when you're using it to navigate yourself in your car unless you are able to put the unit in the direct sunlight. I wish that it had the possibility of having a belt clip, but I guess the D clip will have to do. There's a spot to attach a lanyard, but it doesn't come with one. And it's unfortunate that I couldn't use my MapSource maps on it, but maps are easy enough to get these days, so crisis was averted.
Overall, I am happy with my purchase. So far, I have found every geocache that I have hunted with it, which I know is a streak that will eventually end, but it's still fun to say while it's still true! I have not had any problems with it while using it as a routing device. It has gotten me to everywhere I have wanted to go so far!
Recommend? YES
21 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Jacques
New Brunswick
Oct 24, 2011
|
GOOD OUTDOOR GPS
Pros: easy to use
Cons: acan think of any right now.
I purchased this gps exclusively for when I travel in the wood with my atv. So far I'm satisfied.
Recommend? YES
25 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
PaulK
Ste-Thérèse,QC
Oct 23, 2011
|
RUGGED GPS
Pros: rugged, got all the bells and whistles
Cons: poor battery life
I was looking for a hiking GPS to fulfill the same needs as with my Edge 705 and 800 for biking. I did some research on GPS forums and decided to go for the Oregon 450 which became a no-brainer with the September $50 rebate. The Oregon 450 performs marvelously in terms of uploading and downloading data (tracks,caches, gpx routes,etc.) with Basecamp and other GPS sites such as MapmyRide. The US 24K topo maps are a must if you intend to do some serious hiking in the US.
Good rugged GPS, fumbled and dropped it on rocks from shoulder height and apart from some minor bruises still works like a charm.
Carrying battery spares is a must for outings over 6 hrs even with 2100 NiMH.
As with every Garmin product, you will unleash the full power of this GPS by looking up forums such as http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com since the Garmin owner manual is much too basic.
Used it for hiking and geocaching for a month a I would highly recommend it.
Recommend? YES
27 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Kiwi Explorer
Nelson, New Zealand
Oct 19, 2011
|
GOOD ALL AROUND GPS
Pros: paperless geocaching, chirp & whereigo supported
Cons: font size a bit small
I purchased this GPS for my father as a thank you for helping me build a deck at home. I already have the same model which I use exclusively for geocaching. I have been using it for about 6 months with no issues and find it a good all around performer. I previously owned the 60CSx which I still think gives superior under tree cover but this model has a number of new features that are worthwhile such as paperless geocaching mode, WhereIGo and Chirp support.
Recommend? YES
21 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Billy
North Bablyon NY
Oct 18, 2011
|
GOOD GEOCACHING GPS
I was looking for a GPS and decided on the Oregon 450. Had many of the up to date features that I wanted for geocaching such as a touch screen, paperless geocaching & a larger screen than most. All this for a great price from GPS City $249.00 after rebate. So far the Oregon 450 has worked very well when out geocaching. The screen could be brighter in direct sunlight but when you turn away it's just fine.
Recommend? YES
19 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
jml2012
north bay, ontario
Oct 18, 2011
|
OREGON 450
Pros: quick positioning,clear marks, lot of menus, price
Cons: screen is a bit small, hard to see in sunlight
great GPS. Use it to check trails that my son is cutting for cross country skying, able to see were and how far need to go to complete trails. Good price when on sale. Using it also in my Polaris Ranger UTV to find my way on the back logging roads in the area.
Recommend? YES
16 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Tony
Oakville,ON
Oct 13, 2011
|
GEOCACHING GPS
I am new to geocaching and I had intended to buy the eTrex 30 when it came out but when I saw the Oregon 450 for $250 I could not resist buying it. I got a bigger screen and all the paperless geocaching Attributes that I require and at a lower price.
Recommend? YES
20 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
WAYNE
CALGARY
Oct 10, 2011
|
GARMIN OREGON 450
Pros: easy set up and quick installs
Cons: batteries should last longer
Very good reception, excellent tracking lots of options to choose from and easy to load maps. just follow the proper directions and you will be amazed at how fast it loads batteries could last longer but with all the features you cannot expect miracles, just buy good rechargeables
Recommend? YES
24 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Bapsy
Malaysia
Sep 26, 2011
|
MY OREGON 450 FOR OUTDOOR USE
Pros: good interface, profiles
Cons: nil
Recently acquired this unit to replace my aging Garmin GPSMap 60C. Good change in user experience. Touchscreen and excellent intusive user interface. (Unit s/w ver.5 and GPS s/w ver 5.) Still exploring a lot more additional menu items. Good battery life with Sony 2700mAH Ni-MH rechargeables. Overahll very good experience.
Recommend? YES
22 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
chietetu
kyoto Japan
Sep 24, 2011
|
GOOD SHOPPING WAS CARRIED OUT.
We can buy made in the U.S. at a low price now [ of a strong yen ]. Since the mailing cost to Japan was moreover cheap, It arrived in about six days. Present Very helpful to mountain walking. Merely It is regrettable that cash back of garmin cannot receive.
Recommend? YES
24 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
skooter
Van Isle
Sep 23, 2011
|
WORKS PRETTY GREAT
Pros: fast and easy once you get used to it
Cons: not the brightest screen for 2011
I use this for multiple purposes. On an ocean Kayak trip suction cupped to the deck, it was flawless, fast and easy to use, kept us on track in the fog. I REALLY depended on it. Used on motorbike also - to find backroads with the BackroadsMapbook brand product loaded. Also had to use the speed function when I broke my speedo cable - great. Use it for hiking further afield, when the iPhone can't function (MotionX GPS for iphone is actually better for trails in cell tower range, because you get live updates of obscure trails.) Could be a brighter screen like an iphone or the new Montana.
Recommend? YES
23 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
John
Mauricie,Qc
Sep 23, 2011
|
EXCELLENT GPS
Pros: everything
Cons: nothing yet
This is an excellent GPS, it is more precise than my GPSMAP76 and it gets the signal much more rapidly. It works great under heavy tree coverage were the 76 wasn't. It's an easy to use unit (I'm a fan of the tactile screen) and going thru the different menus is very simple. PC interface is great,you simply have to consider the 450 as a hard drive. Once you got use to the screen in bright light condition it's better than I thought it would be. I'm new to geocaching and this paperless unit is fantastic to use. A very good unit for the price
Recommend? YES
27 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
EL34
Pisgah Forest, NC, USA
Sep 22, 2011
|
GREAT TRAIL GPS
Pros: see review text
Cons: see review text
My previous GPS units include a Garmin Map76 and Map76cs. These two units are what I am comparing the Oregon to in my review below. The Oregon is smaller and seems to have better tracking under heavy tree cover, which is the type of terrain that I bike and hike here in the mountains of Western, NC, USA. My Map76CS would loose the signal all the time under heavy overhead cover. The ORegon has not done any of that yet, even in heavy wet tree cover. It feels really solid. The back cover is a marvel of engineering in the way it locks, seals and doubles as the accessory attachment point. The Oregon has way better screen resolution compared to my previous Garmins. Everything looks very sharp with great colors. The screen looks great with the custom maps and .typ files I create and the maps and data load and download way faster than my previous Garmins. I also purchased two of the bike mounts, a belt mount and a RAM mount for the auto. There's a great selection of cool accessories. The Oregon menus are way easier to get around in than my previous Garmins and you can customize them with profiles. I don't Geocache or hunt/fish so I can't comment on any of those functions. I don't ever remove the Micro SD card, I always use a USB cable for moving things to and from the computer. I can't comment of battery times because I use rechargeable Ni-Mh batteries. Battery time is not a big deal to me, I always carry two extra rechargeables if I am going to be out for a very long time. About the only niggle I have is that the screen is a bit dark and hard to see when the backlight is turned off. Not a big deal, I just tap the screen and on comes the light.
Recommend? YES
26 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Gaston
Sudbury
Sep 20, 2011
|
OREGON 450
I loaded it with Ontario Backroad GPS Maps and was able to go exactly where I wanted to on an unfamiliar lake.I love this GPS
Recommend? YES
25 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Guy Bilodeau
Québec, Qc Canada
Sep 19, 2011
|
POOR QUALITY
Pros: touch screen
Cons: precision
This GPS is the third one i have and the more expensive but it is the less precise of all. As soon as i get in the forest i get an precision error of 12 to 15 meters.
Recommend? NO
28 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Marc
Val des Monts, Québec
Sep 13, 2011
|
GARMIN OREGON 450
Pros: life on batteries, nice compact size
Very good unit! easy to use. Had a Magellan Explorist 500 and prefer the Oregon 450 by far. Nice bright screen under sunlight, long lasting life on regular batteries approx. 10 hours (never tried the lithium batteries yet) Using it for road trips and hunting.
Recommend? YES
30 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Birdy
Queensland
Aug 26, 2011
|
TOP PRODUCT
Pros: all good poinbts
Great unit easy to use.Easy to see in bright sunlight. Nice compact size. It's a great replacement for the old 12XL which takes some beating being user friendly.
Recommend? YES
31 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Thr0x
Quebec
Aug 25, 2011
|
GREAT UNIT
Pros: easy to use and accurate
Bought this GPS mainly for my dual-sport motorcycle.Perfect with the ram mount.
Recommend? YES
36 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
DAN
MASON,MI
Aug 23, 2011
|
GEOCACHING WITH MY OREGON 450
Pros: easy to use right out of the box
Cons: would like a better owners manual
I like geocahing so paperless caching is the way to go. The oregon 450 is a great gps to have.The lithium batteries that i use with my 450 do last about 14-16 hours.
Recommend? YES
37 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
GillBarr
Alberta
Aug 2, 2011
|
GREAT GPS!
Pros: easy to use - very intuitive
Cons: none
The Oregon 450 is an excellent unit - easy to read in bright sun, love the paperless caching, and the wireless sharing with other units is great when on the hunt! Used it with two lithium batteries and the gauge has not moved after several hours use.
Recommend? YES
64 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Lloyd
Toronto, ON
Aug 2, 2011
|
MY FIRST TOUCHSCREEN GPSR
Pros: very accurate and compact
Easy to use and has a lot of user friendly features.
Recommend? YES
57 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Team Pawz, Craig and Shelley
Port Alberni, BC
Aug 2, 2011
|
OREGON 450
Pros: touch screen, easy to operate
Cons: the inability to remove caches from the gps.
We really like the Oregon Series. The touch screen is so easy to use. We own the 550 and this addition makes our outdoor adventures that much more fun...we are both geocachers.
Recommend? YES
62 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
mike
Courtenay BC
Jul 25, 2011
|
GREAT GEOCACHING GPS
This is my third Garmin GPS and the touch screen and ability to share wirelessly on the trails have made for a great experience on the trails. All day battery life and ease of use are probably the two best features of this unit.
Recommend? YES
63 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Chris
Canada
Jul 14, 2011
|
GRATE UNIT!
Pros: ease of use
Cons: i find the acuracy is off by about 5m
Not getting the rated 16 hours... but I'm using cheap alkaline batteries and getting 10+
Overall, I'm VERY happy with this GPS
Recommend? YES
77 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Danilo
Kenya, Nairobi
Jul 14, 2011
|
EXCELLENT GPS
Very clear even with lots of light. Use for xcounyries an enduros in Kenya. Highly recommended
Recommend? YES
71 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
DMac
N.T.
May 31, 2011
|
AWESOME GPS
Pros: easy to use
Cons: ????
I've only been using this gps for a few weeks so I still haven't figured it out completely.So far it's been really easy to use and it is exactly what I wanted in an outdoor gps.I would definitely recommend this unit.
Recommend? YES
80 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Andre
Kingston, ON
Apr 17, 2011
|
GREAT GPS
This is my 5th handheld GPS, used extensively for geocaching. (Other models were the Trailblazer, Mag315, 76, 76CSX). I've been using this one since Christmas 2010, and am glad I bought it. The paperless features make caching in the field or an unfamiliar area a much more pleasant experience. The buttonology takes some getting used to, and the supplied user manual is very basic. Excellent FAQ sites exist that provide step by step instructions on how to use the GPS to the full potential.
Still not the perfect GPS for geocaching - here's some cons: - Can't 'delete by symbol' to clear found caches from the map screen, like on the 60 or 76. - custom cache type symbols very small, 16 x 16 pixels. - cache names don't display on map screen, can make deciding which cache to do next a bit annoying.
The RAM mounts for bike and truck are excellent, sturdy accessories.
Recommend? YES
91 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Douglas
Hanmer Ontario
Apr 11, 2011
|
GARMIN OREGON 450
I like this product because it's very user friendly, and with the larger screen it's alot easier to read.
Recommend? YES
85 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Mike
Nova Scotia
Mar 31, 2011
|
GREAT GPS
Pros: paperless for caching
Cons: hard to see in bright sun or with sunglasses
better than the oregon 300 i had which didn't seem acurate as this one. love the paperless for caching and have it mounted with ram mount on atv. sometimes hard to see outside in bright sunlight and for atv i recommend an external power cable so backlight stays on.
Recommend? YES
93 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Oogie
Chicagoland
Mar 11, 2011
|
NEWBIE GPS ?
Pros: a very good multi-purpose off & on road/water gps.
Cons: manual,
This unit has a steep learning curve. Wish I had a Guardian Angel to have initiated me. Downloading the required plug in wasn't too bad, but getting maps was a !@#$. Thoroughly orient yourself with the online manual before proceeding. Thank Goodness for online help. The screen in crisp. Battery life is as expected (decent) and the vehicle power cable makes for an inexpensive nice add on. Spanner mass storage off will cause a lack of communication between GPS and computer.This mode is only realloy necessary to learn the buttons with the use of computer power.
Recommend? YES
88 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Trek, Trail Run, XC Ski, MTB etc...
Gatineau, Qc, Canada
Feb 28, 2011
|
VERY HAPPY !
Pros: great touch screen easy to use
Cons: more indept manual would be great
Glad I waited for the 450.Love it! The touch screen is easy to use. I checked the online forums and through them I learned that I should set the GPS mode to WAAS and use rechargeable NIMH. WAAS gave me better accurary over normal and the NIMH batteries longuer use. I share my tracks (GPX file) with my friends and they can see where I went on google earth. Took me a bit of time to understand how the tracking works. The manual is mostly an overview and doesn't tell you everything.
Recommend? YES
95 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Michel
Timmins, ON
Feb 28, 2011
|
OREGON 450
Pros: large screen for viewing
Cons: batteries didn't last long
It wasn't what I thought that it would be. Hard on batteries.
Recommend? NO
88 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Mtn biker
Abbotsford BC
Feb 27, 2011
|
USED FOR MTN BIKING
Pros: accurate gps, lots of bells and whistles.
Cons: chunky/heavy for bike use,garmin connect bing maps
Used for mountain biking on the trails. Worked wonderfully and had no problems mounted on handlebars and getting jarred. My only complaint is that it doesnt pull the heartrate/cadence data to garmin connect. However, from what i have read that data is stored on file and can be pulled manually. Not sure why garmin connect does not pull it..? Used the unit for city navigation, works great for that too. Did not have problems with viewing the screen on the trail or any signal problems. I wonder when Garmin will make a unit that has GPS, MP3 and phone wrapped in one.
Also, Garmin uses Microsoft Bing in iconnect for the maps. Up to a couple months ago, they had Google maps which were awesome. BING IS HORRIBLE FOR MAPPING - BEWARE. Garmin needs to bring back Google but i think Microsoft paid them off.
All in all for 229$ it was a great deal from GPScity. I couldve got a Edge 800 but I am waiting until the bugs are worked out + it is overpriced. I do have the Edge 500 and that works just fine for training etc.
Recommend? YES
97 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
chayoux
Quebec
Feb 25, 2011
|
GOOD GPS
Pros: quality , easy fonction, easy touch screen
Cons: batery time, no 12v adapteur, need other map
I like it , easy fonction , good screen.
Recommend? YES
90 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
David
Cypress Texas57354
Feb 21, 2011
|
GARMIN SUCKS
Garmin is absolutely horrible to try to deal with . After total failure of their mapping program to load The oregon was packed to return to you when somebody posted up interest in a trade for a Tom Tom Rider GPS unit on the Motorcycle web site I frequent . The deal was done , I have a much better GPS and will never deal with garmin again . The Tom Tom GPS is ready to go right out of the box .
Recommend? NO
88 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
G V RAO, MEHANICAL ENGINEER
INDIA--HYDERABAD--ANDHRA PRADESH
Feb 18, 2011
|
OREGON 450 NOT BOOTING AND WORST EXPERIENCE
i recently bought oregon 450 from amezon and brought to india..recently while i was on a trip to some remote place i tried to operate the set and all of sudden screen has faded out and not rebooting..i changed batteries but no booting!! i just do not know how to reboot the set..can any one help me how to get the unit restarted..i doubt if software is courrupted..can i reinstall software? orelse should have to contact the manufacturer? for my utter dismay this set does not have a serial number except FCC ID? i do not know how to proceed..pl suggest..
Recommend? NO
93 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Ke
London, ON
Feb 7, 2011
|
SO FAR SO GOOD
Pros: accurate
Cons: battery eater
got this unit recently from gpscity with good price. It's my first GPS device so I really have nothing to compare it to. I've only test it in the city and everything works as what it says, only con is that it consumes battery quickly, which I kind of anticipate it.I'll take it to field test later this summer and will update my review then
Recommend? YES
87 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Wayno
PEI
Feb 1, 2011
|
GREAT FOR PAPERLESS GEOCACHING!
Pros: paperless geocaching,touchscreen.
Cons: poor battery life,basemap not that great.
This is an excellent GPS for Geocaching.It is very accurate and it even picks up the satellites while inside the house, so needless to say it is great under tree cover. But I can't understand why it comes with a carabiner clip, a lanyard would be much better.
Recommend? YES
94 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Altreac
Kingston, ON
Jan 27, 2011
|
AWESOME GPS UNIT
Pros: good features.
Cons: battery life due to big screen.
This GPS unit has a lot of awesome features. Waypoint averaging is quite neat. Area calculation option. Great sensitivity. The unit even works indoors without a lot of visibility to outside. 3D view is awesome for camping. Sight and Lock function is awesome for hiking a bearing.
Recommend? YES
96 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
lasand
Nanaimo,BC
Jan 21, 2011
|
GREAT ALL AROUND GPS
Easy to use , locks on quick and very accurate gps.
Recommend? YES
93 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Crowsnest2
Vancouver Island
Jan 20, 2011
|
GREAT FOR GEOCACHING
Pros: paperless. quick to start. touch screen
This GPS has increased our find ratio for geocaching. It is quick to startup. We like the touch screen interface. With the geocaching data downloaded to the device we are able to find time in our local trips to locate caches. We have discovered so many hidden spots near our home. Beautiful steams, water falls and parks.
Recommend? YES
93 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Jim Carson
Seattle, WA
Jan 20, 2011
|
NICE IMPROVEMENTS BUT NOT PERFECT
Pros: large screen, paperless geocaching, nice base map
Cons: battery life, images in geocache descriptions
I am writing this review from the perspective of someone who's used a Garmin 60CSx, and that will be the basis of my comparison. Most of my interest is in the Oregon 450 is for its geocaching capability, though I also take it on business trips to navigate to customers. I chose the Oregon 450 over the GPSMAP 62s because the price difference (>$150) was enough to pay for City Navigator. It's taken a few weeks to get used to the different navigation model and the lack of a dedicated "find" button.
Screen brightness - without backlighting - is an improvement over the Oregon 400 (which I considered nearly unusable), but not as good as the 60CSx. During the recent Belfair Cache Machine, I found it fine with the ambient outdoor light. Yesterday, with a lot of cloud cover, I needed some backlighting. The default background image was distracting, so I replaced it with a plain white one. Screen size and the improved color set are much nicer than the 60Csx.
Touch screen-based user interface - This is something I'm still getting used to. The scrolling is not nearly as smooth as my iPhone, and is most needed when reviewing the cache description or previous logs in the field. At the same time, it is sensitive enough that random settings are changed as it jiggles on my belt loop. For this, there is a screen lock capability.
Battery life is disappointing. Out of the box, that is, using the factory settings, I get just under 5 1/2 hours on a fresh pair of Costco AA alkalines. With the beta firmware, the "low battery" indicator will kick on after two hours, though the GPS seems to function fine for another 3 1/2. During a recent Cache Machine, I went through two sets of batteries. For comparison, I started the day with approximately 8 hours of caching use on the same kind of AA batteries in my GPSMAP 60CSx, yet it continued through the entire day.
Suggestions on various online wikis recommend: 1) Turn on the Battery Saver setting. This blanks out the screen when the GPS is inactive. Savings seems to be approximately 10% of battery life, in part, because the map is not being recalculated. This is generally fine, except when you're within a hundred feet of the cache and don't want the screen to keep blanking. 2) Turn off WAAS/EGNOS - there is debate on the effectiveness of this. Other geocachers I've spoken with say it's only an issue if the WAAS satellite is intermittent. 3) Disable the electronic compass 4) Set your map orientation to North up (instead of track up) - map redraws and computation take some time. 5) Disable the Chirp sensor. There are only a handful of Chirp-type caches here, though I have found a few Chirp-based travel bugs (people's cars). 6) Use rechargable NiMH batteries. An alkaline typically has a (stated) capacity of 2000Mah (or less) and a steep voltage cutoff curve. Many NiMHs have a (stated) capacity of 2500Mah but a flatter voltage drop.
The 3D compass is a well-appreciated improvement on the Oregon 450. It seemed to do very well switching from the belt holster to handheld as I honed in on caches. In contrast, the 2D compass on the 60Csx was largely ornamental - it required constant recalibration, and if you looked at it funny, it completely wacked out.
Whereas the 60Csx is very limited in the information it can store about a geocache (ignoring the tricks one can do with POIs), the Oregon includes full cache name, difficulty, terrain, cache type and size. The Oregon 450 also holds 5,000 caches, which is great if you want to load, for example, half of the Puget Sound region for spontaneous caching. Even with the beta firmware, there are still quirks when you transfer caches + maps over. It is therefore very important that, after loading > 1000 caches, you power cycle the unit to ensure it actually contains what you sent. For example, as I type this, I just discovered it cut off everything within a 20 mile radius.
The paperless geocaching capability is nice, but it could still be improved. For example, when downloading caches, either through pocket queries or GSAK, you don't get images. The online resource garminoregon dot wikispaces dot com suggests a few ways to get these back, including loading geocaches as waypoints or a separate processes for geotagging photos in a listing. All of these are extremely cumbersome processes, using third-party programs and manual file dropping. As a comparison, Geosphere on my iPhone is smart enough to grab all of the images it needs. It also processes attributes, allowing me to filter at a very fine level.
In the original firmware, multi-cache navigation was pretty bad. The beta (12/23/2010) version now allows you to "find next waypoint."
Overall, there are some nice improvements over earlier models. If they fix the cache corruption issue and finish paperless geocaching, this would be an easy recommendation.
Recommend? YES
107 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Peter
Newmarket, Ontario
Jan 19, 2011
|
GREAT SERVICE
Cons: battery life
Great buy at a great price and delivered quickly. Seems to use batteries quickly but overall perfect for Geocaching.
Recommend? YES
96 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Sleddaddy
Morinville, AB
Jan 19, 2011
|
LOVE IT!
Awesome GPS, I love it. I have only used it for snowmobiling so far but it worked perfectly, no issues with the cold, and easy to use.
Recommend? YES
97 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
NQST
Mirabel, QC
Jan 19, 2011
|
BEST OUTDOOR GPS
Big step up from my Etrex Legend Cx. No paper required for geocaching. Great! Easy to use, very visual.
Recommend? YES
101 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
ken warner
griswold CT
Jan 18, 2011
|
GOOD GPS
Pros: easy to uses accurate comfortable
Cons: not being able to print no users manual
its detail is good for trails. the only down side is that i wish i could print the maps with my tracks. Garmin doenst allow this at least not with a sd card. not sure if you could print if you had the cd version of the maps. would be nice if it came with a users manual
Recommend? YES
94 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
DaveB
Saskatoon, SK
Jan 18, 2011
|
GARMIN OREGON 450
Pros: reception
Cons: screen brightness
Compared to my former GPS, the GPSMap 60CS this unit has much better reception - even works in my pocket. But the screen isn't as sharp or bright.
Recommend? YES
92 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Deb
Rowley, MA
Jan 18, 2011
|
GARMIN OREGON 450
Pros: easy to use,alot of features for the price
Cons: screen display, product documentation
Overall, this was a great choice, however, the display is not bright enough and the documentation for the user is totally inadequate.
Recommend? YES
101 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Pit
laurentide
Jan 18, 2011
|
BEST OF THE BEST
best
Recommend? YES
93 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
FredA
Mystic, cT
Jan 17, 2011
|
COMPACT BACKUP MARINE CHARTPLOTTER
Pros: compact, with wide area map coverage
Cons: charting functionality requires purchasing chip(s)
I bought this primarily as a backup for my boat chart plotter and secondarily as a portable GPS/chart plotter for use when we charter a sailboat outside our home waters. It replaces an older, clunkier GPS that did not have mapping.
I had considered other handheld Garmins, but chose the Oregon 450 for the higher resolution.
The touch screen on the Oregon is a mixed blessing. There is only one button (for power), which makes for a more compact device, but the downside is "fat finger syndrome". What that means is that a soft key stroke can sometimes be misinterpreted for the adjacent soft key position. Placing a waypoint can take a few tries. Pressing with your fingernail can provide higher accuracy.
Overall, the Oregon 450 provides a lot of capability in a very portable package. I ended up downloading the manual and spending some time familiarizing myself with the Oregon before I got comfortable with its idiosyncrasies.
Recommend? YES
97 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Mark
Niagara Falls Ont
Jan 17, 2011
|
FIRST OUTDOOR GPS
Pros: touch screen and well thought out options
Cons: dark screen, lack of detailed support manuals
I have a garmin in my car and have been very happy with it, so when I was in need of a handheld unit for kayak caming trips I focused my research on Garmin products. For my purposes (and budget) I chose the Oregon 450. I'm still playing with it to figure everything out (which is really your only good option) as detailed instructions and tutorials are not readily available. I am already sorting it out and find it quite easy to use. I have no dioubt that it will serve my needs nicely
Recommend? YES
102 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Michel Tanguay
Montreal
Jan 17, 2011
|
GEOCACHING GPS
Pros: user friendly, easy navigation
Cons: batteries drains faster than expected
Very happy with my purchase. I own a GPSMAP 60CSX but for geocaching the Oregon is a lot better. Was using 60CSX combine with my IPhone for paperless geocaching. Now can do it all with the Oregon.
Recommend? YES
92 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Scott
Victoria, BC
Jan 17, 2011
|
GREAT UNIT
Pros: quick start-up, good size screen
Well, there is only so much to say... The unit is great, accurate and quick. It took me a bit to figure out some of the features, but everything is working flawlessly. Great price from GPSCity and really fast shipping. I would reccommend a good scren protector. Thanks, GPSCity fr making it fast, well-priced and easy.
Recommend? YES
97 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
FLYBOYTIM
HOUSTON
Jan 17, 2011
|
GARMIN OREGON 450
VERY GOOD GPS. USE IT MAINLY FOR GEOCACHING AND SEEMS TO WORK WELL.
Recommend? YES
96 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
David
NS
Jan 17, 2011
|
GREAT GPS
Pros: everything
Cons: none
Easy to use - accurate - perfect
Recommend? YES
91 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
derek
quebec canada
Jan 16, 2011
|
GREAT OUTDOOR GPS
Cons: hard on batteries
very happy with the unit.
Recommend? YES
100 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Steven
Toronto, ON
Jan 16, 2011
|
GREAT GPS BUT LACKS SOME MINOR THINGS
Pros: custom maps, very sturdy
Cons: lacks detail city map, stopwatch
The custom map is the best feature of the Oregon series GPS because I can load it with JPEG image of trail maps or any other kind of map. A laptop is needed to insert the map.
This Oregon450 is as sturdy as my 400T which I dropped while cycling at around 35km/h on pavement. It survived with minor scratches to the outer plastic parts. Everything else was fine including the LCD.
Compared to my Oregon400T, the 450 is much quicker in response especially with custom maps though the boot-up time is just as slow.
I was a bit disappointed that this Oregon450 didn't come with any city maps which also contain local park trails. (My 400T came with detailed Canadian city maps.)
As with my 400T, the 450's stopwatch resets itself when you turn the GPS off which is silly because it should simply record the time and date when it was started and show the difference. On multi-day trips, I need to conserve battery so I can't leave it on all the time just for the stopwatch.
Recommend? YES
93 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
gene
Cleveland, Oh
Jan 15, 2011
|
THE GARMIN OREGON 450
Pros: great features
Cons: with these features there is some drain on battery
large screen, does use batteries but has a battery saver option which helps, I find using energizer ultimate batteries works well. I hunted 10 hrs with this type of battery and it lasted the entire hunt. Just take some extra batteries in your pockets. The features are so easy and awsome to use and user friendly as compared to the etrex series. Satellite coverage is great and will pick up in my home so even in the dense woods it picks up satellites. I did not find it difficult to view and have the backlight on low...You can down load free topo maps just look on the web they are there. I did pay for "birds eye" and it is so great. I am very pleased with my upgrade from the e-trex series HCi
Recommend? YES
98 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
shaker962
Trenton Ontario Canada
Jan 14, 2011
|
OREGON 450
Pros: lots
Cons: as mentioned by many the screen is too dim
great GPS for everything,, could use a few tweaks for geocaching. All in all I would certainly buy another especially at the before xmas price.
Recommend? YES
97 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Trevor
Kamloops BC
Jan 14, 2011
|
BEST ALL ROUND HANDHELD GPS SO FAR
Pros: high res screen, compact, does everything.
Cons: non so far.
This Oregon 450 is my 4th Garmin gps and I love it. The menus and touch screen are very easy and quick to learn. There is almost endless customizing of most menus using the dashboard and data type selections. Nice beautiful large screen & great resolution for a handheld. Outdoor sun light brightness not as good as my GPSmap 60cx but still very useable. All the features you except these days and then some. Battery level indicator works correctly and battery life is good. I like the smooth shape, size and how it fits in palm of your hand. You can use and select menus and features one handed just with your thumb, even using the large on screen keyboard for naming wpts. Using Garmins Basecamp mapping software I am able to use all my Mapsource and GPSmap60cx wpts and trks. Comparing it to my 60cx it has less wondering when stationalry which gives it a more accuate distance reading and cleaner looking track. With Topo Canada v4 loaded I can search for street addresses and navigate in the city in automotive mode just as well as my Nuvi. Anyway enough to say its a great all round tough GPS.
Recommend? YES
100 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
New geocacher
Quebec
Jan 14, 2011
|
HAPPY WITH MY FIRST GPS
Pros: paperless geocaching
Cons: expensive when not in sale
Really good paperless geocaching easy to use device!
Got an amazing price (240$) on GPS City just before Christmas!
Recommend? YES
91 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
K9-CRAZY
Ontario
Jan 14, 2011
|
FUN TOY!
Pros: big touch screen
Cons: battery life
I love how you can touch the screen with gloves on, and you can use it for paperless caching. I've arranged my icons and settings to where I like them and am pleased with the performance. I'm still working on finding a setting for optimum battery life, the batteries drain much quicker than my Garmin 60CSx.
Recommend? YES
96 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Peter,
St-Sauveur,québec,canada
Jan 14, 2011
|
VERY EASY TOOL TO USE, GREAT GPS
Pros: easy to work with
Cons: batteries go down fast but worth it for the simpli
I like the GPS ,works Well and easy to use .this is my second GPS and what a difference from the first garmin that I had purchased a few years back There is lots of options and still learning about the different tools and ways of using the GPS. If I had to do it again I would buy the same model at the same place ,GPS City wich gave me excelent servie and a great price.
Recommend? YES
99 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Hero_Mike
Hamilton, ON
Jan 14, 2011
|
BEST SMALL GPS I'VE SEEN
Pros: does just about everything well.
Cons: battery usage.
Even with the base map, this is a fantastic unit that does everything very well, and a few things excellently. It's the best choice for a multi-activity user - fishing, hiking, hunting, ATV - and it helps you get there on the road too.
Small size is handy and the screen is very clear until you get finger grease on it (touch screen). Definitely recommend a good screen protector and/or case - worst thing you can do is leave it in a pocket with another metal item.
Probably the best choice out there for its features.
Recommend? YES
93 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Lumpy
Moncton, NB
Jan 14, 2011
|
THIS IS A GREAT ATV GPS
Pros: filled with features and great size.
I have worked with a few Garmin GPS units and I'd have to recommend the Oregon 450 at tops. I don't need a camera, so the 550 wasn't needed. This unit gives you everything you need and a screen size that you can actually see while riding. I wish Garmin would put this technology into a Nuvi 550 sized unit, but until that happens, this is the way to go.
Recommend? YES
92 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Doug
Calgary Alberta
Jan 13, 2011
|
OUTDOOR GPS
Pros: quick to upload geocaches
What can I say. Wife took mine so I bought another one. Great gps and very easy to use with the touch screen.
Recommend? YES
87 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Okachan
Japan
Jan 13, 2011
|
OREGON 450 FOR MY CLIMBING
Pros: memory size, color display(easily viewable)
Cons: size, battery life
I bought for my climbing and my colligue. I've been using e-Map from GPSCity for years. But I upgraded my GPS this time. Though Oregon is bigger than e-Map,it has a lot of functions. I am satisfied with it very much. Its only inconvenient thing is not to use Japanese.
Recommend? YES
95 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Olewaif
PEI Canada
Jan 13, 2011
|
GREAT VALUE WITH SALE PRICE
Pros: paperless caching.. loads of useful features
Picked this unit up on ' black Friday' for a very good price. It gets me to caches pretty well and I love paperless caching! In bright light though screen is quite dim compared even to my Venture HC and takes some squinting. Also took me a while to learn how to use it properly so as to get all those features working properly. I really like the compass on this one too. Overall though a big step up from bottom-end GPS units.
Recommend? YES
97 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
rick o
Hantsport N.S. Canada
Jan 13, 2011
|
GOOD GPS
Pros: paperless
Cons: missing features
This GPS is not great for the car but works well on trails I have had some trouble with mine but I think it is the user not the GPS I don't like some of the missing features that my Legend HCX has that the 450 don't I love the touch screen.
Recommend? YES
97 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Rlatour
Westree ON.
Jan 13, 2011
|
OREGON 450
Pros: easy to use
Cons: day screen brightness sucks,
Very good Gps easy to use and to understand, but of course I upgrade every time a new one come out. One thing I don't like is the day screen brightness I have to use the back light witch use the battery faster.
Recommend? YES
93 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
philcr
Ontario
Jan 13, 2011
|
GREAT GPS.
Pros: solid feel. nice features.
This is a very nice, solid feeling handheld unit. Lots of features as you would expect for a higher end model. Paperless Geocaching is great and works well. Battery life is definately fairly short with Alkalines. You will need to pick up a couple of sets of modern AA rechargeable NiMh batteries! The menuing system is ok, but I find it a little challenging as a new user to find the right option that I want to change. This is mostly due to the extensive features and settings. After a summer of Geocaching I'm sure this won't be a problem though.
Get this one on sale if you can!
Recommend? YES
96 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Chamberland Michel
Laval QC
Jan 13, 2011
|
GARMIN OREGON 450 ECT
Un excellent service, communication impécable et très près de sa clientèle. Merci GPS CITY
Recommend? YES
95 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Decio Jr
Brazil - Belo Horizonte MG
Jan 13, 2011
|
BEST THAN EVER
Very efficient navigator. I recommend to all.
Recommend? YES
95 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Roger
Gatineau, Qc
Jan 13, 2011
|
VERY GOOD GPS
Pros: fast, sensitive
This is my 4th handheld gps and this one tops them all, the touch screen works fine and makes the gps easy to use. I'm a utltralight flyer and this unit as features that is great for this sport, like the climb rate, the glide ratio and others.
Recommend? YES
90 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Robert
North Vancouver, BC
Jan 13, 2011
|
SWEET UNIT
Pros: good display, accurate, fast, easy to use
Cons: could be snappier, and good batteries are a must
I like this unit. It's very well built and feels really solid. Performance is pretty good, and it has a lot of useful features. I will be using it primarily as a cycling computer, where it's large display will make map and data visibility much better than the smaller Forerunner units. Pricing was much better than a Forerunner. Battery life is OK, but not as good as my 60Cx. Good, high capacity rechargeables help.
Recommend? YES
97 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Alain
NB, Canada
Jan 12, 2011
|
GEOCACHING
Bought this GPS mainly for geocaching. It works great, except the fact that you have to remove your gloves to get it to work in the winter (touche screen)!
Recommend? YES
92 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Pennie
Carson City, NV
Jan 11, 2011
|
GARMIN OREOGN 450
I bought this for my husband for Christmas. He absolutely loves it. He uses it for geocaching and search and rescue. He can't say enough good things about it.
Recommend? YES
96 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Rodrigo
Brazil
Jan 10, 2011
|
EXCELENTE GPS PRA DENTRO E FORA DA ESTRADA
Pros: touchscreen, perfis, mapas adicionais e recepção.
Cons: mark waypoint don’t show the coordinates
O aparelho é pequeno, pouco maior que um Etrex e bem menor que um da linha Map60. O peso também é intermediário entre os dois modelos. Tirando o botão de ligar, é totalmente touchscreen.
Por ser pequeno, dá pra manusear com uma mão só. A tela touchscreen colorida é bastante sensível, os botões de comandos são fáceis de acessar e não precisa ficar apertando a tela. Um leve toque é suficiente. As cores das telas são bem nítidas. Mas como qualquer tela touch, as marcas de dedo vão se acumulando, marcando o visor. Se não cuidar, acaba virando um sebo só.
A visibilidade é bastante questionada nos fóruns e reviews sobre essa linha de aparelhos. Pra mim, se a retroiluminação está ativa, não tem problema algum e dá pra usar tranquilamente. Sem retroiluminação, a tela fica bem escura. Dá pra visualizar os comandos, mas os reflexos ficam bastante sobrepostos. Eu não usaria o aparelho sem a iluminação de fundo. Sob o sol, a tela fica com reflexo, mesmo com iluminação. Mas nada complicado, pois é só virar o visor pra retirar esse reflexo.
A recepção é muito boa. Na primeira vez que liguei, demorou alguns minutos pra se achar, mas agora, ao ar livre, quando sai da tela de inicialização e entra nos menus, já está conectado. O sinal também é excelente. Com tempo bom, ao ar livre ou dentro do carro, fica em torno de 3 a 4 metros de precisão. Com tempo fechado, fica comumente abaixo dos 10 metros. Pra um GPS de navegação, acho mais do que suficiente.
O Oregon possui a opção de perfis, de acordo com o uso que é feito. Dá pra configurar cada perfil individualmente, apagar, copiar perfis, coisas assim. Os diversos menus, suas posições na tela principal e tipos de informação também podem ser configurados para cada perfil. Isso é bacana principalmente se você usa o brinquedo pra mais de uma atividade. Por exemplo, quando usado como navegador veicular, dá pra colocar o mapa em modo automóvel, e fica igual os GPS de carro. Só não fala, mas apita quando chega nas conversões. Muitas outras combinações podem ser feitas, de acordo com o perfil escolhido.
A opção de marcar pontos ficou pior que os outros modelos. No Oregon, ao marcar um ponto, a tela que surge mostra apenas a informação com o número padrão do ponto e dá a opção de salvar ou salvar e editar. Em outros modelos, como etrex e 60s, essa tela informa também a coordenada marcada. Eu costumo anotar numa caderneta as coordenadas salvas. Agora, com o Oregon, pra saber a coordenada do ponto salvo, tem-se que ir ao gestor de pontos e entrar no comando “mudar o local” pra visualizar a coordenada do ponto. Pra mim, piorou bastante. Um detalhe, mas que pra mim faz diferença. Uma falha no software. Bem que a Garmin poderia fazer uma melhoria nesse ponto.
O consumo de bateria não tão pesado assim. Quando ele chegou, coloquei pilhas alcalinas que duraram uns quatro dias, ligando e desligando ele bastante e estudando o aparelho boa parte do dia. Agora com pilhas NiMH recarregáveis, já vai pro 4º dia de uso intermitente. Acho que com uso contínuo, o dia todo ligado, dura fácil um dia, talvez até dois. O manual diz que a carga dura 16 horas de uso. Pilhas alcalinas não são recomendáveis o tempo todo. Com esse tipo de pilha, ao chegar a meia carga, a retroalimentação deixa de funcionar e aparece mensagem dizendo pra trocar o tipo de pilha. Chato. Também percebi um aquecimento leve na parte de trás do aparelho, usando pilhas alcalinas. Agora usando pilhas MiNH, esse aquecimento não ocorre mais.
A conexão com o computador ocorre sem qualquer problema, plug-and-play. Aparece um novo drive no Explorer, referente à raiz do aparelho e, se tiver um cartão de memória, aparece também o drive relacionado. O problema aqui é que os programas mais comuns pra importar dados do GPS não funcionam muito bem. O Trackmaker e o Mapsource não conseguem identificar e importar os pontos salvos no GPS, e só identificam a trilha ativa. As trilhas arquivadas não. É preciso usar o software BaseCamp pra conseguir visualizar essas informações. Como alternativa, pode-se também copiar os arquivos .gpx de dentro da pasta expecífica do GPS e então abrir com o trackmaker. Exportar para o GPS é possível, mas o trackmaker precisa dos drivers USB da garmin instalados pra localizar o aparelho.
Recommend? YES
92 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
vaderr
ottawa
Jan 10, 2011
|
DEAD BATTERY RECEPTACLE
Cons: intolerably short battery life
I generally like the look and feel, though some of the menu navigation and layout are not particularly intuitive. the biggest disappointment is battery life. I've configured the unit for minimum power draw and still can't get much better than 2-3 hours life out of a set of batteries with conservative use. I'd hate to have to rely on this unit in a survival situation.
Recommend? NO
106 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Beachnut
Wasaga Beach ON
Jan 9, 2011
|
%#^$#$$%$#
Pros: black friday pricing
Cons: garmin support, refresh rate, changing chips
Garmin has the worst support ever. From the non existent manual to the lovely individual who did more cheerleading than explaining.I purchased street navigator with it and Ontario backroad maps instead of the Topo maps based on reviews.I purchased an 8 gig chip to combine the the 2 programs so you're not constantly changing programs. No can do.Speed wise it's slow and the screen refresh is painful to watch. Total battery pig.
The backroad maps are really good, the street nav are so so. but for the money spent I think an I-phone would have been a better purchase.
Recommend? NO
114 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Burkie
St. John's, Newfoundland
Jan 7, 2011
|
GREAT GPS... EVEN BETTER DEAL.
Pros: touch screen, battery life, size
I knew what I wanted and gpscity had a great price on this unit.
Recommend? YES
100 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
udi
rosh haayin,israel
Jan 7, 2011
|
GREAT TOOL FOR OUTDOORS
Pros: large colorfull touchscreen,long battery life,cust
Cons: none.
just moved from vista cx to oregon 450,WOW ! great tool, custom maps can really do it for you,touchscreen becomes very significant when cycling with gloves on.lots of memory. I am still learning how to make the most of it, many many functions, but I already love it.
Recommend? YES
94 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Tom
Melbourne, FL
Jan 6, 2011
|
GREAT GPS
Pros: screen resolution. ease of use. form factor.
Cons: used up alkaline batteries quickly
Have only had it a few weeks but love it so far. Subscribed to the Garmin Satellite maps and love the download capability. Used for 20 mile ATV trip and found it easy to see in daylight. Added micro SD card and downloaded many maps to it. Expect to use it for hunting, kayaking, fishing, and ATV riding. Possibly in auto also.
Recommend? YES
96 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
_
_
Jan 6, 2011
|
__
Pros: _
Cons: _
Great for the outdoors, including geocaching, and quite adequate for automotive use as well.
It does take a little bit of research to find and learn to use the free maps (road and topo) available on the web, but there is absolutely no need to buy Garmin maps for this device.
Also, there is no reason to complain about screen brightness on this device, unless perhaps you have it in a fixed position like on a bicycle handlebar where you cannot tilt it to take advantage of available lighting.
Recommend? YES
89 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
wc
Florida
Jan 5, 2011
|
GARMIN 450
Pros: very good unit
Cons: not enough infor. about the unit aval.
very good unit............garmin should spent a few $$$ and hire a good tech writer to give the unit a little support....
Recommend? YES
86 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
DanielM
Seattle, WA
Jan 5, 2011
|
OREGON 450
This is my first GPS. It is very intuitive and easy to use. It has a very strong signal and even works inside my house. Touchscreen is as responsive as the most current cell phones out there. Battery life is good with the rechargeable NIMH's.
Recommend? YES
95 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
imasam
Orange County CA
Jan 5, 2011
|
GARMIN OREGON 450
Excellent unit..fits my needs at an exceptional price. Excellent service...
Recommend? YES
98 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
old fart
mn
Jan 5, 2011
|
GPS TOYS
Pros: locks on fast, user friendly
Cons: would like the back to be flat, chip placement
The 450 locks on way faster than any of the three lowrances I ever owned and holds it better too. Many more features than I think I will ever use though.
Recommend? YES
95 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
james
Tennessee
Jan 5, 2011
|
OREGON 450
Pros: ease of use.
Cons: cold battery life
easy to use. battery life is significantly shorter in freezing/cold temperatures. LowePro 30 is the case you will need(camera). product SHOULD come bundled with Mapsource, but it doesn't.
Recommend? YES
97 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Mr. T
WI
Jan 5, 2011
|
OREGON 450
Pros: nice display
Cons: no topo maps & no charger just mini usb cord
From the short time I've been able to tinker with it, I've been pretty happy. It has a nice big display. It's very light and has easy navigation. I did not have trouble installing maps on it but finding them around google is a little more tricky for the midwest. I mainly am using it for hunting, fishing to mark way points and scouting new areas.
Recommend? YES
108 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
reg3
Florence, AL
Jan 3, 2011
|
WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG
Pros: paperless, large capacity for caches and free maps
Cons: battery life - trying eneloops next
I'm glad I found the Black Friday sale at GPSCity. I got a great price on a great GPSr. This is a nice upgrade from my old Magellan Sportrak Map. I had to keep caches below 200 to be able to see all of the names. With the Oregon 450 I have already had over 3000 caches ready to go, and paperless to boot. No more worrying about keeping the GPSr and PDA in sync before a day of caching. I also used the 450 to program my Chirp for the first beacon cache in Alabama, Yellowhammer Chirp.
Recommend? YES
94 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
CW
Wasaga Beach ON
Dec 28, 2010
|
#$^$%@#$!!!
Pros: none
Cons: look for mine on ebay
Documentation terrible, tech support useless,
Recommend? NO
106 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
squatpuke
Flagstaff, Az
Dec 25, 2010
|
EXCELLENT HIKING GPS
Pros: black friday cost...gpscity rocks...
Cons: the zagg shield was a bit difficult to install
Just got it a few weeks ago, but am VERY happy with this purchase. Nice touch screen, free maps (online), carabiner clips right on outside of pack. Computer keeps avg. speed, moving time, and way more...creates/accpets GPX. geocaching features are supposed to rock also, but havent' got a chance to try.
Recommend? YES
97 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
David
Raleigh, NC
Dec 24, 2010
|
HIGHLY SATISFIED
Cons: no cons.
This is my first GPS, and I researched it prior to making the purchase. I am very satisfied with the Garmin Oregon 450. It is all that I anticipated and more. It is definitely worth it.
Recommend? YES
89 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Veloosh
Alabama
Dec 24, 2010
|
GARMIN OREGON 450 IS GREAT!
Pros: works as advertised, rugged
Cons: smallish screen
Got a killer deal on Black Friday. Paid $229!! Waited a whole year to get that price. The screen is plenty bright. Maybe not as bright as my 60, but bright enough. I ordered the topo 24k maps along with it. Was dissappointed that the 24k maps don't show as much man made poi's as the 100k maps. The 24k topo doesn't even show the powerlines where I ride! But the infinite detail of the contours is better- maybe too much topo detail for my needs. Wish the maps were more like the US Geo maps with a lot more manmade poi's. The unit itself is very good, easy to learn and very accurate in deep woods. The screen is still a little small for older eyes. Dont know why ppl think smaller is better. A little larger screen and a landscape view (rather than portrait) would be my preference and would still "fit in an average pocket". Can't see well mounted on a handlebar at 40 mph, better for hiking or stopping to study screen while standing still. Great GPS unit though. Especially at $229 - hehehe.
Recommend? YES
89 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Bob
Syracuse, NY, USA
Dec 24, 2010
|
GOOD UPGRADE FROM THE 300
I've owned many GPSr's over the years, starting with the Garmin eTrex Vista and progressing through the Garmin 60 series to the Oregon 300, as well as a Nuvi and a a Magellan GC. The Oregon 300 has some drawbacks (the most annoying of which is a firmware bug that causes the GPSr to 'hang' when loading a large GPS file) and I debated upgrading to the 450 or getting something else for general hiking and geocaching.
I decided to go with the Oregon 450 and I'm glad I did - Garmin has addressed the bugs in older 300 and added new features and capacity that make this a very nice, easy to use GPSr for hiking or geocaching. I decided not to go with the "t" because I prefer to select my own maps (I use City Navigator so that I have detailed road maps, at an additional cost online that is about equal to the price difference between the 450 and the 450t). I decided to skip the 550 because I don't need a camera in my GPSr - I either carry a good camera for high quality photos or use my cell phone for low quality photos - no need for another device that takes relatively low quality pics. Finding the Oregon 450 on holiday special for nearly half price at GPSCity also was a factor in my decision, but, as I said above, I would recommend the 450 to anyone who hikes or geocaches.
Recommend? YES
90 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
John
Georgia
Dec 24, 2010
|
I REALLY LIKE THIS GPS
Pros: large screen. touch screen.
Cons: (minor): a little large and heavy
Coming from an old eTrex Vista (which was an outstanding GPS), I really like the larger screen (and the touch-funtion screen). It is very user friendly. I never feel the need to consult the owner's manual. Everything about it works great. I haven't had the chance to try it out in the woods yet.
Recommend? YES
92 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Tandem Bike Rider
Calgary
Nov 26, 2010
|
HARD TO READ IN LOW-ANGLE LIGHT
Pros: good menu navigation, wireless track transfer
Cons: occasional freezing due to high data demands
Along with 150 other cyclists used this for cycling in Spain and Portugal in November. When mounted in a fixed position (i.e. on a bike) when the sun is low (morning, evening especially from November to March), it is very difficult to read. The light source (i.e. the sun) has to be quite high above to distinguish any kind of details including roads and tracks.
Needed occasional restarting to observe tracks because they would not always appear or stay present. Some of this may have been because of the high data demands required of the unit.
Battery life is reasonable just be sure to keep extras on hand. I was able to get 1 full day of navigation easily but could have used them longer. I used freshly recharged batteries daily and carried spare nicads just in case of failure which rechargeable batteries sometimes do.
Transferring tracks from BaseCamp worked well. There were a few problems for some but most were able to do so easily. The wireless uploading of tracks from others was super easy, allowing all of us to pass along new track set within a few minutes.
Recommend? YES
104 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Nestor
Santos, Brasil
Nov 15, 2010
|
VERY REALIABLE GPS
Pros: many functions, easy-to-use
Cons: poor backlight when it's used with batteries
I'm very impressed with this GPS. I have a nüvi 215 and was looking for a better GPS to go off-road. Oregon is very easy- to-use, precise and reliable. I believe I can use it is any circumstances, either in a 4x4 vehicle or trekking by foot.
Recommend? YES
98 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Trout
New Westminster BC
Nov 9, 2010
|
GREAT GPS
Pros: eats batterys
Cons: screen is hard to read in direct sunlight
This GPS is very user friendly.
Recommend? YES
91 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
tundra
port alberni, bc,canada
Oct 22, 2010
|
GOOD GPS
Pros: easy to
Cons: none
first gps, can't really compare it to anything else
Recommend? YES
92 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Steve
Palmer Lake, CO
Oct 20, 2010
|
OREGON 450 GPS
Cons: garmin tech help charges fees to answer questions
Have not used it until next month. Learning about what all this GPS can do has been slow because of the limited written directions that come with this unit. I have donwloaded the directions online on to my computer, but I can't take my computer outside when trying out my gps on my tandem bike. It would be nice if there were voice commands that could be used when needed.
Recommend? YES
103 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
tigidimakalek
Quebec
Oct 18, 2010
|
DISAPPOINTMENT
poor backlight, batteries eater.
Recommend? NO
111 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
George
Cartwright, Labrador, Canada
Oct 18, 2010
|
COMPARISON
Cons: none as i can find yet.
Very impressed with the touch screen. Have been using an Etrex Legend for years and this is light years ahead of that one. I am waiting for my Bluechartg2 to arrive to really put the unit to its first real test as I am an outfitter and boating is the major part of our operation in Labrador waters.
Recommend? YES
98 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
cache4pat
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Oct 14, 2010
|
GARMIN 450 ---- SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER NOW
Pros: size paperless exercise buddy ease of use.
Cons: screen very hard to read in all but ideal lighting
I have been quite DOWN on my Garmin 450 but discovered by chance that the most recent UPGRADE fixes many of the field problems I was having.
I am amazed that Garmin did not send owners a notice about the upgrades.
Recommend? NO OPINION
100 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Franco
Atacama, CHILE
Oct 13, 2010
|
GREAT PORTABLE
Pros: easy to use, friendly
Cons: no distance measure
I use it for outdoor adventure and ATV riding. Good visibility at direct sun light, very good sat signal at all times even in deep canions. Very fast refresh rate. Touch screen is very confortable to use (a lot easier than buttons) Dashboards are good improvment to use in different situations (automotive, Geocache, Recreational,etc.)
Recommend? YES
89 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
bos my uncle
Coquitlam, BC
Sep 28, 2010
|
OUTDOOR GPS
Pros: paperless, wireless connectivity
Cons: hangs once in awile
My first paperless GPS, really enjoying it. I like all the features, especially the Wireless Connectivity! having problems with it hanging once in awhile when connected to a computer. Have to pull the batteries out in order to turn the GPS on again. Otherwise, it's a great device!!
Recommend? YES
118 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
JamesD
Ottawa, ON
Sep 28, 2010
|
DESCENT UNIT
Pros: rugged
Cons: poor screen visibility when backlit by sunlight
I recently purchased one of these to be used as a gift. While I'm generally happy with the purchase, there are a few things that I dislike: - The screen is not easy to see when backlit by sunlight. My iphone screen is much more readable in such situations. - Despite allowing for one to select different battery types, this unit doesn't seem to charge batteries - The GPS goes through batteries very quickly
Other than those two complaints the unit is exactly as I had hoped. It's definitely rugged and easy to use.
Recommend? NO OPINION
96 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Doug
Parksville, B.C.
Sep 23, 2010
|
SCREEN NEEDS TO BE BRIGHTER
Pros: touch screen is nice, easy to navigate
Cons: screen hard to read in bright light
I have been using the Oregon 450 now for almost a month and my only complaint is the screen is hard to see in bright conditions. I have the 60CSX as well and find this scrren much easier to read in bright light conditions. Would be nice to share wireless with my Iphone rather than another compatible GPS unit.
Recommend? YES
95 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
John
Bay Area, California
Sep 14, 2010
|
GOOD FOR GEOCACHING BUT NOT THE PERFECT GPS
Pros: responsive position updates, good battery life, go
Cons: dim display, sluggish touchscreen.
My family began geocaching with our iPhones (3G models) a little over a year ago. We upgraded to a dedicated GPS after we got frustrated with the phone's shortcomings: the lack of compass and the slowly-updating fixes often sent us in circles at the edges of 3G coverage, maps and cache data would disappear and the GPS activity and bright display drained the battery quickly. On the other hand, being able to download cache data directly to the phone was a huge convenience. So our requirements for a dedicated geocaching unit were an accurate GPS, a built-in compass, and support for paperless geocaching. The Garmin Oregon 450 checked all those boxes. Since the iPhone is the only other device I've used for geocaching, I can't compare the Oregon 450 to other dedicated GPSs. Compared to the iPhone, it's a mixed bag. The unit's biggest strength is that it directs me with confidence to the chosen fix. Of course, this is subject to the overall accuracy of GPS. For example, in two locations on opposite sides of the U.S., with WAAS enabled, I have seen the Garmin disagree with the posted location of a cache by 13 feet. Another strength is that the unit runs for many hours on a set of batteries. The Garmin's weaknesses are areas where the iPhone shines: the phone has a beautiful display with great resolution and responsiveness. By comparison, the Garmin seems dim (which no doubt helps its battery life), and its screen requires more of a rub than a touch to control it. When I first tried to navigate its maps using the swipes an pinches I was used to from the iPhone, I thought the Garmin must not support those gestures. It does I just needed to press harder. The user interface is also less intuitive to me than the iPhone's. Although we've mainly used the Oregon 450 for geocaching, I have tried its automotive navigation mode a couple of times. It works in a pinch, but I wouldn't recommend it for regular use. If you use the Garmin for in-town geocaching, you'll need to buy the datailed maps, and these are the same ones that the automotive units use. The car navigation display is similar to Garmin's dedicated automotive units, but it doesn't include details such as the estimated arrival time or the distance to the next turn. Even worse, the screen is hard to read while driving: too dark at night and washed out in daylight. Finally, there are no voice prompts, just beeps to alert you as you near turns. The text describing what to do is small, so reading it creates a distraction just when you need to focus on the road. If you must use the Oregon 450 to navigate while driving, it would be far safer to have a passenger handle the GPS and relay its instructions to the driver. Overall, I'm glad we upgraded to a real GPS for geocaching. Based on reviews of other units I've seen, the Oregon 450 appears to be one of the better geocaching units available, but there is definitely room for improvement.
Recommend? YES
103 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Kreamer&BearsKrew
West Lincoln, ON
Sep 7, 2010
|
LOVE MY NEW GPS
Pros: accuracy, paperless caching
Cons: shorter field note capacity than ipod geocaching a
We love to be able to go totally paperless with the GPS and this was a great solution. In geocaching mode, the needle is a bit wonky at times... distance goes down when we are moving in opposite direction indicated by the arrow. Other times it is fine. Would be nice to enter longer notes for field text. Otherwise, awesome! Wish we'd got it sooner.
Recommend? YES
87 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Serge
Val-d'Or, QC
Sep 2, 2010
|
VERY GOOD OUTDOOR GPS
Pros: hand size, large screen, easy to use
I used it for nearly a month and I am very satisfied with this GPS. Small with a large screen, fit well in shirt pockets or in my field vest. Like very much the touch screen than the buttons on other GPS. Works well in dense bush.
Recommend? YES
91 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Gus
North Bay, Ontario
Sep 1, 2010
|
GOOD OUTDOOR GPS
Pros: large screen size, touch screen, nice resolution
Cons: no day/nite mode, no track back,very poor manual
Although I have only used the unit a couple of times so far, it will be put to the test in a couple of weeks when hunting season opens. The Oregon 450 was very reasonably priced and does contain some very good features. It has very good resolution and a fairly large screen size although, the menus are not very intuitive and may confuse the user at first. It's accuracy is quite comparable to my GPSMap 76CSX. The unit's screen is hard to read and lacks contrast in early morning and at dusk. This is probably due to the lack of a "Day/Night" mode plus a poorly backlit screen.
Recommend? YES
95 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Hangman
Welland, ON
Aug 26, 2010
|
GREAT GPS
Have had a few older units. This gps is great, everything i had expected and more!
Recommend? YES
91 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
cmdtace
Sherbrooke, Qc, Canada
Aug 11, 2010
|
GREAT GREAT GREAT
Pros: paperless
The Best GPS for geocaching ever.... i have 300 caches before in 6 month ans i found 100 caches in one month!!!!
Recommend? YES
91 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Randy in the UK
Harrogate, United Kingdom
Aug 5, 2010
|
FANTASTIC PAPERLESS GEOCACHING MACHINE!
Pros: tough, capable, easy to use, powerful features
Cons: waas/egnos support is questionable
I got this to start geocaching with. I figured I'd just jump in and go with the best I could find, so I settled on this model after research and a review from a friend.
GPS devices have come a long way, and this one is extremely capable and easy to use. I was able to download and install geocache data quickly and easily with a simple drag-and-drop interface from my computer. I just acquired the right GPX file of all the geocaches in my area, tossed it onto the device, and was ready to go hunting in moments, with all of the geocache textual information, hints, and other details readily viewable onscreen.
Since I'm in the UK, I bought the plain model, without detailed map data (just the world basemap). With only and hour or two of searching, I found open street map data and topographic data for all of the UK which I could easily load onto the device. Now I have all the possible mapping details that I could want at my disposal, to include routable street map info (yes, it can tell you how to get there by roads if you have this information... but it won't talk to you.)
The display is a good size, and easy to read under most lighting conditions I've found. It works reflectively as well as back-lit, so works fine in full sunlight or at dusk or nighttime.
Seems to lock-on to satellites quickly and reliably, though the WAAS/EGNOS value is arguable (some say it's effectiveness is somewhat limited at the Northern latitudes.) It's very easy to carry, thanks to it's included carabiner clip (not suitable for climbing) and rugged construction. I have no worry about it bouncing around, dangling from a belt loop or pack strap.
In short, I couldn't have asked for a better or easier to use GPS unit. It was well worth every penny.
Recommend? YES
96 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
JM
Rio de Janeiro, BR
Aug 4, 2010
|
GREAT UNIT BUT GARMIN NEEDS TO STEP UP.
Pros: no instruction manual forces you to learn hands on
Cons: no dc. need more memory & accuracy.
Unit could use a bigger internal memory (>850MB, need say 2 GB) to hold multiple maps to avoid having to take the back off and remove the batteries to switch memory cards if using the unit for street navigation and hiking/topo. Also there is a problem with the software on this and all Oregon units, distances aren't as accurate as with my old etrex.
Recommend? YES
95 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
John
Winnipeg, MB
Aug 3, 2010
|
GET AN OREGON 450
Pros: small size, lots of info
I would highly recommend an Oregon 450 Easy to use, lots of information at you finger tips I use it while boating and as an in car navigator
Recommend? YES
91 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
TP
Nelson , B.C. Canada
Jul 27, 2010
|
OREGON 450
Pros: paperless geocaching and reasonable easy to use
Cons: very poor online manual
I brought the unit ( two months ago ) for paperless geocaching . It is excellent . The screen is a reasonable size and can be read in all the lighting conditions that I have been in even in very bright conditions . ( You may have to turn the unit a bit ) . The unit has very good reception under tree cover . The dashboard works very well and an easy to use touchscreen . The reason I did not give it a 5 was because of the POOR online manual . The manual needs Major improvement .
Recommend? YES
95 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Bumpsonalog
Edmonton, AB
Jul 22, 2010
|
GREAT
Pros: paperless geocaching, easy to use
Cons: maps aren't the best
I was almost deterred from buying it after reading how many people disliked the screen size but after using for a month I wonder what more do you really need in a hand held GPS? Went on a fly in fishing trip and used it everyday with no problems. Paperless geocaching is the way to go. Love it! Get NiMH or Lithium batteries.
Recommend? YES
91 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Northern Ontario Explorer
Marathon, ON
Jul 17, 2010
|
COULD USE A STYLUS, INCLUDE A BETTER MANUAL
Pros: overall size, screen size, resolution, touch pad!
Cons: no stylus, no printed manual, poor manual online
Overally I'm happy with my unit - going from having a Map76 CSx to the Oregon 450. I really like the size & bigger screen (albeit's not that bigger than the 76). Good on the water, not bad on batteries. Garmin should include a stylus pen & a slot to hold it, on this unit. I have pretty small fingers & find it difficult at times to get exactly where I need to. A stylus would work perfectly. Also they should include the entire manual with the purchase (not just the quick start). The online manual needs improvements. Many questions not answered. Chart loading is unclear for example.
Recommend? YES
100 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Trevybob
Nanaimo, BC
Jul 16, 2010
|
WORKS GREAT!
Pros: sturdy, ease of use, bi memory, add micro map chip
Cons: screen saver should be included by garmin.
Used for a month now, mostly for hiking backtrials and local parklands. Geocaching features make hiking a great activity. The map is not the best but have installed a Backtrails micro chip and detail is much better. The memory installed is very adequate for all the file saves and theres lots of room for tracks and wayponts. Haven't used unit as a street navigator as I have a two year old Nuvi for that with dash mounts and power adaptor. The 450 is much faster in start-up and accuracy with the enhanced satelite reception. Maintains reception in heavily treed areas with only a little loss of accuracy. The touch screen is simple to use and the features are easily customized to suit your preferences. I chose the 450 over the 62csx because of the newer technoloy and the touch screen seemed easier to use than the button arrangement although it is sometimes hard to read in very bright sunlight (but aren't most screens?). The unit feels good in your hand and the weight suggests durability. I selected this Oregon model over the others as I didn't need some of the features (except in hindsight a camera may have been nice) and the price was attractive. I've never powered out using rechargeable batteries but always pack a spare pair. Garmin's internet dashboard feature is a good to review and track all the activities.
Recommend? YES
100 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Scott
Lake Forest, CA
Jul 16, 2010
|
WAS A GIFT - CAN'T ACTUALLY COMMENT.
It was a gift - can't actually review it.
Recommend? NO OPINION
96 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
TM
Edmonton, AB
Jul 16, 2010
|
FINALLY A QUICK INTERFACE TO NAME WYPTS+TRACKS
Pros: touchscreen, ability to store multiple maps
Cons: dim screen, non-intuitive menus
I save a lot of waypoints and tracks and it was painfully slow renaming them using the buttons of older units. I haven't used this in tough mountains/bush/weather yet, but so far reception seems comparable to my 60csx. It is pretty sad that after all the years Garmin has been at this, my preferred GPS unit is now my iphone where there is cell coverage.
Recommend? YES
98 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Armando
Brazil
Jul 9, 2010
|
OREGON
É um GPS muito simples de ser usado, prático, funcional. Vale a pena comprar
Recommend? YES
94 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
cache4pat
Ontario, Canada
Jul 8, 2010
|
GREAT POCKET SIZED GPS / EXERCISE TOOL
Pros: layered maps options, hrm, paperless, small
Cons: hard to see at dusk, in rain menu system poor.
This is the machine that made me appreciate the buttons on my MAP76CSx and to understand why people hate layered windows with poor menu return systems. Aside from that and a hard screen to read at dusk & in the rain this unit is great, beating the heck out of an xTrex.
Once you get beyond its somewhat steeper learning curve, than most handhelds there are a significant number of EXTRAs which start to makeup for this small unit's short comings. To tap many of those, you need to be handy interfacing a GPS with a PC, during the planning and post adventure stages.
Stacking maps is huge and adding BirdsEye backgrounds is outstanding considering the low price for that service weighed against the time to do it by hand.
I really like that BaseCamp helps me geotag my HiRes camera's photos, I also like that I can review my exercise in great detail on Garmin Connect, to see the day's stress levels, further aided by a realtime HRM.
This is more of a professional all-round tool, than a GPS toy. With a clever solution to the screen's contrast problem --- it could be a great product.
Recommend? YES
103 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Steve
Holland
Jul 8, 2010
|
OREGON 450 - SO FAR SO EXCELLENT
Pros: rugged, tough, easy to use touchscreen
I've had a few of the etrex series prior to this and they were solid and functional, but this one is taking it to a higher level. The touch screen is really nice to work with and the menus are easy to navigate. I added some maps to customize it for my use, both the City Navigator set and the LakeMaster for Michigan. So far I am very happy with it. I just hope it doesn't go overboard in my fishing boat, as my etrex did.
Recommend? YES
97 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
bjcheryl
iowa
Jul 6, 2010
|
GARMIN OREGON 450
Pros: it's all in one unit now
Hated this the first day. LOL but as I became more familiar with this machine I like it a lot. no more reaching to various pockets for other gear, it's all here on one unit. Paperless caching at it best.
Recommend? YES
94 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
mw2fast4u, Mike
Saint Marys, GA
Jul 5, 2010
|
PERFECT FOR GEOCACHING
Pros: easy to use, touchscreen, bright display, extras
Cons: unit doesn't recharge,
I bought this GPS exclusively for geocaching. It has lived up to everything that I expected. Also great for hiking and turn by turn directions. Love the extra's e.g. area calculation, alarm clock, timer, etc.
Recommend? YES
101 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
King Kat
West Vancouver, BC
Jun 30, 2010
|
GARMIN OREGON 450
Pros: easy to use, accurate, geocacher's dream.
Cons: expensive, short battery life, screen
This is a nice GPS for outdoors/geocaching. The screen is viewable under most conditions except for extremely bright light. Battery life is a bit disappointing, maybe 10 hr / NiMH. Touch screen and paperless caching is very nice but only recent logs are readable and field notes require GPX 1.0.1 to work.
The interface is very flexible but you must familiarize yourself with the multitude of menus/locations for setup several times before it becomes intuitive. Included nstructions are scanty and the best info comes from http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/
Satellite capture is quick although hunting occurs with tall trees, buildings etc. It will be interesting to compare this with the upcoming GPSMap 62.
The base maps are rather useless so either get Topo Canada/US or the free Ibycus.
The unit is surprisingly sturdy (not 60CSX class) but the USB cover design isn't the greatest - frequent removal/replacement for access will undoubtedly cause wear and failure. The touchscreen is fairly scratch resistant. The pin on the carabiner loosens easily and the gate may come off unexpectedly - I would suggest it be replaced with a better biner asap - Petzl, Black Diamond etc.
Despite what seems like nitpicking, the unit seems durable, is easy to use and the touchscreen interface is a pleasure once you get used to the menus. It's great for Geocaching. I only wished the battery life was longer and screen a bit brighter.
Recommend? YES
103 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Michael
Edmonton Alberta
Jun 26, 2010
|
GOOD HIKING GPS
Pros: accurate
Cons: unintuitive interface, poor instruction manual
This is my first experience with GPS. The product works very well. I am very impressed with its accuracy. The product is badly let down by its unintuitive interface and poor instruction manual. Expect to spend lots of time figuring things out by trial and error.
Recommend? YES
99 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Jazzpurrr
Kamloops, BC
Jun 23, 2010
|
BEST OUTDOOR GPS
Love love love this GPS. It is very user friendly. I have topo Canada maps on it - awesome maps. This is the best GPS I have purchased thus far - and I have had a Garmin 60 Cs and an Oregon 200. I have, and would, recommend this GPS to everyone.
Recommend? YES
108 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Stu
The Pas, Manitoba
Jun 22, 2010
|
AWESOME TOUCHSCREEN
The Oregon 450 is an excellent, versatile GPS.
Recommend? YES
102 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
John
Sidney B.C.
Jun 18, 2010
|
POOR BASE MAP
Pros: great piece of hardware
Cons: very poor base map, no canadian tide stations
This is a great piece of hardware but... For the price it deserves a much better base map. The base map supplied with the unit is of an atrociously poor resolution - rendering the unit unuseable for most purposes that benefit from having a map. This means that you have to add something like another $100 to the price to make it useable. Although the unit provides a capability to accept uploaded KMZ files (raster maps that have been registered to earth coordinates by using Google Earth overlay capabilities) these are very limited in size - less than about 3 Mb For owners who wish to use the unit in Canada, there are no Canadian tide stations included.
Recommend? YES
117 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
User1
canada
Jun 10, 2010
|
VERY SIMPLE TO USE
I took this unit with me on an ATV expedition into thick brush the first time I used it. It was very easy to set up, easy to change settings and navigate through the menus. I've also used it on my boat with the same outcome. The unit is easy to see in sunlight and tree coverage. The battery life isn't great but only slightly inconvenient.
I bought the 12v car adapter and would recommend it.
Recommend? YES
103 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Marc
Kitchener, Ontario
Jun 7, 2010
|
GREAT GEOCACHING GPS
Pros: paperless caching, accuracy, touch screen, memory
Cons: hard to type/select, microsd slot
Love the paperless caching ability but the unit truncates long cache descriptions. The accuracy of the unit is great and it works extremely well with GSAK. I have been out to a couple of mystery caches where the description is quite long and the unit truncated it leaving me a bit frustrated. Might be my issue though with GASK.
I found that the compass is a bit difficult to each time you change the batteries and that the MicroSD slot should be completely re-thought. I nearly lost an 8Gb card when changing the batteries in the field.
I really do like the unit. The touch screen is great but I think it maybe should have included a stylus as I find when trying to "touch" select a geocaching it is very difficult to touch accurately with something as large as my hand. This is the same problem I have with the keyboard. I do use the leg of my sunglasses that seems to work well
Recommend? YES
107 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Baxtula
Hamilton, Ontario
Jun 6, 2010
|
OREGON 450
I bought this GPS mainly for GeoCaching to get me off the couch, and it works great! It's so simple to load GeoCaching locations in, provided that you subscribe to geocaching.com premium account .
One cool feature I enjoy is that I can upload my gps trips to Google Maps and view exactly where I had walked, plus a whole slew of additional statistics.
Overall, this device is a lot of fun, works great, and well built.
Recommend? YES
115 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Worn Rubber
Calgary, AB
Jun 1, 2010
|
VERY IMPRESSED
Pros: ease of use, clarity of screen, functionality
Cons: basemap needs some work
I bought this unit for my motorcycle as I do plenty of mountain fire-road touring and I am completely amazed at how well this unit works. Granted, there is plenty of planning that must be made prior but that is where Basecamp comes in... a good product (but needs some tweaking).
I was up and running with the 450 within 15 minutes of plugging it into my Mac. From the 3d mapping to the trip computer... clearly designed with both form and function in mind. This unit is so easy to use, my 8 year old daughter uses it for geocaching... I have to fight her for it!
Recommend? YES
116 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Tom
Wilmington, NY
Jun 1, 2010
|
GREAT GPS
Pros: receiver sensitivity, ease of use
Cons: none
The Oregon 450 is replacing an Etrex Vista that I have been using for several years. The receiver sensitivity is much better, easier to use. The Oregon really works very well and I am very satisfied with it.
Recommend? YES
106 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Dave
Durand IL
Jun 1, 2010
|
GARMIN 450
Pros: love the touch screen.
Locks on very quick. Not having to hold level for the compass to work is great.
Recommend? YES
107 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
DA
Atlanta, GA
May 20, 2010
|
DIFFICULT TO READ & EATS BATTERIES.
Nice looking unit, but very difficult to read in sunlight, and it eats batteries.
Recommend? NO
136 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
kuhldrury
Brampton, ON
May 17, 2010
|
FIRST GPS
Pros: easy to use
This is my first GPS, so I do not have anything to compare it to. So far it's been good, I am happy with its performance. I have not ran into anything wrong with the unit -all of the problems are a result of the user :) I would recommend buying all the stuff to go with it, like a screen protector, case, etc. from this site, as trying to find them later from a local store is not easy. I still have a lot to figure out, but so far it has been pretty easy to operate. My 8 year daughter and I have used it three times for Geocaching -that's the main reason I purchased the unit. I will try and update this after the summer, as I plan to use it out east. The only issue I've had is that the Garmin Communicator plugin is a little flaky with Safari on Mac OS 10.6, Firefox works just fine -install that and you're good to go. If I had to guess, I would guess this has more to do with Apple's Safari than Garmin products. Thanks.
Recommend? YES
113 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
discovery3
Souwestern Québec
May 17, 2010
|
OREGON 450
This is my second GPS I ever owned, wow... easy to navigate from one view to the other, I'm still discovering new stuff. My main use for this is geocaching, it's amazing.
Recommend? YES
121 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
56twister
Osawatomie, OZ
May 14, 2010
|
OUTSTANDING ITEM AND EASY TO USE...
Pros: everything
Cons: does not float
I originally purchased the Oregon 450 to use when ice fishing, but I couldn't resist getting the City Navigator North America NT 2010 mapping software also. The software purchase helped me understand what I was doing with the 450 and I learned how to navigate the menus. Now when I get out on the ice this winter I will have a very good understanding of the unit. It is replacing the GPSMAP 60 that I have had since 2003 very quickly, I also purchased the Garmin Power and Data Cable (010-11131-00) to interface with the fish finders on one of my boats for the open water season, that will be the last and final test of the unit before I sell the GPSMAP60. The touch screen is a lot easier to use than the rocker switch and all of the buttons on the 60, plus by taking all of the buttons off of the face of it allowed Garmin to give you a bigger screen. Great design and water proof to boot...
Recommend? YES
125 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Kevin
Halifax, Nova Scotia
May 9, 2010
|
REVIEW THE TECHNOLOGY BEFORE YOU BUY!
Pros: great all round gps
Cons: screen could afford to be a bit brighter!
I've been waiting for Garmin to add satellite views before I upgraded my ancient GPS. So with the recent advent of Birds eye imagery, it was time to take the plunge. I had read a lot abut how dim the screen on the Oregon is. There is always a trade off between battery life and resolution and brightness. Sure we would all like huge resolution, brightness, and battery life that makes it unnecessary to check the battery status before heading out. Having used this unit on a mountain bike (RAM handlebar mount) for about a month now in diffused and direct sunlight, in and out of tree cover, I would have to say that with current technology, Garmin got it right. This unit has great battery life (I'm using 2700mA rechargeables), and can be read off my handlebars most of the time. If I'm at a tricky part of a trail, I'll stop and re-orient the unit to improve the readability. I don't think I've hit the backlight while on the trail yet! I have waited for Garmin to add satellite features to their GPS. Interestingly, I have failed to use this option at this time. This may be because forested trails are hard to sort out from satellite (not surprisingly). The Garmin topos are accurately detailed, and I find myself continuing to use Google earth to resolve any area that I suspect I will have difficulty with before I head out. Garmin should work on at least an on-line manual. The basic functionality is close to Mac-like ie push the icon for what you think it should do, but a few of the icons are a bit obscure, so count on a few hours to figure out what it can do - it is impressive!
Recommend? YES
128 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Shawn F
Kelowna, BC, Canada
May 8, 2010
|
VERY SATISFIED
Pros: rugged, easy to use, nice display
This was my first handheld GPS purchase, and I bought this primarily for geocaching.
I'm very happy with the purchase. Pretty straight forward to navigate around the device, and most of the functions are pretty simple to figure out with a bit of poking around.
Downloaded the manual and read it a couple times, and everything is easy to follow.
So far, my only (minor) issue is that at times tapping the map to set a location, it's a bit hard to get the precise spot I'm trying to hit.
eg. I try to select a point of interest on the map, and sometimes have to fight with it a bit, tapping several times, in order to get the marker to hit the icon, and not be a bit to the side.
Overall, very happy.
Recommend? YES
134 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Ralph
Tucson, AZ
May 7, 2010
|
VERY PLEASED
Pros: touch screen -i wouldn't part with it.
Cons: inability to view waypoints in name sequence.
Purchased this unit to replace my 10 year old, faithful and dependable Garmin 3+. The Oregon 450 is fast and while it has a look and feel quite different from my old GPS, as I learn to use it, it's operation seems more straight forward and logical. I didn't realize how outmoded my old GPS was until I began using this one. I questioned the need for an electronic compass, but now that I have it, I like it. .
Recommend? YES
144 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Ultra-snake
Quebec
Apr 21, 2010
|
COMMENTS ON GARMIN OREGON 450
Pros: custom profils
Cons: speed of 3d map display
Well designed GPS, good display, Micro SD is a plus, USB connector, lots of possibility and customization with the notion of "profils", 3D compass and more
Recommend? YES
159 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Rob
Vancouver
Apr 20, 2010
|
OREGON 450 OUTDOORS GPS
Pros: screen resolution, configurable trip computer
Cons: elevation fix speed, no canada tide tables
This is my first dedicated outdoors GPS - I tried to use an iPhone GPS app in the mountains, but it didn't cut it (unreliable, underpowered, and drained the battery). I did my internet research and settled on the Oregon 450.
I won't reiterate the feature list - this is available everywhere online - but will just focus on my impressions including my likes and dislikes.
I found that the Oregon lives up to its hype for the most part. It is quick to activate - provides an awesome amount of information during a hike and exports great data to Google Earth. The touch screen interface is relatively intuitive and the unit has a ton of functionality. It is tough, water resistant, and the screen has excellent resolution.
It is a bit thicker than I would like in a perfect world - but its screen is significantly higher resolution than the Dakota - so it’s a trade off, and I am happy that I went for the Oregon.
It drinks batteries fairly fast - so definitely buy rechargeables. I get about 15 hours from a pair of rechargeable NiMH at low screen brightness. For some reason, viewing maps consumes batteries faster than viewing the trip computer.
Most of the reviews online identify the Oregon's screen brightness as its Achilles heel - and I am happy to report that it just ain't necessarily so. In direct sunlight and wearing polarized sunglasses, I have no difficulty reading the trip computer with the screen brightness set to its lowest setting. Would I like a brighter screen? Absolutely - but I wouldn't trade battery life against it. Outdoors, I can position the 450 out of direct sunlight to increase visibility. I think that if I were to mount the 450 in a fixed location on a boat dashboard or on a bicycle handlebar, however, visibility would be a problem and wouldn't recommend the 450 for that sort of application. I also downloaded a high-visibility white background from the online Oregon WIKI which helps improve screen readability a lot.
I live in Vancouver and I often hike along the ocean - so a feature that I really wanted was the included tide tables. Imagine my horror to find that the 450 has only US tide tables and that no Canadian tide tables are available to download that I can find. Vancouver is about 45 km from Blaine, WA - so I can use the Blaine table in a pinch - but up the coat or on the Island, I would only consider Blaine's table a rough guideline. C'mon Garmin - lets add Canadian tide tables to the Oregon.
I find that the 450 gets a GPS lat/long fix rapidly - but is *much* slower to get a reliable elevation fix. This is particularly true if you have set the unit to calibrate using the altimeter. It is sometimes 15 minutes or more before I find that the 450 is showing reliable elevations. An elevation discrepancy of 20 meters might not be noticeable when in the mountains - but it is dead obvious when you live at sea level.
I really love the trip computer which you can customize to display whatever fields that you choose. This is my default screen when hiking. The Garmin Canadian topo maps are complete and accurate for areas that I have visited.
Naming tracks with the soft keyboard is fiddly and tedious. I always just accept the default date/time name and change it once I have imported it to Google Earth. I also find the mechanism for *resetting* the current track a bit complicated. It is necessary to reset because the current track is always recording when the unit is powered up. It would be really nice to have a "quick start" control to hit at the start of a new hike.
Recommend? YES
183 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Rick
Campbell River B.C.
Apr 2, 2010
|
BEST OUTDOOR GPS
Pros: does everything you need and more
Cons: none
gps locks onto satellite quickly. excellent in the bush and under cover. Screen brightness is good, don't know why other reviewers say it is not. It is great in direct sunlight, you can see it just fine. paperless geocaching is a great feature. also bought Garmin back road map book SD card for B.C. - excellent maps. If you need a hand held this is the one GPS City shipping was incredibly fast
Recommend? YES
140 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Pat
Quebec City and Ottawa
Apr 2, 2010
|
GREAT GPS
I use this GPS for Geocaching and it has been great. Boot time, signal strength are great. The magnetic compass works well after calibration. Screen brightness is sometimes an issue but it has been much better than I expected.
This item was upgraded to air shipping for free, I got it much faster than I thought.
Recommend? YES
142 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
samsquamch
Edmonton, AB
Apr 1, 2010
|
TOUCH SCREEN IS GREAT!
Pros: easy to navigate between menus. touch screen is aw
Cons: a littly heavy for the weight wary hiker
This is my latest Garmin and I am so happy with it. The graphics and the touch interface are superb. It makes going from menu to menu much faster. The individual profiles is a great idea as well.
Recommend? YES
137 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Jim
Ashfield, Ma.
Mar 23, 2010
|
GOOD GPS VERY POOR INTERFACE SOFTWARE
Pros: very good gps. very good gpscity service
Cons: poor interface through basecamp. poor instructions
This unit locked in demo mode on day 2. Garmin email service could not explain how to correct it. It would not connect to WebUpdater in demo mode. I returned it to GpsCity. GpsCity installed newer software and returned the unit. It works well until you try to retrieve data from it. It will only download with Base Camp and must convert data from GPX to GDB format. It does not do this with consistent results. The gdb files do not always work with MapSource or when transfered back to the Oregon GPS. Some files allow being worked with several times then give an error message they are not valid gdb files. If you want to use the data in a non Garmin program like National Geographic Topo you must have an older GPS to transfer the data to and then download to Topo. The touch screen interface works well and requires little time to adjust to. One odd feature is the need to restart the GPS to see recently saved tracks and some other newly saved data.The owners manual is very poor and each software update makes it worse.
Recommend? NO
173 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
sinan
turkey
Mar 18, 2010
|
ITS A GOOD GPS FOR ALL
Pros: finds satellites very fast
Cons: backlift is not so bright
after using garmin map76 for 10 years oregon 450 is really a new generation... it can be used both for trial and street navigation. I liked it very much ...I am using it everyday... not only when I am offroad....
Recommend? YES
149 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Soggy Boots
Central Ca
Mar 11, 2010
|
BEST OUTDOOR GPS
This GPS is the best one I have seen it works fast and is very user friendly It picks up signal inside buildings very well and battery life seems to be very good.
Recommend? YES
153 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Syrinx
Toronto
Feb 27, 2010
|
VERY BUGGY
Pros: some neat features, like the touch screen
Cons: likes to shut down on its own, hard to fix
This is the first GPS I ever owned, so maybe my expectations were too high. First, I don't understand why the trip computer can't have a simple start and stop function, instead of continuously running from the second you turn it on. Second, when you enter text, the keyboard is not qwerty style. Like, why does garmin think it has to invent a new style of keyboard? Third, there are various circumstances where the unit just shuts off on its own, like if you have 17 waypoints in memory and scroll down to the third screen of waypoints. Also, and this is the bug I'm working on right now, if you exceed something like 15 tracks in memory, it shuts off after the intro screen. Basically, it's really a disappointment, especially for 500 dollars.
Recommend? NO
180 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Ridgetech
Nova Scotia
Feb 27, 2010
|
EXCELLENT GPS
Pros: screen brightness, geochaching features.
Cons: none.
Have only had a couple of oppertunties to use this unit but so far I am really impressed. The Geocaching functions are excellent. I have heard complaints that other models had poor screen visiblity in bright sun. I haven't had any problems with this unit so it looks like it may be fixed. Battery life seems really decent as well.
Recommend? YES
180 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
ArtificerBob
Northern Alberta
Feb 24, 2010
|
ROBUST
Pros: it's all good
Cons: none
This is my 5th Garmin GPS and as always Garmin has produced a very robust unit. I have it RAM mounted to the handle bars of my Ski-Doo and have had no issues with snow or temperature (-15C to 10C). I am using 2000mAh Duracell Nimh's and they have lasted the day so far (backlight maxed, 1min timeout). Display seems OK to me in all conditions, touch screen is very handy for checking out surrounding area, adding waypoints, zooming, etc. I've loaded the Ibycus topo maps which have cutline and trail detail second to none.
Recommend? YES
153 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Bullfrog
Algonquin Highlands, ON
Feb 23, 2010
|
EXCELLENT MACHINE - WRONG PRICE ?
Pros: satellite holding.
Cons: screen illumination.
I luv my 450. I've already geocached through 8 USA states with it in the first two weeks of ownership. The screen takes asome getting used to, if compared with my previous Map60XCS but the accuracy and satellite lockon and hold time is amazing, even when motoring down the interstate on a bus tour.
Recommend? YES
187 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
SCDI
Abitibi Québec
Feb 23, 2010
|
OREGON 450 FOR GEOCACHING
Pour :
Bon GPS, facile à utiliser, excellent pour le Geocaching, autonomie respectable, se tient bien en main, Custom Maps.
Contre:
Précision moins stable que sur mon 76CSx et quelques fonctions qu'on ne retrouve pas, visibilité en plein soleil.
Recommend? YES
151 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Winfried
Deux-Montagnes Quebec Canada
Feb 21, 2010
|
LOVE MY OREGON 450
Pros: best value for the price
Cons: none so far
My first GPS. Bought this model for my ATV after doing quite a bit of reasearch. I also bought the Ram mount,12V power cable,a protective pouch(Model: 010-11345-00),a 2gig SD card and the 2yr extra Waranty (piece of mind). The Ram mount and the 12V power cabe took 10 Mins to install (its rock solid)(Model: RAM-B-149-GA31U).The Gps Mounts with the protective Pouch in the cradle very nice. With the backlight set to Maximun, the screen is easy to see even through the protective pouch on My ATV. At default setting the screen is hard to see in normal light. It turns on automatically when with the 12V adapter Very nice. It detects the satellites even in my basement thats pretty good. I prefered this model with no maps because all the maps are available on the web....Love It What more can It say.....W.N.
Recommend? YES
204 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
Bullfrogeh
Algonquin Highlands, ON
Feb 5, 2010
|
GREAT FEATURES.
Pros: size, touch screen, microsd, menu options.
Cons: daylight screen brightness
We had 5 years previous experience with Garmin Map60CS, and opted for the newer Oregon 450. Very impressed with the geocaching features of the 450 especially if used with GSAK macros. Not impressed with the daylight screen viewing, which is difficult to see, even with backlighting. We're able to use 'older' Garmin non-locked Topo mapping. But, have opted for the new microSD City Navigator for recent updates. Expect to make extensive use of the microSD. Extremely impressed with the hand-delivery to our very-rural Central Ontario mail address in just 18 hours from Calagary warehouse.
Recommend? YES
157 viewers found this helpful.
|
| |
DSCJWOO4
Dallas, TX.
Jan 30, 2010
|
SO FAR SO GOOD
Pros: easy to use
Cons: none so far
Had a Magellan Triton and took it back today and got the Oregon 450. So far i am very pleased with it. Sales Lady at GPSCity new what she was talking about when she recommended it to me. Easy to use and set up.
Recommend? YES
171 viewers found this helpful.
|
|
(4.4/5.0 based on 215 ratings)
