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GPS City Q&A » Outdoor GPS » How does the Montana 600 compare to the Dakota 20?

Outdoor GPS (6 replies)

Item

Original Question

How does the Montana 600 compare to the Dakota 20?

› Garmin Montana 600

Author

Reply

David
Wilmington

Original question asked on May 3, 2012, 5:13am

I want to acquire a GPS to use on a hiking trip to the Lake District in UK. Local shop here recomments Garmin Dakota 20 as an "all purpose" unit. Looks like Montana 600 is highly rated on this web site. I am not terribly concerned about price. I don't need a camera on the GPS. I do want to be sure I have the best maps for hiking in UK Lake District. Would I be smarter to buy a unit in UK for that reason or can I get all I need by downloads or whatever? Any thoughts much appreciated.

Jordan
GPS City

Reply #1 on May 3, 2012, 6:58am

Purchasing outside of the UK may save you some money. Not sure of the prices in Europe at this time.

The Montana is a more powerful unit but over twice the size of the Dakota. If you prefer a larger screen and that views a bit better the Montana is the way to go. If size and weight is a consideration you may want the Dakota 20 or Etrex 30.

David
Wilmington

Reply #2 on May 3, 2012, 7:30am

Thnx very much. I had not realized the big difference in size. Looking at specs now I see all the units are over 1" thick, at least if I am reading them correctly--so they are bulky compared with my Nuvi that I use in the car.

Any thoughts about the maps I should get and whether they work on all units--I am now looking at Dakota, Oregon and Montana?

Roxie
GPS City

Reply #3 on May 3, 2012, 8:10am

The software available for the area you will be traveling comes on either a CD:
http://www.gpscity.com/garmin-topographic-great-britain-cd.html
Also you could purchase just the Garmin TOPO Great Britain Discoverer Lake District PreLoaded microSD Card with SD Adapter:
http://www.gpscity.com/garmin-topo-great-britain-lake-district-microsd-card.html

David
Wilmington

Reply #4 on May 5, 2012, 12:09pm

Considering this more I wonder if the Oregon 450 might be a good compromise.

As to maps, is there any particular advantage to the microSD card vs CD? I take it there's convenience of just putting the card in the unit vs loading info from CD to computer and then moving it to the GPS. Is the data any different/more detailed etc. on one vs the other?

Jordan
GPS City

Reply #5 on May 7, 2012, 8:20am

CD is better for Topo maps so you can program multiple personal units. Because City street maps are locked I prefer to have them on uSD so the card can be moved from unit to unit. CD/DVD is also better if you accidentally lose the card. You can just load another.

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