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The Colorado 300 features a built-in worldwide basemap with shaded relief for incredibly enhanced map presentation on the unit. Optional detailed maps can also be loaded using the SD card slot or the 384 megabytes of internal memory built into the Colorado 300.
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Technical Details
- High Sensitivity, WAAS-Enabled GPS Receiver- Features A 2.55-InchH X 1.53-InchW, Transflective Color Tft Display With 240 X 400 Pixel Resolution
- Features Built-In Worldwide Basemap With Shaded Relief
- Wireless Sharing Of User Tracks, Waypoints, Routes & Geocaches Between Units
- 5 User Profiles - Automotive, Marine, Recreation, Fitness Or Geocache
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By David Smith (Penn Valley, PA USA)
I tried the Garman Oregon with the topo maps and immediately returned it. The problem was, that unit in bright indirect light, the map was not visible. The Colorado, with the green shaded base map it came with was not much better, though better than the Topo map (less information than the Topo map). However, when I switched to the Cn North American NT map -- a detailed city map (an extra $100.00 list) and turned off the Autoroute DEM basemap I got a nice clean, visible, clear background with lines that were reasonably visible even in bright light. I am not sure it would work on a bicycle where the distance from eye to unit is greater but for walking it was OK. Also do not use alkaline cells -- the unit sucks the life out of the alkaline. Lithium cells last much longer. However, battery life is still not great. Do not use, only, this device where your life depends on it. If going into untracked areas take paper maps and lodestone style compasses. The device seems cluttered with features that add little like calendars, stopwatches, and calculators. I would have been happier if the engineers had spent more time on battery life and screen visibility. I have a hard time believing that any of the designers took the unit out for a trial on a bright day.
By 71dale (SE US)
Very good for Geocaching. Update your unit as soon as you open the box and you shouldn't have any issues.
By E. Tucker
I purchased this GPS for the sole purpose of Geocaching and while I'm sure it will be used for hiking/biking that isn't why I got it. The unit is very easy to use one handed thanks to the control dial. It fits easily and comfortably in my hand. The battery life is good while using Energizer 2450MAH NiMH rechargeable batteries as well as Li-Ion batteries. There are a few things I would like to see changed on this unit. The battery compartment has some flaws mainly the rubber gasket around the case. The gasket had started to come unseated so I contacted customer support. they were very fast and helpful. I asked if I could re-glue the seal without voiding the warranty and was given a go ahead with that. So for the time being that problem has been solved. I also recommend using some clear non conductive silicon grease around the seal to both allow it to slide off easier and give it a bit better water resistance. Lastly the GUI is very nice but I would love to see a few more features added. I would like to be able to separate cache types within the unit and load GPX files individually. On top of that I would like to be able to see the dates that caches were found. On multi-day trips it would help when logging finds on Geocaching.com. Outside of those few issues which I consider to be fairly minor since I could easily fix most on my own I highly recommend this product.
By Joshua Flowers
First off let me preface this by saying i'm not a world class Geocacher. to date i've found about 57, about 9 of which are Micro size.
i started off using a Garmin E-Trex Venture HC about a year ago and logged a good amount of caches. a few weeks ago i got my tax refund (who needs to pay off car loans when you can get more gadgets!) and did some research. it came down to the Colorado 300 and the Delorme PN-40. i checked user reviews, professional GPS sites and even groundspeak Forums on what people would suggest betwixt the two. finally, after a week, i gave in and bought the Colorado. plus using Amazon to get almost $150 off Garmin's MSRP, it was a sweet deal. i'm just being honest here--Amazon's got some great deals for GPS, whether they're new or old. so, Here are my thoughts:
*compared to the Venture, it's got a larger screen + touch wheel + true paperless geocaching (that means it downloads a snapshot of the webpage off geocaching.com and allows you to read the Logs/Hints and description of the cache including size/terrain/difficulty). That feature alone is worth paying the extra money for this unit. the comparable Garmin GPS 60SX also offers paperless caching, but only the Colorado has a digital compass. Trust me--you need one!
*calibrating the compass is fairly easy the 4th time you try. a small indicator tells you what speed to turn the unit and it can make a huge difference doing it before each hunt.
* the basemap is, as it states, BASIC. i'd strongly suggest upgrading--but don't worry about buying a map from Garmin. i found a site off a groundspeak forum (www.gpsfiledepot.com) and after a little background research, it's legit. i downloaded the NC topo and NC IBYCUS20 map set. what a HUGE difference that map can make. i can now see what street each cache is near so no more guessing what street to take when i use only the compass feature. it's a free download, but a large one (877MB) so you have to use the internal SD memory port (though i couldn't find any literature on this GPS that was extensive, i actually used a 4GB SDHC (secure digital High Capacity)card. it's a newer style of card with an increased write-speed to transfer information from a computer/camera to the card. Trust me--download the map for your state--and any topo map. even in forests with micro caches i've been able to get a better idea where it's hidden if i can judge how far away it is from a nearby creek or stream (data NOT included in the basemap).
*the battery life is poor. definitely buy rechargeable batteries. i took a fresh pair of AA's geocaching yesterday and you'll get about 6 hours worth of juice. this isn't bad, by any means, but it's just more cost effective in the long run.
*backlit feature= pretty average. compared to my previous Venture HC--this Colorado is worse. i'd rate the Colorado backlit feature at 6 out of 10 and the Venture at 8 out of 10.
*the user manual was probably written in about ten seconds by a low-end Tech, so if this is your first unit you're gonna be searching forums for a while to figure out how to use it. if this is your second GPS unit--you shouldn't have a problem.
*geocaching.com offers Direct-to-GPS data transfer for Garmins (And now Delorme) so transferring caches is so incredibly easy.
*i originally loaded the MapSource software that came with this, and my previous Garmin, but after logging all my caches online and on the unit (you can actually Tag a cache as Found and it removes it from your actively-sought cache list) it's really not necessary UNLESS you download additional maps like TOPO or IBYCUS. you need mapsource to transfer those maps to the unit.
*battery compartment= it's a tricky little bit of mechanics. the battery compartment is a slide-off cover held in place by a latch. God help you if you're not strong with your finger tips to release it. it's annoying, and they could have done a lot better with it.
*receiver==it does have an input for an external antenna, and the built in does have WAAS (wide area augmentation system===it means it uses earth-based receiver satellites to get a better fix on your position) enabled feature. it's got a pretty strong antenna, and i was able to get a strong fix on my position in about 25 seconds Cold Boot inside my two story house.
so overall, based on battery life, backlit screen, compass accuracy and overall user-friendliness, i'd give this unit a 7 out of ten.
Pros=paperless caching, large screen, antenna reception.
Cons=battery life, back lit screen, battery compartment.
if this is your first unit- you're in for a treat with paperless caching.
if it comes down to deciding between the DELORME PN-40 (keep in mind the delorme has a free map download and annual 29.95 unlimited map downloads), i'd suggest the Delorme. the delorme even has Black and White areial pictures, color satellite imagery (think Google Earth on a GPS unit), and the highest durability of most GPS units.
[...]
By D. Chambers (Atlanta)
I think most of the 1, 2 and 3 star reviews on the Colorado 300 were written before Garmin released several software fixes. This unit may have been released for sale before all the bugs were corrected in the software. Kinda like Microsoft Windows 95. That thing crashed all the time till the bugs were fixed.
I purchased mine on Feb 13, 2009 and am very pleased with it. I use it hunting and scouting our 650 acre deer lease in a very remote part of Georgia. I have marked almost every deer stand, food plot and landmark on this property, thus creating my own map of the area. You can do this with any GPS without buying other maps, however the addition of Garmin Topo 2008 map adds elevation, remote roads, streams and other landmarks making the experience so much better. I recommend you buy the map on DVD not the SD Card. The DVD version allows the PC/Mac, map and GPS to interact and makes for a great experience plotting trails and waypoints. You can also send info from the PC/Mac to the GPS (or SD Card) memory and vice versa.
The learning curve was slight,took me about 2 days fooling with it to master all features and the system works as promised. Yes, I agree with others that the base map is very, very limited. One reviewer said worthless, that's not true in my opinion, because the roads that the basemap does show are good reference points if you become lost.
I gave the unit 4 stars due to battery life of about 10 hours on alkaline batteries. I have switched to 2500 mah Energizer rechargeable batteries and have seen improvement to 12-16 hours depending on back light usage. I have not yet tried Lithium batteries and 2900 Mah rechargeable batteries are available but very expensive. The back light is the critical factor in battery life. Unlike some other units, most of the time in daylight, no backlight is necessary at all.
I picked the Colorado over the Oregon due to lower price (-$200.00) and the fact that the Colorado uses the full size SD Card. The full size SD card reader in the Colorado allows me to view pictures from my game cameras in the field. In addition, Many of the reviews said the touch screen on the Oregon did not work well in very cold weather, that could be overcome by putting the Oregon in a warm inside coat pocket but it was a factor for me.
What I like about the Colorado:
The Rock and Roller, is great, it is truly a one hand GPS. I can access all controls with just my thumb. Entering text is not as fast as I would like but I can live with it.
Sattellite lock is very fast and will lock on in the basement of my home. Initial lock was accomplished in about 15 seconds after inserting batteries the first time for a cold start. After that it is about 1 second warm.
Accuracy is good I have had 6 foot accuracy in open areas, but most of the time under cover it is about 12 -15 feet.
The large screen and 3D views are awesome. Even better with the Topo Map.
The ability to customize the screen set up is also a great feature. If there are features you don't use much you can move them on the menu and save the frequently used ones for the main menu.
What I don't like:
Battery life needs to be improved. I can see this would be a big issue with backpackers that are on the trail for 12+ hours and changing batteries if they use the back light much. I just carry an extra set of batteries with me to overcome this issue.
The gap between the unit and the case that others have mentioned does not give me confidance that the unit is 100% waterproof as claimed. However, I am not concerned at all about using the unit in a rain shower.
Conclusion: I would buy this same unit again. This is my 3rd GPS unit in 8 years and the very best. I would recommend you buy it along with the Garmin 2008 Topo Map Set. Many of the people that reviewed this item bought it when it first came out and paid $500 or more for it. So, I can understand their disappointment for that kind of money combined with the firmware bugs. However, you can buy this unit for about half of that price now and most of the bugs are fixed.
UPDATE:
Battery life. I tried Energizer Advanced Lithium batteries and got 22 hours of use from them with limited use of the back light. They lasted about 4-5 hours in a low battery condition. Thats about 7 more hours than I get with my 2500 Mah rechargeable AA's. The Energizer Ultimate Battery is susposed to be even more powerful than the Advanced Lithium. However Lithium batteries are over $2.00 each, so I think I will stick with my rechargeables.
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