CacheARRRS

Well. I'm sold. 400t ordered. Now I just have to figure out if I should get CN 2008 NOW....or wait for the 2009 one in May....

I can understand that story, as it has happened to me before as well! I think you might be right and I'll just have to go in whole hog. I guess at first I didn't see the need to have the entire US all at once, since my Etrex could only do a few areas, I just got used to reloading it with city select for the new area I was going to, that was before geocaching though. Now that you guys bring it up, it WOULD be kind of nice to have everywhere I might go without having to reload all the time. One question that I haven't seen anywhere, is it possible to load only SOME of the map segments?? like remove a few from your 400t to free up some space or speed up load times? Has anyone tried this? All in all, I think it looks like the 300 I was going to order this morning will be changed into a 400t. Maybe I can sell my old GPS fast enough that my wife won't notice the money difference...

Well, thanks for the wonderful attitude! I appreciate the support. I don't have a big need for topo maps right NOW, but some time to the future I might have more use for them. I was looking for some information about base maps and road coverage, to make sure I WOULD HAVE THE FUNCTIONS I DID NEED NOW. It APPEARED that you understood that when I looked at your post. But then you come back with an insult when I follow up on your advice? There are plenty of comparisons and FAQs that label all the differences of the units, but I was having trouble getting a clear picture of WHICH unit and software would work the best for my situation and wanted some opinions from fellow users. I do not have the option of running to a store and checking them out in person. Most online stores (Garmin's site included) just use the same screen shots with no where showing a comparison. And before I spend $600+ dollars on an item, I wanted to make sure it would FIT MY NEEDS. I wonder, if you are so troubled by people trying to figure something out and asking a follow up question or two, why even bother being here anyway? XopherN71: I MIGHT be using topo in the future, but for right now, if the base maps+CN can get me what I need I can save the $100.00. That was the initial reasoning behind my post, if the base maps would cover what I needed or not. I would hate to have topo maps (with the added cost) if I won't have use for them. And THAT is why all the questions. In fact some people had mentioned that even IF I wanted topo, it was cheaper to get a 300 and buy the maps seperatly anyway (it even alludes to this in the FAQ) Thanks for all the help.

So if I am understanding this, the CN will overlay the base map and give me a good set of ACCURATE roads, but with a "good"-ish set of off road "terrain" for when I hit the trails?? And when I do get topo, it will still do all the 3D stuff like the 400t can do, even though topo US by itself is slightly different than the one loaded on the 400t, right? And while I am asking.... I see a LOT of City Navigator 2008 "update" disks. these will NOT work for me right?

one more thing... if I get topo by itself (or City Nav) should I get the regular or NT?? does the Colorado support NT? I can't find it on the lists of "supported units" anywhere that sells them, but it could just be too new of a unit...

Both the 300 and 400t do DEM shading and 3D view if the maps you have loaded and selected support it (Topo2008 DVD and preloaded Topo2008 both support it). G3 in the FAQ has a comparison of differences between the two units. GO$Rs okay...even reading the FAQ AGAIN I am still confused. should I get a 300 and get US topo on it's own?? or get the 400t? I will be adding city nav at some point since I will have use for the roads to be "accurate" and from what I can tell from here, the roads in topo are not very good. One other question, will older software work on the colorado?? I have city select from 2002 or so, and If I could load THAT over the topo map would it work?? uggggg I am so confused. it seems like the more I research, the more I can't figure this out. I have a Master's degree for pete's sake!

touche!

some major fixes for the Colorado!....... http://www.cambridgenow.ca/images/newsimag...20giflatest.gif

ok THAT give me an idea of what I need. IF I get the 400t, I can hold off on getting navigator for awhile! Now I need to go talk my wife into letting me spend an extra $100.00

so the topo map DOES have some basic "road" functions? non-routing is fine (since I will probably get city navigator later anyway) but on my etrex I had mapsource 2002 I think, and loaded some basic road maps so if the topo maps on the 400t come even CLOSE to that,it would be perfect for me right now.

Okay. I have had my etrex legend for a few years now, and last summer I got turned onto geocaching. I have decided that my etrex gets cruddy signal in the trees (as well as anywhere else for that matter) and I am upgrading. After some research and comparisons, I feel the Colorado is just right for me. (I love all the Geocache specific stuff, as well as "paperless" support and Wherigo support!) But here is my question. do I get the 300 or the 400t with the topo maps?? I can't seem to find any good screen shots comparing the two. I think the base maps will work fine for me as I don't do much outdoors-y stuff other than geocaching yet. (I am working on using this "nature" I hear so much about more often though!) I am wondering if the base map has basic streets or roads at all? or trails, streams that sort of thing?? or is it just a basic line map?? I live in a more urban-ish environment, and while I DO like getting into the trees more and more, some basic road functionality would be cool. ( I know I can get the city navigator later, but is ther a basic set in the base map?) But anyway, to make a LONG question short; "What difference does the Topo map make?"