Agent45

I have the Montana 650t and love the large screen. The readability of the screen sold it for me over the Oregon. Now, I use the 650t for everything, geocaching, driving (nuvi mode), boating, and hiking. The 4 inch screen is very clear in sunlight and the backlight is bright in the shade/night. I suggest you go and hold both in your hand to really compare on size and weight. Bottom line for me, the Montana allows me to easily read the geocache descriptions, logs and hints. Its also easier to input text on the larger screen.

Can you use the DVD for more than one GPS unit or is it locked into one once you load it up? I know the downloads are but wasn't sure if the DVD is or isn't. I bought the 650t for a great price but if there weren't any sales I would have gone with the 600. The camera is nice to have for those spur of the moment things but as previously noted, it's not going to win you any photography awards. The 100k map is OK, but compared to the 24k mSD card I have for my region that allows me to be routed, it's severely lacking. I purchased a separate card to download other regions and other maps so when I venture out I just swap out the cards. The DVD's from Garmin are not locked. I have installed 24k Topo on my Montana and my Dakota without any problems. They are not locked.

Tried it out, seems to have resolved the issue.

I sent garmin the same report. Map selections are all enabled when I switch profiles. I wonder if they test this out before posting. At least they are working on improving the Montana.

I would highly suggest getting the DVD of any map. The DVD allows you to install it on your computer and create routes with Basecamp. You can then use a map installer to install the maps to your Montana. You can install them to internal memory or to an SD card. I have 24k WA state topo on my sd card, along with NW trails, custom maps and my geocache gpx files. The Montana only has one sd slot.

I own the 650t and while the 100k topo maps are nice, they don't have any routable trails. I never use the camera, it is really poor quality. The 600 is the best bet. Just add whatever region you need with 24k topo maps and CN maps and you are set.

You tap the power button on the side of the unit, then select the screen lock feature. The screen is pressure sensitive, not a electro-touch sensitive. Perhaps Garmin will add the swipe to unlock feature.

1. I love my Montana 650t for geocaching. I've owned several Garmin GPS units and the Montana is by far the top of the line for geocaching. The large touch screen and highly customizable profiles are killer. The screen is bright and vibrant in the sunlight. I have large fingers and I can easilt select menu items. 2. No more power issues since 3.97 firmware. 3. I'm a professional photographer so my assesment of the Montana camera is very harsh. It sucks. It works for a quick geo-tagged image, but nothing to look at and say "wow". 4. I am very satisfied with the Montana. If I lost it I would buy another one immediately. 5. The Montana is the biggest handheld touch screen Garmin. It is the best for Geocaching, and works great with CN maps in Nuvi mode. 6. I too have the 2008 V2 topo maps and they look great on the Montana. The routable trails are fantastic. I have the current CN maps and in "nuvi" mode on the powered vehicle mount my Montana works just like a modern Nuvi GPSr. The Montana is my all in one GPSr. It goes from my car, to the trail, to the atv and to my boat. Highly recommend the Montana.

There is a new firmware out for the Montana. Perhaps it will fix this routing issue.

I have the Montana 650t and I love it. I also have the Dakota 20. The Montana fits in my hand perfectly, (I am 6-5 with large hands) and it is surprisingly light. The biggest thing for me is the large easy to read screen. Reading geocaching notes is a pleasure with the Montana. On the Dakota it was too small. I use the Montana for my vehicle navigation as well. I have an all in one GPS unit. The current software 3.97 is stable. Yes, the Montana is expensive, but that is usually the case for new Garmins that come out. I've been using GPS devices for over 10 years and by far the Montana is hands down the king for Geocaching. Easy to read, easy to input data with the touchscreen, long battery life and very rugged. I highly recommend it.

I have this issue from time to time as well. I have created a "Stop Navigation" shortcut icon on my Nuvi dashboard. If the Montana gets stuck saying "Continue to [Destination]" I press the stop navigation icon once and then the Montana starts routing correctly. Obviously a bug, but a pretty simple fix for now. I have the 650t with the latest CN map installed.

I have the Montana 650t and love it. You shouldn't have any problems with copying your map files over. Just be careful to rename the .img files to something other than the stock base map image or you could erase it. (Back up your unit before using it). You can easily select what map you want to enable or disable. As the other user stated, I have two profiles set up, a walk/hike/geocache mode, and a Nuvi mode. The first mode has 24k topo maps, trails, custom sat maps enabled, while the Nuvi mode only has the CN map enabled. The Montana is extremely customizable. The larger screen is a pleasure to look at and use. It really is an all in one device for me. I use the Nuvi mode while driving around and the unit charges in the cradle mount. When I arrive at my hike/geocache location it pops out charged and ready to go mobile. I was surprised how light the unit was too. Very comfortable in my hand or attached to a 1 inch wide lanyard. Hope this helps, Andy