Colorado 300 - about to purchase

[+spiderman&maryjane]

I have just sold my etrex legend, and I have had my eye on the Colorado 300.

I just want to get and idea from some of you guys if this GPS is good or not.

I have not seen it up close nor have I used it. So if any of you have seen it being used

or have used it I would love to have some feed back. My other option would be the Map60 if I were

to change my mind. But the Colorado 300 is my top pick

Thanks

Spiderman

[+J10fly]

I've been using mine for a few months no and love. As with any GPS they all have their glitches and learning curves but so far I am happy. Just make sure if you get it that you upgrade the software right away to the most current which right now i think is 2.54. It gets rid of most of the annoying little bugs. I can say once I have done all the updates the only thing I dont like about my Colorado is the fact that I have to adjust the backlight everytime I turn it on. No biggie but just one of those little annoying glitches. All in all I am very happy with mine! Hope this helps.

[+bluemustangpride]

I have had mine since January 24th, and I have loved it! Every software upgrade has made it better, and I am sure that Garmin will continue to improve it. It feels great in your hand and once you get used to the wheel and the menus, it works like a part of you. I can't imagine going back to my old GPSr, also an eTrex. I think that you will be extremely happy with your purchase of a Colorado 300.

[+GeekBoy.from.Illinois]

I have just sold my etrex legend, and I have had my eye on the Colorado 300.

I just want to get and idea from some of you guys if this GPS is good or not.

I have not seen it up close nor have I used it. So if any of you have seen it being used

or have used it I would love to have some feed back. My other option would be the Map60 if I were

to change my mind. But the Colorado 300 is my top pick

Thanks

Spiderman

 

I have been using my Colorado 300 since late Feb. (about 4.5 months) and I love it . It is not the cheapest solution, and it has its issues, but I still love it. If money is a concern for you, you could go with a GPSMap 60 CSx and a decent PDA and have essentially the same functionality. The Colorado is a newer model line than the 60 CSx, but the Oregon line is even newer than the Colorado... I admit I've had a few more issues with my Colorado than I had with my old 60 CSx, but I still love it...

[savant9]

..... the only thing I dont like about my Colorado is the fact that I have to adjust the backlight everytime I turn it on. .....

 

Also my only complaint.

 

You will find the reception waaaaay better than the etrex legend, I have both and when holding them side byside in my house, the legend finds no sattelites and the colorado gets a clean lock on 4-5 sats. Definitely a worthwhile upgrade.

[+Crid]

I'm going to introduce a bit of negativity I'm afraid. But let's start with the positive...

 

I bought a Colorado 300 about 2 months ago and I also love it (as a unit). I bought City Navigator maps on SD card at the same time so I use it to route me to the parking spot. Once there I swap to open source (non-routeable) maps that have more off-road stuff to go for the cache itself. With open sky it seems to do the job nicely. I love being able to just load a pair of GPX files into the unit and have the cache details (and last few logs) at my fingertips "out in the field". It works a lot better than my previous solution which involved loading cache details into the contact list on my iPod.

 

My "old" GPS is a 76CSx, which the Colorado was supposed to replace. The 76CSx has a lot more buttons than the Colorado, which is probably part of the reason why the Colorado's user interface feels rather long-winded to me. And I cannot, for the life of me, understand why the Colorado has no waypoint averaging.

 

But my biggest complaint is the accuracy (something Garmin apparently, repeatedly, has "never heard anything about before"). I know there are many Colorado owners who haven't seen this problem (perhaps they don't walk in woodland for any length of time like I do, or perhaps they have experienced it but haven't realised it). Certainly I didn't notice the problem to begin with. But having now seen the problem, I make a point of bringing my 76CSx along with me for comparison. Sometimes it's fine (a walk in the woods yesterday gave pretty much the same results from both units) and sometimes it's awful (a walk in different woods last week saw the Colorado wander 680ft off course - which is pretty bad for navigation and totally useless for geocaching). The 76CSx, by comparison, handles the conditions as I'd expect - reduced accuracy but still in the right ballpark.

 

From what I've seen, it seems to be related to being in "bad" GPS conditions for more than about 20 minutes. The timeframe does seem to vary (for me). But it seems that getting back into "good" GPS conditions does fix the problem after a while. (My 680ft problem last week resolved itself after being back out in the open for a while).

 

I haven't seen major problems while using the Colorado in the car, but at the moment in woodland I trust the 76CSx more than the Colorado. Current discussions in this forum (in both the Colorado thread and also the HCX accuracy thread (the HCX range use the same GPS chipset as the Colorado)) seem to indicate this may be a GPS firmware issue, so I'm holding out for a patch to fix the problem at some point.

 

Your mileage may vary. Other Colorado owners haven't hit this problem. But at the moment I personally wouldn't recommend the Colorado for geocaching in woodland. If a firmware update fixes the problem, I'll be all over it and back in love with my Colorado again.

Edited July 14, 2008 by Crid

[mulveyr]

I'm going to introduce a bit of negativity I'm afraid. But let's start with the positive...

 

I bought a Colorado 300 about 2 months ago and I also love it (as a unit). I bought City Navigator maps on SD card at the same time so I use it to route me to the parking spot. Once there I swap to open source (non-routeable) maps that have more off-road stuff to go for the cache itself. With open sky it seems to do the job nicely. I love being able to just load a pair of GPX files into the unit and have the cache details (and last few logs) at my fingertips "out in the field". It works a lot better than my previous solution which involved loading cache details into the contact list on my iPod.

 

My "old" GPS is a 76CSx, which the Colorado was supposed to replace. The 76CSx has a lot more buttons than the Colorado, which is probably part of the reason why the Colorado's user interface feels rather long-winded to me. And I cannot, for the life of me, understand why the Colorado has no waypoint averaging.

 

But my biggest complaint is the accuracy (something Garmin apparently, repeatedly, has "never heard anything about before"). I know there are many Colorado owners who haven't seen this problem (perhaps they don't walk in woodland for any length of time like I do, or perhaps they have experienced it but haven't realised it). Certainly I didn't notice the problem to begin with. But having now seen the problem, I make a point of bringing my 76CSx along with me for comparison. Sometimes it's fine (a walk in the woods yesterday gave pretty much the same results from both units) and sometimes it's awful (a walk in different woods last week saw the Colorado wander 680ft off course - which is pretty bad for navigation and totally useless for geocaching). The 76CSx, by comparison, handles the conditions as I'd expect - reduced accuracy but still in the right ballpark.

 

From what I've seen, it seems to be related to being in "bad" GPS conditions for more than about 20 minutes. The timeframe does seem to vary (for me). But it seems that getting back into "good" GPS conditions does fix the problem after a while. (My 680ft problem last week resolved itself after being back out in the open for a while).

 

I haven't seen major problems while using the Colorado in the car, but at the moment in woodland I trust the 76CSx more than the Colorado. Current discussions in this forum (in both the Colorado thread and also the HCX accuracy thread (the HCX range use the same GPS chipset as the Colorado)) seem to indicate this may be a GPS firmware issue, so I'm holding out for a patch to fix the problem at some point.

 

Your mileage may vary. Other Colorado owners haven't hit this problem. But at the moment I personally wouldn't recommend the Colorado for geocaching in woodland. If a firmware update fixes the problem, I'll be all over it and back in love with my Colorado again.

 

Yep, I had the same thing this weekend with the latest 2.54 firmware. Took a quick 1 mile walk down an old railbed that's as straight as an arrow and about 12 feet wide at the most, and when I came back home and downloaded the track, it was fine going to my destination, but on the way back the track looked like a huge parabolic curve that was 180 feet from the original track at the worst point.

 

I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been off by 20 feet or so, but almost 200? Consistently, over the course of a mile? Totally unacceptable.

[+spiderman&maryjane]

can you still only over zoom to 80m or have they fixed that problem?

how has everyone found it for geocaching?

[mulveyr]

can you still only over zoom to 80m or have they fixed that problem?

how has everyone found it for geocaching?

 

Well, I've used it quite a few times for geocaching... before I got so frustrated I almost threw it in a lake. :-) On the plus side, it's nice to have all of the cache descriptions, etc. on one unit. One the negative side, it's not terribly useful when you're standing on top of the cache and the GPS claims you're 300 feet away, as has happened to me several times. My III+ is far more reliable and accurate.

 

- Rich

[+storm180]

I have had the colorado out last week in very heavy tree cover inside a national forest and this past weekend in some deep canyons. My better half uses a 60Csx and I have the colorado. Both trips track lines have been almost identical. Since we always have the 60CSx, I know for a fact there has never been a drift. My better half would have said to me "where the heck are you going its over here" hehe

[+facade66]

Wait a while if you can, to see if it can be fixed, but I personally think that the etrex is a better unit for me because:

 

Etrex vista wins

The etrex doesn't lock up when I power it on. The Colorado has done this twice now in 2 weeks.

The etrex is much easier to operate, the joystick is a dream compared to the trundle wheel.

The etrex doesn't show ridiculous position errors.

The back comes off easily, without having to remove the clip holding the wriststrap/carribiner first.

It is small enough to fit in a compact camera case.

The batteries last longer.

the compass doesn't go doolally.

The menus are better thought out and more intuitive.

Editing is much better.

You can write files to it and still use it at the same time. (The Colorado has to be turned on again and reboot every time it is disconnected. When connected in file storage mode you can't use it)

 

The colorado wins:

The display is larger, and Topo maps look so much better.

The caching notes all display, (but you can't edit a multi, and just try writing a note with the trundle wheel)

Edited July 14, 2008 by facade66

[+spiderman&maryjane]

Thanks for all your replys. I just went out caching with a friends 60cx, and loved it. Looking at the issues with the colorado, I thought, why fuss with the issues, I would only be on the trail mad as a hatter. So...off I went and just came home with a new map 60CX.

 

Cheers.

Spiderman

[+Mars Express]

can you still only over zoom to 80m or have they fixed that problem?

how has everyone found it for geocaching?

 

Well, I've used it quite a few times for geocaching... before I got so frustrated I almost threw it in a lake. :-) On the plus side, it's nice to have all of the cache descriptions, etc. on one unit. One the negative side, it's not terribly useful when you're standing on top of the cache and the GPS claims you're 300 feet away, as has happened to me several times. My III+ is far more reliable and accurate.

 

- Rich

Don't throw it in a lake, as it's also not waterproof as advertised.

 

I've seen it also telling me I'm 300 ft away about 3 times yesterday.

 

What really sucks is that Garmin isn't doing a thing to fix these problems. I've always loved my Garmins (7 or so) but since the many problems in the software and the units not having a intuitive user interface like before, the Colorado is probably the last Garmin I ever bought.

Edited July 14, 2008 by Mars Express

[+Mars Express]

Thanks for all your replys. I just went out caching with a friends 60cx, and loved it. Looking at the issues with the colorado, I thought, why fuss with the issues, I would only be on the trail mad as a hatter. So...off I went and just came home with a new map 60CX.

 

Cheers.

Spiderman

Good choice!

[Indyefi500]

I have just sold my etrex legend, and I have had my eye on the Colorado 300.

I just want to get and idea from some of you guys if this GPS is good or not.

I have not seen it up close nor have I used it. So if any of you have seen it being used

or have used it I would love to have some feed back. My other option would be the Map60 if I were

to change my mind. But the Colorado 300 is my top pick

Thanks

Spiderman

 

I loved mine for the first two weeks until my wife spilled water on it. Now Garmin is charging me $100 to repair it and will not warranty it. It is not very water resistant. Otherwise I was real happy with it. I used to have a Magellan Meridian Platinum so I made a quantum leap.

[+Red90]

I loved mine for the first two weeks until my wife spilled water on it. Now Garmin is charging me $100 to repair it and will not warranty it. It is not very water resistant. Otherwise I was real happy with it. I used to have a Magellan Meridian Platinum so I made a quantum leap.

 

Do NOT pay a cent....

 

Garmin KNOWS there is a manufacturing issue with the Colorado seals. Make sure they warranty it for free.

[+Taro Treasure Team]

hi,

 

i'am selling my used colorado, which i have bought in may 2008.

if you like, you can buy it.

i'am from germany.

[+Taro Treasure Team]

hi,

 

i'am selling my used colorado, which i have bought in may 2008.

if you like, you can buy it.

i'am from germany.

[jcc123]

Oregon!

[ryguyMN]

Thanks for all your replys. I just went out caching with a friends 60cx, and loved it. Looking at the issues with the colorado, I thought, why fuss with the issues, I would only be on the trail mad as a hatter. So...off I went and just came home with a new map 60CX.

 

Cheers.

Spiderman

Good choice!

 

If I had to do it again, I would have bought a 60 series like the CSx. It's widely recognized as a great performing GPSr like the nuvi 350 on the automotive side.