Oregon, Colorado or 60CSx

[+weathernowcast]

I am sending my 60CSx back for a refirb after a bear ate a portion of it, however my wife now insists that I get a new GPS.

 

I have tried all three units briefly and also have messed with the Delorme Earthmate PN-40 in the field.

 

Frankly, I can't make a decision and may simply keep using the refirb without buying anthing new.

Most people I ask like the unit they are using now (which ever that is).

 

Looking for the pros and cons from those who may have used two or more of these units.

[+toil&trouble]

Well, here is our 2 cents! We started caching with the 60c and loved it, always accurate and very durable. We scratched the screen right off, so learned the "screen protecter" lesseon quickly. We bought a Oregon about a month ago and then got a really good deal on a Colorado so bought that too. So, well, we still can't decided. PGS60, great unit, but no paperless caching, so if you don't want to carry paper or a PDA, go with one of the other two. Colorado--screen is brighter than the OR, we like the RnR wheel except entering text is a pain, absolutely LOVE the default geocaching screen, have to do a lot of customizing of profiles to get the things you need where you can get to them easily, accuracy is great. Oregon, screen is slightly dimmer, but you don't have to set the backlight back up every time it turns off, touch screen sucks-can't seem to scrol, select, change pages, anything, some people say they don't have this trouble, maybe I'm just too used to the iPhone and this touch screen is totally different. Battery life on both sucks, get good rechargables. Seems to me the bigest difference is the touchscreen, and for me it just wasn't all that great. Now, I've noticed that the big retailers (like REI) have stopped carrying the CO, and I suspect Garmin is dropping it, the OR has just been much more popular. They will still support it, but I don't think we'll continue to see software updates. I have to say that the main reason we love the CO is the default geocache screen, when you select a cache, you get a screen that shows the cache name, type, difficulty/terrain and a small compass arrow, this is overlayed on top of the map. If you zoom the map in, you can easily navigate right to the cache without ever changing screens or profiles. This feature makes the CO the better unit for pure caching, in my opinion. But, I haven't seen anyone else mention it, so maybe most people don't find it as great. I'd say get your hands on both. If the store won't load some caches into the device, so you can see how everything looks, go somewhere elses. Take a look at the OR and CO wiki spaces, they have great screen shots and lots of info. Take peoples opinions (including mine too, I guess) with a grain of salt, some people just love or hate a product or manufacturer and everything is biased. I have owned and cached with all three, and you can't really go wrong with any of them. If you are willing to wait, the OR 550 that is coming out in July looks to have fixed the screen brightness issue and added some nice upgrades.

[+RonFisk]

I'm familiar with all three of the Garmin Units, but not the Earthmate PN-40. For durability, accuracy and battery life it's the GPSMAP 60CSx hands down. I don't like the Oregon touch screen at all and I'm disappointed with the display brightness. For geocaching I'd definitely go with the Colorado even with all it's shortcomings. I do wish that Garmin would continue to support it though. They seem to have lost interest in it altogether. The main complaint I have with the Colorado is it eats batteries and is not worth much in wet weather unless you keep it protected from moisture.

Making a choice between the three. For paperless geocaching it would be the Colorado. For everything else the 60CSx is the only way to go.

Edited May 10, 2009 by RonFisk

[+StarBrand]

I own a Colorado 300 and an Oregon 200 and have used a 60CSx extensively.

 

Colorado 300

Pros - I like RnR wheel. Solid feel and quite rugged. Paperless Geocaching feature is easy to use and to learn, very accurate with latest firmware. Holds a solid sat lock in heavy foilage and tough conditions.

 

Cons - a little awkard to hold, not so nice on batteries, waterproofness is in question for many owners although mine has survived some heavy rains and 1 puddle drop, battery compartment is hard to access, no lanyard

 

Overall - I really like my Colorado - it is often my goto Geocaching unit.

 

Oregon 200

Pros - touch screen interface is AWESOME! The unit is rugged and touchscreen works in many situations you might not expect, Very nice feature set (better than Colorado), good ongoing support from Garmin, accurate (mostly), easy to use Geocaching features, very nice paperless (very similar to Colorado), lanyard

 

Cons - battery life, screen requires backlight to see well, some accuracy/lock problems with recent firmware updates - not consistent, doesn't hold lock on sats as well as Colorado and 60CSx in certain conditions - not a major issue.

 

I like the Oregon a lot - I just can't always count on it to be all I expect. Depends on the though. I give a slight edge to my Colorado overall.

 

60CSx

Pros - very stable unit with a very rich feature set - tried and true. Highly accurate - the one to measure others by. Very rugged. Long battery life.

 

Cons - no native paperless geocaching (POI option works but is just not the same as a true paperless unit). Smaller screen. Maybe showing its age a bit.

 

Hope this helps at least a little.

[+Timpat]

I have to agree with RonFisk, "For paperless geocaching it would be the Colorado. For everything else the 60CSx is the only way to go". I own the 60Cx and CO 300. For paperless caching I love my CO, for everything else my 60Cx. I must say after over one year now I finally trust and use almost exclusively my CO, with the 60Cx taken along in the geopack.

 

The OR touch screen never appealed to me, and the user reports of wandering tracklogs and loss of SVs is disturbing. The PN-40 sounds like a real contender to Garmin and a couple folks I cache around love theirs, plus Delorme is super with customer support. They are continuously improving utility and firmware. Garmin better watch out.

Edited May 10, 2009 by Timpat

[+weathernowcast]

Thank you for the thorough reviews. I have held and held all four units in the filed and have come to similar conclusions although I have not used the OR or CO extensively. Basically no one unit is superior to all others. I appreciate the first hand information though.

[+toil&trouble]

If you want paperless caching it is the OR or CO. If you don't it's the 60. We spent the whole day caching using both the CO and OR side by side. There are pros and cons for each unit. We found accuracy to be exactly the same for the OR or CO. What it comes down to for us is, it seems that the CO is not going to be continued and may not continue to be supported. Garmin is obviously continuing the OR and expanding the line, so we have decided to keep the OR and sell the CO.

[rbo65]

What it comes down to for us is, it seems that the CO is not going to be continued and may not continue to be supported.

 

Just curious...Does anyone have any proof that the Colorado will be discontinued (or not supported) or is this just rumor?

 

Other than some comments here, I have not seen anything anywhere else to support that claim. The Colorado is one of the units I am considering for purchase, but not if it will not be supported by Garmin in the future.

[+Timpat]

After seeing many firmware updates being released for the Oregon units, and nothing in months for our Colorado units, I contacted Garmin asking "what's up Garmin!?". Here is what they said in part;

 

"Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I would be happy to assist. We are still making all the Colorado devices and supporting them. Colorado units are still selling quite well and have not forgotten those like yourself who have purchased these."

 

For what that's worth.

[+StarBrand]

After seeing many firmware updates being released for the Oregon units, and nothing in months for our Colorado units, I contacted Garmin asking "what's up Garmin!?". Here is what they said in part;

 

"Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I would be happy to assist. We are still making all the Colorado devices and supporting them. Colorado units are still selling quite well and have not forgotten those like yourself who have purchased these."

 

For what that's worth.

Much the same response I got from a Garmin rep.

[+Team CowboyPapa]

If you want paperless caching it is the OR or CO. ....

But wait, there's more.......

 

The DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 also provides a paperless caching experience.

It's all in the box, no third party hardware or software to buy.

[NordicMan]

What it comes down to for us is, it seems that the CO is not going to be continued and may not continue to be supported.

 

Just curious...Does anyone have any proof that the Colorado will be discontinued (or not supported) or is this just rumor?

 

Other than some comments here, I have not seen anything anywhere else to support that claim. The Colorado is one of the units I am considering for purchase, but not if it will not be supported by Garmin in the future.

 

I attended the Toronto International Sportsmen Show this spring, and I asked the reps at the Garmin booth about the future of the Colorados.. and yes they did "unofficially" confirm my question about if the Oregon is replacing the Colorado. He didn't say how soon that would happen though..

 

I wouldn't let that deter you from buying a Colorado if you like it though. Garmin isn't going to abandon owners of discontinued GPSr's any time soon

[NordicMan]

.. one thing that has always confused me though.. Most everyone hails the 60CSx as the king of accuracy, able to hold a signal lock as good as a pit bull to a mailman's leg

 

.. but it's an old(er) unit now.. and the Oregon & Colorado are made by the same manufacturer.. so why did Garmin drop the ball?? Why aren't the Oregons/Colorados every bit as accurate, or even MORE accurate, than the older 60CSx?

[+g-o-cashers]

- CO/OR software has not had the nearly the same time to mature as the 60csx

- different antenna design (at least in the OR)

- different chip sets in all three

[+Red90]

They use different GPS receivers made by different companies. The big differences are in the software that these companies are using to deal with the multi-path issues. The 60csx uses a Sirf brand receiver. Sirf seems to have more mature software. In my testing the Colorado is the same as the 60csx for stability with the current firmwares. The Oregon is still having some problems but is better than it was.

 

Yes, life would be much easier if they would just stick with Sirf, but I assume the bean counters are controlling these things....

[+piper28]

I'm still pretty happy with the 60csx for caching, and use a Dell Axim for the paperless part. Ok, yeah, I have to carry another device, but I'm not limited to only having 2500 caches or whatever the limit is on those devices. (I use the custom poi stuff on the 60csx). I just wish I could find a setting to make my custom poi's show up and not the real poi's at a zoom level I'm happy with.

[+weathernowcast]

If you want paperless caching it is the OR or CO. ....

But wait, there's more.......

 

The DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 also provides a paperless caching experience.

It's all in the box, no third party hardware or software to buy.

 

I am trying out a PN-40 now. I am confused on how to load it up though do I need to drop in the SD card to load the maps?

[+Tequila]

After seeing many firmware updates being released for the Oregon units, and nothing in months for our Colorado units, I contacted Garmin asking "what's up Garmin!?". Here is what they said in part;

 

"Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I would be happy to assist. We are still making all the Colorado devices and supporting them. Colorado units are still selling quite well and have not forgotten those like yourself who have purchased these."

 

For what that's worth.

 

The new product announcement, Oregon 550, without a comparable Colorado announcement, probably is a good sign that there will not be any future models in the CO product line. As for selling well, I suspect that is marketing doublespeak. REI no longer carries the CO. BassPro never carried it.

 

It probably means you can get a good price on a new CO but if you are worried about buying an EOL product, I would stay away from it.

[+weathernowcast]

After seeing many firmware updates being released for the Oregon units, and nothing in months for our Colorado units, I contacted Garmin asking "what's up Garmin!?". Here is what they said in part;

 

"Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I would be happy to assist. We are still making all the Colorado devices and supporting them. Colorado units are still selling quite well and have not forgotten those like yourself who have purchased these."

 

For what that's worth.

 

The new product announcement, Oregon 550, without a comparable Colorado announcement, probably is a good sign that there will not be any future models in the CO product line. As for selling well, I suspect that is marketing doublespeak. REI no longer carries the CO. BassPro never carried it.

 

It probably means you can get a good price on a new CO but if you are worried about buying an EOL product, I would stay away from it.

 

seeing I like the Garmin so much, I might do what you suggest buying the EOL product. I do like the "shadow" feature the CO has with the text or compass on top of the map. does the OR have the same thing?

[+Jeep4two]

FWIW: My Oregon 400t has performed very well for me since I got it several weeks ago. I'm pleased with the screen visibility which was a key concern as I debated its purchase.

 

I'm using the latest Beta software revision and it's performing well. It holds a lock great, and the paperless features are awesome including the ability to touch type field notes.

 

My main reason for not going with the Colorado were the water tightness issues discussed by some, and the more difficult input method of the wheel. I had been using the eTrex Legend for some time mostly as a recreational and car nav unit so I'd grown tired of the joystick and wanted to avoid having any scrolling clicking input method.

 

I can't speak to the 60CSx or PN-40 - although I'll say if it weren't for the closeness in price between the 60CSx and the Oregon 400t I would probably have forgone paperless and opted for the 60CSx. With the recent lower pricing on the Oregon and recently expired rebate the Oregon went from a $600 unit to a $350 unit - hard to argue with that price combined with the feature set and overall performance (for me anyway)

[+Team CowboyPapa]

If you want paperless caching it is the OR or CO. ....

But wait, there's more.......

 

The DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 also provides a paperless caching experience.

It's all in the box, no third party hardware or software to buy.

 

I am trying out a PN-40 now. I am confused on how to load it up though do I need to drop in the SD card to load the maps?

All the "how to" help is here

http://delormepn40.wikispaces.com/

 

It is quickest to carefully remove the SD card from the PN-40 and insert it in a card reader.

Put any of the three region, detail map DVDs in a DVD drive and install from there.

You do not need to run Topo USA 7.0 to load those maps.

Then carefully and gently put the SD card back in the handheld and you'll be good to go.

 

Topo USA 8.0 will be out in a few days. You qualify for a free upgrade.

 

You'll want to browse their forum:

http://forums.delorme.com/