GPS for both Trail and Road?

[farming5]

Our family has just started Geocaching with an old borrowed eTrax Venture unit and are looking to buy one. It just so happens that we're also in the market for an Auto GPS and I was wondering if it makes sense for us to buy one that does both? The primary use would be for Geocaching though. Are there any out there that do both well?

 

I saw I could get a Garmin Oregon 400t for about $350 at Costco.com and it does have a road mapping option. Does anyone have any opinions about this?

Thanks.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Our family has just started Geocaching with an old borrowed eTrax Venture unit and are looking to buy one. It just so happens that we're also in the market for an Auto GPS and I was wondering if it makes sense for us to buy one that does both? The primary use would be for Geocaching though. Are there any out there that do both well?

 

I saw I could get a Garmin Oregon 400t for about $350 at Costco.com and it does have a road mapping option. Does anyone have any opinions about this?

Thanks.

 

Opinions will be wide and varied.

 

Newer in-car units work well, but are somewhat bulky to hand-carry and are not known for shedding water very well.

 

Hand units are sometimes hard to read while driving (Pay attention to da road, fool) -- you get my drift.

 

Quite a few do both units -- probably the best choice.

[+StarBrand]

The Garmin Nuvi 500 line is built to be tough for trail conditions and still be a nice in-car unit.

 

However, it does neither job overly well. I use my Oregon for both trail and road use but my advice is to get a nice inexpensive car unit and a trail tested unit.

[+Chuy!]

The Garmin Oregon 400t is a good GPS for what you have in mind, but keep in mind it has Topo maps, which do not auto-route. And, from personal experience, and from I've read in other threads, the detailed streets are not always accurate. You will need to purchase City Navigator NA NT to get the auto-routung capability.

[farming5]

Thanks to all for the replies (so far). This is the information I was looking for.

 

My thought was to buy the Oregon 400t and use it mostly for the trail and then consider using it the road. I noticed City Navigator NA NT option that you mentioned, but wasn't sure how useful that was. I figured paying the extra $80 for the City Nav maps would be cheaper than spending $150 to 200 on an auto unit.

 

Does it give you most of the features of an auto unit though?

[+Chrysalides]

My thought was to buy the Oregon 400t and use it mostly for the trail and then consider using it the road. I noticed City Navigator NA NT option that you mentioned, but wasn't sure how useful that was. I figured paying the extra $80 for the City Nav maps would be cheaper than spending $150 to 200 on an auto unit.

 

Does it give you most of the features of an auto unit though?

The Nuvi will give you a larger screen and spoken commands. Most Nuvis will read the street names as well. I find those two features to be worth the extra money. I recommend getting one of the wide screen units though - that way you can use it as a backup GPSr for geocaching if you forgot your handheld unit.

 

An alternative to the 400t is to get the 300 and use the routable 24k maps, if you don't see yourself driving out of your region often. You can also try one of the many free maps available. I think today is the last day of REI's $250 Oregon 300 sale.

[+Maingray]

Thanks to all for the replies (so far). This is the information I was looking for.

 

My thought was to buy the Oregon 400t and use it mostly for the trail and then consider using it the road. I noticed City Navigator NA NT option that you mentioned, but wasn't sure how useful that was. I figured paying the extra $80 for the City Nav maps would be cheaper than spending $150 to 200 on an auto unit.

 

Does it give you most of the features of an auto unit though?

 

With City Navigator: It will visually prompt you the road sign you need to follow at the next intersection, auto-zoom in as you approach an intersection, beep as you approach (once further out, once almost at the turn), it will auto-route (ie quickly recalculate if you go off route), it has a very extensive POI library, large and bright (when powered) touchscreen, it can route you according to less distance or less time, one-way street tabulation, can program to avoid toll/unpaved/U-turns (LOL) etc, it has good address / intersection / town search ability. I use my Oregon 300+ City Navigator as my main car device, for many 1000s of miles up and down the eastern seaboard. Solid.

 

No voices. No traffic data. No "road closed" avoidance.

Edited November 30, 2009 by Maingray

[+sparkysteve]

I use a Garmin Colorado with City Navigator, and U.S. Topo, and it works great.

[farming5]

Thanks to all for taking the time to reply and provide advice!

[+bikercr]

I use a Garmin Colorado with City Navigator, and U.S. Topo, and it works great.

 

Same here. You can set up City Nav, etc. on a specific automotive profile which shows the map in automotive view and you can customize data shown at the bottom of the screen. It's highly readable and very easy to use. I bought a RAM mount for about $30 made specificallly for the Colorado. Suctions to your windshield and is fully adjustable to get just the right orientation.

[rjfrider]

Ditto on Colorado 400t for trails and roads. I've hard-wired it to my dirt bike and have a RAM handle bar mount for trail use, and use the car kit in the car (suction mount on windshield). rider

[+Timpat]

I use a Garmin Colorado with City Navigator, and U.S. Topo, and it works great.

Ditto for me on this combo. Plus, my Map 60Cx has Topo 2008 and City Select and this has served me well, too.