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I have ~$300 to spend...


fendermallot

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I still can't make up my mind, argh!

 

I was looking at Oregon 300 as it should be coming down in price. Do I wait a bit to see the price fall?

 

Colorado 400t: Seen it for around $275. I've read that the controls are not always intuitive. I'd love for any paperless unit I get to be easy for the wife to use w/o having to draw her diagrams and go off on long speeches.

 

Lowrance out&back: Great value, arguably has some of the nicest caching features, but I hear that their tech support leaves something to be desired? Is that honestly their only drawback?

 

I haven't looked into the DeLorme paperless models. Any good?

 

I'm looking for something that is easy to use, can easily and quickly pull caches off the net. Y'all know what I mean. I want all the bang I can get, for the money I have. Wish I could pull off the $500... having a 550t w/ the camera would be suhweet!

 

Thanks guys/gals!

Edited by fendermallot
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Nothing beats actually touching and holding and demoing the units. Go find somewhere that sells them and try 'em out!!

 

Then go online and buy them forthe best price.

 

I have a Colorado 300, an Oregon 200 and a Lowrance Out&Back. Each has various strong points and weakneses. For shear ease of use - you just won't go wrong with any of the Oregons.

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Thanks StarBrand. That's where I've been leaning. I've had a brief chance to goof off with the 550t at the pacific NW sportsman's show a week ago. The guys at the Garmin booth were pretty nice. It's too bad they didn't actually have anything loaded into them so I could see caches on the map. But the controls seemed pretty dadgum slick. I'll probably just squirrel my $ away and wait until I see some decent deals. I just found an Oregon 400t for $289 on ebay, but it didn't come with any of the accessories it normally does. So that was a no go. Gotta atleast have the cable!

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Thanks StarBrand. That's where I've been leaning. I've had a brief chance to goof off with the 550t at the pacific NW sportsman's show a week ago. The guys at the Garmin booth were pretty nice. It's too bad they didn't actually have anything loaded into them so I could see caches on the map. But the controls seemed pretty dadgum slick. I'll probably just squirrel my $ away and wait until I see some decent deals. I just found an Oregon 400t for $289 on ebay, but it didn't come with any of the accessories it normally does. So that was a no go. Gotta atleast have the cable!

 

I also have an Colorado 400i, Oregon 200, and a Endura Sierra and they all rock for geocaching. For the best features for the buck, I'd still look long and hard at the Garmin Colorado series first (bought mine for $239 at Rocket Camera) followed by the Endura Out and Back (which has optional Acuterra mapping packages which are just killer nice) that I've seen for somewhere around $180 or so.

 

The Garmins permit some limited custom mapping that very soon will have rastor based imagery mapping for $29 similar to the Delorme package available to their GPSr's also, plus you can d/l high quality 1:24K topo's for free at gpsfiledepot.com. That alone is worth some very hefty bucks all by itself.

 

The Delorme's are fine for geocaching also, come with a superb mapping program, will allow some additional rastor based custom imagery mapping with the addition of a $29 mapping subscription that you can get for $19 at J&R's. From where I sit it's more for the analytical user who wants to do more than just geocache but at the occasional price of $199 for the PN-40 "kit", it's tough to match.

 

In terms of tech support at Lowrance, short version, it's improved alot. Don't discount the product because of tech support because that's old news right now ... Having the "Endura Expert" periodically on-line and available has helped alot for many people who have had issues early on ... personally, I really enjoy my Endura Sierra and firmly believe the product enhancements have only just begun.

 

Try doing product searchs with Bizrate.com, Nextag.com, they'll give you the best price for your product and the store that you can get them from at that price.

 

I did notice someone posted a price break on the Oregon 300 for $225 that you should look at really fast!!!

 

Good luck!

 

N

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So if you were going to use one of the paperless systems somewhere near my price range which is really closer to 250-350, which would you shoot for?

 

How're the controls for the Colorado 400t? I've seen it quite often w/in my price range. And the antenna on them would be better in Oregon since we have trees EVERYWHERE!

 

yeah, I already looked into the deal at REI. All of them in my area are sold out. I'll check those sites. I honestly don't see myself doing much other than Geocaching with it. I'd love to get outdoors more, but my 2 jobs and kids sorta prevent me from taking off much =P

 

thanks guys

Edited by fendermallot
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All the units that have been mentioned are nice and you'd probably be happy with any of them. My opinion is that the Delorme PN-40 is still the best bang for the buck among the top teir units. That's one of the main reasons I bought mine when they first came out and I paid over $300 for it then. You can get it on Amazon right now for $260. It has been on sale occasionally for as little as $199 which is an absolute steal. I should mention though, Delorme has announced a May timeframe for the release of their new PN-60. Whether or not that will affect the PN-40/30 prices, I don't know. I'll also say that most PN customers including myself, report excellent customer service. Delorme also has its own forums and a fine group of people helping provide answers to new PN owner's questions.

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Thanks StarBrand. That's where I've been leaning. I've had a brief chance to goof off with the 550t at the pacific NW sportsman's show a week ago. The guys at the Garmin booth were pretty nice. It's too bad they didn't actually have anything loaded into them so I could see caches on the map. But the controls seemed pretty dadgum slick. I'll probably just squirrel my $ away and wait until I see some decent deals. I just found an Oregon 400t for $289 on ebay, but it didn't come with any of the accessories it normally does. So that was a no go. Gotta atleast have the cable!

 

I also have an Colorado 400i, Oregon 200, and a Endura Sierra and they all rock for geocaching. For the best features for the buck, I'd still look long and hard at the Garmin Colorado series first (bought mine for $239 at Rocket Camera) followed by the Endura Out and Back (which has optional Acuterra mapping packages which are just killer nice) that I've seen for somewhere around $180 or so.

 

The Garmins permit some limited custom mapping that very soon will have rastor based imagery mapping for $29 similar to the Delorme package available to their GPSr's also, plus you can d/l high quality 1:24K topo's for free at gpsfiledepot.com. That alone is worth some very hefty bucks all by itself.

 

The Delorme's are fine for geocaching also, come with a superb mapping program, will allow some additional rastor based custom imagery mapping with the addition of a $29 mapping subscription that you can get for $19 at J&R's. From where I sit it's more for the analytical user who wants to do more than just geocache but at the occasional price of $199 for the PN-40 "kit", it's tough to match.

 

In terms of tech support at Lowrance, short version, it's improved alot. Don't discount the product because of tech support because that's old news right now ... Having the "Endura Expert" periodically on-line and available has helped alot for many people who have had issues early on ... personally, I really enjoy my Endura Sierra and firmly believe the product enhancements have only just begun.

 

Try doing product searchs with Bizrate.com, Nextag.com, they'll give you the best price for your product and the store that you can get them from at that price.

 

I did notice someone posted a price break on the Oregon 300 for $225 that you should look at really fast!!!

 

Good luck!

 

N

 

The prices are dropping on both the Safari and Sierra to $299 & $399 respectively, hopefully this makes them more attractive.

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I still can't make up my mind, argh!

 

I was looking at Oregon 300 as it should be coming down in price. Do I wait a bit to see the price fall?

 

Colorado 400t: Seen it for around $275. I've read that the controls are not always intuitive. I'd love for any paperless unit I get to be easy for the wife to use w/o having to draw her diagrams and go off on long speeches.

 

Lowrance out&back: Great value, arguably has some of the nicest caching features, but I hear that their tech support leaves something to be desired? Is that honestly their only drawback?

 

I haven't looked into the DeLorme paperless models. Any good?

 

I'm looking for something that is easy to use, can easily and quickly pull caches off the net. Y'all know what I mean. I want all the bang I can get, for the money I have. Wish I could pull off the $500... having a 550t w/ the camera would be suhweet!

 

Thanks guys/gals!

REI is closing out the Oregon 300 and 400t for $225 and $259. Not all stores have them, but if your local store doesn't have stock they can check with other REI stores and have it shipped to you. I have an Oregon 300 and like it very much. It's super for geocaching, and I love the touch screen. I do wish the screen were a bit brighter, but it's not a deal killer for me.

 

OldA'sFan

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So if you were going to use one of the paperless systems somewhere near my price range which is really closer to 250-350, which would you shoot for?

 

How're the controls for the Colorado 400t? I've seen it quite often w/in my price range. And the antenna on them would be better in Oregon since we have trees EVERYWHERE!

 

yeah, I already looked into the deal at REI. All of them in my area are sold out. I'll check those sites. I honestly don't see myself doing much other than Geocaching with it. I'd love to get outdoors more, but my 2 jobs and kids sorta prevent me from taking off much =P

 

thanks guys

I'm more or less in your neck of the woods and use the PN. The biggest deterrent to any GPS reception will be the mountains. A narrow horizon edge-to-edge will hamper any ability to maintain a good lock. The PN holds its own very well in this environment even under heavy tree cover. Orientation of the unit is going to be key. I carry mine horizontally on my shoulder strap in a pouch when it isn't in my hands for optimum orientation. If you're looking to carry it by the lanyard around your neck, you'll do better with a GPS with a quad-helix antenna. Otherwise, the patch antenna today does very well.

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