Garmin GPSMAP 62st VS. Oregon 550t

[Fluxuated]

Looking seriously at the 2, the Oregon is obviously more money.. I'm using a 60csx, and love it. But it's time to look at upgrading.

 

I really like the 62st, but I'm looking for top of the line for Geocaching, and Bike Riding. I'll be adding TOPO as well as NT Street Maps.

 

Opinions, on which is better and why? The comparisons are hard to do on the screen, I'd like to hear from people who have used both. Thanks for the opinions.

[+bcblues]

I, too, upgraded from the 60 series, which I loved. I like the buttons, therefore I went with the 62 rather than the Oregon. Like you, I use mine on my mountain bike and road bike, as well as hiking and geocaching. Strong points for the Oregon are touchscreen, higher resolution screen, and smaller form factor. Strong points for the 62 series are buttons and a brighter screen.

[+myotis]

I use my OR 550T for bike riding all the time. The only issue is sometimes it is hard to read the screen. When you have it in your hands, you can point it so you have a good angle to view. That is harder on the bike. When the sun conditions are not good for viewing on my handlebars, I clip it to my backpack and use a laynard to make sure I don't lose it. I am more than happy with it. Also when I am geocaching on my bike, I normally will not use the handlebar mount since I cannot read cache info from there.

 

I was very hesitant to go to the OR as I did not think I would like the touch screen. I've had numerous Garmin handhelds dating back to the GPS 12 and I always liked the buttons. I liked my CO even better as the wheel was really nice once you got used to it. I did not have high expectation when I switched to my OR. I love the touch screen and will never go back to a button GPS. I think it is much better and easier than the buttons.

[+bcblues]

I have never really used an Oregon, but I have played with a couple for a short while. I did gift a Dakota 20 to my son-in-law. One thing that I really liked is typing in notes/comments on the touchscreen while geocaching, or even typing in coordinates. MUCH easier with the touch screen than with the cursor buttons/enter on the 62.

[+G & C]

I use an Oregon 550t daily. I get to play with a 62st all the time. You won't go wrong with either. They're both awesome.

 

I like the Oregon for a few reasons. The camera being with me at all times is great. I never miss a picture now. I'm not being sarcastic, it really is a very useful feature. The touch screen is also great, it makes inputting info so much faster.

 

My Dad hates touch screens, and that was the driving force behind him buying the 62st. He loves it. I love it too. I just love my Oregon more.

 

But like I said, you won't go wrong with either of them.

[+Mark202]

One thing to consider, depending on what area your primary activity is in...you can get a 550, buy the topo 24k maps which are navigable for about the same price as a 550t. That worked well for me, but Im not as familiar with the price differences on the 62's. As for the unit comparison, I think the Oregon is a very functional and fun unit, but if your bike riding A LOT then you might want the buttons. The Oregon requires you to hit the screen at least twice to switch functions (exit, then function select) and Set-Up is yet another process. I kept my old Colorado for motorcycling and am really glad I did, the Oregon is just too distracting for those type of activities. Even when we geocache with my friends with 62st's, I can tell that Im consistently playing with functions and focused on the GPS while they just tap a button and are 'heads up'.

[Fluxuated]

Thanks a lot for the replies. I'm still looking, and appreciate the info you have all provided.

[+michaelnel]

Thanks a lot for the replies. I'm still looking, and appreciate the info you have all provided.

 

I had an Oregon 450 (it's the 550 without the camera). I found the screen to be really annoying in sunlight. If you have it in your hand you can usually angle it so you can read it, but on a static bicycle mount it is almost NEVER at an angle where you can read it. I had to stop and take it out of the mount to read it, so the mount just became a place to store it when I was moving from point A to point B.

 

I upgraded from that to a Magellan eXplorist 710, which had an even worse display. Sent that back to Amazon too, and bought a GPSMap 60csx because they were so cheap and I had previously owned two other ones. I remembered it as being very easy to read in sunlight, and it was. However, I found it kind of primitive for geocaching, so I took it back to REI and they currently have the GPSMap 62s on sale for $279.99, so I bought that. I already had a mount for the Oregon and the 62S uses the same bicycle mount, and I already had a copy of City Navigator that Garmin was willing to switch from the 60 to the 62.

 

I love the 62s! My favorite GPS of all the GPSs I have owned (12). the 62 has all the GOOD stuff that's in the Oregon without that awful display (and in the case of the 550, a cheesy camera I don't need). It's a keeper, as far as I'm concerned.

Edited May 19, 2011 by michaelnel