Montana 650T worth buying

[phillips1114]

I am looking at buying the Montana 650T for ATVing. I have read thru the posts here that the Montana has alot of bugs and issues, but also has alot of nice features. Would I be better off to wait until the issues are fixed? I like the Montana because it has a mount and cable for power supply. Alot of the other Garmins don't have that. Please convince me one way or another if I should purchase the Montana 650T.

 

Thanks in advance

[+Texas Charles]

I have looked at a 650T and like everything about it except the size and weight. If I didn't have a GPS now I would buy it but since I have a Garmin 60CSx and Garmin 550T I am going to wait until they get the bugs worked out or for the next newest, latest and greatest. The next one is probably being designed now for introduction in about 1 to 2 years.

 

Texas Charles

[skagitstan]

I have a Montana 600, which goes on my Ural in motorcycle profile, and on a carabiner on my belt when hiking. Didn't get a 650(or T). I figure mounted on the bike, taking pics is a problem with any device. I'd guess ATV would be similar. When hiking, I'd rather a higher res camera, and in either mode, I'd prefer 24K topos to the 100K on the T.

 

But the Montana is great! A few firmware issues yet to be worked out, but overall, it's head and shoulders above the Oregon 300 it replaces. Best GPS I've had.

[+Walts Hunting]

How do you attach a carabiner they don't have the setup for it on the back. I wouldn't get the t either. I much prefer the routable 24k. will be picking up a 650 when I return from vacation.

Edited July 28, 2011 by Walts Hunting

[phillips1114]

I need some education on these gps's. Most of the guys I ride with have a gps, but when I take my family I am riding blind sometimes. I read that the 600 has to have the topo maps added, is that correct? The 650t says the same thing but has the 100k maps, what is the difference between 24k and 100k. Does it really make a difference? Does the 600 have the same bugs as the 650t?

 

Pleace educate me.

Edited July 28, 2011 by phillips1114

[+Styk]

I wonder about the long term reliability of the contacts for power in the cradle and on the Montana when used for ATVing. Riding in a group in the summer usually involves a lot of dust. I too am waiting for tyhe majority of bugs to be fixed, jump on the bandwagon real early with the Colorado, waited about a year before getting a Oregon and that was a hugh improvement. The Montana looks like the perfect unit for off-road activities.

[+michaelnel]

I read that the 600 has to have the topo maps added, is that correct?

 

The 600 and 650 come with a "world basemap" that only shows really major roads and highways. If you want topo lines of elevation yes, you need to add some kind of topo map. But you can get excellent free topo maps from http://www.gpsfiledepot.com.

 

what is the difference between 24k and 100k.

 

The major difference is how close the topo lines are spaced. You can more accurately judge elevation and contours with a 24K map. In the Garmin versions of these maps, the 24Ks are routable, but the 100ks are not.

 

Does it really make a difference?

 

Depends on how you use your GPS. In the back country I would say topo maps are really useful. For urban use, not so much. I have 2 different 24K topos and one 100K topo installed on my Montana 600 and seldom use any of them. I use Garmin's City Navigator map the most, but since purchasing that I discovered the Open Street Map project and their routable maps. If I were going to get routable street maps today I believe I would skip the City Navigator maps and go with the OSM free ones.

 

Does the 600 have the same bugs as the 650t?

 

Yep, except for bugs involving the camera. The 600 wouldn't be affected by those.

[skagitstan]

How do you attach a carabiner they don't have the setup for it on the back. I wouldn't get the t either. I much prefer the routable 24k. will be picking up a 650 when I return from vacation.

Here's a pic of my carabiner attached. Just used a short piece of nylon strap through the lanyard slot.

DSC08481 (Custom) by skagitstan, on Flickr

[phillips1114]

The major difference is how close the topo lines are spaced. You can more accurately judge elevation and contours with a 24K map. In the Garmin versions of these maps, the 24Ks are routable, but the 100ks are not..

 

I see that if I wanted different areas of the U.S. I would need to download those areas, such as great lakes region, western region. My question is how many regions can I put on one sd card? Do I need a seperate sd card for each region?

Edited July 28, 2011 by phillips1114

[+ecanderson]

The major difference is how close the topo lines are spaced. You can more accurately judge elevation and contours with a 24K map. In the Garmin versions of these maps, the 24Ks are routable, but the 100ks are not..

 

I see that if I wanted different areas of the U.S. I would need to download those areas, such as great lakes region, western region. My question is how many regions can I put on one sd card? Do I need a seperate sd card for each region?

Obviously, it depends upon how much uSD card you want to jam in there, but to give you an idea of overall size, I have 24K topos from gpsfiledepot.com with lots of feature and POI detail loaded and the entire State of Colorado consumes only about 190MB.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

After reading these forums I'd wait awhile before I bought a Montana if I got one at all.

[+Walts Hunting]

You need to remember that generally people only post when they want to gripe. If you think that the few posted problems here represent a majority you are way off. have you ever seen a post that starts with "several thousand Montana owners used theirs today and are happy". just like you never see an article that says several thousand people went to Mexico today and came back unharmed.

 

Now that RAM has there mount for it I will be getting one as soon as I get back from vacation.