Dakota 20 and Montana impressions

[+Tecolate and Gatita]

I recently purchased a Dakota 20 and solicited comments from this forum. After trying the Dakota during early AM walks, I was unhappy with the display and intended to return it.

 

So, I dropped by REI, looked at the Montana and bought it also. But after actual geocaching use in full sunlight, I decided that the Dakota display is passable. The size/weight/stealth is particularly appealing.

 

And, that's how I ended up with both units. There are some strange quirks in either unit, and hopefully they will be changed with upgrades. Incompatibility of both units with Mapsource is disappointing, but there appear to be workarounds. The wireless exchange of only ONE waypoint at a time between units is unexpected. The operating instructions for both units are pretty lousy.

 

Bottom line is that I like both units, in spite of the warts. Why both units? The Dakota is great for on foot search activity, and the Montana is great for navigation by car to the cache site.

[ao318]

Not to knock your liking of both units but a nuvi would be a lot cheaper and it could come with lifetime maps and traffic for a lot less than the Montana. It could also have Bluetooth capabilities to sync with your phone to use hands free calling and possibly a few other things.

 

Just an idea if you like the Dakota. You could also get a second cheaper GPSr along with a nuvi to be a backup to the Dakota for the price of the Montana.

[+Tecolate and Gatita]

Not to knock your liking of both units but a nuvi would be a lot cheaper and it could come with lifetime maps and traffic for a lot less than the Montana. It could also have Bluetooth capabilities to sync with your phone to use hands free calling and possibly a few other things.

 

Just an idea if you like the Dakota. You could also get a second cheaper GPSr along with a nuvi to be a backup to the Dakota for the price of the Montana.

 

And why do you think I don't have a Nuvi already?

 

I agree, the Nuvi is much easier to use for traffic, but is useless for chasing geocaches. Also, the Montana is sometimes used for geocaching in my wife's car, which has an integral GPS with remote coordinate entry by a live operator.

[ao318]

Maybe I didn't state it well. What I was saying is that for the price of a Montana you could have both the nuvi and the Dakota. And if you found good deals, you could possibly get a second handheld unit as a Backup.

I wouldn't expect you to cache with the nuvi, even though some people do it.

[+Tecolate and Gatita]

Maybe I didn't state it well. What I was saying is that for the price of a Montana you could have both the nuvi and the Dakota. And if you found good deals, you could possibly get a second handheld unit as a Backup.

I wouldn't expect you to cache with the nuvi, even though some people do it.

 

yes, the Montana is a bit pricey. I had been using an OLD emap while driving to caches, but it had gotten too confusing with truncated GC codes. As a plus, the Montana has a clearer/larger display.