Great job guys. This unit has just been announced and you already have a review!
Yeah, price is steep but it is like virginity: it hurts only once and then all the rest is pure fun.

I went briefly through your article so I have to come back to dig deeper but for starters I am wandering what is the point of all that geocaching or Whereigo? Any moron with ANY kind of GPS can find a location. I would understand if you hide cache, give approximate location and DESCRIBE exact position with clues or riddles; but just having coordinates and follow GPS like brainless idiot, my cat can do that. Different folks different strokes. Some never grow up, some have tons of idle time at hands.

All other features of new Colorado are really impressive. I cannot accept complain regarding scroll wheel; look at the etrex; just get used to it. This wheel is step forward. What will be an alternative? Million buttons? One button with zillion functions and shift, alt, control keys? No thanks.

What bothers me is uncovered SD card slot at the bottom of the unit. SD card will most likely stick out a little bit so you can press it and pop it out and this is just invitation for mishaps. I prefer etrex way; micro SD under the cover.

Other comments regarding menus, overlapping features will probably get corrected by future software updates.

You guys are fast and deserve all kudos for bringing new info from GPS world. Even http://gpsinformation.net/ have no clue about this new unit, yet.

Is the compass still the inoperable 2-axis, or did they upgrade to the 3-axis?

Is Garmin going to have topo quad (1:24000) maps that cover more than just the National Parks?

The hardware on Colorado seems nice, but Magellan's Triton with more powerful and useful quad maps, 3-axis compass, and barometric weather might be the winner for me.

Great review. Thank you.

I think they should have use a touch screen. Have they not seen the iPhone? That has a really beautiful and rugged screen.

It would eliminate that ugly big wheel on the top and make the unit smaller. Not to mention a breeze to navigate.

Mark my words, they will move to a touch screen in a year or two. Why wait? Do it now so you can maintain market share. Why like others like TomTom in the car segment coming in and take business away from you?

Ever use a touchscreen in the winter?
I'm hoping for a sidebyside comparison with a Triton model...hope they get the bugs out of them first!

Cheers

Seems to be great unit, thanks for the review.

I think it´ll render the PDA and the calculator obsolete for us geocaching folks.

For in-car use I´ll keep my Garmin GPSMAP 278, but I sure will buy the colorado.

Thumbs up for the review!

The wheel is certainly not any "con" for this unit. It's very easy to handle, with one thumb, but may require some practice to get used to.

You can modify the pre-defined profiles as well, if you like.

Groundspeak aren't generating the correct geocache files yet, that's why it doesn't work.

Easier to use in some aspects, but less possible settings (customising) than with the 60 CSx.

Dragan said;

"What bothers me is uncovered SD card slot at the bottom of the unit. SD card will most likely stick out a little bit so you can press it and pop it out and this is just invitation for mishaps."

If you re-read the article - the sd slot is covered by the battery cover. No need to completely remove the batteries to get the sd card out...

To Skifreak

You are absolutely right. As I said, I have to read the whole article once more, slowly, instead of just skimming it. It is shame there is no easy way to PRINT the whole article and read in peace but we are forced to stare into monitors all day.

This unit is a definite upgrade of eTrex or 60xxx. But on the other hand, why bother? New HP iPaq 210 with 4” (real) screen + GPS receiver (real SiRF III) + Tom-Tom (free) maps for less than $500 is ultimate organizer and GPS in one. Use touch screen or stylus (somebody mentioned winter, gloves), portrait or landscape, TtS, watch movies, listen music, you name it. Why bother with dedicated GPS units at all when they will became obsolete in 6 months anyway when competition comes with new toy or even Garmin ‘discontinues’ model and releases ‘new’ one like it did with eTrex Legend C?

I said Real screen because this tall and narrow ‘ 3” ’ is not real 3” screen for me. What will be next: 5” high and 0.3” width so you can see only one street at the time and you will say that it has ‘ 5.01” ‘ screen?

I'd like to see a shootout between the Colorado 400t and the Triton 1500 or 2000, especially comparing maps with off-road trails, zoom-in and zoom-out capabilities, map loading, quality of the maps, etc. The Garmin crowd will tout customer service, freedom from bugs, reliability, and the Triton crowd will cheer the apparently much better and more detailed NG maps. So how about a shootout! rider

Thanks for the review. I've already ordered it, and I'm looking forward to replacing my trusty 60CSx.

One thing I wonder is if it has the ability to display "% grade" (how steep a hill is.) The Edge 305 cycling model does this. I'm hoping that since the Colorado was designed with bicycling in mind, they have added this calculation as a display option. It's not a particularly accutate number, since it varies constantly, and depends on the trend of altitude measurements, but it's still useful to confirm that you're suffering up a 12% grade.

The Colorado looks great, and I hope it will last me until they come up with a model that gets mapping and POI updates wirelessly and dynamically, via a subscription service. I think this is really the future for these devices. They are currently like PCs in the pre-internet days, when you only got updates every couple of years.

I'm glad to see Garmin come out with a new hand held GPS. This looks like a really nice one.

Does the unit still beep when giving turn by turn directions? If so, is it any louder than the 60 series?

Does anyone know if this GPS unit that will track when the screen is off? I want to capture a detailed track, but I don't need the screen draining batteries. I'm surprized Garmin or Magellan haven't incorporated this yet.

Hey Dragan,
Yes I agree about printing this review. What I did was email each page to myself and then print the emailed page. Still a PITA, but it's one way to have a hard copy to study.
Barefoot one & Wench

Hi,
have this Navi both metric units (feet/meter,Fahrenheit/Celsius)?
thanks

As an avid geocacher I have been using the 60Csx for 2 years and have only one complaint, the controls. Try entering coords out in the field during the winter with gloves on. Or even try to "Find" and not "Mark" by accident. The new wheel setup looks like a winner and I can't wait to try it. Also the idea of "paperless" caching without having to also carry my non-waterproff PDA looks like a winner too. As far as what is the point of Geocaching, until you have done a 58 stage multi that required hiking, climbing, paddeling, and just getting out from behind your computer you wouldn't understand. But just like the "open SD slot" comment, some people comment on things they know nothing about. Thanks for the review, you have helped me make up my mind, I want one.

The Review states: "The unit is constructed of matt finished metal and is framed by a thick rubber material."

Actually its painted plastic.

Does Garmin Colorado 300 display longitude/latitude coordinates?

To Dragan:

You realy have no clue what you're talking about have you?

Ever been Geocaching? Ever tried Geocaching with a pocket PC/smartphone/whatever? I don't think so.

Anyways great review, great device.

The garmin website mentions in the specs for the colorado 300:
internal memory: 384Mb
and for the 400 series:
internal memory: yes

The "yes" is quite funny , but have the 300 and 400 the same amount of internal memory? The reviews mentions 3GB but I couldn't find this in the specs?

If the diff is only the preloaded maps I would go for the 300 since I live in Europe.
Thanks!
Bart

Thanks for the very detailed review.

I had a chance to try this out at a store. Very impressive! The wheel thing & soft keys make moving around the many menus / options very user friendly.

Jake: you asked about the compass (2/3 axis). I noticed you must keep the unit level to get any sort of proper reading - is that what you meant?

When I took it for a spin outside the store, the unit consistently positioned me about 400 ft west of my location on the map - even though the satellite page said I was accurate to ~ 10 feet. I tried re-booting, and playing with menu options to no avail. I figure there may just be some simple setting I was missing (map datum?). I plan to try again in a week - maybe they will have figured it out at the store by then. Any ideas? Unfortunately Garmin has yet to post a manual on their website.

This is a very nice GPS for sure. The look and feel is great and it is easy to operate.

However 16 hours of battery life is not much compared to the GPSMAP60 which I actually have seen work twice as long on two AAs. That is a good week of effective use. The device I tested said goodnight after only four hours. (Yes the backlight was off.) That is simply not good enough. I really miss an economy-mode to boost the autonomy of this otherwise wonderful hardware. Garmin actually made this for the iQue5 PDA. It was really effective. The screen would go blank after a while with no user input, but the device would still recieve and by the touch of a button it would immediately show you an updated view of the map.

Any advice on how to make the Colorado less agressive on the batteries?

I'm puzzled - I have archived about 20 tracks. But how do I delete an archived track? - I hope it is possible - but I've been trying for over an hour and I can't find a way. DOesn't make any sense.

Anybody know?
Am I missing the obvious?

Your review says "performs extremely well". Obviously you didn't turn it on. This unit is so full of bugs I can't believe Garmin shipped it. You probably didn't use it long enough to drain the batteries to two bars. You didn't try NiMH. You didn't have lock up s, lost maps or reboots? Did you track properly on side street base maps? Did you try to find the turn by turn directions? I didn't think so.

My battery life is 4.5 hours on NiMh rechargeables and 9.25 hours on Alkalines with brief use of full backlight. However, cut that in half for actual usable time since the backlight goes off when the batteries are half used. Functional time therefore with rechargeables is about 2.5 hours!

I've had one for over a week. Accuracy when I zoom into a street location is way off. Hundreds of yards from known map locations. Other times, the streets just don't match up to what is there. Can't figure out how to do turn by turn. It always says that I am not near a street when I have been on one for miles. And why is it that when I scroll to a location, the only option is "done"? Can not do 3d view, tides, or any other option at locations other than current position? Geocache functions are also strange. No icon and position pointer moves off screen as I walk. Grrrrr...

garmin has garnered more hatred from reluctant customers that microsoft. If you want this product to work in a useful way you need more than what comes in the box. you need the topo software even tho it comes pre loaded because otherwise you can't plan a trip on your pc. then you need city navigator because it won't do turn by turn or get you to the trail head wthout it. while in the car, you need a special cable and mounting system because regular usb will make it go into disk mode.

400t = $600
topo = $140
city nav = $140
cable = $50

that's a $930 investment.

Indiana Jones Meets MacGyver? Not! More like Rick Steves meets Britney Spears.

ha! sounds like a heap of trouble out there. mine went back to rei. the wife says she likes me much better when i'm not cussing.

I went out to actually buy one knowing there were more than a few problems, but willing to put up with them. Was advised to stay away by the sales person due to the number of units coming back. He suggested a 60Csx, but I'll just wait a few months instead. Hope Garmin can get their sh*t together by then.

I'm surprised you didn't ding it more on the screen. I have the 400t and have been quite underwhelmed with the display. It is darker, less reflective, and generally much harder to read than my 60CS, especially outdoors. And it doesn't help that some of their color choices (like dark blue on black for the satellite signal bars) are incomprehensible. Outside I can barely see them. Ironically it looks best indoors (with the backlight cranked up), but that's not exactly where I want to use it.

Plus the thing takes 30 seconds to start up before you can do anything, fully 3X longer than my 60CS. Very annoying if you don't leave it on all the time while moving around.

I really wanted to upgrade from my 60CS, but I'm tempted to take this back to REI and wait for a somewhat better version.

Although I've used a gps map 76 for about five years, I've just recently wanted to become more gps savvy. I had trouble in the woods with this unit losing the sats signals; so I recently purchased the Colorado 300. After reading some of the above comments, there are several that I can identify with. How to delete a saved track? I recently spoke to a Garmin rep. who acknowledged this. It's my feelings from talking to him that there will be software download that will correct this. I wasn't reassured that that the screen brightness (or lack of) was an issue. I think I've read a comment somewhere that says the SIRF chip "SIPS" current. I
don't know if it's the proprietary Garmin chip or what, but mine "DRANK" the juice. I recently received
a hardbound outdoor supply catalog that listed the 300 and 400; and alkaline batteries were omitted as a power supply. Even on NIMH batteries, I still got poor results. In particular, in the 3d mode using topo 2008, fairly new Duracell batteries (showing 4 bars) would be drained down to one bar in less than 2 minutes. For this reason the Garmin rep. requested that I send the unit in for replacement. I did.
It's my belief that these issues will be taken care of by Garmin because they always have.

power for me is short too maybe 2 or 3 hours on nickel metal batteries before screen goes dim. biggest problem tho is base map wrong. streets wrong. streets where none exist. no street where street is clearly there. track runs parallel to street off by a few hundred meters. can not remove some profiles like marine. can not get back to factory default if they delete. this go back to rei.

Left out something on my previous comment. I believe the only difference between the 300 and the 400t is the built-in memory of the 300 is 384 megs which allowed me to load in a few states from topo 2008 vs. the 400t which has all of topo 2008 loaded which I believe is around 5 gigs.
I figure one could use all of the built-in memory and download to a 4 gig card the rest to just about cover all of the U.S. or maybe not.

Agree with most of the posts here. Mine is going back.

I get tracks that begin where the unit was last shut off and end where it is turned on again even when 30 miles apart. Makes a lot of clutter on the screen. Had to turn off tracks to keep this from happening. Also, like some have said, I also get only a few hours on regchargable batteries and have useless display when power is 50%. Really scratching my head about the value of this device at $600.

Reviewer: based on the responses listed here this product is less than ideal. Did you discover any of these problems? Makes me wonder if you actually used it or had physical contact with it.

i'm sooo sorrrry, Uncle Albert. I didn't make this stuff up. The serial # on my Colorado 300 was 169000xxx. If the screen had been bright enough to use in daylight and if I would have been able to keep batteries in this thing, I would have kept it. I still think Garmin will remedy these and other issues. I will wait.

Same issue here with automatic routing. Since the website specs say automatic turn by turn is supported and that was important to me for automotive use, I really counted on it to be there. Support says it won't work with the base map as listed in specifications and tried to up-sell me on city navigator for $139. That's not right Garmin. Be clear in your specs or honor your advertising claims!

jerryc1: I think UncleAlbert was referring to the author of the original review, which was a pretty positive piece that didn't seem to mention many (any?) of the major shortcomings the rest of us found. In fact, it even praises the screen, which is clearly (to my eyes at least) less readable than the 60CS.

And yes, Garmin will undoubtedly fix many of the simpler issues (and they already have some with the 2.3 update). But I would not hold my breath on anything major with the screen. Short of tweaking colors to be more sensible, I'm not sure there is much they can do to fix a bad choice of LCD hardware. If you look at a powered off Colorado next to a 60CS, the Colorado screen is noticeably darker. It is even darker than my Nuvi. So it just won't reflect as much light back out, and you have to rely on the backlight (which as we all know can't compete well with the sun). I don't know if it's the higher resolution or what. But no firmware tweaks are going to be able to fix that fundamental physical issue...

BryanF Thank you for pointing out the misdirection of my response. Uncle Albert, I am really sooo sorrrry now
for my rush to defend my statements without seeing the obvious. I apologize.
Thanks to you, BryanF, the decision has been made much easier. I will get the 60csx that has a great screen, has been proven to have excellent signal reception and doesn't drink the juice.

No problem Jerry. If anyone has the patience to read throught the whole list, here's the Colorado 400t bug / problem / issue / request tracker.

garmincolorado.wikispaces dot com

Is there a limit to the total size of maps it can read from an SD card? IIRC the 60 CSx is limited to about 115 MB, so even with a bigger card than this one is limited on how many maps can be available in the unit at any one time.

Good point steve_c. Garmin is completely silent on the issue of maps & memory. Groundspeak forum has a few users who reported loaded 2+ GB of maps and then could not access the map data or even boot. Garmin, where are you? Your customers are putting more time and effort into this product than you are!

My inside connection says that in the month these have been out, they have only sold a few hundred and most of those have come back. You would think Garmin would either lower the price, fix the problems, include the software, or come out of hiding and explain themselves. Do they have a marketing department? Maybe they were escorted out the door after this fiasco.

I picked up a 400t last week and have been really impressed by it. I've loaded streets '08 and was truly impressed by how accurate the system worked in the auto-profile. Turn by turn is exceptional. Awesome. (Yes, the specs say proper cartography is required...yes, I read the specs, yes I ordered the maps, yes, it worked. It worked great.) Loaded the entire United States (Including Alaska) and all of Canada onto a 2 gig SD card. (yep...including all two million plus points of interest, intersections...everything that was on the DVD) That process takes some time,Hey, theres a LOT of info, but it went flawlessly.

I do a lot of back country hill walking and have yet to lose sat lock, which is incredibly quick. (I get full sat acquisition and lock from inside the kitchen of my two story home within a few seconds of turning the unit on...cool!) The Topo maps loaded onto the 400t are certainly adequate. I'll probably get the Topo DVD, too, so I can do quick long range planning.

Deleting an active track? No problem! Shortcuts, others, tracks, options, delete active track. No problem. It's in the manual. Couple of steps? Sure. Once you've done it a couple of times? Again, No problem. It takes seconds.

A big part of the problem is that it's new. It's different from what a lot of people are used to using. Because it's new and different, there's a learning curve. I got over it pretty quickly. Just don't compare it to a unit that you already have and have been using for a while and you shouldn't have too much of a problem either. It's not my first GPS, I've had several. Maybe I'm lucky, that mine worked right out of the box, but all in all there's still a lot more to be happy about than to complain about. (Damm...I read the instructions, did my research, found out what I needed to know and needed to have, and I'm pretty happy with the unit.)

My only problems...every once in a while it got hung up loading maps at startup. I shut if off, turned it back on...problem solved. Oh, it DOES chew through some batteries! 16 hours on a set of AAs is a little rough. I'm okay with the display outside in the sunlight. It only takes a second to brighten it up or turn it back down or off if I need to check a detail, but I guess I don't need to spend all of my time looking at the GPS (after the novelty of the new unit wore off.) I don't do a lot of hillwalking with my GPS on at night, so I guess my batteries last a little longer than some other folks have. I've never used rechargeables in anything I needed to last, so can't give a good comparison there. Would I buy it again? Yes. If it breaks in a month, will I bitch? Yep. Do I think the original review is a good one? Yes I do, thank you.

Updated post on clearing current track: Shortcuts, SETUP, Tracks, Options (Once the "Tracks" menu comes up, hit the upper left "soft" key for "Options") Scroll down to the 3rd option (clear current track) and hit enter. (Sorry.)

The "lockup" while "Loading Maps" during start-up has been addressed in the latest software download. It's not in the auto-update program as of 2/14, so go to Garmin, Support, Updates, and manually download the latest update for Colorado 400t. Oh, and if your "Waypoints" should fail to appear on any of your maps, Support has a quick fix for that too. Shortcuts, Setup, Maps, options, advanced, zoom levels, user way points, then adjust user waypoints from "auto" to "120 miles". It worked for me...the symbols and info instantly re-appeared on the map pages.

I am dedicated Garmin user. I usually get a new auto navigation and a new hiking unit every year, or when Garmin makes a significant change. I currently own a Nuvi 660, a 60CSx, a StreetPilot C550, and a GPSmap 276C that I never use and never bothered to sell.

I just received my Colorado 400t a few days ago. It's going back. It powers itself off about every 10-15 minutes. I have not been able to find a particular trigger for this (certain menus, keys, etc.) but I left it on the table and it powered itself off after 30 minutes or so. I put the batteries in my 60CSx and it runs for hours without a problem, so that rules out the batteries. Garmin support says that there are known reset issues but garmincolorado.wikispaces dot com says otherwise.

I'm a bit pissed that they put the 3-axis compass in a dog unit a year or two ago, and now they are back to the fixed orientation compass with this unit. It' not natural to hold it horizontal when you use it.

I find the battery door a real joke to open. It's not very easy and there's really nothing to grab onto to pull the cover off the unit.

The dark display (compared to my 60CSx) is a real issue for me as well. It's not good for outdoor use unless the sun is shining on the unit. It's overcast today and it's not easy to read the display outside.

The other lacking features mentioned here and at garmincolorado.wikispaces dot com is also a great disappointment for me. I think I will check out the new Magellan unit (which I have not even looked at yet) or wait for something better from Garmin. Garmin's new policy of not allowing you to use two units (two unlock codes) with the maps for pre-loaded units makes it easier for me to not buy Garmin for both my car navigation and hiking needs.

REALLY hoping for a software update soon that AT LEAST fixes two things: 1) zoom more than 80ft, i know there is nothing down there :) but still want to be able to do it (the CSx can, why not the mighty Colorado?!?! Why???) and over-zoom really does help when looking for geocaches. 2) Let me reverse the direction of a trail/track that i have just archived. Say i hike somewhere there are no roads and want to "track back" (just like the CSx can do where you can even choose the point to track back to!!) this one cannot do it since each saved track has a predetermined direction built-in (the one used when it was recorded). I hope this makes sense to you guys. Please, why remove features that the CSx had? Thanks.

P.S. No circle around pointer that indicates gps accuracy (sad, i really like that feature - WHY REMOVE IT??)

---------------------------

CONS:
- map zooms only down to 80ft. as opposed to 20ft. (ok, not a big deal but why not??) The software (under advanced settings can be customized down to 20ft.) so why not over-zoom ?!?!
- display not so bright (nothing like the CSx outdoors) or as reflective for that matter. I know that the screen CAN be brighter, since when you plug it in, for a second the display recognizes the power supply and brights up to max – but the it switches to the “PC-link” mode and that’s it.
- no circle around current location that indicates gps accuracy (sad, i really like that feature - WHY REMOVE IT??)
- user manual, well, next to useless (only the VERY basics in there, zero details)
- once plugged into the USB, cannot use the gps (i.e. you cannot use the usb as a power supply, with the CSx you can)
- not even close to the map customizations the CSx has (i.e. compass track up or north up zoom level or SPPED/time dependant, turning map regions on/off, etc. etc.
- cannot average a waypoint (i.e. takes only one measurement, the CSx takes as many as you are willing to wait for!)
- cannot see geocaches on map or mark them as found for that matter (only waypoints appear) – ah, not a big deal though.

Biggest complaint (since i use this for hiking):
- cannot "track back" on a trail/track (OK GARMIN - what were you thinking here???). Cannot reverse tracks either! Cannot follow track back since when archived the direction is set!?! (ok, not that you will get lost or anything, i know, but distance and time, ETAs, etc. cannot be calculated based on following the actual track BACK, just on a straight line (i.e. off road mode). "Use track" function is poorly (if at all) explained in the manual and no advanced settings in there AT ALL!
That is really a drawback. I want as much control as possible on recorded trails as this is the main reason I use this – I was expecting to be able to do MORE with the Colorado, definitely not less than an older unit! .. I know you have the software capabilities, why remove these features?!? 8(

P.S. i am not trying to advertise for the CSx here, there are many things i DO like about the 400t, but it definitely feels like Garmin took a big step forward and two steps back.
PROS: City navigation in automobile mode, perfect – just like having a Nuvi (!), Profiles – cool, Geocaching mode with a great level of detail – truly paperless, Resolution – wow (!), Controls/Wheel on top (rather than under the screen as the CSx) – great, Sat-Reception – better than the CSx, works even indoors!

Overall - this is not a definite winner (like i hopped it would be), it is more about the trade-offs. Consider the big PRICE tag / looks / features / functionality and make a decision.

REALLY HOPING FOR A SECOND SOFTWARE UPDATE FROM GARMIN !!

Mark F, do you work for Garmin? If so, please identify yourself as such.

No...I don't work for Garmin. I do, however, conduct a lot of research and try to come up with some of my own answers before I throw out a a question, and try not to complain unless I don't get an accurate answer. I was able to glean a lot of info from the in-depth CSx manuals (Available on line, as are all of their other manuals). Although the Colorado is much different, many of the same parameters work in identical fashions. (Ok, Garmin could've done a more in-depth manual for the Colorado...but most folks do okay, I guess, just playing around with them. I have found that a number of the problems listed in previous posts have already been addressed by Garmin via two or three software updates including a POI loader (latest) that lets us enter our own points of POIs either from the computer or onto the unit...complete with notification sounds to tell you you're close. Batteries lasting a lot longer too! Hey...this is a great unit. and NO...I've never worked for Garmin or anyone else like that.

I got my Colorado c a week ago and have found many of the deficiecies noted by others: 2 hr. batterly life, no way to navigate a saved track in reverse direction, no way to delete a saved track. I have had a few problems not mentioned so far. The biggest is my Rock'n Roller will not index correctly. It skips over the shortcut or letter/number you are trying to select. It drove me mad until I just finally gave up on the unit. For example, it took me 15 minuts to enter a 7 digit waypoint name. At times it simply will not settle on the letter or shortcut you desire (I'm talking about constantly trying for 5 minutes!)

Then there were times when my Colorado would not acquire satellites. I tried several times for over an hour and zero acquisition. Just to be sure I used other GPS's at the same time -- no issues with them.

Another issue is that I cannot find a way to edit the name of a saved track after it is initially saved. Yes, you can edit the name from the menus available when you archive it. But no way to go back later and change that name.

I want to love this unit so bad. Why? Because it comes loaded with marine charts for the entire coast. I live in Louisiana and fish offshore and in the vast marshes along the coast. The map detail on the Colorado is excellent and would add convenience and safety margin to many of my outdoor activities. But this unit was clearly released too soon. It's going back. My mindset is to wait 6-12 months and watch the feedback from forums like this and buy the unit again when/if the shortcomings get resolved.

I was almost scared after buying this unit on Apr. 9th, having not researched it online first. I got home and before breaking the seal stating a 15% restocking fee, I decided to look it up and found all these reviews. Frankly, it made me nervous that I bought something that hasn't gotten a shining image portrayed about it thus far.

I'm glad to say, against my better judgement, I opened it up to still start playing. I should say right here, I have never owned a handheld GPS or anything by Garmin (I have an eclipse in-dash NAV system in the Truck). So I write this as a total newbie...

WOW! That sums up quite a bit for me. First, what made me love it at the store was how nicely the display model felt in my hand. Substantial, yet compact. Because I'm new to all this, I played around a little with it at the store, mostly not knowing what I was doing or pressing, but in mere moments, I had a good understanding of the controls and what most things meant. It was side-by-side to the Magellan 2000, but $100 more. Given the features on the magellan (touch screen, camera, flashlight, etc...), I figured there had to be some good reason why it cost more without those bells and whistles. I figured caution to the wind, and paid the extra for what I hoped would prove it's value.

Skip forward... home with my own. Read the reviews, opened it anyway. Started playing with it a little more and understanding it more, found it completely easy to navigate the menus and change the options. I never even heard the term "Tracks" in regard to a GPS, but within 90 seconds, I figured out what it meant, not liking the default setting of "show on map", I quickly found how to turn them off, but still leave the tracking on. Easy-Peasy. Now I LOVE tracks because with the $20 upgrade to google earth plus, and exporting the .gpx file, I can literally "fly" through my day and everywhere I went.

I read a bit more in the manual and realized the extra cost's source. The included topo maps. WOW, I actually couldn't see myself without them, and in hindsight, it was like making a $100 bet on Black, and taking a 50-50 chance... Glad to say I beat the house on that one.

I've now gotten in to the geocaching site and I think I might really enoy it, I've started downloading some right in my neighborhood, and can see myself now filling up old SD cards with geocaches, eventhough all I've downloaded thus far have been onto the unit itself.

Look, I don't work for any GPS company or garmin or anything... I'm just an intelligent guy who didn't have any unit previously to have any predetermined biases about it. I find the unit to be fun to the point of nearly addictive, easy to learn, full of incredible features, incredibly accurate, and it has operated flawlessly... I'm sold, and I think people should set their minds toward trying a new thing, it'll never be the same as an older model. That's like saying you prefer a commodore 64 computer because it didn't have all these new fangled options and buttons.

I give it 5 out of 5

I don't own, but I tried one out at REI. One complaint: The wheel is inefficient for editing track and waypoint names. Other than that, pretty awesome. Give this thing a touch screen and it would be unbeatable.

Garmin Colorado 400t
Having purchased and used Garmin GPSs for 10 years (Emap, Geko, 2 Rino units, Forerunner and some 10 Mapsource CDs), I believed the hype about the new Colorado series and purchased the pricey 400t. I wish I hadn’t because of the following mechanical and software problems and functional deficiencies:
Mechanical: the plug for the external antenna is too close the unit’s own antenna. The delicate MCX connector (mounted at a 90 degree angle to the cable) cannot be removed by hand unless you risk breaking it (it happened to me the first time I tried to remove it. I had to buy a new antenna!). The removal requires something like small needle-nose pliers. If you add the small USB connector connecting to the automobile adapter (also mounted at a 90 degree angle), you have a mechanical nightmare.
Software design and functional problems:
1. Saved tracks cannot be renamed or deleted (!) unless you use a computer (treating the Colorado as a mass storage device). That’s incredible.
2. The image viewer shows portions of pictures stored on a SD card. The zoom function does not work at all. The image viewer is worthless.
3. The Colorado does not work with Garmin’s nRoute program (apparently by design to make you buy one of their automobile programs).
4. The world map in the unit is a joke. Very poor resolution with no roads, cities, country boundaries. When you transfer Garmin’s World map into the unit, major features like railroad tracks don’t transfer (I had planned to take the unit to remote Asian regions where railroad tracks are often the most reliable features).
5. You can’t transfer the unit’s US topo maps to your computer. Garmin apparently wants you to buy the same maps for your computer that you paid for already in the Colorado.
6. There is no back-track feature.
I discussed the above problems with Garmin representatives who were either unaware, unknowledgeable, disinterested or completely incompetent. In the past, I had great support from Garmin but that seems to be gone now.

Sound like ill stick with my 60Csx, the 3-D will just depress em when im climbing 1500metre mountains here in New Zealand

Guys/gals don't forget to add to the cost of owning this thing a good charger and a set of rechargeable batteries: $100.00
Regular batteries sell at the counter of most retails stores last for about 3 hours at the most, if the thing don't shut off itself. The Colorado has the tendency to shut itself off with cheapo batts.

Well, I own the Colorado C400.

I like it so far but 2 big CONS:

1) Battery life span of 16 hours is a joke. This thing gets maybe 7 hours without backlight on.

2) The C400 knows basically everything floating on the water and it is pretty easy to navigate to known items, BUT I HAVE NOT FIGURED OUT HOW TO ENTER GPS COORDINATES BY HAND?

Please help me with this

maxcali2503 -a-t- gmail.com

I returned my 400t after going through two units. Here's why. The battery shutdown situation can be corrected by installing 2.3 update, but...I found that using WebUpdater I kept getting a update file corrupted message. I called Garmin and explained. They directed me to a 3rd party website where I could manually download the update. I asked why they did not have this update on their own website for manual install and I received a lame answer about ISO standards. While experimenting with the unit I created a profile and tried to delete it by following the directions in the manual. This would not work, so I again called Garmin who directed me to connect the unit to my computer and delete this by going into the profile folder. I asked when this software/firmware issue would be resolved since this must obviously be a workaround, and the Tech oblivious to to what was in the manual repeated to me that this was the proper way to delete a profile. How about deleting a saved track, I asked. Ditto for connecting to a computer. Incredulous, I asked if I needed to take a computer with me to the field. I have the same complaints about the lack of Trac-Back capability with this device. The manner in which Garmin expects you reverse your crumbtrail is very convoluted and not easily understood. I cannot understand why they did not simply retain a version of their old interface (400t style, of course). The track menu was easily understood and user friendly. I asked if Garmin had any intention of correcting these deficiencies and did not receive a soothing answer. In short, these might seem like picayune complaints and they would be if this were a $200 unit, but this is a $600 piece of equipment. There is no reason that one should have to connect to a computer for any reason except to update the unit software, upload data before heading into the bush or downloading data when coming home from the bush. I was not aware of the 3-axis compass issue but having educated myself after reading some of these posts , I would rather pay for that than the image viewer. As for the reader who said that he wanted very badly to love the unit, I second that emotion. I am a longtime Garmin fan. The 400t would have been my 4th unit. Each new one I've bought has been without much scrutiny, but they dropped the ball on this one and I'll not automatically make Garmin my sole choice any longer. It seems that Garmin has tried to pull a Microsoft by releasing a beta version of their GPS and thats inexcusable in my book.

Have just started with my Colorado 300 (built mid-April) today, using an US version in EU, and had following problems:
1) Elevation: 166 meters below my 60CS & Edge 305 (maybe needs calibration, but 2 others have never been calibrated)
2) Base Map completely off-track, far away from where I was (but it is OK with CityNav)
3) No route recalculation (with CityNav): I went much offtrack, but GPS still showing 1st calculated route, even after I went past the destination

OK, I then went to garmin website to download the latest firmware, and big surprise: latest FW is dated 7th of April (41 days old !) & is still in BETA version (there's NO released version), can you believe that ? maybe I've missed something, these units are not for sale anymore, they have been retired ???
Too sad, I was really happy to change for this unit with greater memory & display & menu-navigation ...

I generally follow the old adage, "you get what you pay for," not so in this case.

I have a back ground with many forms of electronic navigation and the need to use them. We were given the E Trex when they first hit the market and fell in love with them. lat/long, UTM and MGRS in one rugged package? greatest thing since tapered turds...

The Colorado 400T is a disappointing. mine came with v2.4 and had no issues running off Vista business or w/ many of the problems listed above.

The glaring error that I must return this little gem for is this: the street map is off about 500 ft in a different direction every time it gets powered on. If the street map is off, so is the topo, making the built in maps useless and not worth the price tag on this gps.

This raises a huge WTF? Isn't the entire point of a GPS with a map to accurately plot your position on the screen?

In contrast, the WP's and track are spot on with both updated maps and Google Earth. Unfortunately so is the receiver in my Foretrex 101 (if not nearly as fast or functional under cover) and it is 1/5 the price without the distraction of pretty (misleading) artwork.

We rely on these devices to save lives in many different situations. If I am going to trust a piece of electronics with my team's life or mine it had better be flawless every time i pick it up.

Bottom line: I can get comparable accuracy in far less expensive units. Very disappointing, Garmin.

my 400t is going back what a piece of garbage 2 to 3 hrs battery life cant back track very disappointed in this unit

Well it seems that the device is really bad. Most who bought it aren't happy at all with it as it stands today.

My question is: are these issues solvable via software updates? Will they perfect the device to deliver the 60csx features in a couple of update firmwares. Or are we stuck with the current performance!!!!!

A plead to the experts in the house here...

I have just purchased a Colorado 300 and I am returning it already. Such a disappointment. The choices they made for the screen are simply ununderstandable. This is a terrible step down form the vista Cx (which I own). Without backlight you hardly see anything and with maximum backlight it's still not very readable. In direct sunlight, not a chance..
Plus, the screen is GLOSSY!! who was so stupid to come up with this?? do they expect people to watch movies on the unit?? The truth is that the display is not up to the task, and the glossy-ness makes it even worse because you have all the reflections.

Reception was also very disappointing in my case. I couldn't even get a proper fix with the gps pushed to the window of my apartment..

Finally, the map redrawing speed is just as slow as the Vista Cx, which is a disappointment considering the kind of technology available today.

All in all, I recommend to go to a store that offers money back and get yourself one. My guess is that you will play with it for a bit and return it the same day like I did.

Eats batteries like there is no tomorrow. I put in fresh duracels at the trailhead, and didn't even make it a mile before they crapped out? What's the point of having a $600 piece of equipment that doubles as a rock in one's pack???? Useless weight I tell you! This is my first experience with a GPS unit and it makes me want to go back to using my Suunto watch and a paper map!

I read a lot of very dissatisfied comments above, but thought I'd "try this one on" myself. So with some trepidation, I purchased a 400t to use with my Mac. Boy am I glad I did. Most of the folks that got good results from this unit cautioned two things: make sure you've got the most recent software release, and really take the time to thoroughly learn how to use the unit (which does, admittedly, require getting online in addition to reading the "manual" (in quotes since it's not quite thorough).
I love this unit -- it links seamlessly with my Mac; it's deadly accurate; it does everything it says it does. In a nutshell, it's a dream to use -- to the point where I don't know why everyone else is having the problems they are having (or have had). I may have gotten the magic unit (tho I doubt it), but there is nothing I would change about this box -- save for the battery life. While it appears most of the folks with critical batt life issues might want to confirm that they have the battery selection set properly (yes, this device wants to know what type of batt you're using and will knock you down for not selecting correctly), even when set properly it veritably sucks juice in a nearly audible fashion. That said, it's not unusable -- about 7 hours was my experience -- and that's with the backlight fully lit, similar to someone else's mention above (tho that was B/L dimmed). The screen does start out dim at power up, but there is an easy way to bump up the brightness and when lit is completely servicable. Comparing to other units (I've seen the 60CSx bandied about in this way) doesn't seem helpful to my mind, since usability is really all that is required, eh? And this unit is plenty bright.
The biggest question revolves around what you've got, and what you plan to use the unit for: already have the maps? Get the 300. Need them? Get the 400t.
So -- go with confidence and get yourself a Colorado. And shop the price -- I paid radically less from a reputable dealer than some of the figures I've seen mentioned. Great box!

David,
You mentioned that your colorado works seamlessly with your mac. I have been trying to get sensible info prior to purchase about what software I need. what are you using, and are you able to purchase Garmin's topo maps put them on your mac and transfer to your colorado?

david,

i am in the same position with DAvid s.

can you pleas give me more info,about how am i goin to sync. my colorado and mac pro.

thank you

David, FYI, I just tested my Colorado: 14.5 hours of battery life. That was on the Map screen with satellite lock the whole time, WAAS on, compass off, and backlight on and turned up all the way the whole time.

The trick is getting good rechargeable batteries. I have Sony 2700mAh NiMH batts. They are new and probably not even fully "broken in".

Hi guys,
Sorry if this is the wrong forum and if my make me sound like a 2 year old, but I'm looking for some advice and you guys sound like you know what you're talking about. I've never used a hand held GPS, only my tomtom which is is idiot proof.

I ride a dirt bike through the desert near Dubai in the UAE and I need a GPS for the following reasons:
1. So that I can capture the trails we ride. Because we're riding on sand dunes, this is very difficult without a GPS.
2. Find my way back to a previously recorded trail if we get lost.
3. Find my way to the nearest road, gas station or land mark

Requirements
1. Must be tough/durable as it will be exposed to heat, sand, and the odd knock.
2. Ideally it would be mountable on my bike's handle bars so that I can look down at it whilst riding
3. Ideally it would be able to backtrack.

Can anyone offer any recommendations about which model to buy? I looked at the Colorado series in the mall last night but didn't really know what to ask....

Cheers

Well i have had mine for a little over a week and here is my thought of it ,,My wife had got me a Magellan 1500 for my birthday and we hooked it up on the Pc and boy was we in for it .We just could not make any good from it I Did not like it at all,, so we took it back where we got it and got our money back .NOW i have the Colorado 400t and I Cant say any thing bad about it :) it was just what i was looking for it works like a dream for me and i have had to get some good batteries for it you just Cant use junk in it the ones i have are the ,,{Energizer Max life batteries}.I have read a few bad reviews about the Colorado 400t, some folk have had some bugs in theres ,,,but the one I have has had all the new updates put in it and it is a awesome GPS and if you are looking for one to buy I got mine off of ebay for 469 .00 new in the box it is not a [referb]and that Rock N Roller wheel i love it,,,makes things fast and fast is a good thing in GPS ,, I dont like to brag but ,,I am this time,, I love the new Colorado 400t GPS

I have also tried very hard to like the Colorado 400t and I can't. I am a geocacher and when I am with other geocachers I advise them not to buy a Colorado.
1. The fact that it becomes a passive device when plugged into the computer is ridiculous. You have to unplug it and use up battery power to do normal maintenance on files.
2. The fact that you cannot edit cache pages is unacceptable. You need to edit or enter coordinates to do multi stage or puzzle caches.
3. You really need to average waypoint captures for best accuracy.
4. Not being able to delete geocache pages in the field is not OK and selectively deleting geocaches with the computer is also very hard because the files are listed by code. You need to know the title of the cache to know if you should delete it, not some GC number that means nothing.
Battery life is awful, screen brightness is awful, menu logic is awful, the so called user manual is worthless. I find myself more and more going back to my etrex. I take it with me for multi and mystery caches if nothing else.

I am very, very, very disappointed, and if I had the time to spend 40 minutes waiting on the customer service line for someone at Garmin to talk to I would.

I will never buy another Garmin.

I picked this up for my birthday and used it geocaching for 3 days solid. I went thru 2 sets of lithium batts and that was using the GPSr constantly. The route we selected for caching was flush with caches in the wilderness so we were really no more than 10-15 minutes between caches. The backlight was ALWAYS on.

Does the unit eat batteries? Yes. If you are complaining about the price of batteries why did you pick up a pricey GPSr??!!

Set your battery type correctly and you should have no problems.

Menus? Yeah they can get tiresome but are manageable.

Edit caches?? no need. You can plot to a waypoint till your hearts content. I think people are looking for a device to actually do EVERYTHING for them. Tell me you had these complaints about usability/features if you were a 1st gen geocacher with a early GPSr and I'll eat the colorado!

The device is usable and I have more cudos than complaints so I would recommend this GPSr to anyone who can afford it. Garmin will come out with further SW patches that will hopefully muffle the whiners.

have colorada 400t,tried to enter waypoints from other gps lowenace hunt,would not work by hand entering cord.

I read on a shop than it is possible to download google mape to the Colorado!!!!!

Is it true?

Thanks for the reply

Frederic

Hello Everyone. Just want to say thank you for all the information. It seems that the serious people are telling me not to buy this unit, I am listening. There is a couple of people on here who endorse what sounds like a piece of crap technology. Why would I buy the 400 when I can get the Triton 2000 with better maps, better accuracy, better battery life, and cheaper?

Thank you for making it an easy choice. I do like my nuvi 680 and I do have a magelan 300 from 7 years ago, it sounds it could give the 400 a run for its money and its not even made anymore.

Hello Everyone. Just want to say thank you for all the information. It seems that the serious people are telling me not to buy this unit, I am listening. There is a couple of people on here who endorse what sounds like a piece of crap technology. Why would I buy the 400 when I can get the Triton 2000 with better maps, better accuracy, better battery life, and cheaper?

Thank you for making it an easy choice. I do like my nuvi 680 and I do have a magelan 300 from 7 years ago, it sounds it could give the 400 a run for its money and its not even made anymore.