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Getting better
As delivered I wasn't real happy with it. It would freeze when I would get close to a cache. I installed the new Beta 2.54 software and now it seems better. I love the features and fuctionality of the unit and I'm sure that Garmin will get the software figured out soon. If I was writing this review solely on the out of the box unit I would give it one star, with the upgrade four and after another update or two a 5 or 6.I like it!
I previously used an e-trex legend, and was frustrated that it did not have a compass and barometric altimeter. I was looking to upgrade, but was quite concerned about all of the negative reports about the colorado series. There are some things I would like different, but all in all, I am very pleased with the Colorado. It does what it says it does. I do have to brighten the back light every time, but doing that makes it work well in low lighting conditions, and I can see it perfectly under bright sun! After running through a set of alkaline batteries I switched to rechargeables, and they are working great. I also bought some lithium batteries to use, but am saving them for a long backpacking trip.Awesome!
The maps are the most detailed yet and were very helpful on a recent hiking trip in the Great Smokey Mountains. The screen is very clear in direct sunlight. The roller interface is also easy to use, but not the best for entering POI searches. Turn-by-turn navigation is not avaiable with the included database. You will need to add the seperate upgrade to an SD card if you want this ability. However, once loaded this becomes an amazing all purpose device. Especially great to geocaching using the beta firmware. I expect to see even more improvements with future releases.Thrilled with my Colorado!
First let me say, I purchased this unit specifically for Geocaching so I can't speak to it's usefulness in other ventures. I took delivery of my Colorado just in time to take it to Geocaching's largest yearly event, Geo-Woodstock. I spent three solid days Geocaching and found almost 150 caches! I stepped up to the Colorado from Garmin's 60CSx (which I still have) and I have to say that the Colorado has got to be "the" tool for Geocachers. The "paperless" features have allowed me to carry fewer items on my cache runs as I no longer need the Palm Handheld as all the cache info is right at my fingertips. Speaking of fingertips... I love the ergonomics of this new unit. It fits nicely in your hand and all the controls seem to fall right where they should. I have not experienced any of the firmware issues mentioned by others. I spoke with a friend who purchased a Colorado right after they were released and he confirmed that the more recent units (like mine) seem to have the new firmware already loaded. As for battery wear, it does seem to burn through batteries quicker than my CSx, but I haven't really made and effort yet to see if I can change anything to help that issue. Count me as one of the satisfied customers.Fast Acquisition But Hard to Read
I purchased my Colorado 400t from Amazon about a month ago. It was VERY affordable through Amazon, and fairly easy to use right out of the box. I recommend going through each Colorado function immediately after purchase and looking at all of the options available for each one, as many are not intuitively obvious. There are lots of nifty features available on the system. The default map overlays are okay, not very detailed but sufficient for street navigation. The maps are not very well geo-synched. E.g., With a position accuracy of less than 10 ft the GPS position of my porch appeared across the street when displayed. I attempted to install more topographic detail using one of the National Geographic software sets, but the software kept crashing during installation. It appears to be incompatible with Windows XP and/or the underlying Garmin operating system. One of the best enhancements to this GPS is to synch it up with Google Earth. That's lots of fun. I'm waiting for more detailed wide-area coverage maps from either Garmin or other sources. Satelite acquisition happens very rapidly and maintains good signal strength once acquired. The display of satellite positions, signal quality, and other information is pretty handy. It seems to work fine inside a car. My big problem with the Garmin Colorado 400t: The display contrast and backlighting is so weak that the system is vitually unusable in bright sunlight and difficult to discern in other than dim lighting. It would be helpful to have brighter lighting and I will retrofit my Colorado with a brighter manufacturer or second-source lighting system if one becomes available. Battery life is good, but I'm willing to accept less to get better legibility in sunlight. Big takeaways: Positives-Good accuracy, fast acquisition, lots of neat features, compatibility with Google Earch. Negatives-Dim display, lack of detailed map coverage available, not-very-accurate geo-synching of maps for precision placement of positions on the display.Keyword : garmin
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