5 Responses to “ Garmin Oregon 450t Handheld GPS Navigator ”

1. 
   Brent Sep 7th, 2010 at 7:03 pm

   Garmin seems to have taken taken 2 steps forward and 2 steps backward with the Oregon 450.

   I have owned the Garmin GPS V, the Quest 2 and the Nuvi 350. I have remained loyal to the brand, but after the 450 I’ll be shopping around next time.

   The first problem was the owner’s manual. By reading the manual you have little idea what you are actually getting and what functions and features the unit will have. It is the mose sparse manual I have seen. My recommendation to a new buyer…go to the store and make sure you get your hands on a unit. If you don’t, you’ll be disappointed when it arrives and you find that some of your favorite features from prior units are not on the Oregon 450.

   The second issue has to do with those lost features: 1) No Points of interest along the current route…units have been doing that for years. So you’re driving down the highway and you want to know where a McDonalds is along the way…forget it. 2)No detour function…again the Oregon’s predecessors have had a detour function for quite a while. 3)You want to know where the next exit is…nope. 4) How about inserting a “via” into the current route?…uh uh. 5)Would you like to get “Home” quickly?…All of the units that I have owned basically have a quick button sequence to get “Home”…With the Oregon it is…X out of whatever you’re in…tab over to the “Where To” button and tap it…Tap the waypoints button…type in most of the word “home”…hit enter…tap on the “Home” waypoint…and then hit “Go”. 6)How about avoiding a particular road or a selected geographical area?…sorry. The list goes on.

   The third issue is the complexity with transferring waypoints and routes between the unit and the computer. If you have used Garmin’s Mapsource in the past, you’ll find that you can no longer transfer waypoints and routes from the unit to the computer without using elaborate disk operation steps.

   Lastly, the difficulty with the screen’s brightness is everything you read about. When outdoors I am constantly tilting the unit one way or the other to get the light to hit the screen just right.

   It seems as if Garmin has either forgotten sections of code for the Oregon 450, or…what I believe is actually the case…they have literally made it so you have to buy two units for what one unit used to do. If you want a function for finding a waypoint along your current route you must purchase a automotive unit, if you want to hunt for a geocache you must purchase a trail unit. The crappy thing is Garmin used to not be that way.

   Search around…maybe another manufacturer programs one of their models to do it all…it’s only software programming you know.
   
   Rating: 2 / 5

2. 
   Jon Dahnert Sep 7th, 2010 at 8:57 pm

   GPS is fine but again Garmin has ruined it by using a horrible horrible horrible user interface and it is not compatible with any Maps none nada not even there own. garbage bring a map.
   Rating: 1 / 5

3. 
   T Man Sep 7th, 2010 at 10:31 pm

   I just recieved my 450t a couple days ago. I would recommend this unit to anyone that is going to use it for hunting,hiking,geocache etc. The only thing I wish for is a more indepth manual.
   Rating: 4 / 5

4. 
   Jonathan K. Perkins Sep 8th, 2010 at 12:21 am

   I purchased this unit for light hiking, based on years of positive experiences with Garmin products. I returned it after one use.

   The problem is simple: The screen, even at its brightest, is too dim for easy use in normal daylight. It’s not unreadable, but it’s very difficult to read. Instead of a quick glance, you have to stop walking, press the screen to wake it up, and then manipulate it to the proper angle so you can see it correctly. Even at its highest brightness, it’s not bright enough.

   The unit seems rugged, well-designed, and easy to use. I wanted to like it. With a bright enough screen, I would definitely have kept it. For a casual hiker like me, though, a $2.99 app on my iPhone works far better. I suppose if I end up needing something more rugged and task-specific I’ll have to find something different, because this unit was a big disappointment.
   Rating: 2 / 5

5. 
   K. Nacis Sep 8th, 2010 at 2:14 am

   I loved the screen and was happy with its functions while it lasted. It is really fast and easy to use but the unit got locked in DEMO mode after several hours of usage. It would not get out of DEMO mode and would not display anything but a preset program to show the potential buyer or user the various functions or screen options…..completely useless when you are miles away from your truck in the middle of the forest. Luckily when this happened I was in an area I was familiar with and was able to navigate my way out using a $8.00 miniture compass from Walmart. In any other situation I would have been in great danger of spending the night in the wilderness. I would not trust this device on a trip longer than a day or in unfamiliar terrain and always carry a compass. Amazon did an excellent job in refunding my money and I will buy from them again but not any new Garmin product. Always carry a compass and be safe…..have a backup plan. Good luck in your adventures.
   Rating: 1 / 5

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