 | Garmin Oregon 300 Portable GPS System Brand : Garmin Model : OREGON 300 Overall Rating :  From : 41 Reviews |
Technical Detail
- High-sensitivity GPS receiver with barometric altimeter, electronic compass, microSD card slot, and picture viewer
- Sunlight-readable, 3-inch diagonal color touchscreen display
- Wireless capability lets you exchange tracks, waypoints, routes and geocaches between similar units
- Features built-in base map with shaded relief
- Rugged, waterproof, and durable handheld navigator
Product Description
Customer's Reviews (All-Reviews)
John Muir ( Montreal, Qc Canada ) HARDWARE
Oregon series feels sturdy yet light.
It is a beautiful device from a hardware standpoint.
SOFTWARE
We expect a modern GPS to do more than provide GPS or UTM coordinates. In 2010, there is a high expectation of convenient map management. Unfortunately, despite years of user criticism on numerous websites, the company still fails to improve its portfolio of applications to install (MapInstall and MapManager), navigate topographic maps (BaseCamp), route planning (RoadTrip) and training software (AntAgent). Will someone please stop this madness and integrate these features into a comprehensive Garmin application?
A typical outdoor enthusiast will purchase several topographic and road maps from different DVDs or MicroSD card.
NUMEROUS HURDLES:
-frustrating map unlocking system which fails to recognize purchased maps once some software component is upgraded.
-requires arcane Unit ID, Serial Number and Product Key/Coupon Code.
-USB map transfer is excrutiatingly slow, therefore, most efficient method is MicroSD card management...
-However, this faster alternative method requires micromanagement of filenames with arcane syntax conventions (gmapbmp.img, gmpapprom.img, gmapsupp.img) described on semi-obscure wikipedia websites.
BOTTOMLINE
-Garmin designed a beautiful GPS device that fail to live to its potential because of poor map management software.
-If all you need are coordinates to pinpoint your location on a paper map, this device is good yet way overpriced for its intended purpose.
-If you travel a lot and plan to install numerous topographic and road maps, expect to waste several hours managing maps, googling and contacting customer support.
Oregon series feels sturdy yet light.
It is a beautiful device from a hardware standpoint.
SOFTWARE
We expect a modern GPS to do more than provide GPS or UTM coordinates. In 2010, there is a high expectation of convenient map management. Unfortunately, despite years of user criticism on numerous websites, the company still fails to improve its portfolio of applications to install (MapInstall and MapManager), navigate topographic maps (BaseCamp), route planning (RoadTrip) and training software (AntAgent). Will someone please stop this madness and integrate these features into a comprehensive Garmin application?
A typical outdoor enthusiast will purchase several topographic and road maps from different DVDs or MicroSD card.
NUMEROUS HURDLES:
-frustrating map unlocking system which fails to recognize purchased maps once some software component is upgraded.
-requires arcane Unit ID, Serial Number and Product Key/Coupon Code.
-USB map transfer is excrutiatingly slow, therefore, most efficient method is MicroSD card management...
-However, this faster alternative method requires micromanagement of filenames with arcane syntax conventions (gmapbmp.img, gmpapprom.img, gmapsupp.img) described on semi-obscure wikipedia websites.
BOTTOMLINE
-Garmin designed a beautiful GPS device that fail to live to its potential because of poor map management software.
-If all you need are coordinates to pinpoint your location on a paper map, this device is good yet way overpriced for its intended purpose.
-If you travel a lot and plan to install numerous topographic and road maps, expect to waste several hours managing maps, googling and contacting customer support.
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P Desenex ( Eugene, Or USA ) I have owned this device, my first gps unit, for 3 months. It is a rock-solid device and has a very nice feel to it, a sort of tacky-rubberized band around the outside edge , which keeps the unit from slipping around in your hand. It has a crazy number of features and abilities, most of which I will never use. I bought it for off-trail hiking and it works very well for this purpose. I have read many of the reviews from other people and am a little surprised at all the moaning and groaning about having to change screens too often etc. People, this machine can point you to your car if you're in bumfreak Egypt from anywhere on the freaking planet! Get over the incredibly laborious step of pushing the touch screen a few times. On the annoying side I don't like the little paper "manual" that comes with the device. The actual manual is a cd. Good luck reading that in the field. I have called the Garmin help people and they answered numerous questions I had-they were very friendly to deal with. Also, I have noticed that the compass readings don't seem accurate unless you go through the compass calibration steps each day you decide to use the device. Again it only takes a minute or 2 to do so but, for the price of this unit you would think that the compass would ALWAYS be spot-on.
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J. Hannon A good little hiking GPS with a nice feature set.
PROS
- relatively accurate barometric altimeter
- small footprint
- adequate touchscreen (better than Colorado rocker wheel)
- quick GPS signal seek
- multipurpose: Hiking, biking, motorcycle, and skiing
CONS
- screen brightness is very dim even at full brightness
- lack of any decent maps included. Why on earth can you get full driving maps with a bargain basement car GPS and not this hiking GPS?
- battery life, you have to buy a good set of rechargeables
- screen gets scratched (requires a screen protector)
Once you have a good set of street and topo maps this thing is a gem. It ends all arguments about how many miles and what your total elevation was. It doesn't really substitute for a real car GPS but can be used in a pinch in the car to direct you to your destination. Overall I've been very pleased with the purchase and if you're looking for a hiking GPS they're aren't a whole lot of options that are far and away better than this.
PROS
- relatively accurate barometric altimeter
- small footprint
- adequate touchscreen (better than Colorado rocker wheel)
- quick GPS signal seek
- multipurpose: Hiking, biking, motorcycle, and skiing
CONS
- screen brightness is very dim even at full brightness
- lack of any decent maps included. Why on earth can you get full driving maps with a bargain basement car GPS and not this hiking GPS?
- battery life, you have to buy a good set of rechargeables
- screen gets scratched (requires a screen protector)
Once you have a good set of street and topo maps this thing is a gem. It ends all arguments about how many miles and what your total elevation was. It doesn't really substitute for a real car GPS but can be used in a pinch in the car to direct you to your destination. Overall I've been very pleased with the purchase and if you're looking for a hiking GPS they're aren't a whole lot of options that are far and away better than this.
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Joseph Doll I've had the Oregon 300 for a few months and am very happy with it. I mainly use my GPS to record track logs on hikes and then use the data to geotag my photos. Signal quality is fine and battery life is about 16 hours. The backlight is weak, and you will have trouble seeing the screen if the sun is overhead. This is annoying but doesn't affect the usefulness of the device too much. If you're upgrading from a GPS more than a few years old you'll probably be quite happy with this GPS.
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