Garmin Colorado 400t

This unit has been heavily panned on several review sites. Nevertheless, I went ahead and bought this to try for 30 days, and boy am I glad I did -- this unit is GREAT!

For those that have enjoyed this unit, there is a recurring theme: make darn sure you've got the most updated software loaded. I use mine with a Mac and it's flawless. It's deadly accurate, all of the functionality is there (paperless geocaching as well!), and it does everything it says it will.

So why the 1/2 star shaved? Two reasons: first, it does suck battery juice like a football star downs Gatorade. Note that it's not as bad as some have suggested: you have to actually tell the unit what type of batteries you are using or it will do all sorts of loopy things (like shut down while there's still plenty of battery life left).

The second reason is that there is some odd duck functionality, such as needing to load a random waypoint then edit it in order to input coordinates.

That said, everything is there that you'd expect and need -- -plus a ton that's quite new and innovative. Don't need the maps? Go for the 300 instead of the 400t (tho note it's got less memory capacity).

Need maps? If you're like me and love to get out in the sticks or just geocache around town, grab this unit, and don't look back!

So far so good. I have not yet downloaded this software that everyone is discussing. I have heard and read all of the bad reviews and have not experienced one of the issues. Here are the pro's and con's:

Con's: Takes a little long to get used to. If you have a lot of waypoints they are not easily found unless you know them by name. The Shortcuts are not organized well (takes a while to get used to). Like the roller wheel, hate the name of it, sound to cheesy for such an expensive piece of equipment.

Pros: Has everything you need in a gps unit. So far battery life is good if not better than expected, I am using alkaline. Graphics are great. Fits good in hand, links up fast and the ease of use on the computer is great.

I have only had for a week, but so far I am not disappointed and I am not wondering if I should have got another GPS. I would wait until they go on sale. I picked mine up at REI for 399!!!