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One problem: when I encounter other geocachers, they want to play with it and have numerous questions. My primary use is for geocaching and this puppy rocks in that application. Another plus: Garmin's customer service is unsurpassed if you ever have any questions. After checking out several handheld GPSs, I went with the Garmin Colorado 400T because of the many state-of-the-art features. The tactile feel is of top quality, it's highly accurate, very sensitive, and the ergonomics make it a pleasure to use. Note: the Colorado 400T takes regular size SD Cards, NOT mini SDs, (that's GOOD).
The unit is very "power hungry" and this is probably why the brightness is limited. One does not have an option for sorting geocaches or waypoints; default is by distance. Geocache files are handled differently than waypoints. Waypoints can be deleted individually directly from the unit without the computer. It is brighter when used in the vehicle if plugged into the power outlet using the optional adapter. If one knows the name or GC code, a search can be done fairly easily.
One cannot delete geocache information from the unit but must connect to the computer to manage geocache files. Road routing is excellent with the optional City Navigator software. The color display is very good although difficult to see well in bright sunlight. I do not like the method of entering notes or coordinates into the unit.
Then I would buy the Delorme PN-40 which will be available later this month. It would be nice to have the option to sort either alphabetically or by distance.Although the Garmin Colorado is quite functional, it is far from the unit I expected. Instead of the displayed letter, number and character wheel, a virtual "keyboard" display would be much easier to use even with the same controls. It is very accurate and it holds the satellite signal extremely well.
It is also why the unit is designed to power up with the display very dim. A system similar to the Delorme PN-20 would be much better. A word of caution: the base map files and preloaded Topo files are all combined into one large file which is NOT isolated or protected and can be deleted accidentally very easily. If I could return it now, I would do so.
There are several features about this unit that are very good but just as many or more that are not so good. I use the unit primarily for hiking and geocaching and I really like the geocaching features especially the ability to go "paperless". Be very careful.
This is the first GPS I have ever had and now that I have used it on several hikes in California, I will never be without it in the field. The only downside is that it "eats" regular alkaline batteries. I use it exclusively for hiking even though it can be used for car navigation. I also like the route planner feature. Even though not rechargeable they last about 7 times longer than regular batteries ensuring that the GPS will continue to operate without battery changes during extended treks. It comes with a 1:100,000 Topo map of the U.S. It is easy to use and the "Rock n Roll" control button enables all controls with just one hand (somewhat similar to the iPod). It has a built in compass, records stop time and average hiking speed, and can record hundreds of waypoints.
I purchased rechargeable batteries (make sure the amperage meets the standard recommended by Garmin) for short hikes (less than 5 hours). which is pretty good; however, I bought a 1:24,000 Topo of California/Nevada which provides much more detail and is loaded on the GPS via a flash memory card. This is an excellent GPS. Even when stored in a case on my back pack belt it receives satellite signals clearly. For long hikes, I recommend Lithium batteries.
I can log my visit to a cache and it now lets me put comments in for the individual caches. I have recently downloaded a firmware update for it which has fixed a lot of these things. I have the City Navigator NT 2008 on it as well and this thing will take me anywhere I want to go. It had some issues at first, battery life being the main one, but I started using the quick charging Energizers and have had no problems since. It is very versatile. I especially like the Geocache features it comes with.
I love taking it hiking, fishing, ATVing, on the road, etc. I really like this thing a lot. Another problem is with it shutting down intermittently when the batteries become weak (this is my notice to change the batteries), it does tell you when the batteries are weak and it only shuts down occasionally. That is a great feature.I highly recommend this unit for all uses.
Very good for Iraq. If you just want a driving gps, get a Tomtom, for trails and the road this is the ticket. They are available there, not here. Very easy to figure out to use. I think this gps is the best all around gps for all conditions, on the road and off the road. Get the SD card fot Iraqi streets when you get to Iraq.
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