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Garmin Colorado 400t customer reviews

Global Rating: 4.41 from 17 reviews.

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rating title date name city state/province country
Best GPS I've used by far (5/5) May 6, 2008 Jeff Polk Colorado Springs Colorado US
  I've had a bunch of (mostly Garmin) GPS units from starting with a GPS45 in the mid nineties and more recently an eTrex Legend, Rino, and the 60csx which the Colorado 400t is now replacing. Most of my use is for hiking and geocaching but I also use it in my jeep on off-road trails and my other vehicles for navigation.

The 60csx is a great unit and I had no real complaints but the Colorado's user interface and features are really well above and beyond. For geocaching it's the ultimate GPSr since it makes it so trivial to load the data for caches (including the descriptions and logs) and to log your finds on the geocaching.com website. The wheel/button layout works very well for one-handed operation (I'm left handed and it even works well in the left hand). The XML based track log, waypoint, and geocache data is also a great feature.

Highly recommended!
Absolutely Fantastic (5/5) Apr 7, 2008 Scott Menge Bothell WA US
  I'm a total newbie to handheld units and GPS, and Geocaching, but I decided to buy the Cadillac, and I have NO regrets! I updated my software to 2.40 right away, and calibrated my compass, and voila, PERFECTION. My lithium AA batteries are giving me about 15 hours so far and counting. I'm not seeing any problems AT ALL. The screen could be brighter though, so this would be my one knock, but it's not bad, and it is beautiful. Going to get the Neoprene hard case right away.
I can tell I'm really going to love this thing. Already downloaded 5 geocaches to explore near my home. Can't wait to try it with my children. Thank You GPSNOW and GARMIN !
Gamin hits a home run with the Colorado (5/5) Feb 28, 2008 R Lambert Yuba City CA US
  In order to appreciate a review, you should know a bit about the reviewer, their use, goal and expectations of the GPS.

I was seeking a GPS device for my auto that could also be used for hiking or exploring new cities. During my search for a GPS, I heard about Geocaching and became instantly hooked.

I soon learned that I was not able to get that many caches accomplished because of the tiresome and complicated process of printing the cache descriptions or paperless caching. I bought what I considered the one of the best GPSs the Garmin 60csx (a great GPS also) and a Palm device to try to manage the caching details, and still struggled with the process.

I bought the Colorado and within minutes discovered that to me...every GPS and cache transfer and log tool just became obsolete. With the ability to transfer cache details directly, view them on the map, and then log my visit to the Geocaching website, all from the Colorado, has made the world of difference to me. All of the major hassles are now gone!

The 400t's Topo Map, works great for driving, plenty of road names and details, outstanding views of the roads ahead. And with the capability to add my own POIs, I have no need to purchase any other auto related mapping software

The 3d view and graphic display of the terrain is far better than I imagined, and will serve quite nicely for hiking.

There are way too many features to detail in this forum. My bottom line is, I see this GPS meeting all of my needs now and into the foreseeable future. And I would not be surprised if Geocaching hobby grows immensely, simply because of this device.
Garmin proves themselves once again! (5/5) Feb 19, 2008 David Bountiful Utah US
  I was a little nervous about buying this gps so close to it's release. I usually wait a year or so for them to work out any kinks. But I just had to have it. I don't regret it one bit. I was moving up from the etrex vista cx which I loved. The colorado has a much stronger antenna on it, I can actually recieve signals in my basement which wasn't possible with the etrex. I ran the most recent update on garmins website though I havent seen any bugs in it. I love the Rock N Roller feature. this gps is very durable. the battery life might not be quite as long as the vista but with the bigger more detailed screen I expected that. I really can't find any flaws in this gps.
Terrific Product (Update) (5/5) Feb 18, 2008 Tom Lettington San Diego CA US
  This is a short follow-up to my Feb 15th review. I put this 400t through it's paces on a bicycle ride yesterday and it performed beautifully in the Trip Computer and Map modes.

I was wrong about street names in my earlier review. Street names are there. The Colorado is just smart about how they are displayed so the display remains uncluttered. The more you zoom in, the more street names are shown. Panning is extremely easy - much easier than on my old eTrex Vista. When you pan and place the arrow on a street, the street name and address display quickly.

Battery life is astounding. With my eTrex, I had to replace the battteries after a four hour bike ride. I put two new Lithium batteries in the 400t when I got it and the battery life display still shows full charge - even though I set the display to keep backlight "always on". The display is not usable with backlight off. I thought this might be a big disadvantage, but with the battery life I've observed so far, this is not a problem at all. Later I'll try the 400t with Alkaline and with Nickel Metal Hydride rechargables.

The handlebar mounting accessory I purchased to mount the 400t to my bicycle and motorcycle has a bit of a problem, but I think I have solved it. This mounting system uses plastic zip ties to fasten the mount to the bar. The back of the mount is flexible rubber but the slick zip ties around the bare bar on the back side caused the mount to slip while riding. When I returned home, I removed the mount and placed a peice of rubber about the handlebar before mounting with new zip ties. It is nice and tight now so I think the slipping problem is taken care of.

I continue to be overwhelmed with awe. This device is very, very nice.
Terrific Product (5/5) Feb 15, 2008 Tom Lettington San Diego CA US
  Just got my Colorado 400t yesterday with the North America Street Maps chip. I am very impressed! This unit replaces my eTrex Vista which finally bit the dust after some very hard use. Yes, it is a little different and will require a learning proces but I couldn't be happier. It is very easy to use and integrates well with the PC products I have left over from my Vista. Menus are intuitive and the "Rock 'n Roller" is a dream to use. I wish I could have street names on my map detail. I miss that feature. 3-D is a cool feature but probably not all that useful.

Receiver sensitivity is awesome. Inside the house I received a lock on 8 satellites. Blind spots are a thing of the past.
Best Garmin handheld! (5/5) Feb 14, 2008 Gary Buzel Irvine California US
  When I first turned on this GPS, WOW!! The display just takes you away!

I just upgraded from a GPSMAP 76C, and the color of the Colorado 400t is soo clear and vivid.

Other great things about this unit are:

*Easy interface with computer via USB and quick downloading of Geocaches from www.geoacahing.com

*Nice size that fits in hand

*Rock and roller interface very quick and easy to operate, can be totally operated with one hand.

*water submersible

*Great GPS sensitive receiver

Cons:
None so far!
James Bond hits the trail (5/5) Feb 14, 2008 Mike Regan Lafayette CO US
  Wow- 007 never had it so good. Very small, power packed unit. It took me about an hour to unpack and set everything, as well as install software on the computer. The only disappointment I have at this time is that you can't use the topo maps on your computer, only on the handheld. This makes things a bit slower to plan a trip. Otherwise, this is very cool....
Mark (5/5) Feb 12, 2008 J Mark Daniels Macon GA US
  Very nice small and rugged package with more features than the 60 or 76 series units I compared with the 400t. I like the overlay of Topo 2008 maps with City Nav NA NT on a SD card. I was easily able to add 15,000 custom points of interest from my work. This unit will get me to the closest road and take me in on a trail to my backcountry points of interest.
Preformed very well (4/5) Oct 8, 2008 Gary Griffith Monroe Louisiana US
  I have used this GPS in deep woods situations and It has preformed very well. Display lighting is very good and can adjust for different situations. After searching for the right hunting GPS I have found it with the Garmin 400t. Have marked many way points, stand placements, trails and will take you back to the exact spot after months of time. The only thing I wish Garmin would incorporate in the configuration memory is the lighting level you like. Seem you have to adjust from lowest level on each power up. Besides that I am very pleased with unit.
Very Nice Could be Awesome with a few Tweeks (4/5) Oct 3, 2008 William Boyce Sunapee NH US
  I have used GPS units upto and including military type survey grade accurate to within inches. PROS - Easy to use, lightweight, durable, a multi-tasker (from auto to trail to water to Air), accuracy is pretty standard for non-government handheld device. Usually around 30' give or take 10'. Initial start-up 15 - 20 sec, Acuqisition is quick and works very well under cloud cover, canopy and overhanging ledges. Even has limited capabilities inside a well windowed house. Compared to my GARMIN Legend (FYI- Survived 17 months in Iraq)this is a "must have". Like the quick change handle adapters, useful. The auto adapter handle will fit the ball fitting for the NUVI - Very nice, Battery life: EXCELLENT using NiMh have 12 - 15 hours easily.
TOPO MAP - Fantastic and so far, on the money.
ALTIMETER - Accurate to within topo map tolerances.
3 D Rendering: is useful for planning route attacks on untracked ground.MAP ZOOM DOES goto 20'. More than enough.
GEOCACHING: Easy to use, and you CAN mark them on your GPS and upload download back to your computer. GEOCACH will show up on your map.


CONS: Not designed for auto, difficult to read, but still fairly easy to follow. Adjusting the backlite every time I turn it on is NOT good.
TOPO MAP: I had hoped that the topo maping software would be able to be placed on my puter, but this is not the case.
GPS Can NOT be used while connected to computer via usb.
BACK TRACKING - Not capable, but not hard to figure out without that function. Not a deal breaker for me.
Bottom line: 3.5 to 4 out of 5.
Not a grandslam, but definately a HOMERUN by Garmin. I almost purchased the Garmin with the touchscreen, but I'm a guy and I like a button to push now and then!
The Garmin Colorado 400T is a worthwhile purchase if you are a more advanced user. I do hope they will fix at least some the CONs that I have mentioned.
Nice GPSr. Still needs a bit of work (4/5) Apr 13, 2008 Brian Walb Portsmouth VA US
  When I first took it out of the box a couple of months ago, it was before the first firmware upgrade. I was very disappointed in the function and handling of it. After the firmware upgrade about a week later I'm glad to say there was a huge improvement!
Since I started using it I have also carried my Rino 530HCx on geocaching outings and such. While the feel of the Colorado is completely different, I have been getting used to it. It has some great features on it and nothing can beat the maps... both terrain and road. Sadly, I still trust the Rino's accuracy more so than the Colorado's. This is mostly due to some huge lag time with the Colorado's reception in wooded areas.
Being Winter, there has not been much canopy overhead and it just seems to hang for 3-4 minutes after a change of direction. It does finally make the change, but I could be 500 feet past the cache or turn by the time it knows where I am. The Rino 530HCx almost always knows where I am.
While this isn't a constant issue, it seems to do it only when I become confident in the Colorado, decide to go solo with it, and leave the Rino in the truck. It can be annoying though. I'm hoping there will be another firmware fix for this (and a few minor glitches) because I truly like the unit and most of the extra features other than that.
400t off road (4/5) Apr 1, 2008 J.B. Peters Topeka Kansas US
  I bought the 400t for riding trails in the desert on an ATV. It is a great instrument however it is a must to have the DC power supply because the battery life is not long enough for a trail ride. I would like see the users guide written with a little more explanation of the features. It has a lot of good features and the user needs to take advantage of them to make the 400t the most valuable instrument ever.
Excellent choice for geocaching (4/5) Mar 8, 2008 Forrest Egan Daytona Beach FL US
  I bought the Colorado 400t as an upgrade from a nuvi 200W that I've been using for geocaching for about 2 months.

The first thing you need to do is download the latest firmware from Garmin...there have been a number of improvements for geocaching and the unit is almost crippled without the upgrade.

So far, the only limitation I found was that in order to auto route I had to purchase City Navigator and upload maps to the Colorado...an expense I didn't plan for, but once I did that this is a top-notch unit for geocaching! Without it, the basemap doesn't allow for auto routing and you only get a direct route, as the crow flies, to your destination.

And the Colorado can have up to 2,000 geocaches loaded! That should keep me busy for a while. ;)

It's great to have the name, description, type, size, difficulty, terrain, number of trackables, recent logs and hint directly on the Colorado. As well as the ability to log your attempt then later you can upload them to geocaching.com using their script to save time logging your activity.

If you're a geocacher looking for your first GPS, or upgrading an older unit, the Colorado 400t is an excellent choice.

The only reason I didn't rate it 5 stars was because I had to purchase City Navigator to make it fully functional for geocaching.
Great GPS Needs software update (4/5) Feb 14, 2008 Carl Seymour Central SC US
  First off let me start with a disclaimer: I bought this GPS with hiking and geocaching in mind. I would have given it 5 stara but the soft ware needs some updates. If the software gets the updates ( Ill mention the updates needed later) then it would easily be 5 stars. Would I buy this GPS again? YES!

OK lets start with the difference between the 4 units.

Colorado 300- Basic model It has all the functions of the 400 series except it doesnt come with preloaded maps ( uses base maps) and it has a smaller internal memory (384k) This model might be for those of you who dont really care about preloaded maps or internal memory. The unit still has the 4GB SD memory card slot. Additional maps can be loaded this way.

- All 400 series models are exactly the same with the exception of the preloaded maps.

Colorado 400c- has preloaded U.S. coastal waters and Bahamas charts

Colorado 400i- has U.S. Inland Lakes and navigable rivers mapping.

Colorado 400t-(The one I bought)has U.S. topographic maps with state-of-the-art 3D elevation perspective.
- Note this is NOT the same as U.S. TOPO 2008. It is very similar but there are differences, and there are disadvantages. You might want to buy U.S. TOPO 2008. This is where the larger internal memory of the colorado 400t comes into play over the colorado 300.

PRO's:
- Very very accurate GPS, Utilizes WAAS and SiRf.
- Great feel when holding it. it fits nicely in the hand and isnicely balanced.
-Very bright screen and nicely colored. The problem with the backlight is you have to readust it every time you turn the unit on. Very easy to do but but tedious after a few times doing it.
-Fast satilite connection.
- 3D mode is really nice for visualizing terrain.
- lots and lots of functions and options.
-easy to use once you get it set up with shortcuts ( this can take a while and requires some experimenting.
-Paperless caching is great has all the information you would find on www.geocaching.com for a cache, including log entries.

CON's:
- Rock and Roll wheel sometimes malfuntions and requires a few turns to set it right again. This might just be specific to my unit.
- Takes about 15 seconds to start up. This seems insignificant, but it adds up later
-Shortcuts take a while to set up. Once you get them set up ease of use gets significantly better.
-Preinstalled map software cannot be used on computer. This is where buying U.S. TOPO 2008 come in handy.
-When connecting unit to computer it puts the unit into a sleep mode. this renders the unit inoperable while connected to the computer, except for file transfers. When disconnected from the computer the unit shuts down automatically. this is where the 15 second startup starts to add up.
-If geocaching mode is used only individual caches can be viewed on the map at any one time. You cannot delete the caches form geocaching mode or change them to found ( without modifying the .gpx file) a software update should take care of this. if you want all the caches to show up on the map you need to load them as waypoints as well as geocaches ( this is pretty easy to do. just load the .gpx file to e:garmingpx then use mapsource to load the same gpx file as waypoints. takes about 5 seconds to do it)

Summary:
If you dont mind the lack of internal memory a Colorado 300 can be bought with U.S. TOPO 2008 loaded on a 4GB SD card for the same money as a Colorado 400t. or if you already own U.S. TOPO 2008 a 300 might be for you.

You will probably want to get U.S. TOPO 2008 anyway even tho the 400t comes with very very similar maps preloaded for use with a computer. You'll probably want to add a copy MapSource City Navigator North America 2008 as you can overlay the street maps over the topo maps for the ultimate experience (you cant do this with the 300 since it has the smaller internal memory).

Once garmin comes out with some software updates to fix the geocaching paperless mode ( allow deleting and marking as found) this unit will be the powerhouse it is advertised to be. and again I would buy it again.
Nice, but not perfect yet... (3/5) Feb 21, 2008 Steve Burdgick Guilderland NY US
  Although I really like this unit, it does have its flaws. Each of these could be fixed if the company decided to listen to the customers.
-First, you paid for the installed TOPO's but you can't download them to the computer. I should have bought this without TOPO installed and added them from the computer. That way I can use the high quality TOPO on the computer to create routes and then upload.
-Second, the backlighting is abismal. You always have to turn it up to the last 2 bars to see anything. THIS SHOULD BE A DEFAULT CAPABILITY SETTING. ...Not the current setting of getting on each time and scale the backlight up so you can actually see something. The first 90% of the backlight dimmer is worthless, why even have a dimmer.
Other than those main items, the second of which could easily be fixed by Garmin. hint... firmware update, I love the rest of the unit. I have been so close to going to Magellan because of the backlighting, but they have their own software "stability" issues on the latest offering.
hmmm..... (3/5) Feb 16, 2008 Antonios Printezis Scottsdale Arizona US
  Bought this to replace my 60CSx.
So far, i am having second thoughts..
- map zooms only down to 80ft. as opposed to 20ft. (ok, not a big deal but why not??) The software (under advanced settings can be customized down to 20ft.) so why not over-zoom ?!?! (helps with GCs)
- display not so bright (nothing like the CSx outdoors) or as reflective for that matter. I know that the screen CAN be brighter, since when you plug it in, for a second the display recognizes the power supply and brights up to max – but the it switches to the “PC-link” mode and that’s it.
- no circle around current location that indicates gps accuracy (sad, i really like that feature - WHY REMOVE IT??)
- user manual, well, next to useless (only the VERY basics in there, zero details)
- once plugged into the USB, cannot use the gps (i.e. you cannot use the usb as a power supply, with the CSx you can)
- not even close to the map customizations the CSx has (i.e. compass track up or north up zoom level or SPPED/time dependant, turning map regions on/off, etc. etc.
- cannot average a waypoint (i.e. takes only one measurement, the CSx takes as many as you are willing to wait for!)
- cannot see geocaches on map or mark them as found for that matter (only waypoints appear) – ah, not a big deal though.

Biggest complaint (since i use this for hiking):
- cannot "track back" on a trail/track (OK GARMIN - what were you thinking here???). Cannot reverse tracks either! Cannot follow track back since when archived the direction is set!?! (ok, not that you will get lost or anything, i know, but distance and time, ETAs, etc. cannot be calculated based on following the actual track BACK, just on a straight line (i.e. off road mode). "Use track" function is poorly (if at all) explained in the manual and no advanced settings in there AT ALL!
That is really a drawback. I want as much control as possible on recorded trails as this is the main reason I use this – I was expecting to be able to do MORE with the Colorad, definitely not less than an older unit! .. I know you have the software capabilities, why remove these features?!? 8(

P.S. i am not trying to advertise for the CSx here, there are many things i DO like about the 400t, but it definitely feels like Garmin took a big step forward and two steps back.
PROS: City navigation in automobile mode, perfect – just like having a nuvi (!), Profiles – cool, Geocaching mode with a great level of detail – truly paperless, Resolution – wow (!), Controls/Wheel on top (rather than under the screen as the CSx) – great, Sat-Reception – better than the CSx, works even indoors!

Overall - this is not a definite winner (like i hopped it would be), it is more about the trade-offs. Consider the big PRICE tag / looks / features / functionality and make a decision.

REALLY HOPING FOR A SECOND SOFTWARE UPDATE FROM GARMIN !!

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