This thing is a dream to use! I have had other GPS units but this one tops all. I like the fact that I can keep my settings from being changed or deleted simply by using the profile feature. This enables another user to have thier own settings. I can't wait to use this for fishing trips to mark hot spots on the area lakes and also for hunting trips to record those special spots in the woods for future reference. I would recommend this GPS to anyone exploring the outdoors. My wife and I are avid hunters of arrowheads, so a quick photo of our find tags it for later reference and location all at once. She likes geocaching which the 550T has built-in geocaching functions to keep those seperate from other settings. The maps are very easy to see due to its fine detail display. The compass function is the best I've seen without spending a whole lot more money. The camera creates sharp photos and tags them to the location taken along with the date and time. Very nice! Garmin did a good job on this unit.Vollständige Rezension lesen
I found the 550t very easy to set up and use. It was nice that Garmin included the NiMH batteries and charger. They hold up very well, even when using the camera function to set waypoints. The 550t acquires satellites in a matter of seconds and still shows 5 bars when inside some buildings and if I carry it in a coat pocket. No leaves on the trees right now, but if it works inside a building, it should work good in tree cover. No interruptions in tracking or back tracking info at all compared to my old Etrex Vista. It would lose tracking info just walking under a few trees or in hilly terrain. Menus are easy to navigate and arrange to your liking. Just remember to lock the screen so you don't accidentally change any settings. Sight n Go never worked good on the Vista, but worked the first time I tried it on the 550t. The 3 axis compass is very sensitive and gets you right to your waypoint every time, too. It came with a lot of extra functions, including road routing/maps that I'll probably never use, but I'm thinking about adding the Tempe sensor to monitor the temperature while hiking.Vollständige Rezension lesen
Have had it about 2 months and it is simply fantastic. Upgraded from a Ledgen, which I still use, for the added featuers it advertised. The extra featuers of the Oregon proved to be quite impressive once I had it in-hand. It was a little hard for me to get the hang of and to operate, but all my problems were operator error and failure to read the instructions. I find the camera feature simply fantastic. So far my experiments with the altimeter seem to find it fairly reliable but I do feel changing weather conditions has an effect on its real accuracy. I think this feature is good for the "about" catagory but still handy enough that I record this info for references and find it reliable enough for my purpose. The main usage of both of the units is tracking and making maps to share with other explorers. They both work great for this feature but the added featuers of the Oregon make it well worth the price difference and the upgrade. I got a lot more than I thought I would get and am very pleased.Vollständige Rezension lesen
I have a Garmin 60 cx which I have been using and I have nothing bad to say about it but I wanted a unit that would go paperless geocaching. In checking the unit out it seems to lock onto the satellites quite easily and has loads more functions than my 60cx. I like the fact that I can take a photo at waymarks or when I find the cache to log it. It can transfer information between other Oregon's so if you are with someone else you can give them the information you have without them going to a computer. The only thing that I have found is that the screen is not quite as bright as my 60cx but I haven't played with it extensively yet and maybe there is an adjustment for screen brightness. It's quite spendy compared to my 60 but I figure that it will last me for years to come. I can also load different maps into it with the use of a micro card so I can use it for in depth topographic or load cities and streets and use it like a GPS for autos. If I had it to do over again I probably would buy the unit. Later on if I find out some gliches I don't care for I will come back in and redo my review.Vollständige Rezension lesen
Adding www.huntinggpsmaps.com to this unit makes it a great GPS unit for the outdoors, as far as using this in the State of Oregon. Hunting GPS Maps only make their info for certain western states, this makes the Garmin GPS 550t a great marriage of information. It cost a extra $100.00 but well worth it. Shows much more detail then the map software that comes with the Garmin unit, which makes it iffy for good information as to the info you would like to know about in any given location. I was disappointed in my first look at the Garmin uint, as I was use to a Magellan Platinum that I gave to my son to buy this one. But after adding the hunting gps maps it far exceeds the Magellan unit. Garmin needs to get better and more information on their topo map software to justify the expense for this unit. I haven't used the camera as of yet, will do more checking out when hunting season starts next month.Vollständige Rezension lesen
This was my first GPS purchase and I am thrilled with it. I used my Mom's Oregon 200 some and I liked it so I knew that I wanted the same type of unit. I bought this for geocaching and it works great. I download a bunch of caches for an area and then I can spend the day finding caches instead of looking them up on the computer. The unit is so easy to use and I love the camera. It takes nicer pictures than my DROID phone and the location tagging is great. I highly recommend this unit. Money well spent.
I used this product extensively this year for elk hunting. Battery lasted 11 hours continuous use. Recharged in 1 hr and went another 12. This is the first GPS I have ever used and I found it easy to use. No problem finding signal in the valley or in the deep, thick forest. Takes a couple minutes to find signal when first powering on. Got 2 elk down before dark. Marked site on Garmin and left to get help. Took batteries out and charged. Got back and turned it back on and went straight to downed elk 1 mile in the forest and over the mountain ridge. Simple as that. Great product and worth the price.
I had the Garmin Etrex Summit GPS for many years and used it many times and loved it! It was very reliable and easy to use. When it was time to upgrade, the decision was easy. This Garmin is the top of the line with a color touch screen and is just as user friendly as the Summit. Plus this one has multiple uses, such as a driving GPS, trail GPS, and marine GPS. It even has features that I didn't know existed! This one is well worth the investment.
We are not really techie-people, just explorers. We purchased this handheld so that we can better explore our mixed acreage in northern WI and so far it has handled and performed really well. We are counting on the topographical maps to help us really map what we have so that we don't get lost and can select potential trails as we have everything from balsam thickets to swamp to upland hardwood forest. We've only had it a month and already we're excited- it's quite sophisticated but easy to use so far.
I have upgraded from a Garmin 60c model and the difference is night and day. The maps are more detailed, and the ease of moving from one application to the next saves so much time. Some other reviews i have read talk about dim display. In my opinion, for a trail GPS it is probably the best I have seen. If were to compare the Oregon 550t to my Garmin nuvi 1450 road GPS, the 1450 nuvi would win hands down. In my opinion. The camera is actually clear as well. very good feature.