Product ReviewsGarmin Oregon 450t Handheld

Best value in the $100-160 range of pre-owneds

While it's missing some of the features of the $200+ units, the 450t has more memory than the 450 and more features than the 200, 300, & 400; the 550/t has Garmin's first integrated camera, a 3.2 MP which is easily surpassed by current cell phones, hence does not seem worth the extra cash. The 450t is easy to use (although some of the menuing could be better tuned to geocaching), it's well-weighted in the palm (not too flimsy, not too clunky), and it has a reasonably good battery life (a full day on fully-charged alkalines, assuming the backlight is off). Oddly, a few features of the eTrex 10/20/30 family were not carried forward into the Dakotas or the early Oregons, such as proximity alarms. Overall, I'd say that the Oregon 450t gives the best bang for the buck in its price range.Read full review...

Too many glitches

I'm not even going to get in to how many screwed up input issues there are on this model, but suffice to say the standard answer from Garmin is...."well, that's just the way it is!". Maybe I just got a bad unit, I don't know, but based on my experience I would highly recommend all to stay clear.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: fishingcalif

Yes I would buy one again, a very good product

I bought the Garmin to assist me in my travels in the back country of Wyoming. My wife and I use our Polaris to explore the mountains and foothills I am not to gadget savvy but found that I was able to navigate the features with a little use. In the direct sun it is a bit difficult to see the display but I think that isn't the Garmins fault. Its accuracy is amazing and the features are more than adequate. The topo maps for my area that came with the garmin were good but I wanted more detail such as property owners and property lines as we ride thru federal, state and private lands so I purchased a compatable hunting map that provides me more info. The battery life was more than adequate but it would be nice if you could charge it when you got home or a car charger.This is my first GPS unit and it was pretty easy to figure out. I would buy one again if I needed one. I am not familiar with the sport of geocaching but the garmin has all the features you need.Read full review...

Excellent, all-purpose unit for beginners and advanced users!

This is my first GPS unit. I've been using it for two weeks now, and I am extremely happy with it. It has been picking up 8 to 11 out of 12 satellites whether I am in my house, or I am using it outside - which for me is in the Kanawha River valley in Charleston, WV - so it is very accurate. It also allows users to customize the main menu, sub-menus, compass setting, etc., and then save the customizations in different profiles (Automobile, Recreation (hiking), Marine (boating), Geocaching, Fitness, or user-named profiles).

It can be connected to a computer so you can transfer waypoints, tracks, and routes to it after you create them on your computer, but the software needed for this (Garmin's "BaseCamp") IS NOT INCLUDED with the unit. In order to get the software, you MUST order a Garmin map on DVD - a City Navigator map, or a Topo Map, or any other that is available on DVD. It is not included on the maps that are on Micro SDCards, nor is it included with the downloadable maps.

Also, the screen can be difficult to see when the backlight is not turned on. This can be helped, however, by loading a JPEG consisting of a white background into the unit's "Profiles" folder to serve as the background for your profiles. Such JPEGs are available online from some GPS users' forums. One website has some that include the name of the profile being used along the boarder. I installed several of these, one for each profile, and it has helped quite a bit.

I have used the unit for while walking and driving, and it performs very well for both uses. It does not have voice-direction for driving, but it does give an audible beep when you are approaching a turn or a waypoint AND you are using a City Navigator map. If you are going to use it for driving, you will need a City Navigator map because the topographical maps do not allow you to plan a turn-by-turn route; they only allow you to plan a route in straight lines from one waypoint to another (okay for hiking a trail, but not for driving).

Overall, I think this unit is excellent. It is easy to use, including having big buttons on the screen, and the fact that you can customize the menus makes it even easier to use. It is easy enough for a beginner like me, but its features also make it very suitable for advanced and special-use users. It also seems to be very rugged. It has a solid feel in one's hand, and I used it in the rain once, and it survived getting wet. I whole-heartedly recommend it for anyone who is looking for a portable, sturdy, all-purpose GPS unit!

Oh - and for the people who like to go geocaching, the unit's Geocaching profile allows you to download geocaches from Geocaching.com and view the descriptions and hints on the unit as well as having the coordinates marked with a geocache waypoint.Read full review...

Garmin Oregon 450t

This is a great and easy GPS to use, comes with all the Topo maps that you might need so there is not a need to purchase any digital maps. I use it for hunting, hiking, boating, and fishing. The battery life is good if you keep up with your settings and adjust the screen as needed, works well for all of it. I would recommend this to any/all of my friends. Need to download program (Garmin Basecamp) to your Mac to link but easy as eating pie.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: refurbished | Sold by: tsuguaa

Garmin Oregon 450t Handheld GPS Navigator

This product has a slight learning curve but that's to be expected. It has a lot of usable options. The only negatives I can see is the brightness, even at its best is hard to read in direct sunlight and weight, for those looking to cut ounces. It's still a great product.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: tigereyetrading

Garmin 450T GPS

Love: Battery life, ease of use, and ruggedness (waterproof, and dropped a few times without injury to the unit)

Like: Ability to download free maps onto the unit, and that it has an expansion SD card slot. HUGE upgrade from the garmin etrex line. The color touch screen is very clear and nice as well

Dislike: there isnt a good carrying case/strap system for it. I would love to find a belt attachemnt for it, like a cell phone where it could snap into and out of a plastic/rubber retainer on my belt. HOwever I have yet to find a functional case or way of carrying it outside placing it in my pocket.Read full review...

Great easy device.

It's easy to use, not too complicated. Only reason it didn't get 5 stars is most people now-a-days want all the bells and whistles and it doesn't have all that.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: azelectronics123

The Garmin 450t is an excellent device for fun or work....

The Garmin 450t is easy to use when going anywhere in the woods, vacationing, tracking and just having fun with rediscover where we have been.....

I love seeing elevation and this is fantastic for finding our location anywhere in the USA just with the standard maps that are preloaed on every Garmin 450t. We have no intention of using another brand GPS because this one is just a great terrain finder.

We find it as an excellent device to use just in case someone in our party is somewhere they are not use to the terrain.

Next year we plan to visit the Grand Canyon and bring the Garmin with us. We blieve we will have the best time finding others who left their mark....Read full review...

Keep it simple stupid: A+++

Great machine for geocaching. I can't say enough about the KISS principle. The menus navigate like a touch screen cell phone and are very intuitive. Machine is accurate, sturdy and waterproof. The only difference between this and the 550 is the camera, and who is really interested in a 3MP camera. My Blackberry has a better camera than the 550. This isn't the GPS you are going up Everest with, but for the super anal navigator, you are using a compass, protractor, paper map and adjusting for declination anyway. So for the Geocacher, I highly recommend.Read full review...