Garmin - Oregon 450 - Practical Review

I purchased the Oregon 450 as a replacement for my etrex Venture Cx, which was unfortunatly starting to show its age. I've decided to write this review as more of a practical use review instead of a technical one, frankly if you want to see spec sheet just check Garmin's website. I will try to compare the functionality and useabilty of the device as directly as possible to the etrex series, to draw attention to the pros and cons of the touch screen vs a unit with physical buttons. With that said lets get to it.

First, i need to clarify the unit i am comparing the Oregon 450 to is from the old etrex series. Not one of Garmin's new etrex 10/20/30 series, which i have no hands on experience with. Below is a photo of the two units i will be looking at.

The Oregon 450 is slightly larger then the etrex series, and much boasts much more solid construction. The big advantage the Oregon has in this department is the buttons, or lack there of, which provides for much fewer weak spots in the rubber sealing around them, which was a major point of failure on the old etrex series. The downside of the Oregons construction however, it that it does not lend itself to many mounting or carrying options, included in the box is a carabiner mount that attaches to the rear of the unit and allows the unit to hang freely, unfortuantly that result in a unit that is always swinging around and bouncing of of you, and the rocks and trees you may be climbing through. Garmin does not offer many other carrying solutions, and in my opinion the ones they do offer are junk. They are simply too large and too awkward to be practical in the field. Fortunatly the unit will fit nicely in alot of digital camera cases so finding one that will work for you shouldnt be too hard, i picked up a Case Logic bag at staples for about 10 dollars that works quite well.

The unit itself is very simple to operate, there is one botton on the right hand side that acts as on on off switch and allows you to adjust to brightness and lock the screen via a pop up menu on screen. Where this system falls short is that the older etrex series would allow you to set 3 brightness levels (off/l1/l2) that could be cycled through by repeatedly pressing the button. The Oregon requires you to open the menu and use +/- buttons to adjust the backlight from off to 100%. This has proven to be a real hastle under changing light conditions, specifically when a light is only needed a fraction of the time. With sunlight the screen itself is clearly visible with the light turned completely off, even in shadows, which is good because the battery life of the device is not the best, so every bit of power savings help. Definitely bring good batteries, or bring alot of cheap ones.

Using the Oregon 450 is simple and will feel familiar to anyone with any experiance using any gps unit. The on screen menu are simple and easy to understand, but changing settings such as routing options or map orientation is not nearly as intuitive as on the etrex series, and often involves having to exit to the main menu and wade through the setup screens to change anything, this is definitly an area where the touch screen falls far short of a unit having physical buttons.

Sattelite tracking of this unit is very good, and far exceeds the abilities of the older units, especially under dense cover. In areas where the etrex will lose its lock completely the oregon will maintiain 10-15m accuracy. One of my favorite features on the Oregon 450 is the electronic compass, which is also available on many of Garmin's newer high end units. The compass is very accurate when there is nothing around to interfere with it, but it is also VERY sensitive. Forget about using it in your car or within 50m of any type of power line, although you wont have to worry about your cellphone or transciever sending it off course.

If you need a gps that will perform under all conditions you should forget about anything with a touch screen and look to the etrex or similar gps systems, while the touch screen  ooks good it is not an interface that can be navigated as well as a unit with physical buttons, especially in the hands of an experianced user. The biggest factor for me however is when the unit needs to be used in cold conditions, when you need to be wearing gloves. The touch screen cannot be operated with gloves on, buttons can. For me when it comes to camping, hunting, skiing, or any other activity in the winter, the Oregon 450 comes, but only as a backup to the etrex.

I hesitate to call the Oregon 450 a beginner gps system because frankly its not, it has all the advanced features of any other gps, but ultimatly it is only really effective for casual use. I have yet to find any type of carrying solution that can match what is available for the etrex, the touch screen dramatically limits the battery life and useability of the unit. If you are shopping for a gps that will see regular use in the field, then i would strongly recommend looking at gamins latest etrex series. It appears they have taken everything great about the Oregon series and parked it in a chassis that is everything good about the etrex series. Once the new etrex is available here my Oregon will be quickly replaced and the review for the new etrex will be available here. If you are serious about having the touchscreen then there is no doubt the Oregon 450 is a great unit and will exceed your expectations, but i think you would be doing yourself a disservice by overlooking the other units without the touchscreen.

My Rating