For those who love to hike, camp, hunt or enjoy outdoor activities, this little device may soon become a standard. It has remarkable communications range, with the option of choosing from the Family Band (range: 2 miles or so) or the wider-ranging (but more battery-consuming) General Mobile Radio Service (5 miles or so). These frequences aren't used nearly as much as other bands and are more likely to be free from unnecessary cross-talk and interference, which makes for clearer communication. But what makes this stand out from standard outdoor devices is the GPS satellite link, which allows you to pinpoint your position accurately, and even has a feature that keeps tabs on your trail, making backtracking a breeze. You can also send your current position to another person (as long as they are using one of these, of course), which is handy if someone gets separated, hurt, or needs assistance. In addition, they are waterproof up to one meter (so dropping one into a stream--as I did--won't kill it), and it's pretty durable--one of my friends dropped his nearly twenty feet onto rock, and it still works! All of these features help account for the somewhat high price, and since they are sold singly, count on having to buy two or more. But they are more than worth the cost, especially for those who take their outdoor activities seriously. Highly recommended.

I am presently stationed in Iraq and our unit purchased dozens of the Rinos. My Rino has survived 145 degree temeratures, sand, grime water, and the other hardships that we find here and has never missed a beat. I feel good knowing I have it with me as we fly about the desolate terrain here. The accuracy is exceptional and it does an excellent job of tracking everyone operating another Rino. Yes, the radio is a bit weak, but if we rely on other systems for that. I can see no better value for the recreational GPS user than the Rino. If it's good enough for an Army aviation unit, I believe it's good enough for Joe Citizen out on the hiking trail. Can't wait to see what Garmin comes up with next (keep them ruggedized, pls!).
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It seems that you either love or hate the Rino 110 Frs/Gmrs/Gps. Before I bought mine, I had heard of some that used theirs in Iraq and loved them, and some that left them in the sand. But I must say that I love mine. I got it last week and have put it through a few paces, and so far it is great. It looks and feels solid...even before you put the batteries in, which give it a nice heft. The only problem that I have seen is the fact that when you use the GPS and GMRS radio at the same time, you can almost feel the alkaline batteries draining. But I fixed this when I went to 2300 mAh Ni-Mh batteries. As they say, it just keeps going and going. It is also nice (considering where I live in the Pacific Northwest) to not have to worry about getting it wet. And also not to have to carry both a GPS and separate radio. I also just bought the data cable (got it on ebay for only 3.25 FRNs!) so I can download all the latest software updates from Garmin. BTW, this little sucker is just a little bit complicated, but the menus are intuitive and the guide book well written.

Every picture I saw advertised for this unit showed detailed maps. Even in the owner's manual on several pages you'll see detailed maps downloaded from MapSource. This is not possible, even if you purchased the expensive software, it is not possible to download this info to the Rino 110 Unit. If you can live with a totally blank screen and 'bread crumbs' (because this is all you get in the GPS mode) then this unit is okay. If you would like more detail or even the most basic detail in the GPS mode, then purchase the 120 or 130 unit. These units will store additional info and include the cable for downloading from laptop to unit. The 110 does not include the cable. I own a 110 and 120 unit and both are great and are easy devices to work with but beware of the 110's blank screen in the GPS mode, it offers nothing but a blank screen and bread crumbs! (items were purchased for deer hunting and emergencys)

The Rino works great when you are keeping track of your friends on a camping trip. In some open areas you can truly keep track of your friends from 1 to 2 miles away. However in urban, or even suburban areas the radio just isn't strong enough and you can expect about 3/10ths of a mile at best. Even so with the Rino Garmin did a quality job. WELL WORTH THE PRICE!!

These radios cram a lot of great features in a package that almost fits in a pocket. And the price isn't bad for the combination of a decent radio and an adequate GPS, especially when you can do neat things like broadcast your position to other Rinos so that it appears on their GPS map display. But all these great features only really work if you are paying close of attention. There are simply too many features to use conveniently as part of any real outdoor activity. A superb, well thought out user interface might solve the problem, but that's not what you get with this product -- not by a long shot. Garmin has done a decent workmanlike job with its menus and buttons, but it simply isn't nearly enough to save these from being much more than toys.pTwo further points worth noting. The longer range GMRS radio does not broadcast location information, and in order to use GMRS you must apply for a license with the FCC, involves a fee and several very confusing forms.

We have many sets of radios as we use them for airsoft and paintballing. When we decided to buy a 2in1 system (GPS and radio) we deicided to look at these. The GPS unit is awesome. When using the radio, I find that the batteries drain a little too fast. We therefore purchased a set of IASUS throat mics online (AMAZON doesn't carry them!) so we could save more battery power. That actually made the unit sound better also! If the radio didn't eat up so much power and sounded better, I would give the Garmin a 5 star.

For anyone concerned about giving away a position in Iraq, why not go into the radio setup menu, disable the "Send Location" feature under the Send Location tab, and disable position polling under the Allow Polling tab? If these features are disabled, the Rino will not send its position when the radio is keyed. People really should read their user manuals.

Big tip...set up is fairly easy...but read the WHOLE manual TWICE!!! before attempting set up! One of the two I bought had a short circuit in it somewhere and didn't work for very long (should a set up before the big hunting trip!). It got pretty hot then just quit. The other one was fine..batteries lasted a day and a half...it did lose satelite in some of the deeper valleys when we were high in the mountains but regained 2D sat nav soon enough. I liked the tracking feature. I marked junctions in some of the logging roads and it led me right back the way I came. I also liked knowing the elevation. The best time to hunt and fish feature was cool...(jury's still out on usefulness though) Navigating the screens was not simple and the menu select button is a little touchy. It will scroll up/down or left/right when you just want to select (push in) if you get even a little off center when you push it. Before the other one died it did store a location in the working unit and I liked knowing exactly how far away I was getting from the last known location of the defective unit. I can't wait to recieve the repaired unit. I'll let you know how long it takes Garmin to fix and repair or replace the defective unit....to be continued!

This item is simply a walkie-talkie that locates others of its own kind and shows you your position relating to dots (waypoints). No maps. No elevation graphics. Not even roads. I'm sure the newer models are much better, but how hi-tech can something be when it only has one Meg of on board memory. I had no idea an item from 2006 could be so outdated by now. This would only be useful for locating others in a hunting party who also have a rino. My nuvi auto gps does more on the trail than this does. I'm a hiker and I'm pretty sorry I wasted three years worth of my wife's safety incentive points on this thing. I will try to send it back, but I may be stuck with a huge digital compass that runs on 3 AAs.

The radio portion was inoperative straight out of the packaging. Made this "discovery" after ordering a second unit but one couldn't send or receive messages. Figured out which was the defective unit by using a third two-way radio. Wrote to Garmin who suggested that I send in both units. Thanks to Amazon who was very accomodating with an excahnge. Wonder what hoops Garmin would have put me through. Maybe the product is "normally" ok but I ended up with a lemon.

I thought this is what I wanted, now I'm not so sure.
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br /I bought it for a few reasons;
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br /I sail and wanted to be able to call for help if I needed to but there is no chanel 16 (help channel)on this unit.
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br /I also wanted the gps so I could find my way back in the fog. despite reading the two booklets and playing with the unit I'm still cant seem to figure out how to use it.
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br /So, I'm now looking for a proper marine radio so I can call for help.
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br /I guess this old sea dog is just too old to figure out this new tech stuff
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I used the Rino attached to my harness when windsurfing. This allows me to both stay in contact with a buddy and see what speeds I reached. It works very well and the interface is easy to master. However, Garmin overpromised on the waterproofness of the product. The battery compartment caught some water which I discovered after a few days. Luckily it only damaged the batteries and not the device itself. Next time I will seal it with an aquapac which will give it a second layer of protection.

Got this as a gift for my soldier daughter who was on her way overseas. She has already used it and been proud she has it. That's good enough for me.
br /Youngest son has another Garmin he uses for hunting. Quality products - top of the line electronics and sturdy.

The Garmin Rino 110 occupies an awkward middle ground between being anbrinteresting toy and a serious tool for the outdoors. On the one handbrthe idea of melding together GPS and radio communications via FRS/GMRSbris dynamite. Unfortunately the devil is in the details when it comesbrdown to actually using them. As others have noted the 110 can bebrquite finicky about battery life, and even a slight jostle can causebrthe units to shut down. There's also the issue of range. I havebrfound that best way to use the 110 is for car-to-car communication, orbrwithin the controlled distances inside of a campground. I would bebrvery careful before trusting the 110 in a real "hardcore" outdoorbrsituation.pWithin those limits the 110 is a nifty little device. I am quite keenbrto see that the folks at Garmin come up with next. I for one would bebrwilling to pay more for a unit that is more "ruggedized" or requires abrlicense but gives you more radio output power in return (and removesbrthe FCC restriction about sending GPS data at GMRS power levels).brAlso a more clever approach with regard to batteries/power managementbrwould be a huge plus.

There are several testimonials from soldiers who have used/are using the Rino 110 in Iraq or concerned loved ones looking to buy one for their Soldier. While commercial GPS receivers have definitely filled a gap (the old PLGR is laughably outdated, and the new DAGR is more complicated than what you can buy off the shelf), the Army Program Manager for GPS has specifically target the Garmin Rino as a security risk.
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br /Every time the mic is keyed, the Rino broadcasts the sender's location over a non-secure channel to anyone on that same channel. With the built-in scanner, anyone with a Rino 110 within range can pick up the transmission and determine the sender's location--including our enemies. So, every time you key the mic in the FOB, you may be giving away important locational data to the insurgents--especially if you and your buddy use the radio to find each other. "Hey, I'm in the DFAC, where are you?" "I'm at the PX".
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br /I'm not saying that the Garmin Rino is a bad GPS receiver; I'm sure it works fine. But if you're a Soldier or are buying a GPS receiver for a Soldier, you should probably look elsewhere.

I had hoped that I could take these out of the box and start GPSing. Apparently you have to read the manual. Not a good start. So I get out the manual and start reading. I learn how to get a name and an icon for myself and whoever I would like to keep track of. OK. But I still can't keep track of anyone or determine my position in any meaningful way. I tried to use these out on a lake where I was looking at a boat with one and I had one on my boat, but I still couldn't figure out where they were using the gps.brThe radio is ok. It works. But radios you can get for about 50 bucks at Wal Mart.brReally, what I wanted these things for is to keep track of my daughter when we traveled to Disney World or NYC etc. So far they are worthless for that purpose. At least they are not any better than a pair of MUCH less expensive radios. brI am not a tech geek or anything but I like to think that I am reasonably intelligent. But after hours of reading the manual and trying to figure it out it was still just too damn confusing.