I have used this GPS on hikes with navigational requirements and just general testing. These are my conclusions after a few calls to Garmin Support and searching GPS forums. The good news is that it is well constructed, has many features. If you buy the city, topo, and marine mapping, you can probably do it all. It has a fairly basic ease of operation (after you get the settings customized). The bad news is that the manual is way too general and if you want to do basic custom setups, you might have to call Tech Support but the unit is so new that even they don't always know the answers (do not e-mail them questions, call instead. Much better support). That's were the GPS forums can come in handy. The problems I have encountered is first and foremost how difficult it can be to view the screen outside (especially topo detail) unless you have the sun shining directly on it. The backlight under low light conditions (shade, early morning hours) outside will not help. The altimeter does not seem to be the most accurate at times and when you have the unit turned off, drive to a new location, turn it on, the altitude can sometimes still read your last location until you recalibrate it. Even with it set to auto calibrate and full satellite bars. NMHI rechargeable batteries do not work well with this unit if you value the backlight. There is a bug in their firmware (hopefully they will get it fixed soon) that will turn the backlight off permanently after a very short time and in some cases, that I have been reading, completely shut the unit off even when the batteries have a full charge. Some people have had problems with the current time not updating even after the GPS has locked into satellites and have been told to return the unit for an exchange, but mine has worked fine. The manual tells you how to access settings but gives no detail as to what the settings mean, leaving you to experiment, dig, accidentally find what you want, or call tech support for even basic things as transferring archived (saved) tracks to your PC, transferring topo map detail, or deleting archived tracks. Some of the things I have mentioned are bugs that will hopefully get resolved with firmware updates but right now, I can only moderately recommend this GPS. It has taken me a lot of time playing with this unit, experimenting, calling tech support, and reading blogs to operate it to my satisfaction (minus the bugs).
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The Garmin Colorado is a LONG way from being all that it should be for th price ov over $400.. Read the review if it on BACKPACKINGLIGHTWEIGHT.COM
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br /I STILL haven't got my 300 model's SD card loaded w/ the topo map. Don't use an "Ultra" SD card. Garmin says they don't work well with this unit. It would have been nice if they would have SAID SO on the box or the tiny instruction leaflet so I could have known before I bought one.
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br /Garmin's customer service is helpful but you MUST call them to learn how to use all the features properly. The included instructions are so basic as to be laughable. In short, this may be a good GPS in about a year - after Garmin gets the bugs out.
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This is an extremely cool GPS.
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br /The screen is gorgeous. Big and sharp. The Topo 2008 maps look so cool with shading and 3-D.
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br /The new control wheel really makes it easy to use. Far easier than any other Garmin unit.
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br /It is well built, looks very cool and feels really good in your hand.
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br /The recent firmware updates have solved most of the problems early buyers encountered when it first came out. I have no real complaints or problems that bother me.
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br /I use it for hiking, biking, and driving. I put a 8GB SD card in and was able to load a lot of maps. I am really enjoying using it on my weekend explorations here in New Mexico.
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br /I highly recommend it. Well worth the price.

I've been using GPS for quite a few years now. I actually started off learning on Survey Grade GPS (for work of course), and it peaked my interest and before long I had received my first consumer grade GPS.
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br /Since then I have went through several models with my most recent purchase being the Garmin Colorado 300. For me, the price was right, and since I already owned the Garmin MapSource TOPO maps, it didn't make much since to purchase a higher model with the same maps already included.
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br /I have used the unit for a couple of weeks now, and feel I have gotten in enough use to write a short review.
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br /Initial impressions of the unit out of the box where that it looks well constructed, with a large screen, and easy to get to buttons. I quickly installed the batteries, and let it find it's first satellites and get it's location.
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br /I then proceeded to go through the menus, locating where everything was, and getting myself acquainted with the GPS. I found it to be fairly intuitive, easy to use, and the menus were easy to locate. I actually learned to navigate through everything fairly quickly. I suspect it has something to do with previous use of GPS units, and being somewhat familiar with basic GPS menu configurations. Some of my friends who have previous GPS experience also found navigating the menus of the unit to be fairly easy as well.
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br /For someone new to GPS, I can understand all the new icons, menus, shortcuts, etc. being intimidating or confusing. It is a little more than a turn on and play type device, something I think many people have gotten use to from using digital cameras, MP3 players, and other user friendly electronics. A first use with a GPS can be a little tough, there are a lot of new terms and ideas to learn, but it's an easy learning curve that only takes a short time to begin to understand.
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br /The basemap was just what I expected. I'm afraid that many of the disappointments in GPS unit basemaps are that many people expect map levels found in dedicated navigation units. Something that will be hard to find in a handheld recreational use unit. Different uses require different maps, and it's always going to be hard to satisfy everyone. Something that Garmin is itself working on, with the 400t, 400c, and 400i units. You can now by hand held GPS units that have included topo maps, coastal maps, and inland lake and river maps. A huge step up from having to buy a GPS unit, and then buy a separate set of maps to load to the GPS.
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br /I, myself, already owned the separate TOPO maps, so just purchased the base model. I found that loading the maps to the GPS was fairly easy and straight forward. Once loaded the maps are rendered very nicely, with 3-d views also available.
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br /I have also been able to run Pocket Queries from [...] and load the GPX file that [...] sends directly to the Colorado. Making Paperless geocaching a snap. I found the process rather easy, and it adds a whole new spin to geocaching. With just the press of a button I have the cache details in front of me, and with another press of a button I can look at the past five logs, or the hint. So far, this has been one of the greatest features of the GPS.
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br /The only real downfall I have with the GPS is battery life. I only got about 10 hours out of a set of Duracell AA Alkalines. A real drop considering I'm use to getting close to 30 hours out of my eTrex Legend HCx on the same type of batteries. I have since bought a set of rechargeable 2500 maH Ni-MH batteries to use, and have been seeing better times out of those.
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br /In general my likes are: large screen size, uses regular SD Card, Geocaching capabilities, the ease of use after the small learning curve.
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br /Dislikes: Short battery life, screen can be hard to see at times with backlight off.
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br /I would (and have) recommend this GPS to my friends.

This replaced my 60csx. The detail on the screen is a big improvement. NIMH battery performance has improved with recent firmware upgrades. The back cover is extremely hard to get on and off. After a couple of weeks of daily use, the back battery seal tore. Garmin support via email (3 day response time) said I had to return it for warranty repair. Instead I took it back to REI and they exchanged it no problem. This happened again and am now on my third one. Now, I never fully close the back cover unless I am in a situation where it could be submersed in water. This has prevented the seal from tearing, and makes the back cover much easier to get on and off. Also you do not have to remove the carabiner to get the cover off with this method. TOPO and City Navigator work great! I recommend this unit but be careful with the back cover!

I have had a lot of experiences with GPS units and systems. It seems that a lot of people are expecting too much from these inexpensive GPS units. None of the relatively low cost handhelds that I have used or tried come with detailed maps. You are not going to be able to get Google Earth levels of detail in a handheld GPS, at least not today. With optional map software you can get good details of limited areas. That said, I do take issue with every handheld GPS manufacturer's inference that useable Maps are included with their units. The Garmin 300 is described as "with North American Maps". True but it will only show Main Roads. If you were expecting your street to show up, you will be disappointed. I knew this would be the case so I did not factor the lack of detail into my rating score. I bought it for accuracy, a useable compass and primarily for tracking while trail riding.
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br /The Colorado 300 that I bought worked properly right out of the box. It quickly acquired satellites and determined position correctly. I never had to use the manual, all the functions were easy to use and understand (but probably not for a novice GPS user). I really like the menu wheel and its functionality. Easy and quick to get to any of the functions and settings. One function that worked much better than early GPS units was the Compass. The Compass in the Colorado works in any position, all the others that I had with a Compass required it be level to the ground.
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br /I am surprised that one reviewer said they were able to use an 8gb SD card as Garmin says the Colorado 300 will only accept a 4gb non-HC SD card. Garmin said that HC SD cards are unreliable if used in the Colorado 300. I cannot find a 4gb non-HC SD card, Garmin's response was to use a 2gb non-HC SD Card. At this point though, I am not planning on buying any additional map software but perhaps later.

Product i received had problem staying up. It abruptly shutdown without warning fewminutes after power up. Amazon sent me a replacement. The replacement fared better But after a couple of days wouldn't work saying "Cannot find system software" OR "Missing system software". I am trying to work it out with the customer support.

It amazes me the comments made about this product in the gps forums and websites. I was very reluctant to purchase based on all of the complaints and whining. Now that I've had one for a week, I don't see what all of the complaining was about. It does everything I expected it to and more. All of the things I've read that others were complaining about can be done, but you have to actually read the manual. No it's not like the older previous models - that's what makes it new. Could it be improved? Of course. So could the Jaguar XJS, but you won't hear many people complain.

This a great gps if you are out there camping or simply on the road this you may want to buy.

I've used two other Garmin outdoor GPS before and I was expecting this new device. After a month of using, I'm almost decided to switch back to Garmin 60 CSx.
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br /Colorado +:
br / - display
br / - gc listings
br / - holders (car, bike)
br / - wig
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br /Colorado -:
br / - battery consumption
br / - gc listings (listing is sometimes bad formated)
br / - roller, buttons, menus (60 CSx is much more powerful and faster to control, search...)
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br /So if you need listings/wig then buy Colorado. In case having PDA or smartphone, take 60 CSx...

I replaced my 60CSx with this. I have to say that it's a good replacement. It's definitely a step up from the 60CSx. The display is definitely sharper. The 3D map view is awesome.
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br /After careful consideration of the merits of both the 300 and the 400T I decided that it was a better choice for me to get the 300 and save the $70 difference between the two. My rational is as follows. First, I already own the Topo 2008 so I can load any topo segment as well as plan with it on my computer. Second, I also own a 2GB SD card that I can put the maps on. I don't really need to have the entire U.S. maps in the GPS at once. I doubt that many people have a real need for that. Sure, it saves you the trouble of having to load maps every time you go to a different part of the country but how many time do you do that?
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br /Finally, after much experience with the Garmin product life cycle in replacing my GPS from Vista, to 60CS , to the 60CSx, and now the 300, I don't think it's worth it to spend the extra money for the 400T when I have all the functionality of it when I use it in conjunction to what I just described above. That extra $70 can be better put to use in 12-18 months when the NEXT generation arrives to replace the Colorado series. I'm sure it will once again be much better in performance than the current leader.
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br /Update: After using this unit for a few weeks I have to say that it still has a lot of bugs in the firmware that needs to be worked out. Garmin support has been good as well as forums in helping to answer question about these shortcomings. In terms of the hardware I would say that it's definitely a step up from the 60CSx; however, the firmware leaves a lot to be desired. I would say that it will probably take another 6-9 months before it gets to the level of the 60 Series in terms of stability and functionality.

this is a perfect product...
br /Top class GPS, with great screen and great function.

I've owned multiple GPS units over the years, including $10,000+ marine units. Generally had great experience with Garmin.
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br /But the Garmin Colorado is a waste of money. Worldwide basemap only sees state highways and above. That's right, for $300+ you get a worthless navigation unit!
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br /So you have to buy City Navigator for another $145. Defective disc won't load in any of 5 different PCs. Emailed customer support - no answer in a week. Called customer support, wait times 55 minutes, 50 minutes and 50 minutes! Sent disc back asking for replacement. No response.
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br /Never again, Garmin. Time to sell my shares.
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