Garmin Oregon 200

by John
(Kingwood, TX)

I just got back from a four day trip to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas to resurvey the highest peaks. No, we weren't using a hand held for that, but I did get a chance to try out my new Garmin Oregon 200. I purchased this model because of the much cheaper price.

The lack of maps, camera, or wireless transfer only made the choice easier. I can build my own maps, have a much nicer digital camera, and don't know anyone else with a Garmin that I can transfer data with. After making and installing my custom map of the park area, I headed off for my hiking adventure. The Oregon performed very well.

I love the touch screen and will never go back to anything else. I actually wore my fingers out on other GPS handhelds typing in all the waypoints we needed to find to survey. With the Oregon, it was a piece of cake. I did not have any problems viewing the screen at any point in the day regardless of lighting.

The large color screen also made navigating a breeze. The hotfix seemed to work very good as well. I purposely turned of the unit after checking my position, just to see how long it would take to get a fix. The unit performed great every time.

In all, I feel that this is a great new unit from Garmin. I did not leave the unit on to verify battery life, so I can not comment on that. However, if you want a nice unit, can use software to make your own maps, and don't need all the bells and whistles of the more expensive models, this unit may be the one for you.