If outdoors is your thing, and Bear Grylls is your role model, Garmin have come up with some high tech to ensure you don’t get lost in your pursuit of the untamed. Garmin have released their midrange Oregon 300 GPS, and it attempts to be the rugged jack of all navigation trades. STEVEN AMBROSE takes the Oregon through the wilds to see if it delivers.
A GPS device is becoming more and more an essential part of the modern day toolkit. No more the old paper maps and asking for directions. Handheld GPS devices now abound, with prices that make them almost a no-brainer – and they are even included in phones. The downside of many of these is that a quick swim in a river or a fall off your local mountain may not be good for their health. In response to this issue, Garmin came up with the compact and rugged Oregon 300. Garmin are almost the generic in GPS devices in South Africa, and the Oregon underlines their positioning.
The Oregon 300 is compact, smoothly rounded but fairly chunky in design, and is ruggedized with a sealed USB port and locking back flap, in order to protect it from the elements. The exterior is clean and pleasantly rubberised, with a single button to turn the device on and off. A micro SD card slot located underneath the batteries is not the most accessible, but it is unlikely you will be changing cards regularly.
The Oregon sits nicely in the hand, and the rubberised coating assists to give added grip.
The device is a bit of a jack of all trades, with pre-installed applications for a wide variety of functions, ranging from leisure pursuits, such as geo caching and fishing, to standard GPS direction-finding and navigation, to functions for fitness training and hiking. The software uses a simple and fairly intuitive (read: easy to get used to) profiles system to help you access the applications you need. For example, switch to the geocaching profile, and all the associated geocaching tools are moved to the first menu screen. There are five available profiles you can set up, and you can create more if needed.
The simplicity of the interface makes the Oregon a joy to use. It has a few unexpected extras, like viewing pictures stored on the SD card and a nifty ability to share tracks, trails, and waypoints wirelessly with other Garmin users. The overall lack of buttons and the touch screen make the Oregon easy to use, even if the protective coating on the screen forces you to push fairly hard to get the screen to respond. The built-in worldwide basemap with shaded contours is useful and powerful for those intrepid adventurers. This feature is touch enabled and shows the surrounding terrain.
I did find small issues with the Garmin, the first one related to satellite sensitivity and acquisition. It took a while from a cold start to acquire (i.e. pick up the signals from) the required satellites. And the devices lost the satellites when in heavy undergrowth. It recovered fast, but this could be a concern. The handy and very useful electronic compass also proved a little difficult to use as I had to hold it level to make it work.
My biggest issue is the screen. It is simply not bright enough. As the device is designed to work outdoors, the screen should be viewable in bright sunlight and it is not. You can shade it to see better, but this could be a problem if you are running or on your bike. Garmin needs to come up with a software update to fix the issue.
Speaking of which, I downloaded the updater from the Garmin website, and after a painless install, an update for the Oregon 300 was available. The update installed smoothly and a number of small issues were fixed, for example the sensitivity of satellite acquisition and retention appeared to be solved, along with a number of other issues. It is highly recommended that you download the updater application and check regularly for updates.
Pricing
The current street price of the Oregon 300 ranges from R4170 to R7110, which is expensive for a GPS device. The high price is somewhat mitigated by the additional functionality over standard GPS devices, and the ruggedness of the unit itself. That said, it is not great value for money at these prices, as the feature set does not offset the high price entirely. There are few alternatives with this combination of features and ruggedness in the South African market, so the Garmin gets a conditional recommendation. It would make sense to shop around for the best price though.
In summary
Overall, the Garmin Oregon 300 is a wonderful device for the adventure-minded. It has all the features you may need for your expeditions to faraway places. It takes regular batteries, or rechargeable. A carabineer back cover is included, so clipping it to your gear is easy. It is rugged and effective and easy to use. Garmin must have spent some time really understanding where a device such as this would go, and have made sure that most bases are covered, with useful applications and functions. Simply never get lost again, no matter where you go.
For more information go to http://www.garmin.co.za
A GPS device is becoming more and more an essential part of the modern day toolkit. No more the old paper maps and asking for directions. Handheld GPS devices now abound, with prices that make them almost a no-brainer – and they are even included in phones. The downside of many of these is that a quick swim in a river or a fall off your local mountain may not be good for their health. In response to this issue, Garmin came up with the compact and rugged Oregon 300. Garmin are almost the generic in GPS devices in South Africa, and the Oregon underlines their positioning.
The Oregon 300 is compact, smoothly rounded but fairly chunky in design, and is ruggedized with a sealed USB port and locking back flap, in order to protect it from the elements. The exterior is clean and pleasantly rubberised, with a single button to turn the device on and off. A micro SD card slot located underneath the batteries is not the most accessible, but it is unlikely you will be changing cards regularly.
The Oregon sits nicely in the hand, and the rubberised coating assists to give added grip.
The device is a bit of a jack of all trades, with pre-installed applications for a wide variety of functions, ranging from leisure pursuits, such as geo caching and fishing, to standard GPS direction-finding and navigation, to functions for fitness training and hiking. The software uses a simple and fairly intuitive (read: easy to get used to) profiles system to help you access the applications you need. For example, switch to the geocaching profile, and all the associated geocaching tools are moved to the first menu screen. There are five available profiles you can set up, and you can create more if needed.
The simplicity of the interface makes the Oregon a joy to use. It has a few unexpected extras, like viewing pictures stored on the SD card and a nifty ability to share tracks, trails, and waypoints wirelessly with other Garmin users. The overall lack of buttons and the touch screen make the Oregon easy to use, even if the protective coating on the screen forces you to push fairly hard to get the screen to respond. The built-in worldwide basemap with shaded contours is useful and powerful for those intrepid adventurers. This feature is touch enabled and shows the surrounding terrain.
I did find small issues with the Garmin, the first one related to satellite sensitivity and acquisition. It took a while from a cold start to acquire (i.e. pick up the signals from) the required satellites. And the devices lost the satellites when in heavy undergrowth. It recovered fast, but this could be a concern. The handy and very useful electronic compass also proved a little difficult to use as I had to hold it level to make it work.
My biggest issue is the screen. It is simply not bright enough. As the device is designed to work outdoors, the screen should be viewable in bright sunlight and it is not. You can shade it to see better, but this could be a problem if you are running or on your bike. Garmin needs to come up with a software update to fix the issue.
Speaking of which, I downloaded the updater from the Garmin website, and after a painless install, an update for the Oregon 300 was available. The update installed smoothly and a number of small issues were fixed, for example the sensitivity of satellite acquisition and retention appeared to be solved, along with a number of other issues. It is highly recommended that you download the updater application and check regularly for updates.
Pricing
The current street price of the Oregon 300 ranges from R4170 to R7110, which is expensive for a GPS device. The high price is somewhat mitigated by the additional functionality over standard GPS devices, and the ruggedness of the unit itself. That said, it is not great value for money at these prices, as the feature set does not offset the high price entirely. There are few alternatives with this combination of features and ruggedness in the South African market, so the Garmin gets a conditional recommendation. It would make sense to shop around for the best price though.
In summary
Overall, the Garmin Oregon 300 is a wonderful device for the adventure-minded. It has all the features you may need for your expeditions to faraway places. It takes regular batteries, or rechargeable. A carabineer back cover is included, so clipping it to your gear is easy. It is rugged and effective and easy to use. Garmin must have spent some time really understanding where a device such as this would go, and have made sure that most bases are covered, with useful applications and functions. Simply never get lost again, no matter where you go.
For more information go to http://www.garmin.co.za
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