Garmin Oregon 400 vs Garmin Colorado 400
Handheld GPS - Garmin Oregon and Colorado Compared
The Garmin Colorado 400 is very similar to the Garmin Oregon 400. Either one would make any outdoors person very happy and would provide tremendous navigational help whether on a trail, in a boat or on a bike. Both are designed to be handheld and both are waterproof. They are similar in size with the Oregon 400 beating out the Colorado 400 to be the most compact. The Colorado 400 is just a tiny bit wider (2.4-inches) and about an inch taller (5.5-inches).
The Oregon 400 has a touch screen with a resolution of 240x400. The Colorado 400 does not have a touch screen but the resolution is the same. Without the use of a Touchscreen the Colorado 400 uses a “Rock ‘n Roller” input wheel. This feature allows the user to input information and to navigate through the menu using one hand.
The Colorado 400 is a little heavier (7.3 oz. Vs 6.8 oz.) which is such a small difference I am not sure that it would be noticed. Battery life also differs by one hour with the Oregon 400 winning at 16 hours. Both the Colorado and the Oregon derives their power from two AA NiMH or Lithium-Ion (which is recommended).
Although both the Colorado and the Oregon is waterproof, neither one will float. They can both be used outdoors in rain, snow and dust making them truly rugged, yet they are both sensitive enough to pick up satellite readings even if you are in a gully, surrounded by mountains or underneath a canopy of trees. Depending on the chosen sport both the Colorado and the Oregon accepts SD memory cards containing various maps. The Colorado accepts an SD card and the Oregon accepts a microSD card – neither one is included with purchase of the GPS. Turn-by-turn routing is possible with the appropriate street maps.
Included on both the Colorado and the Oregon are a compass and a barometric altimeter. Both offer (paperless) Geocaching. Wireless transfer of trails, photos and geocaching information is available to anyone having another Colorado or Oregon GPS.
You can clearly see that these two GPS devices are very similar. The most obvious differences are:
- Touchscreen vs the Rock n’ Roller input wheel
- A slight difference in overall size and weight
- SD card vs MicroSD card
- Expected Battery Life
- Track log on the Colorado allows for 10,000 points and 20 saved tracks and the Oregon allows for 10,000 points and 200 saved tracks
There are other features that are exactly the same between the Colorado and the Oregon:
- RoHS version is available
- Basemap preinstalled
- Preloaded maps installed (400i – inland lakes) (400T – topographical) (400C – Coastal)
- Outdoor GPS games
- Hunting and Fishing Calendar – tells you when the best dates and times of day is best to fish
- Sun and Moon information – new moon, quarter moon, half moon and full moon for example
- Tide Tables
- Custom POIs (Points of Interest)
- Works with Garmin Heart Rate Monitor and Cadence Sensor
Personally I enjoy Touchscreens and I like that the menu can be navigated with one hand as with the Rock n' Roller. I just do not understand why Garmin did not make these GPS devices the ability to float.
