Garmin Oregon or Rino?

[jryoung]

Haven't really poked around GPS units before, but since I am going out of state this year I figured it might be time.

I've heard of the Oregon over the years but new to me today was the Rino. Seems like a really slick unit and may play perfectly for me, my dad and brother. It's about a $100 more than the Oregon 550 but the communication (radio/text) function seems like a killer feature.

 

[2rocky]

I am the only one of my hunting party with the Rino. The radio portion is just OK. But it is one less gadget I have in my pocket.

It is a fine GPS, with the same shortcomings as any other units. If my hunting mates had them I would be more enthusiastic.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

I would look at garmins 62 st before ya buy,,,thats gonna be my next gps.

 

[Summitthunting]

Buy a Oregon 550T off of Cabelas for $350. I have two of the rhino 120s, the GPS gets used alot more than the radio.

 

[jryoung]

What is the advantage of the 62ST over and Oregon or Montana? The 62 doesn't have an SD card slot and is the same price as the Rino.

Are the body styles typically personal preference or is there some significance between the touchscreens and the more" radio" styled bodies.

 

[ardrhi]

The Rhino is not the best GPS or the best radio, but it is a great combination of the two. I like the Rhino, but if I'm alone or my buddy doesn't have one I prefer something else.
The Rhino is handy when trying to find someone else who also has one. If you have an animal down and need help, you just call your buddy on the radio and it shows your location.

I had a buddy miss the end of the road and the vehicle in bad weather. Since the road ended just 50 yards short of the trail he was following, he didn't know he had gone too far. He wouldn't have crossed another road before dark and heavy snow was on the way. The Rhino showed me where he was and I was able to turn him around and give him directions even though I was hunting over a mile away. That one experience paid for both of our Rhinos.

 

[Goldtip]

I've no experience with the Garmin Oregon, but my hunting buddy and I have the 530 Rino's and they are really a pretty danged nice unit.

 

[nbell]

If everyone in your party has a rino, they are awesome. The text feature is real neat as you can talk to each other with out actually talking. I also like to know where my dad and brother are when we are out hunting. If you will be the only one with a rino, don't know if it is the best option. My dad, brother and I have used the rino's to help each other retrive game, and meet up with out wandering all over the place looking for each other. I love the features that they offer.

 

[fishing4sanity]

Just to echo what has already been said, the Rino is a good choice for the radio feature, even though the radio itself isn't stellar in its' performance. Hunting last fall with my brother his MT maps didn't download properly and he didn't know until we were hunting, because we both had Rinos I was able to watch his location on my GPS and tell/text him if he was getting close to property boundaries.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

62 st does have the sd card slot,,,super reception,,good screen during direct sunlite,push buttons i think is more durable than a touch screen and good battery life.

 

[WapitiBob]

I looked at the Oregon then turned on a Montana. That was the end of the Oregon.