Garmin Montana 650t Waterproof Hiking GPS with TOPO U.S. 100K and 5 Megapixel Camera

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.3 x 6.4 x 6.4 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0050SNCPC
• Item model number: 010-00924-02
• Batteries: 1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)
  

By : Garmin
List Price : $699.99
Price : $611.30
You Save : $88.69 (13%)

Product Description

Edition: 650 - 3.5GB capacity with Camera
Amazon.com Product Description
Take it hiking. Take it hunting. Take it on the water. Montana 650t features a bold 4 in. color touchscreen dual orientation display and TOPO U.S. 100K maps, supports multiple mapping options like BirdsEye™ Satellite Imagery and it has a 5 megapixel camera to boot. Montana has key features for the outdoors such as a 3-axis tilt-compensated compass and barometric altimeter. Buy the auto mount and a City Navigator NT® map, and it'll give you spoken turn-by-turn driving directions. It's big. It's versatile. It's tough. It earned the name Montana - the ultimate in touchscreen toughness.

High-resolution, crystal clear enhanced colors on a vast 4-inch sunlight-readable touchscreen.See the Big View

Touchscreen dual orientation display


Includes TOPO U.S. 100K maps and supports multiple mapping options like BirdsEye Satalitte Imagery and it has a 5 megapixel camera.Montana 650t features a vast 4 in., sunlight-readable touchscreen display that offers crystal clear enhanced colors and displays high-resolution images. It’s easy-to-use interface means you’ll spend more time enjoying the outdoors and less time searching for information. Both durable and waterproof, Montana 650t is built to withstand the elements. Bumps, dust, dirt, humidity and water are no match for this rugged navigator. No matter the setting – on the boat, in the RV or on an ATV – Montana is right at home.Take Geotagged PicturesCapture locations and memories with Montana 650t’s 5 megapixel digital camera. Each photo is geotagged automatically with the location of where it was taken, allowing you to navigate back to that exact spot in the future. Snap and view pictures in landscape or portrait orientation. To keep track of your photos and show their location on a map, simply connect Montana 650t via USB and use Garmin’s free BaseCamp™ software. For more storage, insert a microSD™ card; you can even view pictures from other devices on microSD with Montana's picture viewer.Go AnywhereWith an array of compatible mounts, Montana 650t is designed for use on ATV’s, in boats, as a handheld or in your car as a personal navigator. Use the auto mount with City Navigator maps for spoken, turn-by-turn driving directions, or the rugged mount for your motorcycle or ATV. Wherever you think you might take Montana, it has the mapping and mounts to get you there.Go EverywhereAdding more maps is easy with Garmin's wide array of detailed topographic, marine and road maps. With its microSD™ card slot, Montana 650t lets you load TOPO U.S. 24K maps and hit the trail, plug in BlueChart® g2 preloaded cards for a great day on the water or City Navigator map data for turn-by-turn routing on roads (see maps tab for compatible maps). Montana 650t also supports BirdsEye™ Satellite Imagery (subscription required), that lets you download satellite images to your device and integrate them with your maps. In addition, Montana is compatible with Custom Maps, free software that transforms paper and electronic maps into downloadable maps for your device.Share WirelesslyWith Montana 650t you can share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with other compatible Garmin GPS users. So now your friends also can enjoy your favorite hike or cache – simply press “send” to transfer your information to similar units, and let the games begin.Keep Your FixWith its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver and HotFix® satellite prediction, Montana 650t locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. The advantage is clear — whether you’re in deep woods or just near tall buildings and trees, you can count on Montana 650t to help you find your way when you need it the most.Navigate with EaseMontana 650t has a built-in 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass, which shows your heading even when you’re standing still, without holding it level. Its barometric altimeter tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude, and you even can use it to plot barometric pressure over time, which can help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions.Double Your PowerMontana 650t features a one-of-a-kind dual battery system. You’ll have the option of using the rechargeable lithium-ion pack or traditional AA alkaline batteries – whichever suits your needs better.Find FunMontana 650t supports geocaching GPX files for downloading geocaches and details straight to your unit. Visit OpenCaching.com to start your geocaching adventure. By going paperless, you're not only helping the environment but also improving efficiency. Montana 650t stores and displays key information, including location, terrain, difficulty, hints and descriptions, which means no more manually entering coordinates and paper print outs! Simply upload the GPX file to your unit and start hunting for caches.What's in the BoxMontana 650t, Lithium-ion battery pack, USB cable, AC charger, Quick start manuals, Owner's manual on disk
Montana 650t Handheld GPSPart : 010-00924-02Take it hiking. Take it hunting. Take it on the water. Montana 650t features a bold 4 in. color touchscreen dual orientation display and TOPO U.S. 100K maps, supports multiple mapping options like BirdsEye Satellite Imagery and it has a 5 megapixel camera to boot. Montana has key features for the outdoors such as a 3-axis tilt-compensated compass and barometric altimeter. Buy the auto mount and a City Navigator NT map, and it'll give you spoken turn-by-turn driving directions. It's big. It's versatile. It's tough. It earned the name Montana - the ultimate in touchscreen toughness.See the Big ViewMontana 650t features a vast 4 in., sunlight-readable touchscreen display that offers crystal clear enhanced colors and displays high-resolution images. It's easy-to-use interface means you'll spend more time enjoying the outdoors and less time searching for information. Both durable and waterproof, Montana 650t is built to withstand the elements. Bumps, dust, dirt, humidity and water are no match for this rugged navigator. No matter the setting - on the boat, in the RV or on an ATV - Montana is right at home.Take Geotagged PicturesCapture locations and memories with Montana 650t's 5 megapixel digital camera. Each photo is geotagged automatically with the location of where it was taken, allowing you to navigate back to that exact spot in the future. Snap and view pictures in landscape or portrait orientation. To keep track of your photos and show their location on a map, simply connect Montana 650t via USB and use Garmin's free BaseCamp software. For more storage, insert a microSD card; you can even view pictures from other devices on microSD with Montana's picture viewer.Go AnywhereWith an array of compatible mounts, Montana 650t is designed for use on ATV's, in boats, as a handh

 

Garmin Montana 650t Waterproof Hiking GPS with TOPO U.S. 100K and 5 Megapixel Camera

 

Technical Details

• Worldwide built-in baesmap with shaded relief, preloaded U.S. Topo
• 5 MP autofocus digital camera with automatic geo-tagging
• Bright 4" sunlight readable touchscreen color display
• 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter
• High-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver

Customer Reviews

First, a little bit about me: I have a degree in software engineering, I'm an avid day hiker, and a bit of a gizmo geek. This is the second GPS I've owned, the other one being a Garmin GPS II+. I was on the fence about getting an Oregon for a while but held off because of mixed user reviews, especially in regards to its usability in bright sunlight. The main purpose of owning the Montana is to have detailed statistics on our day hikes such as distance, elevation, time, speed, etc. I've purchased and installed the Garmin TOPO West 24k maps and uploaded all of Washington state to the Montana. Even then, I still have 2.5GB of free space.
After carefully considering how to approach this review, since I know there's a lot of buyers holding off until a few user reviews came in, I decided to break it down into three areas, hardware, software, and company. You need all three to have a successful product, and after putting the Montana through its paces and contacting Garmin about a few issues, I'm able to offer my thoughts on all of them.
First, the hardware. Garmin did an excellent job designing the Montana. The screen is nice and big, and to finally put one of the most noted issues to rest, it was definitely easy to read in sunlight. The touchscreen works just about perfectly. I never felt like I had to apply too much pressure to get action, or that I pressed something that I didn't mean to (like when using the virtual keyboard). It "feels" comfortable just holding it too. For my first hike with it I didn't have a case yet, so I just threw a lanyard on it and mostly carried it in my hand the whole way up and down the trail--never bothered me. Satellite aquisition is scary fast and never had a single dropout even in dense forest. Just to see how solid the reception was, I carried it in my front shorts pocket for about a mile--no loss whatsoever. GPS accuracy was good; most of the time it hovered around 14 feet. Once I downloaded the track from the Montana to my PC, the ascent and descent portions of the hike mirrored each other pretty closely, and those tracks mirrored the trail on the TOPO map very close as well. I was constantly checking speed, time, elevation, and distance to known data and the Montana was pretty accurate. For example, at one point we passed a mile marker that claimed we were 3.0 miles from the trailhead and the Montana said we were 2.9. Take another fifty steps and it clicked over to 3.0 miles. Final elevation, elevation gain, time and speed were also just about equally dead on.
I started the hike with the lithium battery at about 75%, had the unit on for just over four hours, and finished the hike at just over 50%. I did have the battery saver option turned on and the backlight duration at the minimum setting, but I was actively using it quite a bit during the hike. My thought is that Garmin's claim to 16 hours of lithium battery life is pretty spot on, since my four hours of powered-up time ate up about 25% of the battery.
On the computer, the Montana connects via a USB cable and is recognized as a mass-storage drive. Uploading of maps, downloading of software updates, and downloading of GPS data were all fast and issue-free.
The only conceivable hardware downside I can see is compared to other GPS units, it weighs in at 10.2 ounces with the lithium battery. So if you're one of those mountaineers who take the cardboard tube out of a roll of toilet paper to save weight the Montana probably isn't the best choice. Again, the weight never bothered me a bit.
But for any piece of hardware, you need software to run it, and here's where the distinction between hardware and software within the Garmin Corporation really shows. As stated, the Montana is a great piece of hardware. But as of the date I wrote this review, it has been on the streets for exactly one week and Garmin has already released two software upgrades for it. The evening I received the Montana, I spent nearly an hour trying to calibrate the compass. Half the time I couldn't pass the first step, and I could never complete it under any circumstance. The second software update that was released just today fixed the compass calibration issue, which at least says that Garmin is quick to respond to bigger problems.
The software you need to upload and download data to and from the Montana is Garmin's BaseCamp. BaseCamp is freeware, and it feels like it too. It works pretty well, but seriously had me scanning the internet with the belief that a true commercial product named BaseCamp Pro must exist. Alas, it does not. BaseCamp's user interface is primitive and somewhat unintuitive. Thankfully, Garmin has a help file for BaseCamp, but again it just feels like freeware--like no dedication of time, effort, or resources was put into it. As an example, I have geotagged photos that I added to my track. BaseCamp puts little thumbnails of your photos over the track where they were taken. Great. But it's not easy to separate out individual photos when several overlap each other. If you geotag a lot of photos, the entire track will quickly be obscured by thumbnails that you can't hide. Just a simple checkbox called "Hide Geotagged Photos" would be an immense help, almost a necessary one, but the Garmin software development team falls short of the mark. Little annoyances like this are all over the place. I'd gladly pay for BaseCamp if they did it right, but right now I envision a team of two underpaid developers working out of a windowless corner of the mail room.
Which brings me to the third part of the review--the company. In summary, Garmin knows how to make a great piece of GPS hardware. I love my Montana, and look forward to some very enjoyable hikes with this well-built, highly accurate unit. But I can't help but feel that Garmin treats its software division like the red-headed bastard stepchild of the company. Some serious attention needs to be devoted to firmware testing and the BaseCamp software for the overall product to succeed. Garmin just isn't there yet. But I will put in one last big plus for Garmin: when I called tech support I spoke to a human being within 60 seconds of making the call who was very pleasant, patient, honest, and answered all of my questions as accurately as possible. Customer service is becoming a thing of the past, and I'm pleased to say that for my one experience with tech support, Garmin did well.

This was our 4th Garmin GPS (having owned GPSMap 60CSx, 305, Etrex). Bought this to replace the GPSMap60CSx as our primary hiking/backpacking device. The GPSMap works well and is a proven model but I find interfacing with it cumbersome and the map difficult to read. The touch screen access on the Montana is excellent and works very well, much like my iphone which is what I was looking for. The landscape/portrait display is very nice and works well. I found screen brightness acceptable in most all lighting conditions. Not as bright as an iphone but I'll accept this for longer battery life.
First thing to do when getting the Montana is download the latest software upgrade. Like some others, the compass would not calibrate until I did this. After the upgrade, calibration went fast and worked as expected. Using the MicroSD card with preloaded 24K Topo maps from my GPSMap worked flawlessly, just insert the card and the Montana read it perfectly. Downloading and uploading GPS data to Base Camp software also worked well with no problems. Everytrail.com was also able to detect the GPS and upload with no issues.
The prevailing issue with the Montana is that its simply too big for hiking. I really, really wanted to believe it wasn't but after 3 long, 20+ mile day hikes, and a 30 mile overnight, it was time to face reality. The Montana is just a bit too big to fit in standard compact camera cases, and while it did fit in my pants pockets, the weight was just too much for comfort. The unit uses 3 AA batteries or a rechargeable lithium battery. The rechargeable battery lasted a good 11 hours with about 1/4 charge left, however that's using the battery save option and only fiddling with it about 3 or 4 times (a few minutes each time) during the day.
I found the software on the Montana easy to use and intuitive. (Leaps and bounds over the GPSMap) Menu screens are fully customizable and I spent quite a bit of time fiddling with getting the menus just the way I wanted. Moving around the apps and finding data was fast and convenient. Can't speak to how well it works for streets and city navigation but it did a pretty good job in the mountains and under forest/tree cover. Satellite reception is very fast, both indoors and outdoors.
Overall its a very nice device but if you're planning to use it for hiking ; backpacking, you'll most likely want something smaller. Always a tradeoff between features and size/weight. The Montana is packed with features and very iphone-like. For myself, I'll be trying out the Oregon 550 next, smaller screen, less features, but gain portability? Ultimately, it seems GPS technology just isn't there yet for getting full features (touch screen, interface, customization, 24K maps) while maintaining portability for hiking.