Strengths: ScreenMapsSignal Strength

Weaknesses: Location accuracy and some bugs with older firmware

Summary: I have used this GPS now for almost 2 months for both Cycling and Geocaching. For Cycling it's a tad big, but on my mountain bike it works fine. I do like that it maps my tracks as well as my elevation. I also like that I can upload my tracks and then overlay over satellite maps. For Geocaching it's a great little unit. It seems to be very accurate AFTER FIRMWARE UPDATE. While I am new to this, I have found it to be a great unit. I have 6 cache's to my name thus far and growing. I can't stress this enough. UPDATE YOUR FIRMWARE WHEN RECEIVED. There are many sites out there about issues with this unit. I am using v2.60. This update seemed to make a big difference for me both in accuracy (wandering) and some bugs that would cause the unit to shut down. Seems very stable now and I am loving it. There is a new version out with a touch screen (Oregon 400T). I did try that unit at an REI, but honestly like the wheel better.

Strengths: Lots of featuresAltimeter (barometric)

Weaknesses: Don't use alkaline batteriestakes some time to find satellites

Summary: I really like the elevation charts since I was usually using it while hiking. It seemed to take some time getting a satellite signal. Not sure if that was because I was using alkaline batteries the first few times. It seemed after about a 6 hr hike it would complete about the batteries being dead. I have switched to lithium (non-rechargables) and have been able to go much longer. I am still trying to use all of the features and figure I need to open the manual to get everything out of the device.

Strengths: Paperless Geocaching, Ease of use, Profiles

Weaknesses: Cost, Battery life, Screen brightness

Summary: I started geocaching with a Garmin Vista HCX GPSr and constantly found myself needing to print out the cache info sheets. This took a lot of time, paper, and I didn't always have the page I needed. Although the Vista was perfect for everything else, I wanted something I could paperless geocache with. Enter the Garmin Colorado 400t. The initial release of the Colorado was more than disappointing. Talk about having some serious buyer?s remorse. The Colorado took way too long to start up, find its satellites, and was missing a few features which my beloved Vista contained. I was on the brink of returning it when I downloaded latest (beta) firmware. All of the sudden the Colorado became a joy to use. Pretty much all of my complaints were addressed. All but one of the features I constantly used on the Vista appeared and worked great. The one feature the Colorado still lacks is waypoint averaging. The paperless geocaching features are excellent... thankfully, since that is the primary reason I purchased this device. The only weakness the Colorado has is the battery doesn't last as long as I would like and the screen isn't very bright. I would definitely purchase this GPS again.

Strengths: Big color screen, easy controls, one hand operation and electronic compass. USB connectiviey, SD Card Slot. Easy downloading and numerous features to enhance your geocaching experience.

Weaknesses: Shorter Battery Life. Cumbersome data entry in the field.

Summary: The Garmin 400t is the ultimate Geocaching Machine. The Built in Electronic Compass points you towards your target waypoint or geocache, even while standing still. You can view a geocache's description or hint while in the field. You can mark a cache as found and add a comment about the hunt. When you get back home, you can d/l these field notes at geocaching.com and return later to write up your official long entries. Garmin and Groundspeak have worked very hard to enhance the entire geocaching experience with this unit. While it is not perfect, it improves with every firmware upgrade that becomes available and reaffirms the commitment of both these companies. I personally think that it is the best GPS for Geocaching on the market today, bar none. It interfaces effortlessly with Windows Computers for the easy downloading of waypoints and pocket queries. The Garmin 400t makes searching for geocaches more fun and eliminates the need to carry extra devices into the field.