The Garmin Oregon 550 is my first dedicated GPS (the iPhone does not cut it when it comes to outdoor GPS navigation!) and I have to say that the initial cost seemed daunting!
I spent an almost ridiculous amount of time researching all the GPS devices and for me the one thing that became clear was that I had to choose a model that would support OS mapping (the reviews for the Topo maps were just too poor). This left me with any of the Garmin Oregon/Dakota models, the Satmaps and the new Memory Map Adventurer (which I quickly dismissed based upon early reviews of poor performance). The Satmaps whilst very tempting were expensive and appeared to be quite 'buggy' and short of mapping products for outside UK and some parts of Europe.
I plumped for Garmin - a proven brand, plenty of map products available for all over the world and generally good reviews. The Dakota's and early Oregons were tempting but there were some remarks about not fantastic sat reception under trees etc (pretty annoying if your walking through woods I imagine!)
Now I saw the Garmin Oregon 550 and loved the idea of all the features but to pay between £450 and £550 (sometimes without mapping) seemed to me extrordinarly expensive! I shopped around on the internet and found several good stockists (Handtec were one) that offered this GPS much cheaper. I eventually found an excellent deal on eBay for a brand new device at an amazing £250!!
I snapped it up instantly on the basis the seller had 100% positive feedback and the description that the item was sealed etc. And to his credit it was 100% BNIB.
Now there is no way I would have gone for this model and it's RRP, but at the price of a much lower specced Dakota, or lower Oregon model how could I go wrong.
To conclude, if you shop around you can find these higher specced models at prices similar to the RRP's of the lower models. Be sensible, buy from reputable sellers/online stores and you will be fine and end up with an absolute bargain!
(Written by: maverickmustang)