advice re the new garmin montana

[gordon029]

Hello I have been offered a present of the new garmin montana which appears to be a very elaborate hand held gps which when fitted with the blue chart then becomes a chart plotter,Thats an abreviated version of what the sales person told us.So my question is ,would anyone have any experience of this model and would it be considered a good addition to ones navigation equipment. As you might have guessed I am not a "techy" person so I would appreciate any views on this as it is a very expensive gadget.Thank you

 

[gordon029]

re new garmin

At this stage I have tried a lot of sites to find out more about the marine capabilities of this item without success so I am hoping that I might get the help I need to arrive at a conclusion.It's a lovely thought for a present but if I can't get the use out of it a lot of money is down the drain.Again thank you for reading this and if anyone can throw a bit of light on the subject It would be much appreciated/

 

[pvb]

....the new garmin montana which appears to be a very elaborate hand held gps which when fitted with the blue chart then becomes a chart plotter...

It looks like that's a fair summary. The Montana isn't primarily aimed at boatowners, though, and so any marine use will be - to some extent - a compromise. If you need a chartplotter, you'd probably be better spending the money (or perhaps less money) on a proper marine chartplotter.

 

[Stu Jackson]

If you want to learn more about it, if you haven't already: http://support.garmin.com/search/generalResults.faces?q=montana&GO=&client=garmin_fe&site=General

There's probably a UK Garmin website, too, ya think?

There's two or three different models.

Seems like with the right data it would make a fine chartplotter, 'cuz handhelds are simply small chartplotters.

 

[PeteCooper]

I have a Garmin Oregon 400t with a blue chart card that covers the whole of Britain and some of Europe. It came preloaded with street maps of Europe.
I use it as a marine chart plotter and I think it is a great piece of kit.
The Montana looks like a slightly larger version of the Oregon so I suspect it will be as good.