Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is one of those products that can either be a great thing or can be a great disappointment... All dependent on actual need / intended use.
For me, it has been a great product that met my needs. I like to do a lot of camping and hiking in the middle of the woods and all I need from a portable GPS is just the basics. Let me mark locations, get me from the car to the camping site or marked locations and get me back. For this, I don't really need advanced features such as street routing, a POI database filled with restaurants, gas stations, etc. For that, I use the navigation system on my car.
Having said that, pretty much, any of the portable GPS devices meet my requirements but what attracted me to the Onix 400 was the addition of the XM Weather receiver. That extra feature, for me was worth the price as it does come in handy to be able to see when storms are coming, their severity and to be able to estimate roughly when it will be on top of you and how long it will be before it passes once is on top of you.
While the GPS with the Weather feature has been great on my outings, I do have a few complaints, which I did make sure Bushnell knew so that they can improve the product.
1. While XM does seem to work during bad weather provided the device is out on the open, it is useless when one is stuck inside a tent while waiting for the rain to stop. The GPS does have a connector to allow peripheral devices to be connected, including an external antenna, but Bushnell does not offer such an antenna. The closest they have is a headset with an antenna, but is not designed to take the role of a real external antenna. Cable is short and because of it being a headset, I don't believe it will be a good idea to leave it out on the rain for any extended periods of time.
2. The cost of extra batteries. Only Bushnell batteries can be used due to their design. These batteries are not cheap to be able to buy a couple of spares, so one has to trade real time info for battery life. Pretty much, to extend battery life, once you get to where you need to be (Camping Ground),turn the unit off and if the sky shows signs of bad weather approaching, turn it on, wait for the XM signal to update the Weather info, then turn it off again.
For me, this has not been a major issue, as turning the device off is what I would have done anyway with any other portable GPS without XM and turned it back on when on the move. Just thought other users may want to be aware of this.
In summary, if you are looking for a portable GPS specific to outdoor activities and would like to keep an eye on severe weather, this is a GPS for you.
If you want to use it as an MP3 player or for urban door to door navigation...
Have you looked at Tom Tom or Garmin?
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Bushnell Onix400 Waterproof Hiking GPSIntroducing the world¿s first handheld GPS to combine navigational aids, satellite photography and XM weather on a single screen. It shows you the perfect pinchpoint for this wind. And how you should dress for the day. NEXRAD weather data downlinked via XM Weather, layered over a georeferenced satellite map of your location keeps you prepared. It¿s all housed in a rubberized defensive armor built to XPX7 waterproof standards, with a high gain SIRF GPS receiver. In your palm.Features: Layer a satellite photo, topo map, compass, navigational aids and XM services on a single screen with TruView Navigation Extra-large 3.5¿ full color LCD Downloads and displays georeferenced satellite photography Displays XM weather data on the GPS map* XM Satellite radio entertainment including XM sports* SafeTrack battery conservation mode SiRF GPS receiver Digital compass Embedded 128 micro SD card Rugged rubber armor Waterproof (IPX7 rated) *With XM Satellite subscription
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