Having reached the ripe age of 12 yrs, my old LCD GPS finally packed in while we were on a walk along the Pembroke Coast. Fortunately, I had the map and compass in the rucksack (and flashlight, silver foil, waterproof matches.....) but I decided that I needed a new GPS. There are dozens about and while most have great reviews, lots are balanced by other damning reviews. It was reasonably safe to figure that none was ideal and that the most I could hope for would be a balance of good over bad.
I finally decided on the 450 with the OS 1:50,000 maps of the UK, which I think is a great deal. I know that many of us have in-car satnavs but I can't explain how nice it is to see full colour OS maps on a GPS. Grabbing satellites is quick and the position stable and accurate to a few yards. The 450 is a bit heavier than expected but it has a rugged build and comes with secure carabiner clip . All of the other features of the 450 seem to be working well: the odometer is quite fun as it shows how long you have been stationary on your route and also shows average speed of travel including and excluding stops. I downloaded the free BaseCamp app from Garmin and have progressed from just recording tracks to planning routes on my Mac and downloading to the GPS.
One of the other reviewers mentioned the poor information that is supplied and I think that is fair. Using BaseCamp isn't for the faint-hearted but with very little patience and even less practice, I have worked my way into the BaseCamp route planing and 450 use with little fuss. It certainly compares well with entering OS co-ordinates into an old LCD GPS, I can tell you. One small mistake in entry nearly cost me dearly in thick fog up the Fairfield Horseshoe some years ago. No such risks here - you can create routes on the beautifully rendered 3D BaseCamp, show the elevations and turn the whole map up, down and sideways just for fun.
Yes, the screen can be a bit fiddly in very bright sunlight and some of the settings are hardly intuitive e.g. resetting the odometer is not done from the working odometer screen, but from a small menu in the settings screen. But these are only minor niggles which become trivial when you get out and play with it. I have only had it two weeks, but I'm already a big fan. I would also recommend the downloading of BaseCamp to improve your use of the 450. Both are highly recommended.
