Garmin rino 655t or 650?

[steeliedrew]

I'm hoping to capitalize on Black Friday/cyber Monday deals. I've been eyeing the Rino 655t and the 650. I really like the built in 2 way radio and the ability to see where your buddies are if they have a rino as well. I'm thinking I wouldn't necessarily need to camera and preloaded maps that come with the 655t so I'm leaning towards the less expensive 650 since I'd also be looking to purchase the WA huntgps map chip.

So let's hear some reviews. What would you recommend? Also, how bout the garmin Oregon, or Montana series?

Happy holidays everyone.

Drew

[Hoythunter]

I bought the 655T and although it's a great unit, I'd buy the less expensive model for the same reason you identified.  The built in Topo is sub par compared to the chips.  Great units, very user friendly.

[Crunchy]

I don't think the 655t is as great of a design that garmin had intended.  I would try and get my hands on a 530hcx and save a few bucks.  I have the 530 and friend the 655t and he has had a lot of problems with his.  I am waiting for the next upgraded model that garmin offers and will buy that if it looks right.

[Bob33]

The 650 saves you money that you can put into better maps like the Hunting GPS software.

[actionshooter]

I don't think the 655t is as great of a design that garmin had intended.  I would try and get my hands on a 530hcx and save a few bucks.  I have the 530 and friend the 655t and he has had a lot of problems with his.  I am waiting for the next upgraded model that garmin offers and will buy that if it looks right.

 I'm not a techy guy so take this for what its worth, I have the 655t and I can't seem to figure it out, overly complicated. They don't come with an owners manual, you have to go on line and download it, all 65 pages.
 I'm ready to throw the SOB away.

[Mudman]

I have 655 and cousin now has 650.  Awesome units. Only bug with it is weather radio comes on for a second when powering up unit? Camera is great and I use it alot.  I tag locations with a picture!  Super easy.  Can download pics and such as well.  No need for seperate camera.  Memory is greater on 655 as well.  Tons of it!  The maps arent needed-buy Huntwa map.  The 650 is a better deal and the same unit minus the camera and huge memory.  Still plenty of it.  I wanted a camera and glad I chose it.  They work well, not like the old ones.  Only thing is I wish it had a few basic nav. buttons too to scroll etc.  The Birdseye sat. image is a great tool as well.

[Mudman]

I don't think the 655t is as great of a design that garmin had intended.  I would try and get my hands on a 530hcx and save a few bucks.  I have the 530 and friend the 655t and he has had a lot of problems with his.  I am waiting for the next upgraded model that garmin offers and will buy that if it looks right.

 I'm not a techy guy so take this for what its worth, I have the 655t and I can't seem to figure it out, overly complicated. They don't come with an owners manual, you have to go on line and download it, all 65 pages.
 I'm ready to throw the SOB away.

Throw it in my yard!  Theres a learning curve.  I had issues for a bit as well.  Alot of the stuff it has I dont use or know how to.

[steeliedrew]

Cool. Thanks for the replies guys. Hopefully there is some good deals in the days to come.

[Kazekurt]

I have a 530hcx and 655t and love both.  I run chips in both WA and MT and love it.  A word of caution if you hunt MT:  I got warned by a warden in MT for "discussing wildlife."  I radioed my dad and told him I had a crab clawed 4x4 at 100 yds with a nice 4x3 but I was going to pass.  I mentioned they were headed down the draw towards him(he was a mile away) and that I thought the 4x3 was the better buck.  A short while later a warden located my dad and told him to radio me and ask me to come to his location.  Dad complied and I did as well.  He was very friendly but told me not only could I not say where wildlife was heading, but I also could not give a description of any animals I'd seen or how many over the radio.  Good to know for future hunts.  We use rino's to coordinate drives and stalks on occasion in WA and to my knowledge it is perfectly legal  so perhaps it's just a MT thing.

[Bob33]

We use rino's to coordinate drives and stalks on occasion in WA and to my knowledge it is perfectly legal so perhaps it's just a MT thing.

Definitely illegal in MT. Legal in WA.
 

[bobcat]

Montana has some really weird rules.  (like can't use trail cameras during hunting season)

[Kazekurt]

Montana has some really weird rules.  (like can't use trail cameras during hunting season)

Agreed.  I saw in the regs it mentioned two way communication but I guess I didn't realize what all was illegal.  We don't coordinate stalks in MT(more a bow tactic in WA) but I didn't realize giving a description of deer and mentioning what way they were headed was illegal.  I hadn't  seen my dad for over two hrs in this instance and I really only knew where he was because I had a rino  so his location updated.  I never said I was going to try to push them to him or anything like that but rather simply described the deer and mentioned what general direction they were headed.    In fact, it was actually may dad that innitiated the conversation with a simple, "are you having any luck?"  Anyway, I hunt multiple states and really do try to respect the rules in each state I just didn't realize the scope of this rule.  I appreciate the warden simply warning me as it wasn't my intent to break the law and I'll watch what I say in the future.  I love hunting MT; especially with my dad (a MT resident)and feel many of their rules and wildlife management practices are better than WA.  This is one case I like WA better:-)

[super186]

Colorado has the same rules as Montana.

[xXLojackXx]

I read many reviews on the Rinos saying that their radio signal was weak and almost had to be in the same valley with eachother or they lost reception.  I went with the Montana 650

[pianoman9701]

I love my 655T. It's easy to use and has a lot of advanced features, including the touch screen and the camera. I wouldn't trade it for anything.