Rhino 650 gps radio?

[racer85304]

I have a garmin etrax venture hc right now it works ok for tracking way points but I am looking to upgrade to the rhino 650 gps radio since I hunt with my dad a lot. We use to just hunt together and we had cheap radios if we split up a little. But we now we are starting to hunt on our own and we are looking at getting the rhino 650 to be able to keep track of where each are at.

 

My question is how well does the 650 work over the 610? Is there a better gps setup out there we should be looking at? Are there down sides over this gps vs getting just a radio and continue using are current gps we each have.

 

Thanks

[rcdinaz]

We use the Rino's and they are very nice for keeping track of people but if you are in a canyon over a mile away they behave just like any other radio or GPS and lose the signal. We have been using them for about the last 10 years since they first came out, a lot peace of mind knowing you can see others on your screen. They are a compromise not the best radio you could carry and not the best GPS, the screen is not as good as a stand alone GPS size and resolution. However, the Rino is the only option for being able to see your hunting partners on your screen.

[trophyhnter]

What is the battery life of the rhino?

[racer85304]

Did you have the 1 watt or the 5 watt model?

[huntjunkie]

I have the 530 its a few years old. Honestly it's the best piece of equipment I've ever bought that I carry in my pack. I was recently in sportsmans recently looking at the 650 which has a few less features than my 530. I thought that was a little weird. But the topo detail is slightly better. I would buy the 650, you might be disappointed in the 610. Not saying its bad. Buy the best if you can afford it. If not wait till next year. Around May the "new" modles come out. Sportsmans puts em on sell. This year they were $150 off if I remember correctly.

As for battery life I get about 2 days worth. You can buy a car charger. Also I went to Cabelas and they sell a non rechargeable battery pack that holds 4 AA's. Get longer life out of AA's. This is all I use now. Don't forget to charge it, no big deal. I do a lot of wilderness hunting and AA's are super convenient. Not sure if the new ones are the same but check it out. Look it up on the garmin web site first.

As far as radio reception, I've used it over the 5 mile mark no problem. Elk hunting in CO a few years ago we had communication 2 miles away and we were in the bottom of different canyons. So it can be very good.

Good luck.

[huntjunkie]

Oh, For me the one unit is the only way to go! Less weight, more room in your pack. The only disadvantage that I see is if you forget it or lose it or break it your out both.

[rcdinaz]

Just to clarify I did not say I didn't like them I have four of them 110, 120, and two 530's. One of my hunting buddies has 2 of the new 655's and the touch screen is very good. I was just giving the good and bad. One thing I also left out is that they are pretty tough, I ran over one in loose dirt thought it was lost and found it (middle of no where) a month later and it actually fired up. I get far more life out of the rechargeable battery, I get about 2 days out of it and just over a day out of the alkaline battery pack. We usually run them in the 5W mode also.

 

As for good deals, Garmin is a customer of the company I work for and even on their vendor discount price Amazon usually can match and sometimes beat the prices. I was told by one of the employees to check Amazon before ordering off the vendor sheet.

[racer85304]

Thanks you guys! needed to get something soon due to the fact this year we are hunting in a totally new unit to us so I went ahead and ordered the 650 from cabelas as they had them for 440 on sale instead of 500 plus 20 bucks off with a code. which 420-440 is what i could find them online for but i figured i would purchase it from somewhere i can easily take it back it if it does not work for our needs.

[huntjunkie]

Hey racer I'm standing in sportsmans in Mesa and they have 3 rhino 650 left. $500 on sale for $379

[racer85304]

Thanks. I ended up keeping the order with cabelas although almost cancelled it but figured i live in peoria figured gas and time to drive to mesa i wouldnt save a lot. I did call the one in phoenix but they did not have any left but one which was handled by everyone so i passed on that one too.

[Coach]

Hope it's not too late. That Garmin radio/GPS setup is a good idea that didn't really work out so well. The radio distance is dismal at best. I've been with friends on the Kiabab and Navajo. My super cheap Cobra radios out performed the Garmin Rhinos on both hunts in many categegories . While I think it's a reaklly giood concept, they are yet to make it work as planned. The general functioning works well as, you can transmit your location just by speaking over the radio. Where it fails is range. On cheap radios I coud stay in contact with fellow hunters but the Rhinos failed to pick up a signal.

[racer85304]

I did buy it already. I did buy it from cabelas due to the fact that they have a 90 day return policy if they do not work for the hunt. only bad thing is I will lose my gps hunting maps I bought for both units. We have used them on our last scouting trip and while we havent been real far away from each other we where about 0.6 miles from each othere and they worked great. they were really clear compared to our midland radios we had before. I know the .6 miles isnt far but they seem to be better then our midland radios are as far as clearity. The biggest reason for the radio was being able to see each others location. well mainly for my dad since he tends to get lost in his surroundings real easy. We have been always been taking turns as who hunts what days and have hunted together or I drop him off at his location and pick him back up on my way back. But we are planning on hunting seperate this year and this is our only option to locate each other.

 

Although the gps is working great even though its been short distances the gps hunting maps i bought for it the best thing i have ever bought in the past few years.

 

Thanks you guys for all of your feedback.

Justin