Comments on: Battery Life Comparison: Garmin Colorado, Oregon and 60CSx

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:21:55 +0000

Alan,

What are the barometer settings under Setup>Altimeter? You may have the barometer set up to run all the time (even when the unit is off).

Also do you have the battery settings configured for Lithium? 10-12hrs seems too short for Lithiums, I get that with NiMH rechargeables.

BTW, current draw from the SD card is negligible.

-Scott

By: Alan

Alan — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 02:51:31 +0000

I wonder whether anyone has measured the standby current drain on an Oregon 450 with 4-gig SD card in place?

Although I regularly get 10-12 hours of continuous use from a pair of Lithium AAs, I have noticed that I will see a significant falloff after only an hour or two if I put a fresh set in the Oregon 450 and leave it “off” (standby, really) for a couple of weeks.

Anyone else have any experience with this issue?

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:00:08 +0000

I guide multiple week-long hut-to-hut ski tours in the Alps each year. Each day I create a new track on my Garmin Vista C. Most days the GPS is on for 6 or 7 hours. By the end of the tour the unit has logged about 50 hours. I very rarely use the backlight or the compass. One set of lithium Energizer AA batteries (2 batteries) will last about 1 tour, or 50 hours. Temperatures during use are typically about 0 C.

For the 5 or 6 tours I do each year, I’ll use 10 to 12 batteries. Expensive, yes, but the light weight, good cold-temperature performance, and the fact that I only need to carry one extra set per tour makes them worth it. Some day the performance of NiMH may catch up but it’s not there yet.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:35:41 +0000

It will depend on how much you use it but if you are planning on using it 10-12 hours a day you should bring a pair of batteries for each day (I know that is a lot). If you are only going to turn it on as you need it you can away with much less.

By: Dolf

Dolf — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:58:18 +0000

Thanks for the test! I have not hiked using a GPS unit before and would like to know how much energy (ie batteries) you think I would need to take for my Colorado if I go on a week long hiking trip? I guess it depends a lot on how I would use it everyday. Anyone’s experience would be appreciated?

By: etcetera

etcetera — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 04:47:22 +0000

Great review thanks.

I also used Maha Powerex 2700 mAh NiMH cells extensively, they are the slowest self-discharge cells among high-capacity non-LSD cells available. I also found out that they don’t work in freezing weather at all. A better cell is Sanyo Eneloop 2000 mAh, it works in low temps when Maha Powerex doesn’t. You can also recharge it more times than Maha cells.

I think I will buy a Colorado based on your review, because with some backlight, my current GPS (60CSx) actually does worse than Colorado. Interesting.

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:18:59 +0000

Thanks from Holland for spending time and energy in usefull information.

By: oregon

oregon — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:31:54 +0000

Big thanx for your big information.

derry.

By: Scott

Scott — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:04:53 +0000

@Rich & Justin. Thanks guys. I’d be curious to know what other people are seeing in “field” for battery life since this was a pretty controlled test. I’m noticing a significant drop off in battery life this week given morning temps around here this week have been in the teens!

@Frank. You’re right, for most people carrying around 2-3 sets of NiMH batteries isn’t a big deal. The biggest complaint I hear is from folks who hike or travel for long periods of time w/o access to a charger — they want to carry as little as possible and an increase of 50%-70% in battery life is a big deal if they don’t have to carry more (heavy) NiMH batteries around.

By: Frank

Frank — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:22:33 +0000

“As long as you are willing to invest in decent NiMH batteries and a good charger all three models will provide nearly 12 hours of continuous operation on a single set of batteries no matter which backlight settings you choose. Throwing in an extra set will cover you for the weekend.”

That is all it takes. No big deal, and who would not have an extra set of batteries with them to begin with?