Garmin 296

Should you buy this?

  • Yes.  This is a FANTASTIC portable GPS Unit. 

Why should you buy it?

  • A beautiful color screen
  • Terrain built-in
  • Rechargeable battery pack
  • Great User Interface
  • Instrument approach capabilities
  • FAST Screen Drawing/processing
  • Easy to use interface
  • Easy to use on the water and on the road too

The Details

The Display

   

The display is really very nice with vivid colors and good contrast.  I have been able to use this screen in all lighting conditions.

Processing/Drawing Speed

The system is extremely fast and draws some of the most complicated screens in just a second or two.  Very fast.

GPS Satellite Acquisition

Satellite acquisition is fast both on the ground and in the air.  The external antenna makes the unit acquire faster and more accurate especially during aviation operations.

The User Interface/Menu

Garmin has done its homework with all of their larger portable GPS units.  Easy buttons, easy UI, easy everything.  There are a lot of menus on this unit, but they are well thought out and easy to understand.  You really don't need training on this UI, but it is available.

Portable Power

A rechargeable battery pack comes with the unit and additional ones can be purchased.  I would recommend purchasing one or two replacement battery packs and cycle through all of them (use each battery pack equally) to provide the maximum life for each battery pack.

External Power

Garmin provides a cigarette adapter with this unit.  No AC adapter is provided

Mounts

A number of different mounts are included with this unit including a yoke mount and a mount that can be 'stuck' to the dash of either a car or an aircraft.  It is easily adjustable on 2 axis's for easy viewing.  The yoke mount can be a little less versitile on some aircraft, but it can be angled enough to make it usable on just about every aircraft with a yoke mount.

You can also purchase a 'bean bag' mount that allows you to mount your 296 by simply sitting it on any flat (or angled) surface.

 

GPS Antenna

An external GPS antenna is not required to operate the unit but really makes the unit perform better.  The antenna is provided with a suction-cup mounting option with a very long cable - perfect! 

Cost

List is $1,495.  Worth every penny.

More Information

http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap296/

 

GPS Review Page

Note:  All images were taken directly from the Garmin web site.

This page was last modified on 12/03/2006