Second year review 2004:

Well another mushroom season has passed and I guess it's time for another look at the Garmin Rhino 110 hand held GPS receiver.

This was the first year I had the opportunity to test out the rhino with another rhino user. I had good experiences with the 2 units both the 110 and the 120 models, although I am a little envious of the 120 built in mapping software. The 120 comes preprogrammed with not only a world database of city and town waypoints but also major north american water ways, highways, and even city street maps for some major cities! You could spend hours just surfing the world map, and water ways.

Sending waypoints and tracking the position of another rhino user was also a decent experience. Although this year more then last year I had trouble communicating over the FRS radio channels. There were a number of times in the bush I felt I should be able to hear the other rhino user more clearly but was unable to, or simply received too much interference/static, Given the fact that we were well within range of each other and on flat terrain. You do need to have a clear reception otherwise sending waypoints to each other is spotty at best.

Another interesting thing that I discovered was that the rhino has built in GRMS radio frequencies but the canadien units have that feature turned off because of federal law. Guess what, Laws change and it appears GRMS channels are now allowed in canada. So I will have to contact garmin to unlock the GRMS features on my rhino. GRMS channels allow for even further communication distances.

Again my rhino 110 unit held up to some punishment, such as dry branches, jostling around and being doused in rain water. Although I did manage to put one minor scratch across the middle of the screen. But if you are concerned about scratching the screen you can always buy scratch resistant covers for the unit.

Not much else to say other then the Garmin Rhino 110 is a great unit, that can hold it's own against the elements. But if I were you I would stringly suggest getting the 120 model, rather then the 110 model like I have. The 120's extra water way and roadway features ensure you don't ever need to buy a road map ever again, and allows you to plan any trips far easier.

I would recommend the Rhino GPS units to anyone interested in getting a hand held GPS.

First year review 2003:

After having personally my Garmin Rhino 110 GPS for 2 months in the bush I can say that this is a worth while product.

With all of the dry branches that I walked through, after 2 months the Rhinos screen only contained 3 barely visible scratches. (Have to tilt it in the right light to see the fine scratches)

The Rhino also has water proof sealing and was drenched in rain water a number of times without any problems.

The unit also did surprisingly well with it's FRS (Family-Radio-Service) capabilities. I was able to clearly hear and respond to other individuals who had other FRS radios from at least 3/4 km or more while in the bush. I found this surprising considering that the FRS standard (in clear line of sight conditions) has a max range of about 2km.

Battery life was also very good. I used Raovac NiMH Rechargeable batteries with the Rhino unit on battery saver mode. The batteries lasted for about 2 days with an average day being about 5 to 8 hours of constant use. (Was never shut off during that time period)

The unit also comes pre-programmed with a year 2000 World database of cities and towns. Even many small villages. And is also expandable with road maps city dining/hotels etc. via a MapSource CD sold separately. See the Garmin web site for more details.

The unit also did a decent job at acquiring satellites in all weather conditions as well as under the canopy of a typical north american forest. I think the big reason why people think that there GPS does not work or is slow acquiring satellites is because they do not understand how a GPS unit works, in terms of the technical details that are involved in satellite acquisition. This positive review of the Rhino 110 is a reflection of that.

If you are looking to buy a GPS I recommend you try the Garmin Rhino 110. See the Garmin web site for a list of built in features that I have not provided in this review.