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To cut to the chase.... all things being I can confirm that the newest version of BaseCamp will let you use the pre-loaded 100k topo's from my Oregon 400t on the computer. They render a bit more slowly than maps that are stored on the computer, since they are accessed via the USB connection. They also cannot be printed: a dialog box comes up and says that printing is disabled due to copyright restrictions. Basecamp also lets me use the pre-loaded City Navigator maps from my Nuvi on the computer, with a similar limitation of no printing.

Have you been able to test this with the latest version of Basecamp?  Do you think this is a Basecamp bug or a genuine copyright restriction on the maps?  This makes no sense since the first rule of exploring is having a printed map and real compass as a back-up.

I'm in Salt Lake City visiting a friend and we're off to Cabelas tomorrow for scratch and sniff session.   The printing is a real concern.

The "r" in GPSr stands for "receiver".

As opposed to the fitness products which R-ecord only?   

Thanks for the great comparison of products.  I have been leaning toward the 450 because of the compass.

But now, I'm now even more confused about which DVDs will work with an Oregon.

We have the Oregon state mapset from this series.
http://www.natgeomaps.com/topo_state

Garmin says it will load.
http://www.natgeomaps.com/gps.html

There is even one answer filtered to the state series which indicates TOPO works with the 550.
http://support.topo.com/articles/131

Definitely have to have 24k scale maps or it isn't worth it.

NatGeo Topo maps are in a different format so can not be loaded on a Garmin GPSr.

The 24k topos only come with a few States per DVD or prerecorded card.  The DVD is more flexible - see previous posts on the topic.  

There is a very generalized 'built-in' would base map on the unit.  

Garmin's CityNavigator is the best for streets/roads/driving instructions.  Their 24k topo product is routable.  How much 'help' do you feel you need?

As Garmin is adding capablilty to their software/GPSrs what can be done is changing.  

Lot of good info.  Thank you.  

It sounds like buying one with a pre-loaded map is worth if to get the extra memory?  I assume you could backup the map to an external harddrive and then remove it from the unit if you wanted to use the memory for other purposes?

Of course, the fact that NatGeo Topo makes not working with makes me grit my teeth.  The local REI "GPS Expert" swears he used to work with Garmin in a past chemist life when he supposedly developed the printable map paper, and "knows everything about Garmins" and said the map set would work with all Garmins.  I suspect that if I went back and grilled him on basecamp, etc., he'd have an epiphany.

Most of our driving quandaries are the same FS road problems though not usually as remote because we're just driving into rivers to fish, not "4-wheeling."  

Does the R on the end of "GPSr" mean something?  

I guess I need to see if I can find the DVD threads you're talking about.  I'm not finding the search engine on this forum very consistent.  

Thank you for your help.

For years I've lived with an Edge and Forerunner for mtbiking and skiing, mostly to record activities and once in awhile follow a pre-planned course.  Well, I'm sick of all the guesswork when we decide to explore and the 3 printed maps we have don't agree, and then we're not sure at which ancient and unmarked forest service road intersection we're standing.  We fully realize that maps and FS road reality don't necessarily match, but we're hoping that adding an Oregon GPS to the mix will at least speed up our guesswork by allowing us to overlay our recording track on top of a map (unlike the Edge or Forerunner).

Does it make sense to buy a model with preloaded maps?  Since we mtbike, flyfish, ski, etc., we're going to invest in 24k scale maps anyway.  We already own NatGeo Topo! for our state.  I assume you don't need the preloaded maps to use the Birds-eye functions?

At the cost, we do expect the unit to help with driving directions in the western US also.

What model makes the most sense for us?

Plus, I swear I saw a note somewhere that the maps pre-loaded on the Oregon can't be seen on the PC.  Is that right?  My head's spinning with all the different Oregon options.

Thanks for the hep.