Product Description
The latest in the Alpha line from Garmin is the Alpha 300 and 300i handhelds. The Alpha 300 series takes what made the 200 series good and makes it better by improving on some features that may have been lacking, starting with arguably the most important aspect, battery life. The 300 uses the same battery as the 200s but is getting up to 55 hours battery life depending on the settings. Using the battery save mode helps improve the battery life by turning the screen off when the backlight times out. To turn it back on simply press the power key.
The next improvement that might go over looked by some is the use of the USB-C charging port. This charging port is a lot more rugged and durable and you can't plug the charger in backwards if your in a hurry trying to beat the clock on a dying battery.
The one complaint that we heard the most about the Alpha 200s was the screen color being to dull and white washed almost making it difficult to see. The Alpha 300 has improved the screen colors making it easier to see the different colored tracks on the maps both in direct sunlight and the shade. This makes seeing the maps better as well especially when using Birdseye you can see the difference between fields and woods better.
The Alpha 300 seems to be even more customizable then the Alpha 200, now with the ability to set a Favorites bar at the bottom of the screen. Out of the box you have the home, map, and compass icons but you are able to customize that with any of the icons on the handheld that you may use more often. I added the dog list icon so I can get to the list quicker so I can turn on and off collars or groups that I may be using.
The Alpha 200 introduced the ability to group collars so it would make it easier to hunt with different groups of people. The Alpha 300 took that feature and improved it by allowing you to share whole groups (with other Alpha 300 or 300i only) instead of having to share just one collar at a time. This is a huge time saver on those foggy mornings gathered around the tailgates.
Probably my favorite new feature is the Channel View. This allows you to scan all the Alpha channels and see what is available and what is being used by devices in the area. It also has a separate list showing what channels your collars are on making it easier to see if something is interfering with one of your collars.
The Alpha 300 also is capable of using the Outdoor Maps+ subscription service. This allows you to download more detailed maps and Birdseye imagery for a certain area. This is handy for the people who hunt multiple states and have a hard time keeping up with multiple Hunt View Plus Cards. This is a subscription based map though with a $49.99 price tag through Garmin, and if you don't renew it every year you will loose the maps. But if you don't want or need to subscription based maps you can still use the Hunt View Plus map cards.
As far as compatibility the Alpha 300 is compatible with all the following items
TT15X/T5X
TT15/T5
TT15 mini/T5 mini
TT25/T20
Alpha 100
Alpha 200 series
Alpha 10
Astro430
Pro 550+
Drivetrack 71
Tread XL
Instinct watches
Fenix watches
