|
| ||||||||
You are here: > E-Collars > Shop All E-Collars > Garmin / Tri-Tronics E-Collars > Garmin ALPHA Tracking + Training > Garmin ALPHA Handhelds > Item # ALPHA300i
Note: Monthly plan prices do not include the federal Universal Service Fund Fee and any applicable state and local taxes. Prices subject to change. These plans are for individual consumers in the U.S. only. See garmin.com for more information. Not available to Canadian addresses. This product is approved for use in the US only. Collar-to-handheld radio communication may be disabled in Europe and other prohibited areas.
Steve Says: Garmin ALPHA 300i Handheld OnlyThe new Garmin Alpha 300 and Alpha 300i handhelds are the exact same unit except the 300i has inReach capability. These new GPS dog-tracking handhelds are very similar in look and feel to the Alpha 200 models. It's the same case, size, and setup, but the 300 and 300i have new features to make them more user-friendly than the 200. The Alpha 300 series have a better battery life, a better screen, and a better charging system. The 300 series also has the ability to use WiFi to update both the handheld and collars, and the new menu interface is easier to use. The Alpha 300 and 300i can track and train up to 20 dogs. The fastest fixed update rate is 2.5 seconds, but when using the new dynamic tracking, it'll automatically adjust the update rate based on your dog's activity. Less movement = longer update rate. The Alpha 300 and 300i offer multiple map options including TOPO maps, Birdseye Direct satellite imagery, HuntView pre-programmed micro-SD cards, and Garmin Outdoor Maps+ (available by subscription). They have 18 levels of continuous and momentary stimulation plus non-stimulating vibration and tone options. You can create custom setups for each dog, letting you set different stimulation levels based on each of your dog's needs. New Features on the Alpha 300: Steve Snell
Customer ReviewsReview Summary
4.8
26 Reviews
5
85% (22)
4
15% (4)
3
0% (0)
2
0% (0)
1
0% (0)
100% Recommend this product (26 of 26 responses)
By Randal
Shreveport, La
Highly Suggest
July 17, 2024
I use the 300 with my two GSPs. Works perfectly so far for training and tracking. Durable, nice weight when hooked to you, great battery life, quick connect time with satellites and TT25 collars. Would buy again if ever needed another and have suggested to others that have now changed over to the Garman 300.
Pros
Cons
By Chris
Central California
Great system but be aware….
July 23, 2023
I have lost dogs for many days (without usage of a gps collar) and am very aware and appreciative of the longer battery life of this new collar to allow for long search times if needed. This system has a mode called 'sleep mode' that allows you to put the collar to 'sleep' and consume far less battery power. It is meant to be used when you are not actively tracking your dog. When you want to begin tracking your dog again you enter the 'awake mode'. The issue that I confirmed with GARMIN helpline is that you must be in RF antenna sight line to wake the collar up. It is not commanded to wake via GPS. If you hunt in hilly country as I do it is likely that the dog will be out of RF range and therefore the collar will be stuck in sleep mode and useless to track your dog. The GARMIN product manual does not make it clear whether this mode is commanded via RF or GPS antenna. If it were via GPS then there would be very little limitation putting the collar into awake mode. As it stands I will not be using 'sleep/wake' mode. I want others to know this limitation as well.
Pros
Cons
By Paul R.
North Canton, OH
Alpha 300 is a huge jump in technology and performance over Alpha 100!
October 28, 2024
My Alpha 100 two collar system was beginning to suffer from wear after 11 years so rather than refurbishing at the Collar Clinic I decided to upgrade t the Alpha 300. Wow, enormous increase in battery life, enormous in creast in range. I could never get a satellit connection from my Florida Romm with the Alpha 100 but can with the 300. Which means I don't have to go outside to handle my dog in rain, sleet, and snow. The unit can become too hot to charge if left on a table in the sun, so keep it in a covered area of your hunting jacket even when storing. Still working with the location indicator, which seems a bit off, but that's more of my learning how to set it up. Pheasand season begins in Ohio next week so we'll see how it handles in different elevations and terraine.
Pros
Cons
By Eric
Vermont
Must have for upland hunting
October 6, 2024
This is a must have for pheasant hunting in tall cover. Always know where your dog is and what they are doing. Easy to use.
Pros
By Carl
Wilton, NH
Nice generational upgrade to training and tracking
September 6, 2024
Bought the 300i as the successor to my 200i.
Pros
Cons
By Rudy O.
California
ALPHA 300
July 30, 2024
I have been using this unit for a short time still learning it seems but here goes,
I like the single collar system, I had two collars before. I like the directional indicator, it is much more accurate than the previous model I like the larger screen I like the charge life on both hand held and collar The only dislike is the distance to dog info is often very off, this is not a big problem so far, when I approach the dog that is on point it will often say he is lets say 60 yards away When he is three or four yards away, I have paused long enough that the unit had time to update more that once, then the situation with the dog takes up my interest again. Pros
Cons
By Renee G.
Enterprise. Oregon
Excellent upgrades made
July 27, 2024
Enjoying our new handheld unit. We have had our other one for over 8 years. This one's screen is much easier to read and navigate.
By Danny
Plainview, Texas
Awesome dog training tool
July 21, 2024
This is a must have for your bird dog. I had a new puppie when I bought this unit and I use it everyday. Never have to worry about where my dog is because I can track her always.
Pros
Cons
By Evan
New Hampshire
Good performance, user interface could be better
July 18, 2024
First off, I bought this for use around my yard/neighborhood for when my dog runs off chasing deer, etc. Cell signal in my neighborhood is spotty and weak, so most of the GPS collars designed for pets rather than sporting dogs work poorly for my situation.
As such, I know I'm not exactly the target audience for this product so I have to forgive some design aspects that are optimized for sporting use and not for my use case. Overall this device works great at its primary function of keeping track of where my dog is and has been, over as long a range as I'll ever need in my neighborhood, with consistent and frequent updates. Battery life has been great, and it charges via USB-C - which IMO is practically a requirement at this point in 2024. The one major functional complaint I have with it is that it won't let me send corrections to my dog's collar until it has achieved GPS lock. Since GPS lock can take a few minutes depending on circumstances, this has on more than one occasion been an issue when my dog sees a deer the moment he goes out the door (collar just turned off, GPS not yet locked) and bolting, and then I stand there waiting and yelling for several minutes until my dog finally appears on the map (halfway across the neighborhood) and only then can I send corrections. It has radio comms with the collar immediately, so I don't see a logical reason why it wouldn't let me control the collar without GPS - this just seems like a bad design decision. The user interface is kind of clunky, I haven't found it very intuitive, and is very prone to accidental interactions with the touchscreen while it's on my hip. The buttons are less prone to accidental presses, but it still happens while doing yard work, etc. Often when I need to use it urgently, like when my dog just took off after a deer, I pull it off the belt clip and it's on the wrong screen, or the map is panned halfway across town, and in the worst case the top row buttons are on the wrong tab so I can't even send corrections to my dog's collar without fiddling around to get back to the right state first. Maybe there's a way to lock the touchscreen and/or the top row to prevent this - but if so, it's not obvious and I haven't found it. As a specific example of the UI being flaky, I'm unable to turn off the track for myself (this device) on the map. I set it to "hide all", but it won't go away. The same options for my dog's track work as expected, but the handheld track doesn't respond to any of the settings. Basically, the UI/UX is at a level that I'd expect from cheap no-brand chinese electronics but quite disappointing for an $800 product from a US company. Anyway, this probably seemed like a lot of complaining - but overall, I'm giving it 4 stars because it does its main job which is the most important thing. I'm only dinging it one star for the above complaints; honestly, if Garmin had any real competition in this market I'd judge it more harshly, but I just don't see a better option so I'm being easier on it. By Mimi
Texas
Love this handheld
July 18, 2024
I upgraded to a 300i after having used an older model Garmin for several years. The battery life is great, there's tons of functionality, and everything about it has been improved from the older model. The color screen is cool, too. This probably does 10x more than I'll ever use it for, but I discover new things every day and am really pleased with the purchase.
By Trish
Shawano, WI
Great unit for multiple dogs and GPS tracking
July 17, 2024
We upgraded from the Pro Plus 550 to the Alpha 300 for a couple of reasons and it has lived up to all our expectations and hopes.
Pros
Cons
By Brad
Kansas
Works great
July 17, 2024
I really like the Alpha 300. I don't use all of the new features since I'm only running one bird dog on it, but it really is easy to set up and use. Battery life is excellent and it's no problem for me to get a weekend worth of hunts without charging. One reason it was purchased is for the inReach messaging capability. I work by myself in some locations that don't have a cell signal so it provides peace of mind that I can call for help if needed.
Pros
Cons
By Blake
Steamboat Springs, CO
Great for our two pups!
July 17, 2024
We have a wirehair pointing griffon and a doberman who we take out on trails all around the Rocky Mountains. We got this system to both track them when they roam and correct their recall, heel and other commands. We don't take advantage of all of the features but the ability to manage and track both dogs at once, and at long distances, has been great. We are very satisfied and would recommend this top notch system. The dogs get so excited whenever the collars come out!
Pros
Cons
By John
Michigans U P
Garmin 300i
July 17, 2024
I purchased the bundle (Garmin 300i /T25collar) this past spring 2024. I am a first time buyer of this kind of unit so bear with me a bit.
I have 1 dog on it, a 65 pound 10 month old female Silver Lab. Who likes to explore on her own. All and all once I learned the in's and out of the hand held it works pretty good but it was a learning experience for me having never used something like this. About the only issue I have with it is there is no way to tell how much charge is in the collar itself. It's the off season for us so we are not hunting, this Time of year the collar go on when she gets up in the morning and comes off when she gos to bed at night she spends a lot of time out side when we are at camp, I can alway tell where she's at at a glance. The hand held would get 5 stars if it would show how much charge the collar had. Pros
Cons
By Troy
MA
The 300 is awesome
July 17, 2024
Charge lasts a long time and it never loses the pups!
By John W.
Owings, MD
Garmin Alpha 300 Handheld Only
July 17, 2024
After watching a few videos I was able to set up my handheld to collar. I did not find it intuitively obvious how to set things up, and the system allows for way more functionality than I will ever use. The problem is, there really is no middle of the road solution, especially when I wanted to be able to evenutually connect to 3 dogs. I use it daily and it works very well. I use it to see where my dog is on the GPS as my farm is rolling with wood. I use 3 modes of vibrate, momentary, and continuous but rarely need more than vibrate. I really like being able to turn a blinking light on the collar so I can see the dogs in the dark. Like I said, there's so much more functionality that I will never use.
By P P
NY
Alpha Handheld
July 17, 2024
Compact
Some components are clear but some are not as the directions are not simple especially for a person not familiar with a handheld A simple and clear manual would be good I get help from my son because he has one for his dog Pros
By Chip G.
Maine
Better than advertised.
July 17, 2024
Worth every penny, this unit has performed flawlessly for 2 years being used every day.
Pros
Cons
By Curtis
Spokane WA
Great Hunting Tool
July 16, 2024
This has proven to be s great tool for both training and hunting. With the three types of correction it offers a great range of options.
Pros
Cons
By Henry M.
Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Peace of Mind
July 16, 2024
Alpha 300 is a great system for anybody who hunts with their best friend. Never have to worry about where my dog is or what he's doing. This is also the only e collar I've used where I'm not questioning whether or not my dog is actually receiving a correction when necessary. Have had multiple other systems and this one takes the cake. I run labs on waterfowl and upland game 50+ days a season.
By Scott
Salt Lake City, Utah
Alpha 300 Handheld
July 16, 2024
The Alpha 300 Handheld is the best unit for training and also tracking my dog Stella. I never leave home without this important tool. I also subscribe to Garmin for GPS and also emergency services in the back country. A1 Rating.
By Calvin
Florida
Game Changer
July 16, 2024
The ALPHA 300 was a major upgrade from the ALPHA 100. I hunt with multiple people that track each others packs individually and the 300 makes that easy. Screen clarity is great also. Highly recommend it.
Pros
Cons
By Brian
Upper Michigan
Easy to set up and operate.
July 16, 2024
I haven't had much of a chance to put the collar through a lot of testing yet. But if you are familiar with other Garmin products it was amazingly easy to add the collar and customize the buttons. This unit is going to be a real asset for dog training and give me that piece of mind that I can always locate my dog.
Pros
Cons
By Stephen
Tampa, Florida
Top of the line training/tracking unit
July 16, 2024
I bought the Alpha with the intent to use it for training my Brittany but also for use when we go hunting out west and it has done nothing but impress me over and over again. I've used the Alpha 300 for a week straight without recharging (using it for a few hours of hunting each day) and it never died. It's always comforting being able to know exactly where my dog is and the 9 mile range is impressive. It's also built for the outdoors, I've had it in rain, snow and have fallen in a river with it and just simply rinsed it off and kept going. When you want something you can rely on for your dogs go with the Alpha. We spend a lot of money on our dogs and though the Alpha is not cheap it's a good insurance to ensure you are always able to find your dog and potentially save them if they end up in a bad situation while out hunting (encounter with a coyote, porcupine, snake, bear, traps, etc).
Pros
Cons
By Cayden
Ohio
Garmin Alpha 300
July 16, 2024
Not a single regret from buying my garmin alpha 300. This device is very trustworthy when it comes to knowing where my dogs are at all times when I'm out hunting. All the little accessories within the device help out with any situation whether you're training or hunting and with a long last battery life, that just makes it even better.
Pros
Cons
By JRRJr
Pace, Florida
Using for my peace of mind
June 29, 2024
We purchased some acreage that borders a state forest. I was having to chain my young Boykin while we were there since she kept wandering into the woods. With this I am able to let her roam and keep track of where she is and know if she is returning when I whistle. The first night we camped there, one of the horses decided to leave the temporary corral and go on a walkabout. Now they wear the collars at night. Also when the wife goes for a solo ride, I can keep track of her so I can find her if necessary.
Pros
Cons
CA Residents: WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - P65Warnings.ca.gov. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|