Garmin Delta Simple vs Delta XC E-Collar Systems

Garmin’s newest release in the sporting dog market is the Garmin Delta Simple E-Collar System, or Delta SE for short. This system takes decades of e-collar technology and customer feedback and builds on their Delta series platform. Throughout this article, we are going to take a deep look into how the Garmin Delta Simple compares, improves, or might have lost some features compared to the Garmin Delta XC E-Collar Systems.

Before we dive into comparing the two systems, let’s talk about where the Delta platform started. Garmin purchased Tri-Tronics in July of 2011. After the purchase, Garmin took all the Tri-Tronics e-collar systems and converted them into their own line-up of products. These would become the PRO 70, PRO 550, and PRO Trashbreaker, as well as the Sport PRO years later. They also took Tri-Tronics great products and tried adding their own flare to them; thus, the Delta Series was born. The Delta pulled heavily from the Tri-Tronics Sport Basic G3. The receiver was a very similar design, even using the same pairing methods. One engineering design change that no one outside of Garmin ever understood, was making the contact points fixed, removing the ability to swap to a different size. This was later fixed in the Delta XC version. The Delta handheld also resembled the Sport Basic, with its simple three-button design, but was then, at least in my opinion, over-engineered with multi-mode functions and push button simulation control instead of a dial, as well as push button dog selector. These push buttons led to several problems with settings being changed when in the handlers pocket or simply getting bumped while working the dog. I feel like the Delta Simple fixed many of these issues and I will address each of them below.

First Impression of the Delta Simple

As mentioned above, I feel like the Delta Simple really cleaned up the design issues that the Delta XC had. The interface is much easier to use and removes the possibility of the settings being changes by accident. The dog device or receiver for the most part, other than two small changes that I will discuss later in the article, remained unchanged. The biggest changes came with the handheld device. The Delta Simple gets rid of all the push button selectors and goes back to the tried and tested dial and toggles. The training buttons no longer have modes and are always going to be the same and are clearly labeled. It also loses the display screen, which I felt was a nice feature, but was mostly unneeded.

Training Features Comparison

Being an e-collar system designed to train your dog, the most important feature is the training ability. The industry has matured into a standard with those that I don’t see changing. The Delta Simple follows those industry standards and includes both momentary and continuous static stimulation, tone, and vibration. Due to switching over to the dial control, the Delta Simple has 10 levels of stimulation whereas the Delta XC series had 18 levels to choose from. Comparing 1-10 with the Delta Simple and 1-18 with the Delta XC series, level 1 will be comparable and the maximums will also be comparable. The only loss here is the ability to finely tune in your stimulation level.

The Delta Simple also loses the Bark Limiter feature that was found in the Delta Sport XC and Delta Upland XC. This, in my opinion and several others that have used the Delta Simple, actually think that this isn’t a bad feature to have lost. Most users rarely ever used their Delta XC bark limiter feature and would actually accidently put the collar into bark limiter mode when turning on the device and the device wouldn’t function as an e-collar, and the trainer wouldn’t realize this until after they were very frustrated with the device. 

Range

The Delta XC series had two effective ranges, a ½ mile range Delta XC and the ¾ mile range Delta Sport XC and the Delta Upland XC. The Delta Simple comes in with a ½ mile range. This should be plenty of range for most trainers and dog handlers. If range becomes an issue, we would suggest going with the Garmin Sport PRO or PRO 550 systems which both have ¾ mile range and are a very similar e-collar system to work with.

Battery Life

Battery life of the Garmin Delta Simple dog device (receiver) and the handheld (transmitter) are comparable to the Garmin Delta XC series devices. The dog devices of both can get up to 60 hours depending on how often you’re using the training features. The Delta XC transmitter had a battery life of up to 70 hours and the Delta Upland XC was around 60 hours. The Delta Simple transmitter is up to 70 hours, but without a screen to light up and when not being consistently used, you should get well more than 70 hours of battery life.

Expandability

One of the most common questions a customer asks when talking about buying an e-collar system is “If I get another dog, can I add another collar?” In the case of the Garmin Delta Simple and in fact all Garmin e-collars systems, you can add additional dogs to the transmitter. But unlike the Delta XC series’ 3 three ability, the Delta Simple can only be used to train two dogs at a time. Dog selector, which is located on the right side of the handheld, is a slide toggle with only two options. For most dog owners, we don’t think this is going to be an issue, but if you are looking to run more than 2 dogs at a time and want to run them all on the same handheld, we again recommend looking at the Garmin PRO 550 or Garmin Sport PRO as these are both three dog systems.

Device Compatibility

The Garmin Delta Simple handheld is compatible with the Delta Simple receiver as well as the Delta, Delta XC, and the PRO Series collars. This makes the Delta Simple a great option if you already own a Delta or PRO series e-collar system. The Garmin Delta Simple is not compatible with the Garmin Upland Beeper like the Upland XC. I think the lack of beeper compatibility might be due to Garmin Delta series moving away from the upland market and more into a general dog market. It is also possible that Garmin might be getting out of the beeper market after years of supply issues and newer products not being compatible, hinting to that likelihood.

Waterproof Rating

Waterproof rating is another standard across all Garmin e-collar systems. Both the Delta Simple and the Delta XC series have an IPX7 waterproofing rating. This rating means that the devices can be submerged in up to 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes without any damage. This means that both the dog device and the transmitter will be safe to use in wet conditions and the dog device can even be left on a dog while swimming.

Downsides to the Garmin Delta Simple

The Delta Simple main downside is being limited to only 2 dogs rather than 3 dogs like all of the Delta XC series systems. As well as being a ½ mile range system like the Delta XC and not the ¾ mile range like the Delta Sport XC and Delta Upland XC. Technically, not having a built-in bark limiter feature is a downside if you were looking to use that feature, but I wouldn’t let that be a deal breaker.

Conclusion

I think that the Garmin Delta Simple makes a great improvement on the overall design of the Delta series e-collars. The improved ease of use and simple design I think will be a great feature for many dog owners new to e-collars. The Delta Simple price point is coming in at $249.99 puts it between the Delta XC and the Delta XC Sport. Personally I would have liked them to have come in at the $199.99 or $219.99 mark, but it’s 2022 and everything is expensive and prices for all other e-collar have been creeping higher this year too.

If you have any questions on the Garmin Delta Simple or any other e-collar system please reach out to us by leaving a comment on this article, giving us a call at 1-800-662-5202, emailing service at Serivce@lcsupply.com, and messaging us on social media.

Thank you and we hope you found this information helpful and informative.

• Michael Cassatt, Lion Country Supply Director of Marketing

Lion Country Supply E-Collar Trade-In Program

Are you considering the purchase of the new Garmin Delta SE system? Do you have older equipment that you would like to trade in to save on your purchase? Check out the Lion Country Supply Garmin Trade-In Program. We accept working and non-working Garmin e-collars and handhelds.