Over the past several days/weeks I have been reading as much information (forum posts, product review sites, etc) as I could find on the different available GPSr models. The more I read, the more confused I become because so many of the product reviews were based on early versions of the firmware. In some cases, the firmware updates were not so good (recently saw posts about users wanting to downgrade their Vista HCx firmware) and in other cases the firmware made improvements (as in the Colorado series which initially did not have great reviews).
I am primarily looking for a GPSr for geocaching (I am very new to this). I do not need autorouting since I use a Nuvi for street navigation, so keep this in if you respond. Also, I was hoping to keep the price in the mid-$200 or below (excluding topo maps).
The units I am considering are listed below. I have listed my thoughts on each of the units, but I would appreciate any additional insight you can provide.
Garmin Vista HCx:
This was my original choice. It seemed like it had all of the features I was looking for and it was the cheapest of the three units I was considering ($214). I like the bright screen, long battery life, electronic compass, expandable memory, etc. What really bothers me about this unit is the original odometer problems (which seem to be related to the MediaTek chipset). I thought that the problem was finally fixed, but then I read several posts where people wanted to downgrade the firmware because there was too much drift. Is the odometer issue something I should really even care about with regards to geocaching? I don't know what firmware Garmin is shipping new units with, but if it is the latest, it sounds like I would have to downgrade it right away. The whole odometer problem may not be that big of a deal for geocaching, but I really hate the thought of spending over $200 for a unit that has accuracy problems.
Garmin 60Csx
This unit seems to be the forum favorite. I am really torn on this one. Due to the SirfStar III chipset, it does not seem to have the same inaccuracy problems as the other units. Although,this unit probably does more than I really need for geocaching (??). As I mentioned earlier, I do not need autorouting and I am not going to be using this in a car, so button placement is not that big of a concern. It does seem to be a little older than the other units, the screen is not as bright, the battery life not as good, and it is still the most expensive of the three (which is holding me back a little). But, if I become convinced that it is the best unit for the job, then I will go for it anyway.
Garmin Colorado 300
The original reviews on this unit were terrible, although, it sounds like many of the issues were resolved with firmware updates (I think). The original list of problems was so long, it is difficult to figure out what issues have really been fixed and which ones still exist after all of the updates. I really have not seen a current review of this unit after all of the firmware updates have been applied. Also, since it uses the same chipset as the Vista, I suspect it too has drift/odometer problems. What I do like is the paperless geocaching capabilities. Plus, Costco is selling this for $250 right now. Is it worth considering this unit because of the paperless geocaching alone? Were enough of the problems fixed to make this unit worthwhile? Finding time to do anything is always a problem for me, so I do not know how frequent I will be going geocaching (maybe twice per month if I'm lucky). Given that, paperless may not be that big of a deal (especially if this unit still has issues).
And just to make the decision worse, I know several on these forums like the DeLorme PN-40 (especially because of the included maps). On the other hand, there have been an equal number of posts as to why this unit is bad. I have not been able to decide if the bad reviews were because of major problems or just product bashing from loyal Garmin users. The best I can figure though is that Delorme is trying to improve, but I get the impression they are not quite there yet.
So, I guess what I am looking for is this...What features are the most important for geocaching? Which "less than perfect" features should I be or not be concerned with? Bottom line is that I want a good reliable unit that will provide the least frustrations (LOL) when it comes to geocaching.
Thank you in advance for you help!