northernpenguin

Or a Lithium-ion battery pack ($40 @ Best Buy ....). The lack of removeable battery has not been an issue with my iPhone. For iOS the best app you have two choices - official Geocaching app for $9.99 or Geosphere is another good option.

Ah ok. I have an eTrex 30 for similar reasons - I optimized for backcountry travel (iPad Mini won't join me on that). Android tablet is a different beast altogether with those devices having things like SD card slots and USB Host Mode available. I'm already in Apple's ecosystem so Android tablet isn't really a good fit for me. Then again, I'm used to loading my GPS with GSAK at home so it is more a curiosity for the specific iPad to Garmin connection, and specifically an "in field" connection, though I suppose iPad to Garmin would be handy for hotel stays. I have a laptop anyway to download the camera to. Rove is something I am watching but not buying yet - same issue with price/limited use. I have the Wahoo Ant+ adapter for my iPhone, and wonder if that could be programmed in the future (by someone smarter than me) to transfer caches over Ant+ perhaps to the Garmin's that do the Ant+ data sharing.

I regularly use my iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 with Runkeeper and sometimes bring my Colorado 400t and/or my eTrex 30 along for the hike / run. 90% of the time my tracklogs darn near match with the eTrex and the iPhones. My Colorado tended to wander about and do it's own thing from time to time. I'd say it's a close comparison, and as others mentioned it depends on the phone. Premium smartphones tend to be pretty good at GPS in 2013. Budget ones, not so much.

That Bluetooth option and Basecamp Mobile sure are promising to be a game changer, aren't they. The OP may be best served with a Rove unit for the task they want to perform here. I say may because there is a cost for the unit and I believe it will require cellular data. I am curious though about the methods for connecting iOS to Garmin non bluetooth..... are we using the camera connector kit to pull this off? I ask as I see an iPad Mini in my future and, well naturally I'm going to shove Geosphere on it to be my "field GSAK".

With the current maps, at least 50% of the roads have speed limits around here. There are a lot of other features that are useful as well. But for $100, the screen size is worth it. Handhelds are too small. Well ok I was being a bit sarcastic there. I find speed limit coverage is good on the 400 series highways, and near Toronto. Most of the time my wife's (more than $30) Nuvi doesn't show speed limit information on the more rural routes outside the GTA though. It's not just Garmin either. Navigon on my iPhone gets better coverage across the border and better handling of highway interchanges - heck Navigon still doesn't announce Highway 407 in directions, just "take ramp right". That bugs me. Back on topic I 100% agree that following a Nuvi is much better than following on a handheld. If I could load GPX files or POIs in Navigon (or any other iPhone app with turn by turn) I likely wouldn't bother with the Nuvi either. The newest GeoSphere - via the Geocaching Live API - can send waypoints to Apple Maps or Google Maps on my device so I may switch over to that to skip loading the Nuvi step.

Nope... unless I can get one for $30. One $400 GPSr is enough. I don't mind loading the .gpx file twice, I just don't want to have to process it or create a special file for a second GPSr. I want to put he same file in my 62sc and whatever else I get. To get a Nuvi for $30, I had to eBay an older model. That doesn't read GPX files natively. To load 35,000 caches on it believe me there is a couple software pieces doing processing. So .... good luck!

True, I was sort of assuming the bumblebee dance at GZ was getting complicated by the cacher's movements with the "inertial compass". If you are standing still the distance shouldn't be changing (unless you have crappy reception that is).

I'd say you're the target market for the Montana series.

The defining factor will be - are you willing to load your GPS twice, or would that annoy you. If running two GSAK exports (one for the handheld, then again for the Nuvi) bothers you, then you might find the Oregon 6x0 to be a better compromise. For me, I bought an eTrex 30 and a Nuvi and had enough left over that it was a significant savings.

Ah yes forgot about the speed limit sign thing. Can you blame me though? I live in Canada where we have, what, three roads with the speed limit listed in Garmin's maps .... Every time I drive to the USA I think I got a new GPS at the border with the new things that pop up .....

Heck my eTrex 30 can draw the map Nuvi style and beep. I just found it easier to "in 300 metres, turn left onto Winston Churchill Boulevard, then keep right". (Also the tiny eTrex screen is a bit hard to follow). I do agree the new Oregon's will be a great GPS - but for screen size and ease of reading you're not going to beat a Nuvi (or Montana) size screen.

If you have an eTrex 20 remember that's an inertial compass. You have to move about 10 feet before it can tell which way you are facing. Couple that with signal interruptions/interference and, well, at the 20-40 foot scale that's pretty much expected. The eTrex 30 is a bit better with the compass, as when calibrated it tends to keep you travelling toward the cache. General rule around here (in our caching group) is less than 10 metres (30 feet) we put the GPS away and start looking.

As the iPad does not support SD/SD Micro cards, or USB Host mode the answer is pretty much "no". There are products like Rovio that may change that in the future though.

I have an eTrex 30 which is the same as an eTrex 20, just with sensors. I have not noticed any particular bouncing going on. Most I've been out is 10 metres and that was in a gorge that was full of wet cedar trees. The accuracy of my eTrex 30 just blows me away compared to my Colorado 400t. Mind you the Colorado had a whole nest of issues on it's own.

Good to know. Are there any free maps that are better the 100k topo, that are perhaps routeable? I use the Garmin Topo Canada product so, I've had no need to source a "free" Topo. Having said that, Ibycus topo comes highly recommended. More of the Canada and USA topo products use the same dataset (Government) anyway.

I find topo maps in general have poor accuracy for roads. I've found Garmin Topo Canada and Garmin City Navigator NT disagreeing by up to 50 metres on the placement of the same road. Check your accuracy against other map products before assuming the GPS itself is wonky. Though the datum thing can definitely do that effect as well.

My criteria at the time was how little could I pay. I thought $30 was a pretty good deal. My Nuvi 265 , as far as I know, does NOT read GPX files like Pocket Queries. But I don't care as I use GSAK to kick out all the caches as POI files - I have 35,000 loaded on my Nuvi at the moment. There are ways to make the caches show up at more zoom levels but they are not for the feint of heart. Figure out a Nuvi that has the features you require, and don't worry pretty much all of them can have caches loaded on them one way or another. If you have a handheld with paperless geocaching support then all you really need is name and location which is easy to do with GSAK/POI.

Perhaps you have a faulty unit. The compass and pointer work flawlessly on mine whether I am driving or walking or standing still. Mind you I don't use the Geocaching Dashboard when I am navigating a route. Based on your comments here and on that Garmin Forum thread you started up it seems like this problem is isolated to your specific unit or use thereof.

Pretty much none of the GPS products out there allow you to edit geocache details on the GPS. You can create field notes with found/didn't find and a comment but not change the listing text or view your notes with the listing. You CAN edit geocaches if you stick a program like GSAK between your GPS and the Geocaching website. Then again, it's like $30/year for a premium membership so decide for yourself how much your time is worth.

It's a personal preference thing more than a model above/below thing. Yes, the Oregon 450 compares better to an eTrex 30 due to sensors. The eTrex is optimized for long (and I mean LONG) battery runtime and a more easily read daylight screen than the Oregon. There was much gnashing of teeth at the entire Colorado/Oregon screen readability in daylight thing when those models came out. The Oregon 450 can put more map information on the higher resolution screen at the cost of battery performance. The buttons vs touchscreen thing is again a personal preference thing. I find my eTrex 30 works great in freezing rain and snow, with my gloves on. Also the touchscreens can show performance issues in very very low temperatures. As for the eTrex being "buggy" I disagree. There are some very specific bugs that some people have identified that 90% of the people using the product won't even notice. Yes, it doesn't do auto-routing quite as smooth as my Nuvi. On the other hand my Nuvi battery dies two hours after I leave the car. I also know plenty of people who would like to throw their Oregon units at a rock and start over. Pretty much everything Garmin has released since the Colorado has programming issues, and Garmin almost came out and said so much last week (see GPSTracklog post where Garmin is quoted: "We also discussed the lagging bugs that continue to be present on older products such as the FR910XT, and even ones such as the Edge 500. He (and the Director of the Fitness and Outdoor division), acknowledged that this was a challenge for the division and that the focus really needed to be on delaying product releases (and announcements) until the product was ready.").

Here I thought the eTrex 20 was designed for additional runtime, and accuracy with the reflective screen and GLONASS satellites. But buttons too. Buttons that work well in the rain.

The eTrex 20/30 will also navigate to photos. If sensors are important to you, move up to the eTrex 30 (that's what I use). I have a Tempē and use it with my eTrex 30. I also beam caches to friends with 62s, Oregons and Montanas. The Oregon 4x0 series will do you well if you work better with a touchscreen The eTrex 20/30 series will do you well if you want to use less batteries (this is a BIG plus to a backcountry traveller) The ultra reflective eTrex display also reflects well to a headlamp, so I don't even use the backlight at night.

I agree with Red90 on this. The Montana is not very optimized for any aspect in particular. The old saying goes, jack of all trades - master of none. A baseline Nuvi smokes the Montana for naviation and the 62 or even an eTrex outclasses the device for hiking (unless you normally hike with a brick on a lanyard around your neck in which case, carry on). The ONE area the Nuvi falls down is when you are routing to a "next stage" in a geocache (for the rare cache that the next stage is far enough to require routing) as you have to sit there and punch it in. I have a Macro that loads 35,000 caches on my $30 eBay special Nuvi 265. When I'm on the trail I have a 5oz (barely noticable) eTrex 30 around my neck on the lanyard.

I realize you are most likely looking at Android or Windows Phone based on your initial post. With HTC just make sure the model you are interested in has a discrete GPS chip and isn't relying too heavily on cell tower triangulation or carrier network presence. I know the HTC devices I've owned in the past relied on both to "prime" the GPS on board. I expect most current mid to premium models have a discrete GPS chip and that the bargain basement models use WiFi/Cell triangulation to assist perhaps too much. Over on my side of the OS fence, I'm a heavy iOS user these days. The iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS have sub-par GPS performance due to the lack of that discrete GPS. The iPhone 4, 4S and 5 have stellar GPS performance, and even support GLONASS (not the 4 that's just US GPS system, but 4S, 5 do). I've have my iPhone 4 outperform a Garmin Colorado 400t at times in the field.

That could be attributed to a bad map, just an FYI.