Croesgadwr

I've owned my Etrex 20 since early January, and to be honest its always worked perfectly - and no sticking issues! I updated to 2.70 firmware yesterday evening just because 'it was available'. The results... I've just returned from an uneventful mornings caching, the Etrex performed without any problem (just as always!). Another ten caches in the bag. I'm not saying the sticking issue has been sorted, I'm just saying "I still haven't experienced it".

Yep...I like what I see in this reply. You have my admiration, I hope to share that philosophy at some point in my life. More power to you my friend!! Croesgadwr North Wales UK.

Same as 'sussamb', had my Etrex 20 for about six weeks. An excellent piece of kit for the price.

My Etrex 20 is working fine, no complaints from me....

Snap...so did I!! I had the Legend HCx, and just replaced it with the Etrex 20. No problems as regards functionality with it, it proved to be an excellent product. The only issue I had was the rubber surround seal started to come off, leaving a brown gungy mess. Garmin were incredible (in my opinion), they replaced the whole unit free of charge even though mine was out of warranty. When the new one arrived I was just a bit wary of it happening again, so thought 'Why not sell it and buy an Etrex 20'. Potential future problem solved!! Back to the practical side of the Legend... loading caches was a doddle - done in seconds. The menu system was also dead easy to use. Battery life was well over 24hrs on decent rechargeables. It was also capable of taking a few knocks. One point worth mentioning (could be a bit late in this instance), if its the latter model, make sure it comes with its USB cable, they're not cheap if you have to buy one! Finally, (again if its the latter model), you can get free UK map downloads at talkytoaster.info Worth having a look whilst waiting for your GPS to arrive. Good luck with it in any case. Edited to add:- Disregard the part about free UK maps, I've just noticed that you're US based.

Hi, I'm fairly sure the Etrex 10 is a paperless GPS. So you would be able to download cache details, hints & previous logs directly to the GPS. But where the Etrex 10 falls down is its inability to download or display maps. I've recently bought an Etrex 20, this model does allow mapping - but obviously costs more than the Etrex 10. Check 'em out at www.handtec.co.uk, you'll find the e'10 at £86 and the e'20 at £145. Read the reviews before you part with your cash.

Hi, 'Best GPS', and 'Loads of money' probably DO belong in the same sentence to be honest...but (seriously) most of us don't spend loads of money buying the 'Best'. In my case my first GPS was a Garmin Legend HCx (cost £169 in July 2010), that did what I wanted from it. I sold it in Jan this year and bought one of the new Etrex 20's. It really all depends on what you want to spend? A couple of examples at www.handtec.co.uk - Etrex 10(£86), Etrex 20(£145) As a first step why not check out a few reviews, in addition I'm sure that others will be offering further advice - so don't stray too far from your laptop!! PS, get something that will allow you to add maps - etrex 10 wont, etrex 20 will. But as I said "see the reviews". Good luck.

"Old news"... well maybe. Never the less, I'll bet that more people will be interested in your thread, than those that will disregard its content as not worthy of reading. Being 'reminded' once in a while never hurt anyone! There are always newcomers to this hobby, and to them your thread may in fact, be a revelation. Thanks for chipping in with it. Croesgadwr, North Wales geo-cacher

I use the Etrex 20, and I tend to just click on "Send to my GPS" on the cache page. I don't bother sending cache info to the GPS 'wholesale'....I just send the info for the specific caches that I'm intending on searching for on a single trip. I don't like clogging the screen with dozens of caches that are of no interest to me at that moment in time. I never have more than twenty caches stored on the device at one time. I know most people prefer to do larger PQ downloads, but I prefer my way... But thats just me!!

Maps...we've been spoilt so far. Google want their wedge of cash...nah, not from me! I support geocacing.com in the decision to move on (without Google). Just treat it as an obstacle that you cant go through, so make do, and go around it!!

I had the Legend HCx for a year and a half, its an excellent device...the answer to your question is - Yes, it always came on with no illumination. I didn't have a problem with that, I just kind of got used to it...

Hi, to be honest I've never used the Etrex Vista, but I have used the Etrex Legend HCx. Its my understanding that these GPS's are very, very similar... so based on that fact I'd say that you wouldn't go far wrong in buying one. Make sure it comes with its USB cable, 'cos they're not cheap if you have to buy one! You shouldn't have any problems connecting it to your PC, or when downloading cache info from geocaching.com. One negative point with the etrex (legend, vista etc) is that the rubber seal aroubd the unit will probably start to come off at some point in time. Its a common issue. Garmin tend to be 'helpful' when this happens - i.e. they replaced my Legend free of charge when it happened to mine(and it was out of warranty). You shouldn't let this one point put you off buying one, they are good units. I'm sure other people will give you similar advice.

To be honest 'stats' don't mean too much to me personally...nothing more than a condensed form of an individuals caching history. Its often been said that "You can make stats mean what you want them to mean". I much prefer to enjoy the experience of finding a cache in my own way, i.e. on my own, setting my own targets & goals, and trying to impress no-one other than myself. But, I do of course acknowledge that is my own view, and each of us is entitled to express a different view or opinion, and thats exactly how it should be!! (In my opinion!!)

I was 57 when I started geocaching, and I don't regret taking up the hobby at all. Its an excellent reason to get out in the country - even when its raining... I don't think that age comes into it in the least.

Hi Mike and welcome to the world of geocaching. Its supposed to be fun so go out and enjoy yourself!!

Hi, and welcome to the world of Geocaching. It's supposed to be fun so go out and enjoy it... Croesgadwr North Wales UK.

Hi, and welcome to the hobby. If theres a "Go-outdoors" store anywhere near you then pop in and have a look there.... But before you buy anything it would be wise to go to www.handtec.co.uk and check out their prices, they are cheaper than Go-outdoors. If you play you cards right you can use handtec's lower price to "PRICE CHECK" whatever GPS your after at Go-outdoors. For instance Go-outdoors have the Etrex 20 at £160. Handtec charge £153 for the same unit. Quote handtecs price to Go-outdoors and they will beat it by 10%. That takes the Etrex 20 down to £142.50 at Go-outdoors. You need a discount card (£5) so add one of those and the Etrex 20 will be yours for a total of £147.50, and of course you can still use the discount card for future purchases. As regards which GPS to buy...hmm, thats your decision I'm afraid, but make sure its a Garmin!! (personal opinion there!!)

Well I think I can say that its going to be all downhill from here on in...you'll never find a cache like that again!! It would be just my luck to find a cache with the bill for such an adventure inside! Nice one!! :D

I used to download PQ's to my PC, then transfer the information on my targetted caches to an old pocket PC (ppc). I used the CacheMate program on the ppc, you do have to pay for CacheMate, but its only $10 (about 6 quid in good old british pounds). I also copied maps in jpeg format and downloaded those to the ppc. Recently I've gone paperless by using an Etrex 20, so things have changed a little...but I still download any maps that I'm likely to need to the ppc. Of course you can leave notes for yourself elsewhere on the ppc. One thing to be wary of...the ppc is not waterproof, so be careful in bad weather!!

I started geocaching in July of 2010, and my first GPS'r was a Garmin Legend HCx, a GPS only unit. With it I found over 500 caches, I also had more than a few DNF's... In saying that, I can't blame the Legend in any way for my 'failures', they are down to ME!! I've recently sold the Legend and bought one of the new Etrex 20 units, which is a dual-sat device. I don't expect my find rate, or failure rate to change significantly as a result of me changing units, because any GPS'r will only get you close to GZ, finding the cache is still down to the operator! So why did I decide to buy the Etrex 20? Well, I thought long and hard whether I should (or not)... my final decision had a lot to do with its ability to use the new Russian GLONASS sats, not because it would get me closer to GZ, or increase find / reduce failures. No, just because they (GLONASS sats) are here, so why not use them! By the way...shouldn't we have a new name for dual-band-sat recievers now, some, are not just GPS recievers

Most hobbies or sports have an inherent cost to them, some even have different levels where you get more for paying more. I recently made all my caches PMO because of an increase in swag disappearance. I recently filled one cache up with Swag and the following day returned to drop off a TB to find the cache completely empty with no new signatures in the logbook! I think that with smart phones becoming more available to people (including children), making the ability to search for caches easier, is increasing the instances of caches being trashed. Making them PMO probably won't completely solve the problem, but I feel it will at least decrease the occurrences of this happening. DcCow's comments are basically the same as made by me earlier. I have no doubt that some, but not all "iphone owning non-geocaching 'geocachers'", are hell bent on spoiling the enjoyment of mainstream geocachers by using their devices to search out and tamper with available caches. I don't mean to offend anyone in making this statement because the vast majority of iphone-cachers will be genuine cachers. Premium membership, in my opinion, is a facility that genuine cachers can use to enhance the geocaching experience. No doubt there will be those who disagree with what I say....but after all its just my opinion, and I'm entitled to it. Premium membership.... the decision is yours, either take it or leave it. End of!!

I dont think I would still be geocaching if I had to manually load the co-ordinates before each trip... far too tedious a task for me! Welcome to the 'easy side' of the hobby.

I suppose its a bit like "Phoning a Friend"...but in reverse!! As long as its your 'name' on the log, then who will know the difference?? I don't see any rules being broken by doing it.

As a premium member I'm against premium member caches. I've only hidden 16 caches, and all of them were open to all who wished to search for them. That was until one of them went missing twice within a few days. Its in a particularly vunerable position and my thoughts were that it was being 'hit' by passing geo-muggles using iphones to find & destroy caches. Hence I decided to make this particular cache premium only....since I did this the cache has remained intact. So maybe I was right?? My other caches are still 'open'.

A totally novel and unique Travel 'Bug'...