umainer

Am a neocacher (2 weeks old) and I got my Platinum 2 weeks ago for my birthday. Did a lot of reading in these forums to zero in on one and liked the SD card feature of the Gold and Platinums. Checked them out in person to gauge look & feel and leaned towards the Meridians over the Explorists for the larger screens/buttons, words vs pics on the buttons, AA batteries and cost. I assume it is the same at all of their stores nationwide but my local West Marine is dropping Magellans and doing only Garmins... as a result, I was able to swing my Platinum for $145. They were also selling off Sportrak Pros for $130. Unfortunately, they have not discounted the mapping software---yet! In the 2 weeks we've had it, we've been very pleased. It has taken us to about 2 feet or so of the caches and gets good signals even under tree cover on the trails. We've hit 6 so far. Picked up the car adapter and case fairly cheap at the Kittery Trading Post and the little ones like watching it track us on the GPS while we drive. If you can get it at West Marine near you for around the price I did, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Before you buy, or while waiting for it to ship to you, you may want to check out Lowrance's site and download the emulator and manual (PDF). My wife and girls gave the 'CIGT Geocaching' for my bday with a picture of GPS unit in my card and the mandate to "go pick the one you want". While hitting these forums and some Google groups, started to zero in on the H2O (and the Garmin GPSMAP 60). Downloaded the H2O emulator from Lowrance and have been finding it fairly easy to access its different features without consulting the manual too often. While it doesn't help you get a physical feel for it, it does (for free) let you play around at your own pace and without breaking anything. I live almost halfway between LLBean and the Kittery Trading Post but neither carries Lowrance so its the only opp I have to see it in action (albeit virtually not real world). Haven't got one yet but if I get some free time this wknd may place my order or look on eBay. Thanks to all the non-newbies for sharing your thoughts in here on the different model choices. With all the choices out there, it is a little daunting.