g0tr00t

Odd, seems the price went up on the 450 to $169.00. I bought the 450t for $169.00. its a pretty cool unit, in a pinch, I used it in my car. Once you understand the beeps it makes sense.

I started using the Oregon 450 that I bought and compared to my smartphone. For me, the electronic compass is exactly what I need. It ate through my smartphones battery pretty quickly. The cache's I went to retrieve were in a wooded park. There is A LOT of poison ivy, Virginia creeper, fire ant piles, etc....that I had to walk around. With the smartphone I was 0/3 but with the 450 I was 3/3. I took the advice of when you hear it "beep", turn on the compass and follow the arrow. That made it MUCH easier and my 2 boys and more fun this time finding the caches

"The Oregon 450/550 hold 5,000 geocaches AND 2,000 waypoints" http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=247310

Looks like the refurb is no longer available. I received mine and cannot tell its refurbished. It came in the original box with ALL accessories. I had a ZAGG screen protector waiting for it to arrive plus an 8gig SD card. I used it a couple of times this weekend and its pretty sweet! A good set of rechargeable batteries are coming, but the ones I have are "ok" for now.

I carry my bug out bag. It has all I need and more Overkill? Maybe, but if I need something, its in there. First aid kit, knife, compass, etc..

I too am starting out and would go crazy if someone left mini's in a cache..lol..I play Dungeon and Dragons on Wednesday nights and now you gave me some ideas I surly can't be the only geocacher that plays role playing games.

I just ordered the Oregon 450 from here. I should have it next week, its not much more than the Dakota 10. Refurbished with warranty. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hunting/Handheld-GPS-Accessories/Handheld-GPS|/pc/104791680/c/104729580/sc/104373180/Garmin174-Oregon-450T-Refurb/1266116.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse.cmd%3FN%3D1100153%26WTz_l%3DSBC%253BBRprd709846&WTz_l=SBC%3BBRprd709846%3Bcat104373180 Sorry, I thought you were looking for a GPS device, misread post.

I am brand new to the FORUM. I have been reading a lot for the past few weeks. I ended up buying a 450t last night after I compared prices and reviews. I found this really hard to beat since I was trying to stay under $200. $169 + free shipping was a great deal for me. I am really looking forward to geocaching with the kids. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Garmin174-Oregon-450T-Refurb/1266116.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dgarmin%2Brefurb%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=garmin+refurb&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products