RTechS

Other than the Montana, which model has a larger screen? I'm interested if there is one available. The battery life is an issue, no doubt, and that's another sticking point for me. I can use my smartphone hard all day and still have 50% + battery left over.

Why do they still insist on making these screens so small? Even the Montana has a 4" display, it's like they took a step backwards with their latest offering. I just don't get it. I was anticipating their next GPS to have a larger display than the Montana even, but I guess that's not to be the case. Guess I'll stick with my trusty smartphone. An older phone at that, (LG G3) and I love the 5.5 inch display, and the GPS is pretty decent, even in the trees, and I "need" the turn by turn navigation that my phone offers, lol. Not necessarily intending to cast aspersions on the 700, just "wondering out loud" why they designed it like they did, and in hopes that Garmin design team reads this stuff - maybe take the hint & design a new model with the features I (and I'm sure many others) would like to have.

lol - my thought exactly. Still, I don't want cachers with small children who may be visiting the nearby restaurant to not want to consider looking for the cache because it "looks like drugs".

Update - I sent a very nice message to the cacher explaining this, and I got a very snarky response from them. I replied back "gently", giving a new cacher the benefit of the doubt, explaining my concerns but if the log is still there by the end of the day I suppose I will have to delete it. Can the cacher simply repost their same log again? Is there a way to keep a cacher from reposting an offensive log?

They're pretty new. I'd cut them some slack. Don't be surprised if they don't respond. After all, they think you're running a drug cartel out of a lamp post skirt Yep, they're new cachers, that's why I'm cutting them slack and giving them the opportunity to amend their log. It may not be a big deal to some folks, but I like to think my caches are all "family friendly" and don't want them to be misrepresented. And for the record, this container is a MKH, like a million others out there under most skirts, on guardrails, etc.

Thanks guys. An off color comment was made in a recent find in regards to the appearance of the cache/container, which does not even apply, as it in no way resembles said comment, as this container is a very common one that is used in most lamppost skirt hides. (It is not a pill bottle). It would be easy enough to simply edit that one comment out, but I suppose I can contact the cacher & ask them to change it.

I know I can delete a log that someone has entered for a cache of mine that they have found, but can that log be edited by the cache owner? Possibly to remove offensive wording, spoilers, etc.? I searched through all of the options for my cache, and I don't see a way to do this.

I started out with a smartphone, and I have an Oregon 450. Found all but a handful of caches with the phone. The smartphone is so much more convenient for a variety of reasons (IMO) and the larger screen is more desirable to me. Battery life is not an issue, I have it on charge all the time anyway. I suppose if I were out in the woods on an all day hike/bike ride, etc., the GPS unit would be more handy, but the majority of my caching doesn't entail that.

There are routable street maps. But the Oregon doesn't speak. It just beeps. I downloaded routable Garmin maps for my old 450, and bought a Garmin map SD card for my new 650. Purchased map files are locked to one device, and I decided that it would be better to be able to just switch the SD card to another GPSr if needed. There are sources of free maps. Even if they don't have street routing, knowing which side of a street a cache is on can be handy. If you're familiar with an area, you may not need maps for street routing. I often load one select cache into my Nuvi for directions to a cache area (to a park or parking lot), and go from there. The Nuvi is a lot better as a car nav than the Oregon is. Once you've arrived at a parking place, switch to the Compass screen for distance and bearing. You can customize all the menus, and even have extra info on the various screen "dashboards". I changed a bunch of things, including placing the most-used icons on the start screens of the various Profiles. Thanks so much for that info., kunarion. I did find some free sources for maps and I've heard about them on the various podcasts. It is disappointing that this GPS doesn't seem to be able to be used that well for driving navigation, though... My smartphone navigation gets "confused" at times in certain areas and will direct me "around the block" a couple of times, like it doesn't have a good routing signal or something. I was really hoping that this GPS would pick up the slack in this area, but it would seem that a Nuvi would be better suited for the driving. I'm not sure I really have the patience to jump through all the hoops that seem to be required with the Oregon. Maybe I'm just a bit overwhelmed with the newness of it, and I am too used to my smartphone features, since the phone pretty much just "works" without a lot of fiddling with it. I'll have to work with the Oregon for a couple of weeks, give it some time I suppose. Note - One other thing I do have to mention; I have the screen brightness turned up to "max" and I don't get the impression that it will show up in bright sunlight, which is a definite problem with the smartphone. I've read in many reviews that the screen is easily viewable in bright sunlight.

Some issues here... I did get the PQ loaded and can view all of the caches. However, I cannot figure out how to navigate with it, not very well anyway. When I click on a cache title, the word "GO" appears, and I can click on that, which gives me a map. From there I'm lost...there doesn't seem to be any way to start the navigation on the map. All I have is a starting point & and end point with a connecting line. I guess I need to load maps of some sort that will provide me with street names and such? What am I missing?

Thanks for all the replies! I had a pocket query that I ran a couple months ago for my tablet - I was going to load that on the Oregon but I guess I deleted it awhile ago. So, I set a new PQ to run - can't wait to try this GPS out! I know it will take some getting used to though, as I'm used to phone caching and I'm spoiled by the spoken turn by turn navigation. I know it will perform better in the woods though, which is one of the main reasons I purchased it.

I know "of" GPX/GPZ files, but for the life of me I cannot seem to find any tutorial on how to use them, or get them to load on my new Oregon 600. I know I can browse to individual caches on the site & send them to the GPS, I've seen that when viewing the cache pages, but sending single caches is tedious and time consuming. I can get the PC to recognize the Oregon using I.E., and I have the Garmin Communicator installed...but where to go from here? I'm sure this is old hat to you seasoned GPS users out there, but I've been using a smartphone up until now with no issues. Also, after I get these all sent to the GPS, is there a way to sort by distance? Can any of you GPS owners tell me how to make this all work? Thanks so much!

Wow! Glad I saw this thread! I've been in the market for some time for an "affordable" GPS that had the features I wanted, the touch screen is a big plus for me. I have read reviews that it is a bit sensitive since the screen goes to the edges of the unit with little/no border - accidental presses are a minor issue (from what I've read) I think I can deal with that "minor" inconvenience though. i would prefer to have the larger Monterra (larger screen), but at this price I couldn't pass on the 600!

I have tentatively eyed the Monterra since it came on the scene, but the price tag is a bit too much for my liking. I like the touchscreen devices, and I also want the largest screen possible. Maybe when/if they come down in price a bit I will jump on one; but for now, I'm very content caching with my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3. I'm spoiled with smartphone app caching, so I must say I'm not a huge fan of the way many of the GPS's function, not to mention the tiny matchbook sized screens that most of them have. To each his own. If I had 20 yr. old eyesight I may be more inclined to use a GPS. At any rate, thanks so much for the in-depth writeup with your experiences with the Monterra.

Great job, Malemotives. I wish there were more responsible cachers like yourself. I come across many raided caches, so I carry a full compliment of swag to replace for future cachers enjoyment.

I use a fanny pack, but there's not enough room in it for tools/logbooks/swag/snacks, maybe a water bottle...so I am going to move on to a sling pack. I have tried a camera bag/similar, but I like to have my hands free and the camera/other bags tend to swing around and bang into me while walking/hiking. A sling pack would eliminate that issue.

Are you using the demo or paid version of the app? I'm playing with the demo version of the official app right now and it is only showing traditional caches...the filtering/settings capability of the demo version is very crippled.

Check youtube for some vids containing folks using the etrex 10 for geocaching. I don't use a GPS at present so I can't give particular help, but I do see that model gets high ratings.

I believe these settings may not be availablle in the into version of the app. I've clicked on every button in the app, and I can't get it to voice nav, for example... When I click on "start" for navigation, it will show the map/route but doesnt start talking like the other apps do. Across the top of the screen I have the mag. glass/search, a funnel thing to choose difficulty level, size, etc., and an icon to choose map or list view, that's it. This is version 2.2.3 I see no way to open or start talking nav./directions. The only thing I have is a map or list view, and I can also switch to the compass.

I started using the Official Geocaching App today, the Intro version...that is, I am attempting to use it. Question: * Does this app offer "turn by turn" navigation, or is there any way to make that happen? I can get to the compass, but that doesn't help much when driving. * Are there no settings/adjustments to change the unit measurements, color of screen/app, etc.? I found an old tutorial from 2009 which gives instructions of the app features at that time, but I can't seem to make this app do voice navigation in the way that several of the others do from the play store...

I know I can run a PQ for night caches or other types, but is there any quick way to search for them? I looked all over the search options, but I can't seem to find a way to do it.

Glad you got it working, though personally I'd be careful about geocaching with a tablet if there was a chance of rain or I might be required to navigate terrain more difficult that a nearly flat pathway. The behavior that you saw before pairing your phone with your laptop still has me curious. In order to even see the initial map it's going to need some type of data connection (if you had looked at maps of the area when you had a wifi connection the image tiles might be in the cache,.,(a different kind of cache) or perhaps the app has a base layer map at just one zoom level. However, once you try to navigate, the system is going to make real time request to load additional mapping tiles and routing data. I actually feel more comfortable caching w/ a $100 tablet than with a $500 GPS unit, as far as damage goes, although I do understand your point. In regards to this; I was assuming it would navigate/update direction/routing from the on-board GPS radio, just like a handheld/other GPS unit would. Am I wrong about this? I may be, since I have very little experience with a standalone GPS unit.

Got it working guys! I started thinking about this more & realized I could use my smartphone as a mobile hotspot! Enabled Bluetooth, paired the devices, set up the passwords/etc., and now my tablet is performing exactly as I wanted by using the smartphone LTE internet connection. Even better actually, as now I have real-time data and don't need o even bother with the offline mapping. Sure, I still need to carry the smartphone with me since it must be close to the tablet for the connection to remain active, but I can clip it on my belt or tuck it away in the geo-bag for safekeeping. A small hassle, but one I can live with to have the luxury of an 8" tablet screen!

I've loaded a PQ of 1000 caches, and I can view them and navigate as long as I'm on wifi. This Android tablet (Acer Iconia 8 / A1-840-131U) has wifi/GPS/Glonass but no LTE. So, I am attempting to load maps for offline caching. I can create a map of the area I want, save and view it, but when I try to navigate turn by turn, I keep getting "needs an internet connection." So far I've tried Google and Locus free. From what I have read/heard on Geocaching podcast (Darrell) the offline functionality is supposed to give navigation as well. Anyone have any experience with this, or any suggestions? Thanks!

After you load the pocket query/store static maps, will you then have all the detailed info., such as maps/turn by turn navigation/etc. when you are out of cell range?