stephenf64

I only have an iphone 4s with Groundspeak app. For durability I use a strap-on spare battery and an otterbox cover. For accuracy I find it OK to about 5 meters so I do tend to rely on hints and logs a fair bit. For hiding, I am finding mixed messages from finders but have not had many DNF's, only grumbles about accuracy.

I find it varies by area. Here, most of the time, it's pretty good - I almost always use just mapping (and generally google sat images) to find caches and in this area things are very reliable. But in other areas (and on odd occasions at the edges of imagery sets) I've noticed less reliability certainly. Once you know the reliability of the general area I think you can then make a judgement as to whether or not the tool is reliable or not. Thanks Bear and Ragged for the advice. Re-reading the post I think i should reiterate I do take gps readings at the GZ but always look to verify them before posting. It is here that I get different readings fron map or google. Sorry for the confusion.

Being a newcomer to caching but not hiking, I have always relied on a map and compass. When hiding caches I try to verify their positions with online maps such as google maps, google earth or Bing. I am finding, though, that often the co-ordinates don't match and can on occasions be miles out. I have just had to disable a cache because when I posted it my co-ordinates did not match google maps and I trusted google, only to be told that the co-cordinates are way off. My question is, why do these discrepencies occur and which should I trust more, online or paper maps.