Taking The Plunge Soon, Opinions?

[kathunt13]

Hi everyone,

 

I am new to the forum, geocaching, and everything that goes with it! I want to start geocaching and am getting ready to purchase a GPS. I have been reading and studying. I am a person that would like to buy something that will last for a while, can grow with my learning and that I wouldn't have to upgrade anytime soon.

 

The yellow eTrex has been recommended as a starter unit, but I feel I would like more to a GPS. It would be going geocaching and the occassional roadtrips/vacations and would like to use it for those occassionally (there will be 2 of us, so one can read a small screen!). Nothing major like a car navigation system! (We have AAA for paper maps. LOL LOL)

 

I think I have it narrowed down to the Legend C or CX, I just can't decide which one. Is the CX worth the extra fifty? Under 275.00 is my absolute limit for spending.

 

Also, are these being discontinued? I found a thread, but there was never a clear answer to the topic. I can understand a retailer discontinuing a product, but if the manufacturer is it's another thing.

 

Thanks for the help in advance!

Kat

[+Miragee]

Because the new Cx units are coming out, you should be able to get the Legend C for a good discount. Do an online search to see the range of prices.

 

The money you save getting that unit instead of the newer one, you can spend on the City Select or City Navigator software and auto-navigation kit (auto-mount and cigarette-lighter adapter), something I got for about $145.00 last summer.

 

I really like the auto-routing feature of my Garmin Vista C because I am often driving in unfamiliar areas.

[kathunt13]

Because the new Cx units are coming out, you should be able to get the Legend C for a good discount. Do an online search to see the range of prices.

 

 

Thanks for the reply Miragee.....

 

I can get the C for about 200.00. The CX for about 250.00. That is why I am questioning which one. And those are about the best I have found and include shipping.

 

Kat

who didn't know she was a Tadpole!

[+Miragee]

The benefit of the new Cx units is the memory card. The Legend C has 24 MB of memory for maps. This is plenty for me, for the kind of caching and traveling I do. However, people who travel frequently want the ability to load the maps and not have to change them.

 

Only eight more posts and you will graduate from Tadpole to Geocacher. If you become a Premium Member, well worth the $3.00 per month for the ability to create Pocket Queries, you can change that title to anything you want . . .

Edited March 7, 2006 by Miragee

[appletree]

Even though it's your first GPSR, there are two things you really need in order to get reasonable functionality: autorouting capability and the mapping software required for that capability. With the price limit you have set, the best you can do, and it's not bad, is a Garmin GPS V Deluxe. It is old technology but is designed for both hand held and in car operation, autoroutes well, though slower than newer units, and comes with a free upgrade to the latest version of CitySelect maps for the US and Canada.

 

For more money, you can get color, faster calculations, more memory for loading maps, voice directions, etc. but a GPS V will route you to your destination and take you to a cache as surely as any new model, and at the lowest price. Giving up the maps and/or autorouting in exchange for color, speed, or any other feature would be a big mistake. Investing some more cash in a better unit, like the Quest which also comes with CitySelect and has many of the newer improvements at an excellent price, would be my suggestion, but it's your money.

Edited March 7, 2006 by appletree

[+scott9282]

And my usual two pennies worth of advice.

 

Try the unit in your hands before you buy. Sounds simple, but when I purchased my first GPSr, a Sportrak Map, I tried it in the store and it fit my hand.

 

When I recently upgraded to a Garmin 60C (love that color BTW), I first tried the Explorist lines (not a bad fit, but not perfect), Lowrance (also a pretty good fit, but not perfect and I didn't like the learning curve), the Garmin 76C (I don't know who it was designed for, but it fit me like wearing shoes on the wrong feet), and finally the 60C, which fits like a glove.

 

Everyone is different, and you need to see what works for you.

 

Also, spend on more than you think you'll need, such as mapping/color, you'll find that a GPSr purchased for geocaching experiences what the military calls "mission creep". You'll find yourself using it for all manner of non-geocaching activities, and the more capable it is, the better off you will be in the long run.

[+Capt.Picard]

Legend c

[planewood]

Kat -

 

Since your limited to $275, that will rule out getting one of the new Garmin units with SiRF. That apparently provides much better reception of the satellites in marginal conditions like when in the woods.

 

The Magellan GPSr's are suppose to have better reception than the Garmin units that don't have SiRF. So, I wouldn't rule out looking at the Magellan lines. I think the best price for a Magellan Explorist 500 is about $275.

[+Intermountain Angler]

Heres another $.02c

Buy a less expensive unit to get your feet wet through a place where you can trade it in and upgrade later like LLBean.com they are very competative. you will loose nothing on the trade in (you just pay the difference of price between units) so when mission creep has you longing for something better, it ends up not being a good fit or the item just pukes return it, you will not be stuck and you will get great customer service to boot.

 

good luck on your quest!!

[peter]

If you have a pretty definite budget limit then be sure you include the price of the optional detailed maps. A high resolution color screen and memory card are nice but they really don't add any usefulness unless you have the maps to display/store on them.

 

So if the choice is between a fancier unit, like the LegendCx, without the optional maps vs. something like an eXplorist 210 *with* the maps then I'd definitely opt for the latter combination.

Edited March 8, 2006 by peter

[k1w1t1m]

My wife and I just did this. We tried Magellan Miridian Golds and didn't like them. (That is not saying they are bad). We took them back and bought Legends which were good but lacked in a few ways. We now have Legend Cxs and love them. Ours also came with 64M cards which is sufficient for our needs. We also bought CS software which completes a great package. $244+/- for the Cxs each and $120 for the CS software from GPSnow.

What we have now is exactly what we were looking for .... they do caching and autorouting. Admittedly more expensive units would do these jobs better but the Cxs do just fine.

[AWGD8]

I`ll go with the Legend Cx.

[nathantw]

Even though it's your first GPSR, there are two things you really need in order to get reasonable functionality: autorouting capability and the mapping software required for that capability. With the price limit you have set, the best you can do, and it's not bad, is a Garmin GPS V Deluxe. It is old technology but is designed for both hand held and in car operation, autoroutes well, though slower than newer units, and comes with a free upgrade to the latest version of CitySelect maps for the US and Canada.

 

I second that recommendation. I used my GPS V for 4 years and I probably would still be using it today if it wasn't stolen last month. The routing was slow, but it did its job. The memory limitation was something I was able to live with. The versitility is second to none.

 

I studied all the different features on all the Garmin units and the only one that came up close was the 60c/cs(x) models and those are beyond your budget. They have the same combination of features, but they're missing two main ingredients with autorouting and that's a detour button and the vertical-only orientation. Plus it doesn't come with City Select. The GPS V has all that along with the ability to switch between vertical for hiking and horizontal for driving. Definitely the best of all worlds.

[kathunt13]

Thanks, taking all into consideration! Holding off on purchasing for the moment ( you know how life is!!! or waiting for a sale!), but I am saving all information for my future purchase!

 

Thanks

Katrina

[+Ellteejak]

Even though it's your first GPSR, there are two things you really need in order to get reasonable functionality: autorouting capability and the mapping software required for that capability. With the price limit you have set, the best you can do, and it's not bad, is a Garmin GPS V Deluxe. It is old technology but is designed for both hand held and in car operation, autoroutes well, though slower than newer units, and comes with a free upgrade to the latest version of CitySelect maps for the US and Canada.

 

I second that recommendation. I used my GPS V for 4 years and I probably would still be using it today if it wasn't stolen last month. The routing was slow, but it did its job. The memory limitation was something I was able to live with. The versitility is second to none.

 

I studied all the different features on all the Garmin units and the only one that came up close was the 60c/cs(x) models and those are beyond your budget. They have the same combination of features, but they're missing two main ingredients with autorouting and that's a detour button and the vertical-only orientation. Plus it doesn't come with City Select. The GPS V has all that along with the ability to switch between vertical for hiking and horizontal for driving. Definitely the best of all worlds.

 

I was thinking this also (above comments). GPS V has it all (but an older/slower system which might be okay); Etrex Legend Color needs maps (but is faster, color, and battery lasts forever); Lowrance 100M needs maps (battery does not last long, and older/slower, Black&white); Garmin 60CX is expensive (has it all, still needs maps, has the best satillite reception chipset).

 

I compromized. I bought the Garmin Etrex Legend Color (not CX version, and I already have map software for it). I already have a Palm PDA for my other Geocaching notes and information, and am working on better mappring software and a bluetooth GPS sensor for it (MAYBE, or a mouse GPS USB sensor).

Edited March 10, 2006 by Ellteejak