Trying to pick gps for my husband HELP!

[chrave]

Holy cow there are just way to many choices to make, I tried to pick out a gps for my husband 6 months ago and gave up because I couldn't make up my mind and I'm about ready to give up now. I have $300 to spend SOMEBODY PICK FOR ME PLEASE!

[+StarBrand]

If mainly for Geocaching.....

 

My I suggest the Garmin Legend HCx. Color Screen, expandable memory, long battery life, USB connections, routable mapping, Geocaching mode, nice form factor, high sensitivity and rugged. About $210 if you shop around.

 

Add another $125 for the City navigator Maps and he should be all set for car and Geocaching use.

 

Alternate would be the 60CSx - same features as above plus altimeter and compass. A bit more expensive.

[+joranda]

If you want to get him a good unit that he wo't have to up grade in a year or two, get him the Garmin 60CSX. I've had mine for over a year now and wouldn't trade it for anything.

[Oil Can]

Holy cow there are just way to many choices to make, I tried to pick out a gps for my husband 6 months ago and gave up because I couldn't make up my mind and I'm about ready to give up now. I have $300 to spend SOMEBODY PICK FOR ME PLEASE!

 

I went with the Garmin 76 CSX cause it seemed to be an all around unit. So would the 60 CSX and im sure there is others available but i wanted a Garmin. It was more than what i wanted to spend at the time but you get what you pay for. If your not worried about routing on the streets and want a unit just for caching then you could save yourself some money. I shopped alot at this site WWW.gpscity.com at the time they had a nice section of videos that cover most units and a pretty good description/option page. I was like you at the time. So many to choose from. Good luck on your purchase.

[Oil Can]

Holy cow there are just way to many choices to make, I tried to pick out a gps for my husband 6 months ago and gave up because I couldn't make up my mind and I'm about ready to give up now. I have $300 to spend SOMEBODY PICK FOR ME PLEASE!

 

I went with the Garmin 76 CSX cause it seemed to be an all around unit. So would the 60 CSX and im sure there is others available but i wanted a Garmin. It was more than what i wanted to spend at the time but you get what you pay for. If your not worried about routing on the streets and want a unit just for caching then you could save yourself some money. I shopped alot at this site WWW.gpscity.com at the time they had a nice section of videos that cover most units and a pretty good description/option page. I was like you at the time. So many to choose from. Good luck on your purchase.

[+kraushad]

I just went through this process and feel much the same way you do about picking.

 

I overanalyze everything and want to make sure I get the "right" one.

 

The real answer is there is no "right one". Through extensive reading and asking for a TON of opinions, I ended up narrowing it down to the Garmin 60CSX, and the Garmin Vista HCX.

 

There are a bunch of links comparing them, and equal numbers of people arguing that either one will do the job for Geocaching very well.

 

I ended up settling for the Vista HCX as it was cheaper, had almost identical features, screen was brighter and clearer to me, and was a little smaller. I got it from Amazon a few days ago for $219, and ordered a Sandisk 2GB microSD card to go with it for another $25. I plan to ask my wife to order me the City Nav Maps for my birthday for another $100.

 

The best thing I did was find a place that had them both, and I held them side by side to figure out which I liked better - button configurations, screens, etc. Good luck with your search.

[+izzyvet]

Newbie here too. I just got my Legend HCX yesterday and used it for the first time today. I'm really impressed with it!! Haven't gotten the City Navigator program yet and I really got it to be able to have a decent base map on it, so looking forward to getting that too. I had been just using my Forerunner 301 previously. It's more for running and training, but had been working great for Geocaching, just not as many features as I would like. The Legend had all the features I wanted. Was not interested in the compass or altimeter as I already own these separately, and did not need them in my GPS, so the Vista was not really in my sights. The most impressive thing about the Legend is how bright and clear the screen is and how small it is!! It was about 1/2 the size I thought it would be. And the screen is so bright that I had no problems seeing it on a very clear, bright day, with lots of new snow and glare. Have fun with your new purchase, don't stress too much, buy a Legend or a Vista and you will have a happy husband!!

[+MaplessInSeattle]

76CSx

[+Travelinmatt76]

Give him the money and let him pick it himself. My wife would never pick out anything electronic for me because she knows I'm too picky. All the ones mentioned above are great though.

[+Miragee]

Vista HCx

City Navigator maps in combo package with auto-mount and cigarette-lighter adapter

Topo maps for a bonus if he hikes

 

[+january14]

What he wants is a GPS unit that will hold the signal pretty well and works decently with the Software, like GSAK.

 

So, Garmin would be a good choice for that. I guess Magellan is okay too, but most prefer the Garmins.

 

Because of Miragee, I recently bought us a Vista HCX. But, the unit of choice seems to be the 60Csx. Depends on what you want to spend. Also depends on what else he wants to use it for. Excellent battery life, good signal, nice unit. With anything mentioned above here, you really won't go wrong.

[+briansnat]

Well what is he going to use it for? If he's a hiker, hunter, geocacher, etc... The Garmin Legend HCX with Mapsource topo software should come in under $300.

 

If he is going to use it more for automobile navigation, biking or 4 wheelin the Garmin Map 76C(s)X or 60C(s) would be good choices. With City Navigator software you're talking a bit over $300 though.

 

If it's mostly for driving, but occasional handheld use, the Garmin Quest would be a good choice.

[+Master Plumber]

I was turned on to Geocaching by a really good friend. I bought a Garmin Etrax GPS off e-bay and it worked fine, but didn't do anything extra. I looked into everything and I found a Refurbished Garmin GPSmap 60CS for $200 w/ a 1 year warranty. From what I read it does just about anything that you would want, with a geocaching mode. If your husband doesn't travel a lot he doesn't need the extra memory and it will save you about $160.00. Mine is suppose to be here this coming Monday through UPS. On geocaching .com it was listed 2nd in the TOP PICK with the 60CSX Listed 1st. Good luck with every which GPS you get.

[+w2b]

I just started Geocaching and purchased a Garmin Legend from ebay $80 total with shipping. It has what is neccessary for caching and is easy to use and transfer data to with Gsak. Single hand operation with compass and map already installed from factory. A great, simple unit that does the job.

[knowschad]

Holy cow there are just way to many choices to make, I tried to pick out a gps for my husband 6 months ago and gave up because I couldn't make up my mind and I'm about ready to give up now. I have $300 to spend SOMEBODY PICK FOR ME PLEASE!

 

I agree 100% with Starbrand and others regarding the Legend HCx. The "H" is important... you're buying a significant improvement in technology with that. The "Legend" part means you're not spending money on a barometer and electronic compass, something that, while maybe nice, is probably not that important for geocaching.

Edited December 15, 2007 by knowschad

[DrakIII]

I just started Geocaching and purchased a Garmin Legend from ebay $80 total with shipping. It has what is neccessary for caching and is easy to use and transfer data to with Gsak. Single hand operation with compass and map already installed from factory. A great, simple unit that does the job.

Don't understand all the recommendations for Garmin. I own a Magellan Explorist 600, My brother owns a Garmin xl or whatever cost $500. We stopped using his Garmin 4 months ago, it couldn't begin to match the accuracy of the Explorist. He could put us to within 10ft of the cache. The explorist put us on top of it. I recommend the Magellan 400, it only costs about $250 now also comes with a built in 'Geocache Program'.

And comes with a geocaching program for your computer which lets you dowload the waypoints directly to the gps.

Also I use the explorist for propsecting, one of my hobbies, it takes me back to any waypoint I save, even 2 years after I saved it. Some say the electronic compass is unimportant, I disagree. If you go into the back country as I do,(sometimes 10 to 20 mile, no roads, etc) get one with the compass, you will find 'Geocaching' might not be the only thing you use it for.

Edited December 16, 2007 by DrakIII

[+Miragee]

I just started Geocaching and purchased a Garmin Legend from ebay $80 total with shipping. It has what is neccessary for caching and is easy to use and transfer data to with Gsak. Single hand operation with compass and map already installed from factory. A great, simple unit that does the job.

Don't understand all the recommendations for Garmin. <snip>

I think the main reason is because of all the horror stories about Magellan Customer Service posted in the GPS and Software Forum.

 

If a Magellan works, it works very well and is accurate. However, if something goes wrong, good luck getting Customer Service to take care of it. Garmin is noted for excellent Customer Service.

[+briansnat]

Don't understand all the recommendations for Garmin. I own a Magellan Explorist 600, My brother owns a Garmin xl or whatever cost $500. We stopped using his Garmin 4 months ago, it couldn't begin to match the accuracy of the Explorist. He could put us to within 10ft of the cache. The explorist put us on top of it.

 

This really doesn't make sense. When a cache is hidden the hider's GPS will have a margin of error, meaning that it's likely that the coordinates will be off some, usually 5-30 feet. If you are dead on it's because of luck, not your unit.

 

Food for thought. If the hider's provided coordinates were 20 feet off and your unit puts you dead on the cache, then your unit is off by 20 feet.

 

As far as why many people prefer Garmin:

 

Magellan Customer Service The Worst

 

Magellan Triton Sending it Back

 

Magellan Support What Support?

 

Magellan Support or Lack thereof

 

Magellan Support Does it Exist?

 

Fed UP with Magellan Repair Support

 

Magellan Tech Support Sucks

 

Magellan Support Pathetic

 

vs.

 

Garmin Support

 

Great Garmin Service

 

Garmin Customer Support

 

Praise for Garmin Support

 

Outstanging Garmin Support

 

Great Garmin Customer Service

 

Garmin Support A+

 

Sure you can find some complaints about Garmin support, but you have to look hard. Sure you can find praise for Magellan support, but you have to look harder.