New to geocaching and I have a question

[+huntingwithtrolls]

We'd like to spend about $200 -$250, we'd love to get something with a touch screen just because they seem like they'd be easier to use....other than that, I have no idea what other requirements we should be looking at.

 

We don't plan on using it for anything else but geocaching.

 

We did try to use my Dad's Nextar but we couldn't enter anything but addresses, no cordinates.

We also tried a friends Etrex Garmin but with no touch screen, it really meant alot of scrolling and flipping through menu's. It wasnt as user friendly to a newbie like us as the Nextar was.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[+Krieg's Bones]

I own a Delorme PN-20 and love it and the mapping software that is bundled with it. No touch screen, but I personally would not want a touch screen, so it was not a selling point to me. On sale now for $299. Usually gets me within 5 foot if not standing on the cache. Found one today without any sort of trail, that required a 1/4 mile walk through thick sagebrush and it took me to "THE" one brush I needed.

 

http://www.delorme.com/

Edited May 30, 2008 by Krieg's Bones

[+huntingwithtrolls]

I own a Delorme PN-20 and love it and the mapping software that is bundled with it. No touch screen, but I personally would not want a touch screen, so it was not a selling point to me. On sale now for $299. Usually gets me within 5 foot if not standing on the cache. Found one today without any sort of trail, that required a 1/4 mile walk through thick sagebrush and it took me to "THE" one brush I needed.

 

http://www.delorme.com/

 

Sounds like an awesome GPS. Within 5 ft is great, except I'm looking for something that has a touch screen and is under $250

[+Hunter of Sock Monsters]

at present time there are no hand held gps units with a touch screen. the only gps' with touch screens are the in car gps units and those are not the greatest to use for geocaching for a multitude of reasons.

 

with that being said I'm going to recommend the Garmin GPSMap 76CSx. very nice unit, rugged, waterproof, it floats, good satellite lock even under trees, expandable memory, auto-routing with the right maps.

[+El Diablo]

The type of unit you need for geocaching only isn't going to come with a touch screen. There are navigational units out there like the Nuvi with touch screen that will work, but they aren't what you need for caching. They are actually a little more difficult to use for caching.

 

El Diablo

[+Snake & Rooster]

You could get a Magellan Triton 1500. It has a touch screen, but will cost you around $400. Or, you can get a Garmin that doesn't have a touch screen, but really works

[+Team GeoBlast]

We'd like to spend about $200 -$250, we'd love to get something with a touch screen just because they seem like they'd be easier to use....other than that, I have no idea what other requirements we should be looking at.

 

We don't plan on using it for anything else but geocaching.

 

We did try to use my Dad's Nextar but we couldn't enter anything but addresses, no cordinates.

We also tried a friends Etrex Garmin but with no touch screen, it really meant alot of scrolling and flipping through menu's. It wasnt as user friendly to a newbie like us as the Nextar was.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

I don't think that you are going to find a touch screen in that price range. I'm also not sure that if you are going to use it for trail only, that you want a touch screen anyway. A trail GPS is generally waterproof (or water resistant) and you will no doubt that be in situations where it will get bumped around a lot. These requirements are incongruous with a touch screen.

[+Krieg's Bones]

I own a Delorme PN-20 and love it and the mapping software that is bundled with it. No touch screen, but I personally would not want a touch screen, so it was not a selling point to me. On sale now for $299. Usually gets me within 5 foot if not standing on the cache. Found one today without any sort of trail, that required a 1/4 mile walk through thick sagebrush and it took me to "THE" one brush I needed.

 

http://www.delorme.com/

 

Sounds like an awesome GPS. Within 5 ft is great, except I'm looking for something that has a touch screen and is under $250

 

Sorry I couldn't help out. Good luck on finding that touch screen unit.

[+Team Black-Cat]

I own a Delorme PN-20 and love it and the mapping software that is bundled with it. No touch screen, but I personally would not want a touch screen, so it was not a selling point to me. On sale now for $299. Usually gets me within 5 foot if not standing on the cache. Found one today without any sort of trail, that required a 1/4 mile walk through thick sagebrush and it took me to "THE" one brush I needed.

 

http://www.delorme.com/

 

I'm another PN-20 user. I like it a lot, but it has some problems with user friendliness. I >think< the folks at Delorme are going to turn this into the premere geocaching GPSr, but it's got a long way to go.

As for touch screen in the price range mentioned by the OP, I don't think that's reasonable. Handheld GPSr units do not have screens big enough to make touch screens practical. Even if a unit has touch screen, the price would be more than mentioned.

Another problem with the PN-20 is the absolute requirement of using Delorme software (Topo USA or XMap) to transfer info to the unit. Delorme MUST work with the folks at GC and GPSBabel and create an interface of some kind to allow sending waypoint info to the PN-20.

[+Krieg's Bones]

I own a Delorme PN-20 and love it and the mapping software that is bundled with it. No touch screen, but I personally would not want a touch screen, so it was not a selling point to me. On sale now for $299. Usually gets me within 5 foot if not standing on the cache. Found one today without any sort of trail, that required a 1/4 mile walk through thick sagebrush and it took me to "THE" one brush I needed.

 

http://www.delorme.com/

 

I'm another PN-20 user. I like it a lot, but it has some problems with user friendliness. I >think< the folks at Delorme are going to turn this into the premere geocaching GPSr, but it's got a long way to go.

As for touch screen in the price range mentioned by the OP, I don't think that's reasonable. Handheld GPSr units do not have screens big enough to make touch screens practical. Even if a unit has touch screen, the price would be more than mentioned.

Another problem with the PN-20 is the absolute requirement of using Delorme software (Topo USA or XMap) to transfer info to the unit. Delorme MUST work with the folks at GC and GPSBabel and create an interface of some kind to allow sending waypoint info to the PN-20.

 

Glad to hear there is at lease one other PN-20 user out there I do agree there was a learning curve to the PN-20 and Topo 7 but our units must be somehow different because I can send waypoint info in either .loc or .gpx directly from the cache page or via pocket queries, to my PN-20 using just the bundled Topo 7. These files include the name, owner, difficulty and terrain rating info, description and hint information which seems to be all the info I have needed. Do other units download other info somehow? I am also then able to keep track of all the caches I visit using a waypoint layer in Topo 7, like the one below.

 

Edited May 31, 2008 by Krieg's Bones

[+Miragee]

We'd like to spend about $200 -$250, we'd love to get something with a touch screen just because they seem like they'd be easier to use....other than that, I have no idea what other requirements we should be looking at.

 

We don't plan on using it for anything else but geocaching.

 

We did try to use my Dad's Nextar but we couldn't enter anything but addresses, no cordinates.

We also tried a friends Etrex Garmin but with no touch screen, it really meant alot of scrolling and flipping through menu's. It wasnt as user friendly to a newbie like us as the Nextar was.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

In your price range, I would look at the Garmin Legend HCx. Then you will have to purchase the City Navigator maps, if you need auto-routing. If you don't need auto-routing, you can get the older Topo maps, which would just fine, on eBay for less money than the newest Topo maps.

 

I have the Vista HCx and once you become familiar with the buttons: Power, Page, Zoom In, Zoom Out, and Menu, it is very user friendly.

[+huntingwithtrolls]

thanks for all the comments, looks like I have some researching to do

[+Crow-T-Robot]

Check out Amazon.com for a Garmin Nuvi 360. Touch-screen, pre-loaded maps and you can access the satellite screen so that you can follow the coordinates to the cache. Price: $230.

 

Bruce

[+Morning Dew]

Another PN-20 user here. If you can stretch your budget a bit, the PN-20 is a geocaching machine. As you will soon discover the Garmin models out number all the other competitors. They've been in the game a long time and make good units.

 

However, with any Garmin you buy you have to factor in the additional price of the software, it ain't cheap.

 

What I love about the PN-20 is that it is in the same class as the Garmin 60SCx, includes the software and can be used for "near" paperless caching (800 character limit).

 

The general concensus is:

 

-the 60SCx is a slight superior unit compared to the PN-20,

-the PN-20 maps are slightly superior to the Garmin maps

-60SCx won't paperless cache

-after buying the Garmin software you'll have a lot more money into the Garmin.

 

If I were in your shoes, I'd wait a month (or whatever it takes) so my budget could go from $250 to $300 and get a PN-20.

Edited June 1, 2008 by Morning Dew

[+briansnat]

The only hand held with a touch screen that I'm aware of is the Magellan Triton, but reports are that it's not a good unit.

 

Automobile units with touch screens like the Garmin Nuvi, Tom Tom and Maestro are not suitable for geocaching. You can get some of them to work for geocaching but most don't have a compass screen and some don't allow you to enter coordinates. They are not physically designed to be held in the hand, battery life is lousy and they aren't waterproof or rugged enough for outdoor use.

[+Krieg's Bones]

Another PN-20 user here. If you can stretch your budget a bit, the PN-20 is a geocaching machine. As you will soon discover the Garmin models out number all the other competitors. They've been in the game a long time and make good units.

 

However, with any Garmin you buy you have to factor in the additional price of the software, it ain't cheap.

 

What I love about the PN-20 is that it is in the same class as the Garmin 60SCx, includes the software and can be used for "near" paperless caching (800 character limit).

 

The general concensus is:

 

-the 60SCx is a slight superior unit compared to the PN-20,

-the PN-20 maps are slightly superior to the Garmin maps

-60SCx won't paperless cache

-after buying the Garmin software you'll have a lot more money into the Garmin.

 

If I were in your shoes, I'd wait a month (or whatever it takes) so my budget could go from $250 to $300 and get a PN-20.

 

You said just what I was trying to say in a far more eloquent manner The only thing I would add is that I have only used a piece of paper one time out of my 113 current caches. I know I am still a newbie but that seems like a good percentage to me anyway.

Edited June 1, 2008 by Krieg's Bones

[+huntingwithtrolls]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

I guess I will be saving up and buying something next month.

 

The paperless feature isn't something I'm looking for. My family wants to keep a geocaching journal. Something where we can right down the cordinates, the date we found it, where we found it as well as a photo of the cache.

[+Krieg's Bones]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

I guess I will be saving up and buying something next month.

 

The paperless feature isn't something I'm looking for. My family wants to keep a geocaching journal. Something where we can right down the cordinates, the date we found it, where we found it as well as a photo of the cache.

 

Just so your aware, all that can be done with a PN-20 and the Topo 7 in a digital format.

[+huntingwithtrolls]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

I guess I will be saving up and buying something next month.

 

The paperless feature isn't something I'm looking for. My family wants to keep a geocaching journal. Something where we can right down the cordinates, the date we found it, where we found it as well as a photo of the cache.

 

Just so your aware, all that can be done with a PN-20 and the Topo 7 in a digital format.

 

Oh wow...okay, I obviously know nothing about GPS's.

 

Thanks for the info

 

We did find our very first two caches today with the use of a friend's GPS. Now the family is hooked and can't wait to get our own unit.

[+Krieg's Bones]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

I guess I will be saving up and buying something next month.

 

The paperless feature isn't something I'm looking for. My family wants to keep a geocaching journal. Something where we can right down the cordinates, the date we found it, where we found it as well as a photo of the cache.

 

Just so your aware, all that can be done with a PN-20 and the Topo 7 in a digital format.

 

Oh wow...okay, I obviously know nothing about GPS's.

 

Thanks for the info

 

 

We did find our very first two caches today with the use of a friend's GPS. Now the family is hooked and can't wait to get our own unit.

 

No problem, hope to have helped. Have fun caching!

Edited June 2, 2008 by Krieg's Bones