First GPS - Garmin Legend HCX or Nuvi 2xx

[Oracleman]

Hi, I want to go buy myself my first gps, but I am torn in two. For one big reason - money. I am a bit strapped for money at the moment and dont know how much money I am willing to spend on a GPS. I hope someone can make up my mind for me quickly so that I go out and go buy it.

 

I have recently become interested ni geocaching, but havnt found my first cach yet. So I want to get a GPS and try my hand at it. Maybe I wont have the time to go geocaching frequently so I also want a GPS for use later in my life when I go traveling and want to find my way around new places or cities or when I want to travel to other places.

 

I know if I want to have a gps for road and geocaching I would be compromising for both.

 

The cheapest handheld GPS with mapping and English function, I can buy here in Taiwan is the Garmin Legend HCx, and then the VISTA one that is a little bit more expensive. The Legend one is already a little bit above my budget, so I was wondering I should rather buy a NUVI 2xx for my first GPS. I dont have a car at this moment, but would definately get one within a year or two and I will travel to many countries in the meanwhile.

 

What I cant decide now is to just buy the cheaper Nuvi 200 for my first gps. Its almost 50% cheaper than the Legend and I can use it for casual geocaching and travel when I get a car or when I travel around on my motorcycle. Or I can just be broke for a month or two and fork out more money for a Legend handheld and it would be better for geocaching, can also use it for traveling although the screen is much smaller and no voice prompts.

 

1) What would you recommend for me?

 

2) How accurate is a NUVI offroad? A lot less acurate than handheld ones like the Legend?

 

3) Would it be better to buy a travel NUVI kind of GPS for both travel and geocaching or be better to buy a Legend for both travel and geocaching? Which way to go for hybrid? (I dont know if I would really like geocaching or do that really that often, but I guess a travel one you could aways use, but the handheld one can also be used for traveling if you really get lost sometimes.)

 

4) How much better is the VISTA compared to the Legend. How much would the electronic compass and alititude meter help me, or can I just buy an real compass? I realy dont want to spend so much more money for the VISTA

 

Could someone please make up my mind for me, because I am torn in two and I want to go buy the GPS tonight or tomorrow.

 

P.S. I live in taiwan, here are not many garmin places where I can find a great selection and also the people cant speak english very good to tell me about everything so I need to rely on you guys for guidance, hehe.

[MtnHermit]

I own a Venture Cx and a Nuvi 205W, each is very different.

 

The Venture is easy to read in any light, bright or dark, the Nuvi is very difficult to see in bright light. OTOH, the Nuvi touchscreen is a delight to use whereas the buttons of the Venture are a bit of a pain.

 

The road turning beeps of the Venture are basically inaudiable where the speaker with voice directions of the Nuvi is great.

 

Battery life, 5+ hrs Nuvi, 30+ hrs Venture.

 

HTH

[Oracleman]

So how accurate would the handheld ones be compared to the Nuvi 200? If I want to use my gps for both travel and geocaching occationally, which one should I buy for my first GPS?

[+Team MnMizzou]

Personally I would get a GPS geared for what you are wanting to do. The Legend will stand up to the abuses of hiking, biking, however you plan to get to caches, and is designed with the off road world in mind. The Nuvi's are designed more for vehicle use. I personally have a 60Cx that I added the routable maps to and love that combo. It is designed primarily for off road/trail/caching use, but has the versatility of doing what Nuvi's do (minus the voice, it just beeps instead which I actually like better) I use it quite often to get around unfamiliar cities and I never worry about it when I go caching. Either way the only "accessory" I would recommend is a screen protector. Someone else can name the company that always advertises on the side of the gc.com pages, but those things are worth their weight in gold.

[Oracleman]

Personally I would get a GPS geared for what you are wanting to do. The Legend will stand up to the abuses of hiking, biking, however you plan to get to caches, and is designed with the off road world in mind. The Nuvi's are designed more for vehicle use. I personally have a 60Cx that I added the routable maps to and love that combo. It is designed primarily for off road/trail/caching use, but has the versatility of doing what Nuvi's do (minus the voice, it just beeps instead which I actually like better) I use it quite often to get around unfamiliar cities and I never worry about it when I go caching. Either way the only "accessory" I would recommend is a screen protector. Someone else can name the company that always advertises on the side of the gc.com pages, but those things are worth their weight in gold.

 

Thanks a lot for the advice. How important is it to have the electronic compass? WOuld I be okay without one, and can I just buy a normal compass as a substitute? thanks

[+DENelson83]

The electronic compass can really help you when you reach the cache site, to get a better pin-down on the target coordinates in heavy tree cover.

 

And personally, I prefer having a GPS with an integrated magnetic compass, 'cuz it means one fewer thing to carry with me.

Edited October 9, 2008 by DENelson83

[modelbuilder1701]

I bought the Legend HCx three days ago at Best Buy for $189.

 

It came in a bundle that included City Navigator 2008 DVD and a free upgrade to City Navigator 2009 (worth $200 alone). Windshield mount, wrist strap, belt strap, USB cord, and 128mb sd card.

 

I used it on the road.....awesome...easy to read for such a small screen. I used it hiking....awesome stuff!

 

I also found my first geocache as well!

 

I'll be buying the new topo maps in the next month as well....so I can go explore the desert!

 

I would go with the Legend HCx....great bang for the buck.

Edited October 9, 2008 by modelbuilder1701

[TillaMurphs]

, so I was wondering I should rather buy a NUVI 2xx for my first GPS.

If you opt for the NUVI, make sure you get a NUVI 2xxW and not a 2xx. The widescreen model (W) allows you to see a satellite screen with real-time display of the coordinates. That is important for finding caches.

(The 2xx only allows a single "snapshot" of coordinates.)

 

Good luck.

[Oracleman]

Thanks for the advice everyone. You made up my mind for me. I went to buy the the Legend HCX, but they didnt have it in stock and I got the VISTA HCX for a good bargain with taiwan's detailed maps in English and South Africas detail maps. I'm really impressed with it so far. I think I am going to try load some caches on it now and go find some. Thanks again.