Which GPS do I buy?

[pteam]

I want to buy a new GPS. I want a Garmain as it is compatible easily with this site. I have used one a few times before and don't want entry level but also do not want high end. Any suggestion for a colored one which is good in heavy cover?

Thanks

[+Grigorii Rasputin]

I want to buy a new GPS. I want a Garmain as it is compatible easily with this site. I have used one a few times before and don't want entry level but also do not want high end. Any suggestion for a colored one which is good in heavy cover?

Thanks

 

Oh, my friend, you've opened a Pandora's Box!!!!! Definitely consider getting the Garmin GPSMap60cx. It is a wonderful GPSr, works extremely well with GC.Com, and GSAK. It is built like a tank, has a beautiful display, and is VERY reasonably priced.

 

I bought mine at Amazon.com for about $250 a couple of years ago. Good luck and cache safe!!!!

 

Pete

WWW.Glass-cockpit.org

 

http://www.glass-cockpit.org/blog/

 

http://grigoriirasputin.wordpress.com

[Neos2]

I second Grigorii Rasputin's suggestion. The 60 CSx offers the best bang for the buck. There are pricier units that have neat features but lack some useful ones, and less expensive units that offer most of the useful features but tend to be a bit less reliable. I think the 60 CSx is the best unit out there right now for geocaching. Love mine. My husband loved mine so much I bought him one too.

[+briansnat]

I'd go with the 60CSX or the Vista HCX. Very similar in capabilities, but the form factors are very different. The Vista HCX (not the old Vista or Vista C... very different units) is compact and good for backpacking, hiking and any use where small size is important. The 60CSX is better if you want to use it for driving directions because the buttons are on the front, making it easier to operate in a dashboard mount.

[+StarBrand]

The 60CSx has long been considered the best geocaching GPS available. Goes for around $299.

 

On the Higher end - the Garmin Oregon units have a touch screen and full paperless geocaching for about $369 (and up).

 

On the lower end - look at the Garmin eTrex Legend HCx for about $190 or the Venture HC for about $130. The legend has autorouting and expandable memory and 500 more waypoints than the Venture.

[+kraushad]

Love my Vista HCX. It is even reasonable for driving, although we use a Nuvi in the car. I have been very pleased with the features, and usabilitiy and durability. I like the complact size and not having the antenna of the 60CSX sticking up to get in the way. The scren is very bright and extremely clear, although a little smaller than the 60 CSX (which killed me to buy a smaller screen ). I like the clarity more than the size difference.

 

Best thing is too find a store where you can hold them side by side and feel them up a bit. I went to a Gander mountain and was even able to take them outside to try them out with one of the associates (they were slow that night and he offered!).

 

Good luck.

[forexsystemprofi]

Does Garmin GPSMap60cx support removable cards?

 

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Metatrader Expert, Scalping Forex, Forex Trading Systems[/URL]

[+efflandt]

Does Garmin GPSMap60cx support removable cards?

 

Yes the 60Cx has a microSD slot.

 

I just got an eTrex Legend HCx and it seems sensitive and accurate (making repeated tracks to work/home with snap to road disabled). It has less comment space than the 60Cx or CSx, but I also have a Palm TX for more paperless info. The perceived accuracy ring on the display is something I had not experienced before, which gives an idea how accurate it "thinks" it is at the time.

[+Grigorii Rasputin]

Does Garmin GPSMap60cx support removable cards?

 

----

Metatrader Expert, Scalping Forex, Forex Trading Systems[/URL]

 

I threw a 1GB card in my '60cx. I was able to install massive amounts of topographic maps AND still have tons of space left over!

 

Grigorii Rasputin

http://www.glass-cockpit.org

http://grigoriirasputin.wordpress.com

[+Grigorii Rasputin]

I second Grigorii Rasputin's suggestion.

 

You are a person of impeccable taste, education, and quality!

 

You know, even with the Oregon and Colorado coming out, I just couldn't get rid of my 60cx. It's just too good!

 

Cache Safe!

Grigorii Rasputin

http://www.glass-cockpit.org

http://grigoriirasputin.wordpress.com

[DThorn9410]

I bought a Garmin Vista HCx. it's been great.

we just started GCing this last weekend.

took the kids and wife and we found 6 in a couple hours.

 

pretty neat.

now we're going to try it while traveling this holiday season

[Applesot]

I want to start geocaching over Thanksgiving weekend with my sons and my nephews. Is there any place where I can rent a GPS to make sure this is something we'll continue to do? If not, I'll buy one (I have a hunch once you do this you're hooked!) how do I learn how to use it? I don't even know the coordiantes of my own house! Help!

[+Frank Broughton]

I want to start geocaching over Thanksgiving weekend with my sons and my nephews. Is there any place where I can rent a GPS to make sure this is something we'll continue to do? If not, I'll buy one (I have a hunch once you do this you're hooked!) how do I learn how to use it? I don't even know the coordiantes of my own house! Help!

 

Yes, do a google search for "rent gps"

[California Surveyor]

opps, posted twice. Where's the full delete button?

Edited November 21, 2008 by California Surveyor

[California Surveyor]

Well, I guess I could help by saying which GPS I wouldn't buy again.

I bought the Garmin Venture HC about a week ago. This being my first gps purchase. The learning curve took me about a day. On my first geocache find I also found two things right off I didn't like about this unit.

1) When in the seach mode for the geocache it is way to easy to accidently press FOUND on the rocker nob. This screwed me up pretty good.

2) The compass only works while the gps unit is in movement. No magnetic compass. This is not a biggy, I just used my old work horse 'Siva Ranger' hand compass.

 

But then for $115usd it's still an awsome unit. All software worked very well yet the 'MapSource' could use some work.

 

So, whada buy?

[geohone]

i have a garmin 120 gps that is also a radio. will that do the job. or need upgrade?

[+briansnat]

i have a garmin 120 gps that is also a radio. will that do the job. or need upgrade?

 

I think you mean the Garmin Rino 120. It will work just fine for geocaching.

[+stevo_the_saddler]

As another Newbie to this, can I add further questions. Currently I am using my Mobile Phone (Nokie E71) which works just fine, and I have "unlimited data" so doesn't cost me to use the geocaching software whilst out and about. 2 questions... when I go abroad, it would cost me a fortune to use - do I need to be "online" to use my phone as GPS??? Secondly, should I decide to get a GPS device, is there a good one that will also but useful whilst skiing (for speed, distance, altitude etc.)?

[+gcfishguy]

If you're patient, you'll watch the classifieds, or kijiji or whatever online classifieds you have local to you.

 

I picked up a brand new 60CSx, for $155. it was shipped to the seller for a specific purpose, and it wouldn't do what he needed it to do. He needed the golfing unit, and it was $155...so that's what he sold the 60CSx for, and he was aware of the retail price on the CSx.

 

I learned my lesson with cheaping out, so I always pass it along. Save up the money and spend the extra to get what you WANT. I started with a yellow, then a Venture, then a Legend HCx, then the 60CSx.

Right from the get-go, I drooled over the 60CSx, and had I just saved up and bought it, I'd be ahead money. But, all my co-workers would have gotten such good deals on used GPS units either.

 

And not sure if you knew, (someone else asked also) The H stands for the high sensitivity chip, the X means expandable memory (micro SD) and C stands for colour. Most already know that, but for new buyers, it makes it easier when comparing models.

 

I'd recommend the Legend HCx, or the 60CSX. If you're the basic type and just want to hit go-to and find a cache and don't need maps and everything, just go and buy a new Yellow. Essentially, a cheap yellow is every bit as accurate as an expensive model. The expensive models have more frills, but when you get down to it, all you really need is an arrow that points you in the right direction.

[+jcrowson]

Just getting started as well. I think my wife is getting me a hand held GPS for Christmas. I looked at the Megellin 300 at Walmart. Is this model user friendly and accurate? If not that model, what do you recommend for about $200? Thanks.

[smokintony]

Just getting started as well. I think my wife is getting me a hand held GPS for Christmas. I looked at the Megellin 300 at Walmart. Is this model user friendly and accurate? If not that model, what do you recommend for about $200? Thanks.

the magellans are not compatable with the geocaching.com website ,,, you wont be able to download the caches directly to your gps .. you have to manually load them.. i bought a magellan 500 triton and it wasnt very accurate;; i took it back and got a garmin e trex venture hc,, it works good ,, but dont keep all the cache info like the better models

[+jcrowson]

Just getting started as well. I think my wife is getting me a hand held GPS for Christmas. I looked at the Megellin 300 at Walmart. Is this model user friendly and accurate? If not that model, what do you recommend for about $200? Thanks.

the magellans are not compatable with the geocaching.com website ,,, you wont be able to download the caches directly to your gps .. you have to manually load them.. i bought a magellan 500 triton and it wasnt very accurate;; i took it back and got a garmin e trex venture hc,, it works good ,, but dont keep all the cache info like the better models

Thanks for the great info, however, my wife has already bought me one for Christmas. I get it Christmas morning. However, I know it's a Magellan. It's a Triton 400 with topo maps, SD card and according to the box already has the cache sites loaded. Hopefully this GPS will be more accurate than yours. Thanks again for the advice and help

[+Wild Thing 73]

60CSx

[+iztok]

I have Blackberry Bold with geocaching software that works pretty well. At least it got me hooked

 

With TomTom and BBB I can get driving directions and pretty close to the cache. However I am looking for something fairly inexpensive to supplement this. Something to get coordinates (manually is fine) in at the last minute for those rainy last few hundred yards. (Or through the woods etc.)

[Neos2]

Just getting started as well. I think my wife is getting me a hand held GPS for Christmas. I looked at the Megellin 300 at Walmart. Is this model user friendly and accurate? If not that model, what do you recommend for about $200? Thanks.

the magellans are not compatable with the geocaching.com website ,,, you wont be able to download the caches directly to your gps .. you have to manually load them.. i bought a magellan 500 triton and it wasnt very accurate;; i took it back and got a garmin e trex venture hc,, it works good ,, but dont keep all the cache info like the better models

Thanks for the great info, however, my wife has already bought me one for Christmas. I get it Christmas morning. However, I know it's a Magellan. It's a Triton 400 with topo maps, SD card and according to the box already has the cache sites loaded. Hopefully this GPS will be more accurate than yours. Thanks again for the advice and help

Bolding is mine. That would be "already has preloaded points of interest" which are places like gas stations, zoos, hotels, restaurants, etc. That is a handy feature of most gps's with maps. We use it all the time.

 

I hope you like your Magellan, but it not one I would have recommended.

[+briansnat]

Just getting started as well. I think my wife is getting me a hand held GPS for Christmas. I looked at the Megellin 300 at Walmart. Is this model user friendly and accurate? If not that model, what do you recommend for about $200? Thanks.

the magellans are not compatable with the geocaching.com website ,,, you wont be able to download the caches directly to your gps .. you have to manually load them.. i bought a magellan 500 triton and it wasnt very accurate;; i took it back and got a garmin e trex venture hc,, it works good ,, but dont keep all the cache info like the better models

Thanks for the great info, however, my wife has already bought me one for Christmas. I get it Christmas morning. However, I know it's a Magellan. It's a Triton 400 with topo maps, SD card and according to the box already has the cache sites loaded. Hopefully this GPS will be more accurate than yours. Thanks again for the advice and help

 

A Triton? Does your wife dislike you or something? Seriously, read up on the Tritons in the GPS Units and Technology forum.They are not good units. I'm sure your wife has time to exchange it before Christmas.

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

HI!!

 

I see that there are some strong opinions in terms of Garmin, Magellan, Delorme etc. But, I'm a total newbie and I would just like to know something. I hope there's an easy answer! Y'all are throwing out terms I don't know and can't think of right now. Downloading this to that, GSAK (?), Topo, send to GPS ya de ya da.

 

Is there an easy answer to this: What handheld GPSr is paperless? Is that what that Send to Garmin GPS (or whatever) button is? You get the coordinates? Map? Clues? Etc? THAT would be awesome, whichever GPSr can do that is what I want. I don't need fancy aerial stuff for now, but I would like to not have to carry paper around and also just be able to pick up a few if I happen to be in a different neighborhood. I can just grab my GPS out of my purse and get a couple caches!

 

Right now I have a Garmin 260W that, as far as I can tell, you have to punch in the coordinates. Which is just fine for now, but maybe I would like to make it easier for myself in the future!

 

Thanks for any help on this!

Sweetpea3

[+briansnat]

HI!!

 

I see that there are some strong opinions in terms of Garmin, Magellan, Delorme etc. But, I'm a total newbie and I would just like to know something. I hope there's an easy answer! Y'all are throwing out terms I don't know and can't think of right now. Downloading this to that, GSAK (?), Topo, send to GPS ya de ya da.

 

Is there an easy answer to this: What handheld GPSr is paperless? Is that what that Send to Garmin GPS (or whatever) button is? You get the coordinates? Map? Clues? Etc? THAT would be awesome, whichever GPSr can do that is what I want. I don't need fancy aerial stuff for now, but I would like to not have to carry paper around and also just be able to pick up a few if I happen to be in a different neighborhood. I can just grab my GPS out of my purse and get a couple caches!

 

Right now I have a Garmin 260W that, as far as I can tell, you have to punch in the coordinates. Which is just fine for now, but maybe I would like to make it easier for myself in the future!

 

Thanks for any help on this!

Sweetpea3

 

The Garmin Colorado and Oregon will do what you want. I'd say go with the Oregon because its a bit better than the Colorado, but either will show the entire cache page.

[+Team GeoBlast]

Just getting started as well. I think my wife is getting me a hand held GPS for Christmas. I looked at the Megellin 300 at Walmart. Is this model user friendly and accurate? If not that model, what do you recommend for about $200? Thanks.

the magellans are not compatable with the geocaching.com website ,,, you wont be able to download the caches directly to your gps .. you have to manually load them.. i bought a magellan 500 triton and it wasnt very accurate;; i took it back and got a garmin e trex venture hc,, it works good ,, but dont keep all the cache info like the better models

Thanks for the great info, however, my wife has already bought me one for Christmas. I get it Christmas morning. However, I know it's a Magellan. It's a Triton 400 with topo maps, SD card and according to the box already has the cache sites loaded. Hopefully this GPS will be more accurate than yours. Thanks again for the advice and help

 

I've owned a Magellan Color and an Garmin eTrex, and now a 60csx.

 

You can Geocache fine with the Magellan, but I did have a lot more difficulty with certain things. For example, it was not USB compatible and I had to use some serious after market cables to get it to talk to my PC. It worked just as good as my Garmin, except in when I did not have an unobstructed sky. This prize goes to both Garmins hands down but the top performer is the 60csx in this category. The Garmin is also much more suited to hiking and the pounding that I give it.

 

I do need to pass on some bad news to you before you open the box. Your Magellan is not preloaded with Geocaches. Think about that for a minute. The availability of Geocaches is something that changes daily in most places. You'll need to get a program such as Easy GPS or GSAK to load current cache information into your unit before setting out. Another discussion is where you keep your cache page data and how that is updated. Search Cachemate and you'll find some information that will be useful.

[+holbea]

Thanks to everyone that has posted on this thread and others. I went geocaching with friends a few weeks ago and was hooked.

 

It has taken me time to research which unit to buy and all of your comments have helped. I think the advice I would give is if at all possible to go out with someone and see what they are using. You will then have something to benchmark against. Having seen what a friend was using really helped me when I was looking at features as I then has some idea of what they did.

 

At the end of the day I went with the Garmin Oregon 300 as I felt that it had everything I would need without the need to take lots of paper.

 

I did a lot of research on price too. Make sure you shop around as prices vary enormously! At the moment (at least in the UK) Amazon has by far the best deals. The 300 was £243 with free delivery when the nearest I could get even on Ebay was £250 plus p&p... am now eagerly awaiting delivery!

[+KJcachers]

Take a look at the DeLorme Pn-20 or PN-40 series. Compare to the 60CSx features and costs. either way would be a good choice but the PN-20's can be found for $150 now that the PN-40 was just released. I saw the PN-40 on Amazon for $289.99. DeLormes are map rich and now have downloadable aerial imagery as well as USGS Quad Topo maps. In a couple weeks there will be a new software release that makes it super geocache friendly along with a free Cache Register software interface for loading caches directly to the GPSr.

[+raslas]

We started out with a Magellan Explorist and it worked fine. It is actually our daughters and we wanted one of our own so we bought a Garmin Oregon and we love it. The paperless feature is awesome. It is also much more user friendly than the Explorist.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I want to buy a new GPS. I want a Garmain as it is compatible easily with this site. I have used one a few times before and don't want entry level but also do not want high end. Any suggestion for a colored one which is good in heavy cover?

Thanks

buy the most expensive one that you can afford

[drdimento]

I personally L-O-V-E the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx and on Black Friday (actually I went Saturday) it was $299.99 for the bundle. I just wished I knew more about maps and what to do there (

[+briansnat]

I personally L-O-V-E the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx and on Black Friday (actually I went Saturday) it was $299.99 for the bundle. I just wished I knew more about maps and what to do there (

 

You just load them to your unit. Install the map software on your PC, hook up your GPS. Then using the "map tool" (the funny shaped icon to the left of the magnifying glass) highlight the map segments you want to load to your unit by clicking on them. Keep in mind the capacity of your unit's SD card. The lower left hand corner of the page will tell you the cumulative sized of your selected maps, so make sure it's less than the capacity of your SD card.

 

After you've selected the desired map segments, select Transfer to GPS and you're set.

 

Note you will need to install the USB drivers for your unit before your PC can talk to it. The drivers come on the CD that came with your GPS, or you can get them from Garmin's website.