love4god Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I just took the kids and my wife geocaching for the first time on Saturday and we all had a ball. We borrowed my dad's gps but now everyone wants to go again this week and maybe this weekend, so it looks like we may have a new family hobby. Now I'm gps shopping, reading teh forums, checking reviews, etc.. However, I have an older Tom Tom that I've used for years but it's starting to go. Battery is going, screen is all messed up, etc.. Is there a unit that does both really well? Where i can load topo maps, gps locations, but then also get great turn by turn directions and routing in my car on a big enough screen for driving and mounting on the windshield? But also durable enough to handle caching and the hiking we do in the summers? Quote Link to comment
+pklong911 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I just took the kids and my wife geocaching for the first time on Saturday and we all had a ball. We borrowed my dad's gps but now everyone wants to go again this week and maybe this weekend, so it looks like we may have a new family hobby. Now I'm gps shopping, reading teh forums, checking reviews, etc.. However, I have an older Tom Tom that I've used for years but it's starting to go. Battery is going, screen is all messed up, etc.. Is there a unit that does both really well? Where i can load topo maps, gps locations, but then also get great turn by turn directions and routing in my car on a big enough screen for driving and mounting on the windshield? But also durable enough to handle caching and the hiking we do in the summers? Though I don't have the street mapping, yet, so far (only a week) the Garmin Oregon 300 is fitting the bill. I did a lot of debating and went for it. So far I find it to be great! Sure the screen could be a little brighter, but I have yet to go dadgum wish I didn't get this. I would assume that it would do turn by turn ok as I believe it was based partly on the nuvi, someone correct me if I'm wrong. I love the paperless caching or the Oregon and the pocket queries! If you want the topo I would either go the 400T or get the 300 and add any of the maps you want in higher resolution etc. Quote Link to comment
+pklong911 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I just took the kids and my wife geocaching for the first time on Saturday and we all had a ball. We borrowed my dad's gps but now everyone wants to go again this week and maybe this weekend, so it looks like we may have a new family hobby. Now I'm gps shopping, reading teh forums, checking reviews, etc.. However, I have an older Tom Tom that I've used for years but it's starting to go. Battery is going, screen is all messed up, etc.. Is there a unit that does both really well? Where i can load topo maps, gps locations, but then also get great turn by turn directions and routing in my car on a big enough screen for driving and mounting on the windshield? But also durable enough to handle caching and the hiking we do in the summers? Though I don't have the street mapping, yet, so far (only a week) the Garmin Oregon 300 is fitting the bill. I did a lot of debating and went for it. So far I find it to be great! Sure the screen could be a little brighter, but I have yet to go dadgum wish I didn't get this. I would assume that it would do turn by turn ok as I believe it was based partly on the nuvi, someone correct me if I'm wrong. I love the paperless caching or the Oregon and the pocket queries! If you want the topo I would either go the 400T or get the 300 and add any of the maps you want in higher resolution etc. Quote Link to comment
+pklong911 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I just took the kids and my wife geocaching for the first time on Saturday and we all had a ball. We borrowed my dad's gps but now everyone wants to go again this week and maybe this weekend, so it looks like we may have a new family hobby. Now I'm gps shopping, reading teh forums, checking reviews, etc.. However, I have an older Tom Tom that I've used for years but it's starting to go. Battery is going, screen is all messed up, etc.. Is there a unit that does both really well? Where i can load topo maps, gps locations, but then also get great turn by turn directions and routing in my car on a big enough screen for driving and mounting on the windshield? But also durable enough to handle caching and the hiking we do in the summers? Though I don't have the street mapping, yet, so far (only a week) the Garmin Oregon 300 is fitting the bill. I did a lot of debating and went for it. So far I find it to be great! Sure the screen could be a little brighter, but I have yet to go dadgum wish I didn't get this. I would assume that it would do turn by turn ok as I believe it was based partly on the nuvi, someone correct me if I'm wrong. I love the paperless caching or the Oregon and the pocket queries! If you want the topo I would either go the 400T or get the 300 and add any of the maps you want in higher resolution etc. Quote Link to comment
+pklong911 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Oops, sorry about the post post post...I timed out and guess everything hickuped. :-) Quote Link to comment
+fourbeer Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I have the Oregon as well. It functions really well as a automobile router. It does not have voice commands, but I never liked inanimate things ordering me around. Quote Link to comment
+Hrethgir Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 If you don't need voice, then the Garmin Oregon and DeLorme PN-40 can both route you on the road and then get you to the cache. I plan on using my PN-40 for navigation on my motorcycle this summer. But for in the car, I'd rather have voice commands so I don't have to look at the screen. Really, if you are looking for one unit to do both, you'll be coming up short in one area or the other: OR and PN-40 are good for caching, OK for nav (like I said, I like voice propts), while the Nuvi is good for navigation, and while it can get you to a cache, it isn't as easy or user-friendly as a dedicated handheld. I think the best idea is to have one for each use, otherwise you might not be happy with it half the time. I have a Legend HXc and DeLorme PN-40 for caching, and a Navigon and Garmin Streetpilot for navigating, and it works well like this. I can even load the caches into the Streetpilot and then it can navigate me close to the cache, then after I park, I use a handheld to get me the rest of the way Quote Link to comment
KansasComet Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 You have a couple of options. Option 1: You can get the Garmin 500 or 550, both of which look like the normal GPS you're used to for driving. Both models are also built for geocaching. You can go to geocaching.com, find your cache(s) and download them into the GPS easily. You can then pick which geocache you want to go to on the menus and it will give you turn-by-turn directions -- much easier than using the compass. http://gpsmagazine.com/2008/07/garmin_nuvi_500_review.php Option 2: Read only if you have a newer, 3G iPhone. Go to the iTunes App Store and download the geocaching.com app. You can then use a *very* cool feature that allows you to do "real-time" geocaches: http://www.geocaching.com/iphone/ Enjoy! Quote Link to comment
+Maingray Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) Oregon + City Navigator. Like a mini Nuvi on your handheld. It's a VERY good road navigator. When mounted on a windscreen the large touchscreen fits the bill very well. PN-40 is dire at auto-routing, little POI coverage and topo-extracted roads so they are often 1)in wrong place 2) not tabulated for things like one-way. Good hiking unit, bad all round unit. By design. Edited March 10, 2009 by Maingray Quote Link to comment
+Redwoods Mtn Biker Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I agree. Oregon + City Navigator. Even better would be a cheap nuvi AND a handheld. Quote Link to comment
+kallt_kaffe Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) I agree. Oregon + City Navigator. Even better would be a cheap nuvi AND a handheld. I recently went that road. Teamed up my Nüvi 255 with an eTrex Legend HCx. The Nüvi is great for car navigation and for the paperless part (using the advanced Nuvi macro and spoilersync). No so good when it comes to battery life and in bad weather conditions. Still works better than expected for caching even though it lacks WAAS/EGNOS support. Have only done two caches so far with the Legend HCx but I like it so far. I can control it with one hand and muggles will hopefully think that I'm doing something with a mobile phone. Accurancy is better than the Nüvi and I don't have to be afraid to accidently drop it in the snow (of which we have plenty at the moment). Still, I'd love to replace them with an Oregon 300, if and only if, I would be 100% certain that it would do the job aswell or better. At the moment there seems to be issues with the Oregon. I'm following the beta firmware threads in this forums, hopeing that they will one day get it right. Edited March 11, 2009 by kallt_kaffe Quote Link to comment
+Zinnware Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I have an Oregon 400t , 60csx, etc. and recently used the Nuvi 500 for geocaching too over the last week I am impressed with the Nuvi 500 especially if you will be using it mainly for driving and sometimes for Geocaching. Here is my comparison of the Nuvi 500 against the Oregon 400t, and 60csx. http://zinnware.com/HighAdv/Geocaching/GPS_Comparison.pdf Quote Link to comment
+neillyle Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I just took the kids and my wife geocaching for the first time on Saturday and we all had a ball. We borrowed my dad's gps but now everyone wants to go again this week and maybe this weekend, so it looks like we may have a new family hobby. Now I'm gps shopping, reading teh forums, checking reviews, etc.. However, I have an older Tom Tom that I've used for years but it's starting to go. Battery is going, screen is all messed up, etc.. Is there a unit that does both really well? Where i can load topo maps, gps locations, but then also get great turn by turn directions and routing in my car on a big enough screen for driving and mounting on the windshield? But also durable enough to handle caching and the hiking we do in the summers? I've found the Nuvi 500 to be a very good compromise between a driving and a hiking / geocaching GPS. Pros, - The amount of information that can be down loaded for geocaching, - Waterproof, - Size of the screen, - Ease of switching between walking and driving modes. Quote Link to comment
+wrkn2mch Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I have an Oregon 400t , 60csx, etc. and recently used the Nuvi 500 for geocaching too over the last week I am impressed with the Nuvi 500 especially if you will be using it mainly for driving and sometimes for Geocaching. Here is my comparison of the Nuvi 500 against the Oregon 400t, and 60csx. http://zinnware.com/HighAdv/Geocaching/GPS_Comparison.pdf Very good chart you made..... I was looking for a friend at the nuvi 500 as he also want for car navigation and geo and your chart came at the right time. Found the nuvi 500 today for $254 thnx, Joe Nuvi 500 http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-500-3-5-Inch-...8748&sr=8-1 Quote Link to comment
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