Can’t even call myself a newbie yet….

[+GeoJaneys]

OK, so I’ve never even held a GPS unit in my hand, but I’m super excited about geocaching! I’ve looked at so many GPS units that I'm flustered.

 

Here’s my situation:

My husband is “careful” with our money. If I start with a used or entry level GPS, I’ll never get to upgrade. So, I need as many bells and whistles that I can get for under $200.

 

I’m looking for a somewhat durable GPS unit to be used primarily for geocaching with 2 toddlers.

My must have features are: good battery life, USB interface, SD card slot.

 

Automatic routing, an electronic compass, and paperless caching would all be great bonus features, but I wouldn’t pay extra for them.

 

These are the units I've been looking at, am I headed in the right direction?

eTrex Vista HCx, (found one for $193.00) or eTrex Legend HCx ($187)

And, the Magellan Triton 400 ($186)

PN-20, ($140) but can’t find any info on the battery life, or if it has automatic routing.

 

Finally, I’m confused with the mapping. It seems as though most come with basemaps. Is that all I need? Should I be budgeting for more maps?

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[+StarBrand]

The Garmin units are all going to need addtional maps. The basemaps show only major roads and are not terribly useful. Figure about $90 for the CityNav maps.

 

The Delorme unit's strength is mapping - it comes with all you will need, however the pn20 is harder to learn to use (mapping software) than the Garmin's and is quite slow when re-drawing some maps. Also some users report short battery life (less than 6 hours).

 

Of the ones you have listed - I would steer you toward the Garmin Vista HCx. Then save up for the maps. You do not "need" them for Geocaching but they sure can make it easier.

[+Chi-Town Cacher]

Hi! I'm certainly not an expert on GPS units so I just want to give you a couple examples of why I love my Vista HCx. First when you call Garmin customer service you get to talk to an American who speaks English! I have nothing against people from foriegn countries and enjoy meeting new people, but when I need support I want to be able to understand what the customer service rep is saying and to have them understand me. I've called for support twice and was thrilled with the service I received. In case you're wondering the reasons I called for support was for silly new user questions not for anything that was wrong with the unit.

 

The other reason I love my Vista HCx is that within a week of getting it I set it on top of the roof of my car, forgot about it and drove off. Well at about 45 MPH I heard it bounce off my trunk, stopped the car and went back to pick up the pieces. I couldn't believe my eyes not only was it in one piece, but it also still worked like when I took it out of the package.

 

OK, that's all I have to share and I'll let the experts with lots more experience than me steer you towards the right unit for you. Good luck on hunting for a GPS and welcome to the hobby!!!!

P.S. Don't forget when you're ready to start geocaching to read some of the posts in the Getting Started forum that give advise on the best ways to start geocaching. They'll really help you avoid having a lot of frustrations.

[+mrbort]

As the previous poster mentioned, the garmin units are very durable. Garmin actually donated over twenty of their basic legend devices (at the drop of the hat, very generous) to us for a pilot program that we are doing in Guatemala. These lil units can take a LOT of abuse based on what I've seen our staff do to them. I had one with me all the time strapped to the handlebars of my motorcycle all the time down there in some very rough areas and it can sure take a beating. I have only limited experience with their newer handhelds like you're describing but from what I've seen, they seem much more capable and with their more accurate chipset you should be good to go I don't know much about the other two but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a garmin.

[+Buildingblocks]

I picked up our Garmin Legend HCx and maps for $200 on ebay- it is possible. This is our first gps with maps and let me tell you, it makes all the difference. If you search Legend HCx (or whichever model you are looking for) with the word 'bundle' it will include the mapping software. I wound up paying just $40 more doing it this way rather than buying the maps seperately. HTH!

[+Damin69]

OK, so I’ve never even held a GPS unit in my hand, but I’m super excited about geocaching! I’ve looked at so many GPS units that I'm flustered.

 

Here’s my situation:

My husband is “careful” with our money. If I start with a used or entry level GPS, I’ll never get to upgrade. So, I need as many bells and whistles that I can get for under $200.

 

I’m looking for a somewhat durable GPS unit to be used primarily for geocaching with 2 toddlers.

My must have features are: good battery life, USB interface, SD card slot.

 

Automatic routing, an electronic compass, and paperless caching would all be great bonus features, but I wouldn’t pay extra for them.

 

These are the units I've been looking at, am I headed in the right direction?

eTrex Vista HCx, (found one for $193.00) or eTrex Legend HCx ($187)

And, the Magellan Triton 400 ($186)

PN-20, ($140) but can’t find any info on the battery life, or if it has automatic routing.

 

Finally, I’m confused with the mapping. It seems as though most come with basemaps. Is that all I need? Should I be budgeting for more maps?

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Well for your budget a GPS with all the features plus auto routing maps built in the Delorme PN-20 is a great unit. Though the battery life is not great use some of the money you save and pick up a bunch of Rechargeables. I just bought this unit as a back up and would consider it very good unit that does not need upgrades. Though the battery life is nothin near what my Gramin 60CSx has but I am not going to hold that against it I just am makeing sure I carry extra spare batteries. Other than that as far as your list of units you are looking at stay away from the Magellan. The Garmins you have listed are all good units but would require extra cost for maps if you want to use them to do Onroad Auto Routing. Good luck!!!

[+GeoJaneys]

This is great info!! I never would have thought to budget that much for maps. I'm planning to get a Garmin and saving for maps or getting a good deal on the bundle. And, the durability can't be beat. It sounds like when one kid throws it at the other kid it'll be OK.

 

The PN-20 sounds perfect map wise but the battery power makes me nervous. I imagine myself in the middle of no where ,with 2 crazy toddlers running around, looking at a dead GPS with my husband and I saying "You brought the extra batteries, right? No, I thought you did. No, I thought you did." You know how that ends. We'll never be too far with the kids, and we'll always try to pack batteries, but it still worries me.

 

Thanks again for all of your help!

Once spring actually decides to arrive and stay here in Minnesota (it's snowing today!) we'll be ready to head out!

[+briansnat]

This is great info!! I never would have thought to budget that much for maps. I'm planning to get a Garmin and saving for maps or getting a good deal on the bundle. And, the durability can't be beat. It sounds like when one kid throws it at the other kid it'll be OK.

 

The PN-20 sounds perfect map wise but the battery power makes me nervous. I imagine myself in the middle of no where ,with 2 crazy toddlers running around, looking at a dead GPS with my husband and I saying "You brought the extra batteries, right? No, I thought you did. No, I thought you did." You know how that ends. We'll never be too far with the kids, and we'll always try to pack batteries, but it still worries me.

 

Thanks again for all of your help!

Once spring actually decides to arrive and stay here in Minnesota (it's snowing today!) we'll be ready to head out!

 

The PN20 can be a nice deal but if you want it in part for routing in your vehicle forget it. First off, it's reputation is that it's real slow so by the time it tells you to turn you can blow right by it. I have the PN40 which is faster, but the Delorme autorouting is quite primitive compared to Garmin's. It misses many nuances in the roads like jughandles, sends you over some strange routes and I can't for the life of me figure out how to key in an address (well I can but it never finds them).

 

And it does eat batteries like potato chips. Not a major issue if you get yourself a charger and a quiver of rechargeable AAs.

 

For what you want I'd say go with the Vista HCX, then see if maybe you can get City Navigator for a birthday, anniversary or Christmas present.

[+TomToad]

This is great info!! I never would have thought to budget that much for maps. I'm planning to get a Garmin and saving for maps or getting a good deal on the bundle. And, the durability can't be beat. It sounds like when one kid throws it at the other kid it'll be OK.

 

The PN-20 sounds perfect map wise but the battery power makes me nervous. I imagine myself in the middle of no where ,with 2 crazy toddlers running around, looking at a dead GPS with my husband and I saying "You brought the extra batteries, right? No, I thought you did. No, I thought you did." You know how that ends. We'll never be too far with the kids, and we'll always try to pack batteries, but it still worries me.

 

Thanks again for all of your help!

Once spring actually decides to arrive and stay here in Minnesota (it's snowing today!) we'll be ready to head out!

I have the DeLorme PN-20. I believe there is more than one bundle, but the one I got was this. http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtd...p;section=10106

It comes with pre-cut maps, and the Orlando region has been very thorough. You can also add more roads with the included software, if there is a small road or access way that is missing. It also comes with a coupon for $100 in additional maps, which can be additional basemaps, aerial photos, satellite photos, topography maps, etc... For $30 a year, you can get an unlimited subscription to all the maps you want.

 

The street mapping is pretty decent. Not as good as a GPS dedicated for that purpose, but so far, I only had it twice send me in a not so optimal path. Both times it was to a park area which did not have a clearly defined entrance. The DeLorme got me to the park, but only to discover that I'm at a gated utility entrance, instead of the main entrance. Otherwise, it has been great at providing me with a path. Also, it can take up to 2 minutes before deciding on a route, not good if you need to know how to get from point A to point B NOW! The DeLorme will sound a beep when you are about a block away from the street and again when you are almost at the turn. It is a little quiet so you might miss the sound in background noise. I prefer to just read off the next street I need to turn and about how far away it is, then look for the street when I'm in the area. Also I leave it on the compass screen, the compass arrow will actually follow the road as you are driving, so if it points forward, you know you are on the right road.

 

Redrawing the map is pretty slow, especially when you are using satellite or aerial maps. If you don't need those and can get by with just the street maps, they can be shut off and back on from the menu. Also, set the GPS to show North always up. It saves on the redraw when you are turning in circles. Delorme has solved this problem partly by updating the arrow as you move, then redrawing the map when the arrow gets to the edge, instead of leaving the arrow centered and moving the entire map each frame. This can be a little annoying when you are trying to get somewhere just on the edge of the map.

 

As for battery life, I can leave at 8am to do some caching, quit at 6pm, and still have at least 1/4 power left on my batteries. I've never actually tested how long the batteries actually last, but Delorme's report of 14 hours seems about right. Much more than 6 hours as some claim. There is an option in the menu for setting the type of battery you are using, and could shorten the life if it is set wrong. That's possibly why some people are getting short battery life on theirs. You should still bring extra batteries no matter which GPS you buy. You never know if you have bought good or bad batteries.

 

Overall, I think the Delorme is a good value for $200, considering all you get with it. I don't have experience with Garmin, so I don't know how it compares with them, but when I went to buy a new GPS, the most comparable Garmin I could find would've cost me another $50 and I'd still need to buy the base maps, which came free with the Delorme.

[+TomToad]

Double Post

Edited April 1, 2009 by TomToad

[+smithdk]

There are free garmin maps available here:

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/

 

I've run these maps on my Garmin VistaHCx and my older Garmin Vista C and they work fine.

 

You can not autoroute on these maps so you would have to pay extra for the maps that can autoroute if you want that.

 

The Vista HCx and Legend HCx do not do paperless caching. However, POIs (Points of Interest) can be loaded that basically loads most of the cache page to the units.

Edited April 1, 2009 by smithdk

[+mantis7]

I love my Garmin, and just want to echo what some others said about them...they are great units....

 

When I got mine, it was just for geocaching...BUT...I ended up getting the mapping software with routing, and WOW...My wife and I love it, and now use it to navigate everywhere...We have used it literally all over the world...Once you use the routing feature you will never EVER want to go back...

 

So, my advice (like others) is to get the garmin and then save up for the maps.

 

You will not be sorry.

[+iamsuperb]

Here's my .02... I tried the Magellan Triton 400. Worked great until I tried to shut it off and turn it back on again. The unit just locked up. I had to remove the batteries to get it back on. I read some forums and apparantly i'm not the only one who has had this problem. I just ordered a Garmin legend Hcx from Costco, delivered for $200. It comes with the car power cord and the windshield mount bundled with it. It has all of the must have features that you require. I will use this unit with my ipod touch to go paperless. Happy hunting!

[+GeoJaneys]

Here's my .02... I tried the Magellan Triton 400. Worked great until I tried to shut it off and turn it back on again. The unit just locked up. I had to remove the batteries to get it back on. I read some forums and apparantly i'm not the only one who has had this problem. I just ordered a Garmin legend Hcx from Costco, delivered for $200. It comes with the car power cord and the windshield mount bundled with it. It has all of the must have features that you require. I will use this unit with my ipod touch to go paperless. Happy hunting!

 

Costco, I never would have thought to look there! Thanks for the tip!

[+BuffaloWill]

The Triton 400 has a lot of negative press. I've been using one without any problems though.

 

It was originally shipped with poor (in my opinion) firmware that Magellan has since upgraded. I don't think the current firmware is as mature as most Garmin products tend to be.

 

It comes with a very basic basemap with its newest firmware. The basemap has the state highways in my area but not much more. The Adventure Pack bundle that you can buy comes with National Geographic's TOPO! software. It has good 1:24K topo maps with it. I haven't yet found a source of free street maps so I'm delving into making some for myself. Magellan also sells street map packages.

 

I'm happy with the Triton but if you don't have time or inclination to play around with software I would go for the Garmin. Playing with the softare and maps are part of the hobby for me.

[+TwoSox Trekkers]

Hi GeoJaneys, I'm new- started March 1- but I have the Vista HCx and really like it. It is pretty intuitive and is priced in your budget range. Shop around, you can find good deals on it at REI, Amazon, eBay, Best Buy, etc. I've had very good battery life with it and no problems.

 

Good luck!

Edited April 4, 2009 by stormy_zen

[+SkellyCA]

My Triton 400 works great! Easy to figure out. accurate. Paperless caching. The base map isn't that good, but not needed when caching anyway. I have the Nat Geo TOPO's installed, wooks good