What’s the best handheld GPS for geocaching?

[+BigLad & Co.]

We’ve been getting by with our TomTom but now want to invest in a handheld GPS – the dilemma is which one?

 

We’ve been looking at the Garmin Oregon 300 and Colorado 300 both of which seem to fit the bill but represent a major investment for our new hobby.

 

Is there a cheaper alternative which will do the job just as well (Vista etrex Hcx?) or should we just bite the bullet and go for the more expensive one. We don’t want to cut costs now only to wish we’d gone for the “better” model in 6 months time.

 

A final question – if we do go for the Oregon or Colorado is it worth getting the bundle with the GB National Parks maps? We live on the edge of the English Lake District and will obviously be using it there a lot – can you get by on the standard base map?

 

Sorry for the dumb questions but we’re new to this and need a helping hand before taking the plunge!!!

 

Thanks in anticipation.

[+PSHAX]

We’ve been getting by with our TomTom but now want to invest in a handheld GPS – the dilemma is which one?

 

We’ve been looking at the Garmin Oregon 300 and Colorado 300 both of which seem to fit the bill but represent a major investment for our new hobby.

 

Is there a cheaper alternative which will do the job just as well (Vista etrex Hcx?) or should we just bite the bullet and go for the more expensive one. We don’t want to cut costs now only to wish we’d gone for the “better” model in 6 months time.

 

A final question – if we do go for the Oregon or Colorado is it worth getting the bundle with the GB National Parks maps? We live on the edge of the English Lake District and will obviously be using it there a lot – can you get by on the standard base map?

 

Sorry for the dumb questions but we’re new to this and need a helping hand before taking the plunge!!!

 

Thanks in anticipation.

 

I have a 60CSx and a Colorado 300, both are great. The Colorado has a great paperless feature.. Saves having to lug reams of cache listings with you!

 

The standard base map is crap.. Worse than useless! Both my GPSr's have the free OSM maps compiled by Talkytoaster loaded, I also use the Garmin Topo GB maps for the missing OSM areas....

[+burtsbodgers]

In my opinion

bite the bullet and get the oregon.

I have had an Etrex (basic), Venture HC, Legend HCX, none of which have the usability of the colorado which i have also owned.

both the colorado and the oregon use the same basic layout and allow for paperless caching, i brought my oregon via ebay at £235 which is within a few pounds of the colorado which would be close enough for me to ignore the colorado.

The colorado is still having problems with shut downs and freezing, i have so far not experienced any such issues with the oregon.

The touch screen on the oregon is a real plus making a lot of the function easier to use, Battery life seems about the same between the units.

I use both the garmin Topo Gb and the openstreet maps together on the oregon, but the openstreet maps on thier own are good enough to get started with the unit.

The paperless function will allow you to see the descriptions, hints and the previous logs for the caches in the field which is really useful. also if you are a premium user you can down load pocket queries which allow you to put upto 500 caches on in a single file with all the information.

none of the other garmin units can do this without further software and most not at all.

the oregon is by far the easiest out of all the garmin range to use both in the field and at home.

Hope this helps

Edited July 9, 2009 by burtsbodgers

[+briansnat]

An inxpensive unit like a Garmin Venture HC or a Legend HCX will do the job as well as a high end unit.

The difference is in the bells and whistles. The nice thing about the Oregon and Colorado is that they have the cache page displayed on the unit, which is nice. But you can accomplish the same thing with an old PDA, Cachemate and a Venture HC and have money left over.

 

Another cost effective alternative is the DeLorme PN20. It comes with maps included in the price and like the Oregon and Colorado, it has a paperless caching feature. DeLorme also just came out with a nifty app called Cache Register that is great for loading cache data to the unit. You can get a PN20 for about $150 meaning you get a lot of bang for your money.

 

There are some negatives however. The display is small and menu fonts are virtually unreadable if you don't have young eyes. The processor is slow, so the screens take forever to draw and the autorouting is unusable. The Topo software that it comes with is clunky and not very intuative. It is a flawed unit but what do you expect for $150?

Edited July 9, 2009 by briansnat

[+Binrat]

Look for a good deal on a Garmin GPSMap 60Cx.

 

A sweet starter unit and I would buy it again if it broke tomorrow.

 

Binrat

[+StarBrand]

As Briansnat said - the venture HC will get you just as close to any cache as the expensive units. Only you can decide if the extra bells and whistles are worth it. Add a cheap used PDA from ebay for about $25 and you are all set for paperless.

 

The paperless features on the Oregon and Colorado are great but expensive. I personally like my Colorado 300 a bit better than the Oregon 200 that I also have.

 

Another possibility is the Lowrance Endura series but they are not release quite yet and have no reviews. Looks very promising though.

[+BigLad & Co.]

Thanks for all the advice folks!

 

I've read some reviews of the Oregon this afternoon and there is mention of issues with the screen brightness - does anyone know if this continues to be a problem?

 

Cheers.

[+loveflyng]

I've been using the DeLorme PN-40 pretty much every day. It is very fast because it has a dual processor and the geocaching feature on it works like a charm. It is easy to load caches into the unit and the color screen is easy to read. I like the electronic compass so you don't have to keep walking to see the direction. The maps are wonderful and I download new area maps all the time. This is one easy to use unit. I give it a 10 out of 10.

[+RS67Man]

The screen brightness issue on the Oregon is a problem for some. However, you can adjust the back light brightness on the fly very easily. When in sunlight the trick is to point the screen toward the sun and the light from the sun will make the screen very readable. IMHO, people have made much ado about nothing on the screen brightness issue, I have no problem with it and make the adjustments needed at the time to make the screen readable for me.

[+Jeep4two]

I'd highly recommended getting whichever model fits your needs the best.

 

I have an Oregon and highly recommend it. I've been very happy with it as a routing GPSr in the car, caching GPSr on the trail and general use for hiking and such.

 

The screen is great for me - I don't have any problem with it but as others said some folks don't like the brightness. I have yet to be in any lighting or usage conditions where the screen prohibited me from using the device. I've been pleased with the accuracy so far even with a few glitches, but Garmin is working on refining the software for the Oregon so I expect to see those little problems gradually go away.

 

The touchscreen interface is a dream to use making it easy to input data when needed (paperless caching field notes or adding info to way points, etc.) and also makes getting from screen to screen much nicer than having to fumble with 10 different buttons on the front and side.

 

Again - your mileage may vary. Of course there's the Delorme PN-40 - somewhat less expensive with paperless features.

 

My biggest recommendation no matter what: Get the paperless features. It greatly simplifies the caching preparation and hunt eliminating waste of paper and time that non-paperless units require you to use on the front end of a day out. This is regardless of what brand or model you choose.

[+craig_t4]

Having used both the oregon and the colorado quite a bit. id have to say that the oregon screen to me is a deal breaker that the touch part of it doesnt overcome.

 

I personally have no troubles in the sun with the colorado but the oregon is not as good.

 

I also found the antenna set up on the colorado (being external) superior to the oregon as i am consistently more accurate with the colorado.

 

The touch screen definetely speeds things up though.

 

anyway you go shell out the money and buy the latest GPS from garmin they are miles ahead of there predeccesors.

 

yes the paperless thing isnt nice to have its something you must have!!! i wouldnt do this anymore the old way id give up.

Edited July 9, 2009 by craig_t4

[+Wild Thing 73]

GPSMap60CSx

[+merzmeister]

The Garmin Etrex is so cool! I use it every day. I highly recomend the Garmin Etrex and if you don't want that at least a Garmin.

Here is there website which should Guid you through buying you.

 

GARMIN

[+MountainRacer]

There are some good deals to be had on eBay if you know what you want. Garmin is a reputable brand and known for good customer service, so a factory-refurbished unit is as good as new. I bought a 60CS for half the price of what a new CSX was going for. It links to the computer, can download PQs or single caches, and gets me where I need to go accurately.

[+GrateBear]

I've been using a Legend Cx for 3 years and have no desire to upgrade. I have close to 20,000 miles on it (many of those on planes). I have a Palm Centro cell phone with Cachemate, so I'm good to go!

[+ohgr]

I'm going to add my vote for the Garmin GPSMAP 60csx, It's a tried and true, bulletproof GPSr...

[+Kohavis]

As usual, the "What is the best geocaching handheld" topic yields many replies, usually people plugging the model they own themselves

 

I think the wise thing to do is to hold off on investing in an expensive GPSr and see if geocaching will be an enduring hobby/activity for you. It's tempting to plunk down $400 or $500 and get a "gee whiz" model that gives you real-time satellite images, tells you how full your car's gas tank is, and predicts the weather. But the truth is, all you really need to effectively geocache is a basic model, and if you plan to cache in areas with tree cover, get one with a high-sensitivity receiver. There are several available for $100 - $120 (even less if you buy used or refurbished on Ebay) that will get you every bit as close as the gee whiz model, and probably not burn through batteries as fast

 

Wait until you've got experience and are sure geocaching is something you'll want to be doing a year or two from now. Otherwise, if you buy it and your interest drops off, you'll glance at that fancy GPSr sitting in your sock drawer unused, and mentally kick yourself for spending so much. Also, you will develop a particular style of geocaching that may not be entirely realized with the "gee whiz" model.

 

Learn the basics of geocaching first and develop skills using a simpler model. You can always "trade up" later, and the available models then will be even better than they are today, and probably cheaper too Don't overwhelm yourself with a model that has a huge, steep learning curve, and features that you might not want or need for your particular style of geocaching.

 

For what it's worth

[+kunarion]

I've read some reviews of the Oregon this afternoon and there is mention of issues with the screen brightness

Indoors, I have to use the backlight. But I turn that off when out in daylight, and have no problem seeing the display, the sunnier the better.

 

I bought street maps for my Oregon 400T, since my car GPS has outdated maps.

 

"Paperless caching" is hit-and-miss, at least on Geocaching.com. Some cache pages transfer to HTML code, some are puzzles which require writing and calculating, and many of them are much better with a satellite photo, which is some work to print.

Edited July 17, 2009 by kunarion