New GPS

[+wxsby]

I just got back from a roadtrip to Texas to see the kids and grandkids. Took my son and his girls out to snag a few caches and drop off a few bugs and he wants to get back into caching and get the girls interested. He has been out of it for enough years that his GPS is older than the sextant I use and he hasn't had much luck with it. His birthday is next month.

 

I've looked at all the Garmin ads and every one says it's particular GPS is the best. I'd like to find something that works for road trips and off-road trips, and will serve them well for finding caches. The girls are 4 and 7 and I'd like them to be able to use it.

 

For all of those I told I was wealthy beyond anyone's imagination... I lied. I'd like to keep it under $400.

 

All suggestions are welcome.

[+Green Achers]

If I lost my Garmin 60CSX, I'd buy another (after I stopped crying of course). Under $300 now I believe.

 

Feel free to send me the extra 100. You may not be wealthy beyond anyone's imagination... but compared to a US Farmer?!

[+Duncan!]

If I lost my Garmin 60CSX, I'd buy another (after I stopped crying of course). Under $300 now I believe.

 

Feel free to send me the extra 100. You may not be wealthy beyond anyone's imagination... but compared to a US Farmer?!

Ditto, can't go wrong with a 60csx, it found me many caches. I now use the Oregon 'cause I like the paperless stuff, but the 60csx is superior in many ways. Happy caching,

 

D!

[+SD Rowdies]

If I lost my Garmin 60CSX, I'd buy another (after I stopped crying of course). Under $300 now I believe.

 

Feel free to send me the extra 100. You may not be wealthy beyond anyone's imagination... but compared to a US Farmer?!

For road trips and for off-road trips, conflicting requirements.

 

Recently toured the roads of Provence and used one of

those dashboard Garmin units. Didn't take long until I was

ready to through it out of the window. Having a GPS unit

shout French street-names at me at the roundabouts and

along narrow, unmarked city streets was more than I could

bear. PITA!

 

Problem with using a hand-held for road navigation is that

you have a good chance of an incident due to distraction.

Only way a hand-held is safe for road-navigation is to have

somebody along as navigator that really knows how to use

the hand-held and knows what a driver needs to hear and

when he or she needs to hear it.

 

By the way, the word "incident" appears in the paragraph

above for a very specific reason. In this context "incident"

denotes more than vehicular incidents such as accidents

and near misses, it also denotes domestic stresses and

strains including but not limited to anger, arguments,

snide remarks, divorces, ED, and more. If you are head-

ing for divorce anyway do make use of a dash-mount

GPS, it will speed the divorce along admirably.

 

Back when I was a boy nobody had GPS units. We used

a thang called a "map" for road navigation. 'Course back

when I was a boy we didn't have no roads so maps were

just hand-scrawled scraps of paper. Besides th' feed store

and th' general store there wasn't anything else you

wanted to go see.

 

But seriously, my Garmin 60CSx is my best friend. I've

had other models in hand long enough to become familiar

with them but the newer models don't seem to offer much

more than the 60CSx. Don't forget to do an online firm-

ware update as soon as you purchase your new unit, no

matter what model it is.

 

Thanks f'r askin', I now feel much better about Provence.

Edited July 11, 2009 by SD Rowdies

[+Team Fatman]

If I lost my Garmin 60CSX, I'd buy another (after I stopped crying of course). Under $300 now I believe.

 

Feel free to send me the extra 100. You may not be wealthy beyond anyone's imagination... but compared to a US Farmer?!

For road trips and for off-road trips, conflicting requirements.

 

Recently toured the roads of Provence and used one of

those dashboard Garmin units. Didn't take long until I was

ready to through it out of the window. Having a GPS unit

shout French street-names at me at the roundabouts and

along narrow, unmarked city streets was more than I could

bear. PITA!

 

Problem with using a hand-held for road navigation is that

you have a good chance of an incident due to distraction.

Only way a hand-held is safe for road-navigation is to have

somebody along as navigator that really knows how to use

the hand-held and knows what a driver needs to hear and

when he or she needs to hear it.

 

By the way, the word "incident" appears in the paragraph

above for a very specific reason. In this context "incident"

denotes more than vehicular incidents such as accidents

and near misses, it also denotes domestic stresses and

strains including but not limited to anger, arguments,

snide remarks, divorces, ED, and more. If you are head-

ing for divorce anyway do make use of a dash-mount

GPS, it will speed the divorce along admirably.

 

Back when I was a boy nobody had GPS units. We used

a thang called a "map" for road navigation. 'Course back

when I was a boy we didn't have no roads so maps were

just hand-scrawled scraps of paper. Besides th' feed store

and th' general store there wasn't anything else you

wanted to go see.

 

But seriously, my Garmin 60CSx is my best friend. I've

had other models in hand long enough to become familiar

with them but the newer models don't seem to offer much

more than the 60CSx. Don't forget to do an online firm-

ware update as soon as you purchase your new unit, no

matter what model it is.

 

Thanks f'r askin', I now feel much better about Provence.

 

I have the Vista HCX got it from www.tigergps.com for 250 with free shiping and no tax and it does everything plus more then the 60csx. It is smaller also. Chuy and SKILLET have one also.

[+SD Rowdies]

If I lost my Garmin 60CSX, I'd buy another (after I stopped crying of course). Under $300 now I believe.

 

Feel free to send me the extra 100. You may not be wealthy beyond anyone's imagination... but compared to a US Farmer?!

For road trips and for off-road trips, conflicting requirements.

 

Recently toured the roads of Provence and used one of

those dashboard Garmin units. Didn't take long until I was

ready to through it out of the window. Having a GPS unit

shout French street-names at me at the roundabouts and

along narrow, unmarked city streets was more than I could

bear. PITA!

 

Problem with using a hand-held for road navigation is that

you have a good chance of an incident due to distraction.

Only way a hand-held is safe for road-navigation is to have

somebody along as navigator that really knows how to use

the hand-held and knows what a driver needs to hear and

when he or she needs to hear it.

 

By the way, the word "incident" appears in the paragraph

above for a very specific reason. In this context "incident"

denotes more than vehicular incidents such as accidents

and near misses, it also denotes domestic stresses and

strains including but not limited to anger, arguments,

snide remarks, divorces, ED, and more. If you are head-

ing for divorce anyway do make use of a dash-mount

GPS, it will speed the divorce along admirably.

 

Back when I was a boy nobody had GPS units. We used

a thang called a "map" for road navigation. 'Course back

when I was a boy we didn't have no roads so maps were

just hand-scrawled scraps of paper. Besides th' feed store

and th' general store there wasn't anything else you

wanted to go see.

 

But seriously, my Garmin 60CSx is my best friend. I've

had other models in hand long enough to become familiar

with them but the newer models don't seem to offer much

more than the 60CSx. Don't forget to do an online firm-

ware update as soon as you purchase your new unit, no

matter what model it is.

 

Thanks f'r askin', I now feel much better about Provence.

 

I have the Vista HCx got it from www.tigergps.com for 250 with free shiping and no tax and it does everything plus more then the 60csx. It is smaller also. Chuy and SKILLET have one also.

HCx is better huh? But can it look like this?

 

 

It lived through several Janie and Jodi smackdowns.

Edited July 11, 2009 by SD Rowdies

[+Chuy!]

For a Jack of all trades, I luv my Vista HCx. It's smaller and lighter than the 60's - plus the screen is brighter making it easier to read in bright daylight. However, as Harmon noted, it is trickier to manipulate the buttons. I know it inside and out that it's not a problem for me. The 60s are larger and with a wee bit bigger screen. The front panel button arrangement is easier to manipulate than the Etrex' which have buttons on the front and both sides. However, the buttons on the 60s are thinner and with high usage, will eventually wear through - ask Duncan.

 

Take a look at the new Nuvi 500/550. They are a dash model but are waterproof with a removal rechargeable battery and is geocaching friendly. Best of all, the Nuvis come with preloaded maps - an $80 charge you have to apply to the 60s and Etrex'. These units run about $260. See Erwincomp.com .

 

Or get a dash-only Nuvi, like the entry level 200 for about $150; and add a handheld model like the Venture HC for $130.

[+SD-Weiss]

For a Jack of all trades, I luv my Vista HCx. It's smaller and lighter than the 60's - plus the screen is brighter making it easier to read in bright daylight. However, as Harmon noted, it is trickier to manipulate the buttons. I know it inside and out that it's not a problem for me. The 60s are larger and with a wee bit bigger screen. The front panel button arrangement is easier to manipulate than the Etrex' which have buttons on the front and both sides. However, the buttons on the 60s are thinner and with high usage, will eventually wear through - ask Duncan.

 

Take a look at the new Nuvi 500/550. They are a dash model but are waterproof with a removal rechargeable battery and is geocaching friendly. Best of all, the Nuvis come with preloaded maps - an $80 charge you have to apply to the 60s and Etrex'. These units run about $260. See Erwincomp.com .

 

Or get a dash-only Nuvi, like the entry level 200 for about $150; and add a handheld model like the Venture HC for $130.

The 60csx is $297.95 and the Nuvi 500/550 is $399.99. Here's the link to the website we use for all of are gps'ers:GPS City link

[+Team Fatman]

If I lost my Garmin 60CSX, I'd buy another (after I stopped crying of course). Under $300 now I believe.

 

Feel free to send me the extra 100. You may not be wealthy beyond anyone's imagination... but compared to a US Farmer?!

For road trips and for off-road trips, conflicting requirements.

 

Recently toured the roads of Provence and used one of

those dashboard Garmin units. Didn't take long until I was

ready to through it out of the window. Having a GPS unit

shout French street-names at me at the roundabouts and

along narrow, unmarked city streets was more than I could

bear. PITA!

 

Problem with using a hand-held for road navigation is that

you have a good chance of an incident due to distraction.

Only way a hand-held is safe for road-navigation is to have

somebody along as navigator that really knows how to use

the hand-held and knows what a driver needs to hear and

when he or she needs to hear it.

 

By the way, the word "incident" appears in the paragraph

above for a very specific reason. In this context "incident"

denotes more than vehicular incidents such as accidents

and near misses, it also denotes domestic stresses and

strains including but not limited to anger, arguments,

snide remarks, divorces, ED, and more. If you are head-

ing for divorce anyway do make use of a dash-mount

GPS, it will speed the divorce along admirably.

 

Back when I was a boy nobody had GPS units. We used

a thang called a "map" for road navigation. 'Course back

when I was a boy we didn't have no roads so maps were

just hand-scrawled scraps of paper. Besides th' feed store

and th' general store there wasn't anything else you

wanted to go see.

 

But seriously, my Garmin 60CSx is my best friend. I've

had other models in hand long enough to become familiar

with them but the newer models don't seem to offer much

more than the 60CSx. Don't forget to do an online firm-

ware update as soon as you purchase your new unit, no

matter what model it is.

 

Thanks f'r askin', I now feel much better about Provence.

 

I have the Vista HCx got it from www.tigergps.com for 250 with free shiping and no tax and it does everything plus more then the 60csx. It is smaller also. Chuy and SKILLET have one also.

HCx is better huh? But can it look like this?

 

 

It lived through several Janie and Jodi smackdowns.

 

Never been that hungry that I had to nall on my GPSr.

[+Chuy!]

For a Jack of all trades, I luv my Vista HCx. It's smaller and lighter than the 60's - plus the screen is brighter making it easier to read in bright daylight. However, as Harmon noted, it is trickier to manipulate the buttons. I know it inside and out that it's not a problem for me. The 60s are larger and with a wee bit bigger screen. The front panel button arrangement is easier to manipulate than the Etrex' which have buttons on the front and both sides. However, the buttons on the 60s are thinner and with high usage, will eventually wear through - ask Duncan.

 

Take a look at the new Nuvi 500/550. They are a dash model but are waterproof with a removal rechargeable battery and is geocaching friendly. Best of all, the Nuvis come with preloaded maps - an $80 charge you have to apply to the 60s and Etrex'. These units run about $260. See Erwincomp.com .

 

Or get a dash-only Nuvi, like the entry level 200 for about $150; and add a handheld model like the Venture HC for $130.

The 60csx is $297.95 and the Nuvi 500/550 is $399.99. Here's the link to the website we use for all of are gps'ers:GPS City link

I'm glad you've had a good experience with GPSCity. They are not accredited with Better Business Bureau and have an F rating. With a C-, erwincom is not much better (I didn't have a problem with my order). Stick with Amazon, they are accredited and have an A rating. The 550 is $259 with free shipping. May have to pay taxes though.

[+wxsby]

Thanks for all the good advice. Time to go shopping.