Buying my first GPS device on a painfully low student budget. Advice appreciated!

[+Kijomori]

Well.. i have browsed through the sticky threads, done some forum searches, gone through some reviews on amazon and such.. and i am not really any closer to deciding what i want to buy.

 

I am on a budget... which i can't really stretch. That budget is £100 (About $170). I can probably push it up about 25% if the difference in quality achieved is spectacular, but that's a bit of a slippery slope to get on, can't really end up spending £200!

 

I intend to use my device for geocaching and geocaching only. I do not drive, so i want some kind of small handheld device. My geocaching will be exclusively in the United Kingdom (not sure if thats entirely relevant, but just incase) with some possible excursions into mainland Europe. I initially considered the "Garmin eTrex H Handheld GPS Navigator", but thought i would drop the question here, see what you lot thought about it.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Cheers.

[+user13371]

Garmin eTrex H is a good one in your stated price range. In the strict range you've mentioned, options are limited--unless you're willing to buy used. Have you checked ebay.co.uk and other used outlets?

Edited November 11, 2009 by lee_rimar

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

I would suggest the eTrex Venture HC over the basic eTrex H. Bump up to the Legend HCx for the ability to add more maps.

[+user13371]

Can you get either Venture HC or Legend HCx in UK for £100?

[+splashy]

First find the Gps you want then try

http://www.gumtree.com/

 

IF you are in the Uk

 

Remember, even a cheap Nuvi will do the job also, but has lesser battery time and needs to be covered (by a sandwich bag) in the rain.

Edited November 11, 2009 by splashy

[+Kijomori]

Thanks for the feedback,

 

Im going to look into a used Legend HCx, and if that doesnt work out at the right price.. pretty sure i should be able to get a used eTrex Venture HC for a price that is somewhere around my budget.

[gitarmac]

I got a vista that was factory refurbished for about 170 bucks, it has a shiney new warrenty and everything! I just happened to find one, I'm not sure how many there are out there. It might be worth a call to garmin. I got mine from an amazon store. I wouldn't have been able to tell it was not brand new if I had not been told.

[+cliptwings]

Yup, I'll add my vote for the Venture or Legend HC. It's super-sensitive, small, long battery life, reliable and cheap on Ebay or Amazon. AND you have the opportunity to upload FREE maps of the UK! Finally, if you can swing a premium membership with Geocaching.com, you can go paperless and upload all your cache information and hints via the garmin POI loader. I've owned a couple of Venture HC's, and was very happy with them. Good luck!

[+JSWilson64]

I'd advise you to try some in person at a store that allows it, or borrow from like-minded electronics addicts. Price is important, but so is user experience. Once you narrow down what you like and don't like, look through trusted sources for used gear from sellers that look reputable.

 

My first GPSr was an Etrex Legend, Fathers day gift (thanks again, kids!). After the initial excitement wore off, and I had some use under my belt, I began a mental list of things I did and didn't like about it, and for me the biggest complaint was the click-stick. Some like it, some hate it. I use my GPS on my bicycle, and it's impossible (for me) to use the click-stick while in motion; it's too easy to apply lateral pressure while clicking down.

 

Fast forward a couple of years, and I got a 60 CSx. Still not perfect (for example, the screen's too small IMO), but the button interface works much better for what I like to do with it. I still have a list of features I'd like to see, for the next one.

 

For me must-have features are: high-sensitivity chipset, USB interface to PC, memory cards or huge internal memory, interface that works while riding a bike, and a screen that my aging eyes can see in bright sunlight and in the shade on a sunny day.

Edited November 12, 2009 by JSWilson64

[WPMD]

We bought a Garmin GPS 60 a couple of months ago for £127 new. It is a fairly basic model but it does everything we need it to. Reception not great under trees though.