leapinglizards! Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 I just bought a Garmin e-trex Venture HC and while at the store noticed another customer buying a "topo" map software with the same model Garmin. Is this a need specific to that customer's needs eg. hunting in a particular area or does the venture contain maps suitable enough for someone just getting started in geocaching? I don't want to find out on Christmas Day that I should have included topo map software with the gift. I will soon be attending an REI class on geocaching! Thanks in advance for any help. Quote Link to comment
+coggins Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 (edited) You might want to check out this site before spending any more money: GPSFileDepot.com Edited December 12, 2009 by coggins Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 (edited) I just bought a Garmin e-trex Venture HC and while at the store noticed another customer buying a "topo" map software with the same model Garmin. Is this a need specific to that customer's needs eg. hunting in a particular area or does the venture contain maps suitable enough for someone just getting started in geocaching? I don't want to find out on Christmas Day that I should have included topo map software with the gift. I will soon be attending an REI class on geocaching! Thanks in advance for any help. Maps can be helpful, but is not necessary. I find the screen on the Venture HC too small in any case. I've always used paper maps, planning on google maps, and then just "follow the arrow" for finding caches during hikes. For the city, I rely on my Nuvi to bring me there. The Venture HC is not going to be useful for street routing (it cannot route) - and in any case Topo 2008 doesn't contain routing data. Short answer : GPS maps are not necessary for geocaching Edited December 12, 2009 by Chrysalides Quote Link to comment
+Highland Horde Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Ive got the Garmin Venture HC and I primarily use it for geocaching. I installed the local topo map just so i would have some idea of the terrain (elevation change specifically) i may encounter on my way to a cache. If you are looking at mostly urban/suburban caching i don't think the topo map would make any difference (although then you may want to look at getting a street map installed). If it is an area that you are relativity familiar with i am sure the base map (comes already installed) is more than sufficient. You can always look at purchasing additional maps after the addiction has set in... Quote Link to comment
+ngrrfan Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 IMHO.... it all depends! I'm a techno-map geek. I like to know what the area looks like, how I might traverse it, what obstacles may be in the way. Things like that, so I depend on the TOPO map very much. If you don't think you need it.... don't get it. Quote Link to comment
namiboy Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 the venture contains a very limited basemap. you do not need more maps to go geocaching. they might help, but you don't need them. i have been geocaching since '06 off and on and my two trail gpsr's have no added maps. Quote Link to comment
Rocketsteve Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 I like having the maps on my Venture HC, but my previous GPSr had no maps and I was still able to locate caches. It really comes down to user preference. Quote Link to comment
+kh54s10 Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Until I get a proper handheld, (I am looking at the Delorme Earthmate PN-40) I am just using my Garmin Nuvi 750 with the road maps. When you are off the trail all you see is the marker for the cache and green in between the nearest roads. As I get closer to the cache I zoom in then all you see is your postition marker and the cache marker. It has been working ok. So I go with the idea that you don't need the topo maps. Look at the link to the site for free maps at your leisure. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 (edited) I just bought a Garmin e-trex Venture HC and while at the store noticed another customer buying a "topo" map software with the same model Garmin. Is this a need specific to that customer's needs eg. hunting in a particular area or does the venture contain maps suitable enough for someone just getting started in geocaching? I don't want to find out on Christmas Day that I should have included topo map software with the gift. I will soon be attending an REI class on geocaching! Thanks in advance for any help. Maps are very helpful but not necessary. Topo maps show you what is between you and the cache, so they can help you plan your approach and save you time. I personally would not own a GPS that did not have topo maps, but that said, thousands of people find caches just fine without any maps, or with the limited base map that comes with many units. You might want to check out this site before spending any more money: GPSFileDepot.com I've tried these maps and found they tend to chew up far more memory than the Garmin proprietary topo maps. Not an issue for units with expandable map memory, but it can be an issue with the Venture HC's limited amount of map memory. Edited December 12, 2009 by briansnat Quote Link to comment
+coggins Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 (edited) You might want to check out this site before spending any more money: GPSFileDepot.com I've tried these maps and found they tend to chew up far more memory than the Garmin proprietary topo maps. Not an issue for units with expandable map memory, but it can be an issue with the Venture HC's limited amount of map memory. That's not exactly so, you are running on some old data. For example; compared with Garmin's new proprietary 24k Northeast TOPO, they take much less memory space as they don't contain the embedded DEM data that Garmin's maps have and the the HC doesn't display, and also routing info that anyway the HC can't use. Garmin's NE TOPO 24K is currently only available on a microSD card (or download to a datacard) that the HC can't use. If you want to compare it to Garmin's older US (2008-made with census 2007 road data) 100K set you are then comparing a 100K map to a 24K map and of course a 24K map is going to have a larger data footprint as there are 16 24k quads to one 100K quad. That's the cost of higher definition. Also, the complete USA is available at GPSFileDepot in a planimentric version made with the latest (2009) census data that has a smaller data footprint than any Garmin product. Search for and read the forum threads on this very site about road being misaligned on TOPO 2008 and decide if you want a map made with outdated data. I just returned from Hawaii and compared Garmin's US TOPO 2008 to the GPSFileDepot planimatric map for the same area and Garmin had the roads misaligned hundreds of feet. The GPSFileDepot map was spot on. Edited December 12, 2009 by coggins Quote Link to comment
+GC56 Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I just bought a Garmin e-trex Venture HC and while at the store noticed another customer buying a "topo" map software with the same model Garmin. Is this a need specific to that customer's needs eg. hunting in a particular area or does the venture contain maps suitable enough for someone just getting started in geocaching? I don't want to find out on Christmas Day that I should have included topo map software with the gift. I will soon be attending an REI class on geocaching! Thanks in advance for any help. Quote Link to comment
+GC56 Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I just bought a Garmin e-trex Venture HC and while at the store noticed another customer buying a "topo" map software with the same model Garmin. Is this a need specific to that customer's needs eg. hunting in a particular area or does the venture contain maps suitable enough for someone just getting started in geocaching? I don't want to find out on Christmas Day that I should have included topo map software with the gift. I will soon be attending an REI class on geocaching! Thanks in advance for any help. We have the same Garmin- it works fine for us so far. Quote Link to comment
+GC56 Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 We bought the Garmin etrex VENTURE HC- we are extremely pleased, and have no problem yet, finding caches. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 (edited) You might want to check out this site before spending any more money: GPSFileDepot.com I've tried these maps and found they tend to chew up far more memory than the Garmin proprietary topo maps. Not an issue for units with expandable map memory, but it can be an issue with the Venture HC's limited amount of map memory. That's not exactly so, you are running on some old data. For example; compared with Garmin's new proprietary 24k Northeast TOPO, they take much less memory space as they don't contain the embedded DEM data that Garmin's maps have and the the HC doesn't display, and also routing info that anyway the HC can't use. Garmin's NE TOPO 24K is currently only available on a microSD card (or download to a datacard) that the HC can't use. If you want to compare it to Garmin's older US (2008-made with census 2007 road data) 100K set you are then comparing a 100K map to a 24K map and of course a 24K map is going to have a larger data footprint as there are 16 24k quads to one 100K quad. That's the cost of higher definition. I was comparing Mapsource Topo (100K) vs. GPSfiledepot's 24K maps. Of course the higher definition maps will require more memory which is why I wouldn't recommend them for a unit with limited memory like an HC. Edited December 15, 2009 by briansnat Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.