+ipodguy Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 I've been caching since February with my eTrex Vista C and have used it to find over 100 caches now. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to practice with it and decide whether or not I liked geocaching. Now, I'm looking to buy a better unit that has more features, but I don't know what to pick. I'd really like to have a unit that - is waterproof - has replaceable batteries and decent battery life - has a good sized color screen - can display satellite photos of the area I'm in (my etrex can't do this) - has expandable memory (my etrex can't do this) Not necessary, but I'd also like - Wherigo capabilities - capability for paperless geocaching So, can you recommend a unit for me? Quote Link to comment
+jeepdelfuego Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 What's your budget? My list of touch-screen favorites by price: Oregon 550 (with camera, SD slot, 5000 geocaches with hints, description, etc..) Oregon 450 (no camera, SD slot, 5000 geocaches with hints, description, etc...) - a new model with better screen Oregon 300 (no camera, SD slot, 2000 geocaches, with hints, description, etc...) Dakota 20 (no camera, SD slot, 2000, geocaches, with hints, description, etc...) like a baby Oregon Oregon 200 (no camera, SD slot, 2000 geocaches, with hints, description, etc...) Dakota 10 (no camera, No SD slot, 2000 geocaches, with hints, description, etc...)like a baby Oregon T-models of the Oregons have topo maps pre-loaded. But, you can find free topo maps at GPSfiledepot.com. Quote Link to comment
eaparks Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 (edited) My vote would be for the Orgeon 450; $299 after rebate. Garmin has a $50 mail-in rebate until June 20 on the Oregon 550s, 450s, and Dakotas in case you didn't know. The rebate is only good if bought from an "authorized Gamin dealer". Amazon and ebay don't qualify. Edited June 1, 2010 by eaparks Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 The Lowrance Endura line fits most all of your criteria. Quote Link to comment
+CortandTrent Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Garmin Oregon 450. Got mine for under 290 with the 50 dollar rebate. Quote Link to comment
+ipodguy Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 What's your budget? I'd like to stay under $500. $450 would be even better. Seems like the Oregons are popular. I'll take a look at some of those... Quote Link to comment
+Cache Liberation Front Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 I'd also like to suggest the Oregon 450. I've only had mine for a couple months now, and I've been holding it up to high standards having upgraded from the classic 60CSx. And so far, so good. Quote Link to comment
+Tahoe Skier5000 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I've been caching since February with my eTrex Vista C and have used it to find over 100 caches now. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to practice with it and decide whether or not I liked geocaching. Now, I'm looking to buy a better unit that has more features, but I don't know what to pick. I'd really like to have a unit that - is waterproof - has replaceable batteries and decent battery life - has a good sized color screen - can display satellite photos of the area I'm in (my etrex can't do this) - has expandable memory (my etrex can't do this) Not necessary, but I'd also like - Wherigo capabilities - capability for paperless geocaching So, can you recommend a unit for me? I would recommend the PN-40, but based on your criteria, I think the battery life is a wee bit lacking, and the screen is on the smallish side. Both issues are not that big of a deal though and easily workable from my experience. Just throwing another option out there for you. Quote Link to comment
+fegan Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 If you don't need/want a touch screen...you can find great deals on the now discontinued Colorado 400 series. On your budget you could get the GPS and City Navigator...and still have money left over. Quote Link to comment
+bobandrobin Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 (edited) Another thumbs up for the Oregon. I've had mine for a week now and am very pleased with it. No problems/ bugs that I have found. We have done two wherigos, and look forward to more. There are also Wherigo cartridges you can download and play anywhere. I bought the 550T. I know the maps are available for free but I'm not a very tech savvy person and didn't want to mess with the download and transfer. Couldn't be happier with the maps. I'm also finding the camera feature to come in handy, one big advantage is that it's a WATERPROOF camera and it's always right there. The pictures are also tagged with the coordinates (lat/long) and stored as waypoints. Here's a picture. The coordinates should be available in properties. Another trail pic a little less soggy. Edited June 2, 2010 by bobandrobin Quote Link to comment
+Redwoods Mtn Biker Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 The 550 is a great unit, but Garmin improved the screen significantly with the 450, which was introduced later. Also, with all the free maps at http://gpsfiledepot.com, there's no need to get a t model. If you're going to spend up to $450-500, I'd get an Oregon 450, City Navigator and a car kit. Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 +1 on the Oregon 450 (don't bother with the 450T at the extra cost - other maps are available at no cost). It's a major step up from your existing unit in all respects. You'll likely enjoy the MUCH greater cache count, paperless caching features and the improved touch screen. Recent firmware upgrades to this series have improved its behavior a great deal. Look around here for the Oregon beta thread and give this new code a try. Quote Link to comment
+Tahoe Skier5000 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 (edited) The 550 is a great unit, but Garmin improved the screen significantly with the 450, which was introduced later. Also, with all the free maps at http://gpsfiledepot.com, there's no need to get a t model. If you're going to spend up to $450-500, I'd get an Oregon 450, City Navigator and a car kit. You should atleast tell people to check gpsfiledepot first to see if they have what they need before recommending it as the end-all-be-all source of topo maps. I personally found the map selection horrible for California. A lot of individual maps for specific areas and one state wide topo. I tried the statewide topo and its far worse than the ones Garmin sells. No labels for anything. Just blank points and contour lines. Bottom line, check gpsfiledepot first before deciding not to buy the maps from Garmin Edited June 2, 2010 by Tahoe Skier5000 Quote Link to comment
+Redwoods Mtn Biker Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Fair enough, but even then, I'd go with a Garmin 24K series map rather than the pre-loaded 1:100K maps that come preloaded on the "t" models. Sounds like somebody needs to make a better California map! Quote Link to comment
+ipodguy Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 I looked at the Oregon 450 and I like what I see. Still checking into the other units mentioned. Thanks for all the tips so far! As for maps, I checked out the gpsfiledepot site and found a link to some other program (G Rasta or something like that) where I can use Google Maps to make my own. That's worth investigating as well. Quote Link to comment
+ipodguy Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 (edited) My vote would be for the Orgeon 450; $299 after rebate. Garmin has a $50 mail-in rebate until June 20 on the Oregon 550s, 450s, and Dakotas in case you didn't know. The rebate is only good if bought from an "authorized Gamin dealer". Amazon and ebay don't qualify. Where did you find the 450 for that price? The garmin site says $399 retail. Edited June 2, 2010 by ipodguy Quote Link to comment
+Red90 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Nobody sells for MSRP..... http://www.gpscity.com/garmin-oregon-450.html $340 plus $50 rebate = $290. Quote Link to comment
+ipodguy Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 Well, I made my purchase! I bought the Oregon 450 for $344.87. With the rebate, I'm well within my price range. Thanks everybody for all the help! 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.