Question about the explorist GC

[+RandomH3ro]

im trying to figure out which GPS i want to buy.

 

my budget is about $200. currently im using an iPhone 3g, and will actually be upgrading to the iPhone4 soon.

 

anyway, ive been looking at a dedicated geocaching GPS. i like the GC in the fact that its cheap and very easy to use. but i have a few questions i cant seem to find any answers to.

 

1) can i route to a cache based on my location? say if i have no idea where im at (visiting a new city), can i navigate to the geocache with the GC? or do i have to look at the screen and do the route in my head?

 

2) can i leave a "breadcrumb" trail incase im out hiking in an unknown area so i dont get lost and can find my way back?

 

3) the description reads it as being a "ultra sensitive" gps, but ive been hearing that in reality it has the "slingshot" affect. is this true?

 

these are the big questions i have. right now i cant decide which unit i want. im leaning towards the pn40, but i heard the battery life is horrible, and i like the big display of the GC. so i dont know yet which one i want to get.

 

any answers/suggestions are greatly appreciated. thanks.

[+WhoDis]

im trying to figure out which GPS i want to buy.

 

my budget is about $200. currently im using an iPhone 3g, and will actually be upgrading to the iPhone4 soon.

 

anyway, ive been looking at a dedicated geocaching GPS. i like the GC in the fact that its cheap and very easy to use. but i have a few questions i cant seem to find any answers to.

 

1) can i route to a cache based on my location? say if i have no idea where im at (visiting a new city), can i navigate to the geocache with the GC? or do i have to look at the screen and do the route in my head?

 

2) can i leave a "breadcrumb" trail incase im out hiking in an unknown area so i dont get lost and can find my way back?

 

3) the description reads it as being a "ultra sensitive" gps, but ive been hearing that in reality it has the "slingshot" affect. is this true?

 

these are the big questions i have. right now i cant decide which unit i want. im leaning towards the pn40, but i heard the battery life is horrible, and i like the big display of the GC. so i dont know yet which one i want to get.

 

any answers/suggestions are greatly appreciated. thanks.

1) If you mean turn by turn for driving, no. I use my car GPS for that.

 

2) It does do this, but I've never used it, so I'm not sure how good it is. I should probably start using it before I end up lost.

 

3) It used to be pretty bad, before the upgrade when you were in heavy cover. Not so much now.

 

I love the GC, but I've never used the PN40, so I couldn't compare. If you plan to use it for more than just geocaching, I'd go with the PN40. As you said, the GC is a dedicated geocaching unit, not much good for anything else.

[+RandomH3ro]

im trying to figure out which GPS i want to buy.

 

my budget is about $200. currently im using an iPhone 3g, and will actually be upgrading to the iPhone4 soon.

 

anyway, ive been looking at a dedicated geocaching GPS. i like the GC in the fact that its cheap and very easy to use. but i have a few questions i cant seem to find any answers to.

 

1) can i route to a cache based on my location? say if i have no idea where im at (visiting a new city), can i navigate to the geocache with the GC? or do i have to look at the screen and do the route in my head?

 

2) can i leave a "breadcrumb" trail incase im out hiking in an unknown area so i dont get lost and can find my way back?

 

3) the description reads it as being a "ultra sensitive" gps, but ive been hearing that in reality it has the "slingshot" affect. is this true?

 

these are the big questions i have. right now i cant decide which unit i want. im leaning towards the pn40, but i heard the battery life is horrible, and i like the big display of the GC. so i dont know yet which one i want to get.

 

any answers/suggestions are greatly appreciated. thanks.

1) If you mean turn by turn for driving, no. I use my car GPS for that.

 

2) It does do this, but I've never used it, so I'm not sure how good it is. I should probably start using it before I end up lost.

 

3) It used to be pretty bad, before the upgrade when you were in heavy cover. Not so much now.

 

I love the GC, but I've never used the PN40, so I couldn't compare. If you plan to use it for more than just geocaching, I'd go with the PN40. As you said, the GC is a dedicated geocaching unit, not much good for anything else.

 

thanks. i dunno what i want to do. we have a tomtom for the car and i have an iphone. so maybe we dont need a navigation GPS. but at the same time, it would be nice to have and everything.

[+EScout]

Based on your questions, you should get a PN-30/40.

1. GC no, the PN does routing, but not as good as a dedicated car GPSr.

2. The PN has much better tracking, track-back, convert to route.

3. Not a concern.

 

I have a PN-30 and GC and would choose the PN first. The newly announced eXplorist models however, look very nice.

[hoyshnin]

From what I understand, the other MASSIVE difference is the mapping capabilities (what the Pn-40 is probably known most for). The Pn-40 is able to load satellite imagery (think google maps on your gps) and loads of other map types. The GC, though, I believe only has topo maps available.