Newbie Geocacher looking for an inexpensive GPS

[+Whitby Jones]

Not sure where you are from. My Husband and I recently received our GPS throught Airmiles we live in Ontario. You might want to check your rewards plan if you have one and are able to get gifts from them. Ours cost us about 2500 points and that included shipping of the GPS. We really like ours as well it is a Magellan - eXplorist GC.

Edited August 3, 2010 by Whitby Jones

[+trodman]

If you want a decent starter GPS, I'd suggest the Garmin etrex Venture HC. Color Screen, Waterproof (IPX7), Rugged Case. It is a bare-bones gps and doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles such as Automatic Routing, SD card Slot, paperless caching, etc. It DOES however retail for between $120 and $150, is Geocaching Ready and has a USB connection for transferring maps, tracks, and waypoints to and from the unit. Another plus is that it uses AA batteries, so if you are out and the GPS runs low, just pop in a spare set. Some of the more expensive units have rechargeable batteries built in. Since this is not a paperless caching unit, you will have to either research the caches a head of time and take printed notes, or have some other form of handheld unit with a databse on it. I use my iTouch with the Geosphere App installed. The two in tandem work well together for us.

 

We bought the Garmin as our first GPS for hiking as well as caching. The idea was that if it should be lost or broken in the field, it was ONLY (for us) a $135.00 GPS and not a more expensive model. Hope that's of some use....Good luck!

Edited August 4, 2010 by trodman

[+luv2run12782]

I have a nice garmin extrex venture hc I can give you for 60 dollars:)

[+socobaby13]

I have a nice garmin extrex venture hc I can give you for 60 dollars:)

 

you dont still have this gps do you?????

[+trouthunter67]

Something I try to do is build my own tool and SWAG items. A recent tool I made is a pretty simple log roller for mini and micro logs. I took a scroll saw blade (not the ones for a hand held tool but the bench top type). They are usually a few inches long, only an 1/8th inch wide and millimeters thick. Using a dremel tool grind off the teeth so it don't catch the paper log when done rolling. I cut the blade to make 2 one inch sections and crimp them together in an old exacto blade handle. They can be purchased cheep enough but I enjoy the pride of making my own. I will soon be working on an instructable and post it on http://www.instructables.com/.

other inexpensive tools you can get at your local hardware store. Some of my must haves is a "dental" mirror, a telescopic magnet on a stick (just hope cache in holes have some type of metal). instructables.com has some helpful how to's and DIY geocaching projects.

Hope this helps.

[2H2F]

I am also looking for a inexpensive starter GPS. This will be for my son and I to start caching together(we need something to do together, teen age boys can be difficult to talk to let alone do things with).