What's the final verdict on the Magellan EXplorist GC?

[+Albany Canucks]

The initial reviews of the Magellan EXplorist GC contained criticisms on several points, some of which became obsolete as a result of firm-wear upgrades, or were eliminated as users became more familiar with settings and other features. Now that the Explorist GC has been out for a while and has had a chance to be well-tested, how does it stand up? Some of the initial concerns reported in various reviews included the following:

- with slow movement (e.g. near GZ), it does not update or updates very slowly

- some reports of it being slow to pick up satellite signal, and even freezing completely

- difficult to correct or enter coordinates and do multi-stage caches

- lack of an internal compass means that heading can only be tracked based on movement

- frustrating on-screen keyboard and awkward controls, could benefit from touch screen

- worldwide base map only has major roads for some countries and can't be updated

- unsuitable for other navigational use (e.g. hiking) aside from geocaching

- screen is difficult to read in any sun light, and small fonts

- cover for the USB connection does not always seal correctly

1. My first question is: To what extent are these criticisms valid, now that it's had a chance to be tried and proven?

 

It appears to be a good starter GPS for paperless geocaching and also has many good features. But some of the above weaknesses - if they are accurate - might make it a bad choice for some people. Personally I'm in the process of selecting my first handheld GPS, and particularly the reports about it being slow to update a reading, and some of its other limitations (e.g. multi-stage caches, limited quality worldwide base map with no possibility of adding more detailed maps for other uses) sound a bit worrying, especially if one wants to be able to use a GPS device on non-geocaching hikes and walks occasionally. Any comments on this from those who've had experience with the EXplorist GC?

 

2. My second question is: What models from Garmin in a similar price-range (or slightly more expensive if need be) would be comparable, and also enable paperless geocaching, without some of the restrictions of a dedicated geocaching device, or some of the potential weaknesses mentioned above?

 

I'm quite new to the world of geocaching, and want to ensure I do some careful research to ensure I end up with a GPS that I won't regret purchasing! Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer!

[+Dragery]

- with slow movement (e.g. near GZ), it does not update or updates very slowly

I've never used another GPS device, but this isn't a problem for me, if it's slow to react, I will walk away from GZ til I'm at a perfect 180, then I will turn, and approach GZ at a straight line. It is SOMETIMES a little slow to adjust to anything below 3 feet of movement, but it's tolerable, and you shouldn't be relying on 3 feet anyways. (Quick edit to add that I use the Arrow + elastic line to GZ and North always on top instead of the compass, gives me a better feel)

 

- some reports of it being slow to pick up satellite signal, and even freezing completely

Mine varies from 45 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on the line of site to the sky. It's not a problem. My buddy went geocaching with me, and they started up similar (he has a Garmin)

 

- difficult to correct or enter coordinates and do multi-stage caches

Definately not, you just go to Waypoints from the main screen, click Menu, then Create New Waypoint, voala...

 

- lack of an internal compass means that heading can only be tracked based on movement

True, refer to my answer to the first question. It's not a problem once you learn to work with it.

 

- frustrating on-screen keyboard and awkward controls, could benefit from touch screen

I do all my commenting on logs once I'm at home, not in the field, the ONLY time I use the on screen keyboard is to enter short acronyms like "GC" or "TB" to remember that I picked up/dropped off either of those. The Joystick is kinda dumb tho, if your thumb is sweaty it's hard to use because it's so short.

 

- worldwide base map only has major roads for some countries and can't be updated

From my experience, I'm in heavy urban area, every road I've had to go on is in the maps. The only thing I don't like is you can't update the basemap. Which does kinda suck!

 

- unsuitable for other navigational use (e.g. hiking) aside from geocaching

I don't personally know what more you would need for hiking, there are options for "bread crumb" type trails that you could use to back track, and you can enter manual tracks using 3rd party programs. Unless you're expecting your GPS to convert into a hiking stick there's not much more you need.

 

- screen is difficult to read in any sun light, and small fonts

In direct sunlight it's very visible, it looks like it's meant to be readable when you hold it at a certain angle while in the sun. In the shade however, you will have to keep turning on the backlight (just by pressing any button) But that is adjustable in the settings to auto turn off after X amount of seconds, or stay on all the time, which burns up battery. The text is small I guess, but I can read it.

 

- cover for the USB connection does not always seal correctly

I'd be more inclined to phrase that as "Some people don't always close the USB cover properly" The cover was intended to go on a certain way, it's up to you to put it on right

 

In defense of the unit, I've found over 700 geocaches in just under 3 months, and I love it. There is nothing more I need out of a GPS unit, especially for the price. It's paperless geocaching, and everything is automated for the most part once you get the hang of it. I don't need a touch screen because I sometimes put the GPS in my pocket and I don't want to have it pressing random buttons while it's in there. plus that takes away from the ruggedness, (bigger touch screen = more sensitive parts exposed.)

 

Also the battery life is amazing on mine, I can go 17-20+ hours leaving it on before it goes out, which is a lot better than some units I've read.

Edited August 25, 2010 by Dragery

[+TeamAE2L]

Gotta echo pretty much all of what Dragery said. I've had mine since April and have been very happy with it. However, I had previously used the iPhone app, and haven't used any other handheld receivers.

 

The biggest criticism early on that I saw was the small font, but that was definitely fixed with the v1.4 firmware.

 

Eric.

[+EScout]

The GC is a good basic GPS unit that it easy to load with caches using several methods. It has a good paperless ability, and will get you out caching quickly and successfully.

However, it lacks many of the features of other GPSrs with regard to hiking or off road use. Specifically, it does not let you record or load tracks to retrieve, track back or convert to route.

The new eXplorists announced will likely have more features and better interface. I plan to upgrade my GC to one of those.

 

For the best value in a full featured GPSr, consider the Delorme PN30 or 40.

Edited August 25, 2010 by EScout

[+Druce_n_Eulla]

Gotta say the GC at this point is priced perfectly for what it does. So is the Out&Back. These are the two I narrowed my purchase down to and went with the one on sale. From what I have read and what I know, the GC at least for now is the better of the two and well worth the money. The Out&Back offers more features but has problems that need to be taken care of before a new cacher can be happy with it. The GC has fixed any major issues it had at launch and is new cacher friendly, it is a safe bet for a first unit or an upgrade from an old model for anyone who doesn't want to spend a lot for a paperless GPS-r

[+Albany Canucks]

However, it lacks many of the features of other GPSrs with regard to hiking or off road use. Specifically, it does not let you record or load tracks to retrieve, track back or convert to route.

Forgive me if this is a silly question, because I'm new to the world of handheld GPS devices, but how would the eXplorist GC work if using it as a navigational tool when hiking or walking? Or does the fact that it's essentially a geocaching-dedicated unit mean that you can't really use it to navigate your current position on a map, but only to navigate direction and path to a specific location/geocache entered from geocaching.com? I wonder if a Garmin Dakota 10 or 20 might be a better choice if I want to use the unit for hiking as well as geocaching, or are there ways in which they are inferior to the eXplorist GC?

Edited August 26, 2010 by Albany Canucks

[+Druce_n_Eulla]

However, it lacks many of the features of other GPSrs with regard to hiking or off road use. Specifically, it does not let you record or load tracks to retrieve, track back or convert to route.

Forgive me if this is a silly question, because I'm new to the world of handheld GPS devices, but how would the eXplorist GC work if using it as a navigational tool when hiking or walking? Or does the fact that it's essentially a geocaching-dedicated unit mean that you can't really use it to navigate your current position on a map, but only to navigate direction and path to a specific location/geocache entered from geocaching.com? I wonder if a Garmin Dakota 10 or 20 might be a better choice if I want to use the unit for hiking as well as geocaching, or are there ways in which they are inferior to the eXplorist GC?

If this is the case then the Out&Back would work great for $100 less then the Dakota 10. The problem with the unit are geocaching features. Actually if they work the bugs out the Lowrance line could easily compete with the Dakota series at $100 less than the Garmin counterpart. The GC however is one heck of a geocaching tool for the price.

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

Seems to me that the GC has one of the best basemaps out there.

[+EScout]

However, it lacks many of the features of other GPSrs with regard to hiking or off road use. Specifically, it does not let you record or load tracks to retrieve, track back or convert to route.

Forgive me if this is a silly question, because I'm new to the world of handheld GPS devices, but how would the eXplorist GC work if using it as a navigational tool when hiking or walking? Or does the fact that it's essentially a geocaching-dedicated unit mean that you can't really use it to navigate your current position on a map, but only to navigate direction and path to a specific location/geocache entered from geocaching.com? I wonder if a Garmin Dakota 10 or 20 might be a better choice if I want to use the unit for hiking as well as geocaching, or are there ways in which they are inferior to the eXplorist GC?

The GC will direct you to a waypoint or a Geocache, both with map and compass.

What I like is to have saved in the unit, tracks from past kikes that I can retrieve and follow. Also, plan a hike on a map program, and transfer the tract to the unit to follow later. This is what is missing. In fairness, many geocachers do not need this in a basic unit (I paid only $157 for mine new.) I am sure the announced higher level units from Magellan will do this.

[+gpsblake]

Being the owner of the GC, I would recommend the Delorme PN-30 over it. The PN-30 is priced close to the GC, does everything the GC does, and does a whole bunch more like auto-route.

 

Another little quirk, when you are near (say 1/2 mile) of a intersection involving US highways, it loads the map with a bunch of highway signs, blocking any view of the streets or nearby caches. I noticed this one yesterday while geocaching in the Greenwood, SC area which has 3 or 4 US highways passing through it.

 

The one advantage the GC does have is it's file system. You can use any operating system to load a gpx file and hit the road.

 

The GC also likes to be build vertically and not horizontally in your hand.

 

The GC isn't a bad unit, it's a bit pricey though, prob should be a $150 MSRP instead of $199.

[+Druce_n_Eulla]

From looking at screen shots the screen is much nicer than the Delormes. At $200 I would say the price is right considering the basemap is a full basemap. I tried the Delorme pn-30 and took the unit back since I liked the Out&Back much more. It is all about preference in the end and the only thing that the Delorme has going for it is the maps it comes with. Not sure the screen size on the GC but the Delorme screens are quite tiny as well. One other thing is that the Delorme software is not very user friendly. Some will understand it right away and others will struggle with it constantly. For a new geocacher the software difficulty could prove very frustrating.

 

In this discussion I can only go from what I read and what I have seen since I do not own or have tried a GC. The two cheapest paperless units are simpler to use for a new cacher. They both work very well but the GC is better for the beginner. For the cheaper units I would go GC, Out&Back, Delorme pn-30. Not sure if maps can be added to the GC but the Out&Back can get full basemaps for a region for about $70 that look much better than the delorme screens could hope to produce. If you are one that travels abroad the Delorme would be an excellent choice due to the free maps, other than that the other two units are the way to go for a budget paperless unit.

[+TeamSenavinin!]

In defense of the unit, I've found over 700 geocaches in just under 3 months, and I love it. There is nothing more I need out of a GPS unit, especially for the price. It's paperless geocaching, and everything is automated for the most part once you get the hang of it. I don't need a touch screen because I sometimes put the GPS in my pocket and I don't want to have it pressing random buttons while it's in there. plus that takes away from the ruggedness, (bigger touch screen = more sensitive parts exposed.)

 

Also the battery life is amazing on mine, I can go 17-20+ hours leaving it on before it goes out, which is a lot better than some units I've read.

 

In my opinion, the above quote from Dragery pretty much sums it up. We haven't been caching long, but I've met a lot of geocachers who don't use the additional bells and whistles others have touted above. I know this because I ask. Before the GC came out there really wasn't any other choice than a full featured GPSr, so they bought what they thought would work best for them on their budget. With little effort, I was able to find a used GC for $120 on Ebay. For that kind of money there should be *zero* complaints unless it's defective. It has served our newbie caching team so well I couldn't care less if there are features missing on the GC.

 

The final verdict?

 

For people who use their GPSr for hiking and general navigation: Probably not.

 

For people who don't need a handheld navigation tool, but love a hassle-free paperless caching experience: Quit second guessing and debating and just buy one already, then upgrade to firmware 1.4. Done.

[+Dragery]

Another feature I forgot to add, I have pocket queries set up in chronological order, with 9000 caches all loaded on my unit at once (that's all the traditional caches within 35 miles). Most other handhelds will only hold 1000-2000 at a time, granted that's more than anyone will ever find in a day I like having EVERY cache within 35 miles on my unit at all times. I don't have to worry about having pocket queries on SD cards and loading up the right query depending on the area I'm in.

 

I will also add, when I first started, I was getting super carried away and excited. I wanted the 450 dollar unit with all the bells and whistles. LUCKILY my wife talked me out of it, and I'm glad she did. For geocaching, this thing is great. I don't know why people were saying that you can't record tracks with the GC, you can record tracks, it just doesn't have a "back tracking" options. But you could theoretically have it record tracks to your destination, and then just turn it off and follow the line on the way back

Edited August 26, 2010 by Dragery

[+Druce_n_Eulla]

Another feature I forgot to add, I have pocket queries set up in chronological order, with 9000 caches all loaded on my unit at once (that's all the traditional caches within 35 miles). Most other handhelds will only hold 1000-2000 at a time, granted that's more than anyone will ever find in a day I like having EVERY cache within 35 miles on my unit at all times. I don't have to worry about having pocket queries on SD cards and loading up the right query depending on the area I'm in.

 

I will also add, when I first started, I was getting super carried away and excited. I wanted the 450 dollar unit with all the bells and whistles. LUCKILY my wife talked me out of it, and I'm glad she did. For geocaching, this thing is great. I don't know why people were saying that you can't record tracks with the GC, you can record tracks, it just doesn't have a "back tracking" options. But you could theoretically have it record tracks to your destination, and then just turn it off and follow the line on the way back

I wanted the same but decided for an el cheapo unit til I knew if I was going to stick with caching. Ended up with an eTrex h. Not a bad unit but left me wanting more after a year of caching. Saw the GC and Out&Back and went down to my local Cabela's to see if they had either of them. Well they didn't even carry the GC and happened to have an Out&Back on sale for $137 with tax. At that point I knew it would be hard to beat this price and decided to forgo looking for a GC. Now I have two GPS-r's and the two issues the Out&Back has are offset by my now backup eTrex. I have to shop on a budget and these two are the best on the market for the money.

 

9000 caches is crazy and I thought the Out&Backs 4000 was overboard. I am glad these two companies put units out that work great for caching. I love the touchscreen but that is just a preference.

[+Albany Canucks]

Comparisons are being made here with the Out&Back and Delorme PN-30, but how about the Garmin Dakota 10 or Dakota 20? I believe that they also support paperless caching but have a broader navigational use - would they be a better choice? Or are there ways that the Dakota units are inferior to the Magellan eXplorist GC?

[+Druce_n_Eulla]

Comparisons are being made here with the Out&Back and Delorme PN-30, but how about the Garmin Dakota 10 or Dakota 20? I believe that they also support paperless caching but have a broader navigational use - would they be a better choice? Or are there ways that the Dakota units are inferior to the Magellan eXplorist GC?

I am mentioning $200 dollar units. The Dakota 10 is $300 and 20 is $400 which puts them into a different price category in the paperless market. With that said the Dakota is more versatile. The Out&Back could be a competitor if the bugs would get fixed but the GC could not. The extra money spent would give you a great all around unit. If you can afford it the Dakota series would be a good choice.

Edited August 27, 2010 by Druce_n_Eulla

[+cwhlam]

With the GC, you do not have to buy maps. My understanding is that the included "basemap", for most countries, is as good as the detail maps that one has to buy for other GPSs, and that includes all of the US, Canada and Western Europe. You should consider the total cost: hardware + maps, before deciding.

[+Wolfdentx]

I have had my GC for about a month found 75 caches with it. Did not have any idea what to buy when i started caching. Went on line and did research and decided on GC for couple of reason can download numerous caches and it is linked with geocaching.com plus did not want to spend alot first time out. Only problem for me is blight texas sun makes screen hard to see. Again i am completely happy so far with GC.

[+Druce_n_Eulla]

With the GC, you do not have to buy maps. My understanding is that the included "basemap", for most countries, is as good as the detail maps that one has to buy for other GPSs, and that includes all of the US, Canada and Western Europe. You should consider the total cost: hardware + maps, before deciding.

The GC has a full base map where others only have major roads, not much by way of detail really. The purchased detailed maps of other units are better, they often include topo maps and some of the newer units add hill shading to give a 3d image of an area. In addition to that there are units that can give you an aerial view as well. That is if you even want the maps. Most people these days have in car GPS units which kinda negates the need for the full street maps as most people drive from one cache to the next unless they are walking around in the city.

 

The truth is you don't actually have to buy maps for any unit, heck my first 400 finds were with an eTrex h that has no mapping software.

Edited August 27, 2010 by Druce_n_Eulla

[+Albany Canucks]

I had a sales rep show me the Magellan eXplorist GC firsthand in a store today, since they'd just got them in. Overall it looked like a decent unit for geocaching purposes, at least, if you are on the physical site of the geocache. One thing I was quite disappointed about: the lack of detail on the base map. For the area I live (an Australian town), it only showed the main highway and coastline, but virtually nothing else. So aside from telling me that one geocache was 3.8km in one direction from my present location, and another geocache was 2.7km in a different direction, it didn't show anything useful to help me actually get to these locations or determine what was in those areas. Maybe some other Aussies can chime in and share their experiences with this, because maybe this is just an issue with the base map for Australia, and the level of detail is higher in North America?

 

As far as I can tell, the eXplorist GC is useful if you're already on location and trying to pinpoint where precisely a geocache is hidden. But what if you're on a main road and the eXplorist GC tells you that there's a cache 2km to the west of where you currently are? Then you have no way of knowing if you can even get there, or how to get there! Unless the sales representative was doing something wrong? - it was his first experience with the eXplorist GC. Or is this GPS mainly intended for telling you which geocaches are in the area, and mainly for when you're outside your vehicle and on foot for the last several hundred metres? How do you typically get on site, aside from driving in the `general direction' of the marked cache? Of course you could research this ahead of time for a specific cache, but that would somehow defeat the purpose of what this unit is intended to do, i.e. load a large amount of caches via a pocket query, and then just hit the road and have fun with them all, including caches along a route.

 

Or is my concern misplaced or based on a rash or unfair assessment?

[+Druce_n_Eulla]

Was just looking the info up for the maps and you are correct only major roads in Australia. This will not hurt your caching experience though so don't worry about it. The question is if you would want the side roads. You might want to go up a model and get the detailed maps for your area. Here is where the Garmin Dakotas would be a good choice. There are free maps for the Garmin's but no idea if they are full road maps though. Not sure the websites but a quick search on here or new post could get you that answer.

 

I would plug the Out&Back again but doubt there are Australian maps for it. The Garmin's are sure to carry them and work very well. Give the Dakota series a look into and see what kind of free maps you can get for your area. They may be what you are looking for.

[+geojibby]

I have been debating upgrading to a paperless unit for a long time. I have been watching this GC like crazy because of price & ease of use. Gotta love drag and drop .GPX caching ability! Go file system! But then, Magellan made public the newer upgraded explorists coming out soon. The next level up from the GC is the 510. It has a few more features that hikers might find useful (I'm thinking track management) and a camera for geotagging photos. Which is a nice feature. You need to spend $500 on an Oregon to get that kind of luxury! I guess I need to decide if a camera and track management is worth the extra $150.00 over the GC. http://www.magellangps.com/explorist/

 

EDIT - oh ya, and the touch screen difference. I want to see how readable the touch screen is outside. All touch screens have this achilles heel, which was another reason I was leaning towards the GC.

Edited August 27, 2010 by geojibby

[+Dragery]

I had a sales rep show me the Magellan eXplorist GC firsthand in a store today, since they'd just got them in. Overall it looked like a decent unit for geocaching purposes, at least, if you are on the physical site of the geocache. One thing I was quite disappointed about: the lack of detail on the base map. For the area I live (an Australian town), it only showed the main highway and coastline, but virtually nothing else. So aside from telling me that one geocache was 3.8km in one direction from my present location, and another geocache was 2.7km in a different direction, it didn't show anything useful to help me actually get to these locations or determine what was in those areas. Maybe some other Aussies can chime in and share their experiences with this, because maybe this is just an issue with the base map for Australia, and the level of detail is higher in North America?

 

As far as I can tell, the eXplorist GC is useful if you're already on location and trying to pinpoint where precisely a geocache is hidden. But what if you're on a main road and the eXplorist GC tells you that there's a cache 2km to the west of where you currently are? Then you have no way of knowing if you can even get there, or how to get there! Unless the sales representative was doing something wrong? - it was his first experience with the eXplorist GC. Or is this GPS mainly intended for telling you which geocaches are in the area, and mainly for when you're outside your vehicle and on foot for the last several hundred metres? How do you typically get on site, aside from driving in the `general direction' of the marked cache? Of course you could research this ahead of time for a specific cache, but that would somehow defeat the purpose of what this unit is intended to do, i.e. load a large amount of caches via a pocket query, and then just hit the road and have fun with them all, including caches along a route.

 

Or is my concern misplaced or based on a rash or unfair assessment?

 

A possible reason it was only showing you the main road was you probably were zoomed out too far. Once you zoom in, it will tell you all the smaller streets. And it's true that the unit doesn't have turn by turn navigation, so it's helpful to do a bit of Googlemaps research of an area before setting out for the day. What I usually do while I'm at work is find clusters of caches, or hikes of caches, and print out a topographic or satelite map of the location, and use that along with my Explorist GC to make sure I can physically get to the cache that *looks* close.

[+Druce_n_Eulla]

I had a sales rep show me the Magellan eXplorist GC firsthand in a store today, since they'd just got them in. Overall it looked like a decent unit for geocaching purposes, at least, if you are on the physical site of the geocache. One thing I was quite disappointed about: the lack of detail on the base map. For the area I live (an Australian town), it only showed the main highway and coastline, but virtually nothing else. So aside from telling me that one geocache was 3.8km in one direction from my present location, and another geocache was 2.7km in a different direction, it didn't show anything useful to help me actually get to these locations or determine what was in those areas. Maybe some other Aussies can chime in and share their experiences with this, because maybe this is just an issue with the base map for Australia, and the level of detail is higher in North America?

 

As far as I can tell, the eXplorist GC is useful if you're already on location and trying to pinpoint where precisely a geocache is hidden. But what if you're on a main road and the eXplorist GC tells you that there's a cache 2km to the west of where you currently are? Then you have no way of knowing if you can even get there, or how to get there! Unless the sales representative was doing something wrong? - it was his first experience with the eXplorist GC. Or is this GPS mainly intended for telling you which geocaches are in the area, and mainly for when you're outside your vehicle and on foot for the last several hundred metres? How do you typically get on site, aside from driving in the `general direction' of the marked cache? Of course you could research this ahead of time for a specific cache, but that would somehow defeat the purpose of what this unit is intended to do, i.e. load a large amount of caches via a pocket query, and then just hit the road and have fun with them all, including caches along a route.

 

Or is my concern misplaced or based on a rash or unfair assessment?

 

A possible reason it was only showing you the main road was you probably were zoomed out too far. Once you zoom in, it will tell you all the smaller streets. And it's true that the unit doesn't have turn by turn navigation, so it's helpful to do a bit of Googlemaps research of an area before setting out for the day. What I usually do while I'm at work is find clusters of caches, or hikes of caches, and print out a topographic or satelite map of the location, and use that along with my Explorist GC to make sure I can physically get to the cache that *looks* close.

Nope the GC does not have full basemap for Australia, here is what it states on Magellan's GC page:

Referencing a complete road network in North America and Western Europe and major roads throughout the rest of the populated world to help orientation. So Australia users are out of luck on this function.

[+Dragery]

Nope the GC does not have full basemap for Australia, here is what it states on Magellan's GC page:

Referencing a complete road network in North America and Western Europe and major roads throughout the rest of the populated world to help orientation. So Australia users are out of luck on this function.

Ahhh that sucks

[+Druce_n_Eulla]

Nope the GC does not have full basemap for Australia, here is what it states on Magellan's GC page:

Referencing a complete road network in North America and Western Europe and major roads throughout the rest of the populated world to help orientation. So Australia users are out of luck on this function.

Ahhh that sucks

I agree, seems that certain areas get the short end of the stick on some of these units.

[+musthavemuzk]

isnt printing maps out defeating the purpose of paperless caching though?

[+Albany Canucks]

isnt printing maps out defeating the purpose of paperless caching though?

I agree. Given that it has very poor maps for Australia, this factor has made me rule out getting the Magellan eXplorist GC. Aside from that it looks like a great unit for geocaching.

[+Dragery]

isnt printing maps out defeating the purpose of paperless caching though?

No?... Geocaching is still done entirely paperless... The hiking on the other hand, I bring a map somtimes. It's not by any means REQUIRED, but I choose to bring one as a backup incase I'm ever deciding which way to go. A topographic, or aerial map is far from the requirements of "Paperless geocaching".

Edited August 28, 2010 by Dragery

[+Team Hangman]

I really enjoyed the GC.. That was until the dog decided too chew the hat switch off the keypad

[+miamiyogi]

Hello all,

 

I am a newbie with only 20 caches to credit (I don't have a lot of spare time). I purchased the GC because I had read about caching on the internet (I don't know any other cachers yet) and I wanted to give it a shot and not spend a lot of money because I wasn't even sure if I would like caching.

 

So far I like my GC very much and at its price point I think its a decent machine. Having done a couple of caches no the only drawbacks I now notice is the lack of a separate internal compass. It is a tad slow on updating position, but as mentioned you can work around this. I love having all my caches on the unit, as when the urge hits I can just pull up the nearest cache and go.

 

The other drawback is writing even a small log with it is a pain, so I wait until I get home. Also the battery life indicator is lame, with me I have even had the unit die while displaying full battery charge; so now I keep six extra batteries in the truck at all times.

[+musthavemuzk]

recent comments about the GC have said to improve performance you need to turn off the smart arrow.

i forget the other tips users have posted.

look through the GC related threads and you will find them.

 

that was also one things i liked about the GC when i read the description. you have so many on it you can be out and about and start it up and likely have one close.

for myself i put traditional, multi, letterbox hybrid and earth caches on it and have the surrounding 85 miles in all directions covered. now with my 62s i have to think dif as it only holds 5000 and not 10000.

oh well. least i dont have the lag or freeze issues. although the battery meter is no better.

 

Monty

[+cterres]

Did you guys set up the units energy bar for using with alkaline-batteries?

Factory default is "lithium", cause new units shipped with a pair of that.

These are very powerful batteries, so if you replace them later with cheaper alkaline-cells, the energy-bar falls rapidly, if the unit still thinks it has lithium-cells in it.

Using alkaline or rechargeable s should be good for a 12-14 hour period.

But you need to tell the GC, wich type of cells you choose.

[+movemaine]

I've been looking at the gc too, but without the internal compass I don't think it will be an upgrade for me. I currently use my blackberry curve with the geocache navigator app (which is very good) - but the blackberry does not have an internal compass, and in the woods or with small movements, the compass doesn't update and the radar feature is not very accurate. So I think I may go with a Delorme PN-40, as I want an accurate device to work with my blackberry.

[+BZLuck]

FYI, if it hasn't been mentioned Target (and Target via Amazon.com) is selling the eXplorist GC for $169 right now on a "temporary price reduction."

[+musthavemuzk]

i think the price reduction is over at target, but not sure. it makes it easier to spend less money for it, but still i am not impressed overall with the GC.

 

recently we acquired our 3rd GC. first 2 froze and well we got the 3rd one from target on sept 17. waiting to send the 2nd one back to magellan, but gf wanted a gpsr for the weekends event at lake red rock. so we grabbed one. we paid 199.99 plus tax for it at target. tis why i say i am not sure the sale is still on at target.

so we had 2 working units with us for saturdays rainy outing. good thing too as when they loaded the events 150 caches on my 62s it overwrote the 3500 i had in it. at least we still had her GC to allow us to cache on the trip home.

so we have a fresh 1.4 firmware GC with the smart arrow turned off and auto zoom turned off. however it still autozoomed. but the arrow was the same all the time.

she didnt have anything to say about its sluggishness this time. so it was an improvement. i noticed, compared to my 62s, that it moved around the map much faster. which i liked. i also liked that it showed the name, d/t, size, trackables icon, distance, bearing, and found or dnf all on the list of caches. then when you go into a specific one you get more info yet.

with my 62s it is not that much info. as well as you have to go to a cache before you can get the same amount of info that the GC offers on one screen for many caches.

best bet here to see this without one in front of you is to google magellan explorist GC and look at the image results. to see screen shots.

so to me that is definitely a nice thing to have. lots of info right there for geocaching. minimal menu surfing to find relevant info for what you want. my gf used this info alot as she didnt want to find micro's on saturday. so she scrolled down to find those caches that were small or larger. we also like tb's and coins so we wanted to look for caches that showed they had tb's in them when i filled it with pq's on friday as well as caches that were big enough to hold them in case someone dropped one and had not logged it yet.

i also liked that the street names are easier to obtain with the GC then my 62s with OSM maps on it. i have to move cursor around to street and rest on it to see the name at the top of screen. on the GC it shows the name right there next to the street 90% of the time. the US and State roads show up easily on my 62s, but the smaller streets dont have the names right there beside them as the GC does. which is convenient.

 

another thing i like about the GC is that it shows colored areas for parks (green) and cemeteries (white) my gf said she saw red areas too.

 

coming down from speeds to a slow or crawl it took the GC a 2-3 minutes to calm down. it would show you one distance and bearing from cache and then once it had time to settle it would change. depending on speed we had came down from would be how much things changed. sometimes it was .1 mile it would change. and the bearing could be 180 degrees out as well. but i think this is something that if you are aware of you might be able to deal with it. my 62s does the same, but it takes under a minute to settle down and get right with things.

the GC doesnt have a magnetic compass either which might help the 62s.

i think for what it is it is ok. i just knew it wasnt acceptable for myself. my gf does like it when it is not frozen though. and it definitely saved our caching day on saturday since my 62s was wiped out of caches except for what was new at the event.

i still think it needs some work on polishing the unit, but as i said there are somethings i do like about it.

for myself i like the speed at which my 62s works. i like the routable maps on mine. i like how easy it is to mark a waypoint and edit it. i likehow the buttons to navigate are easier then the joystick on the GC. the GC screeen is easier to read in bright like i think.

 

i am still sticking with the fact that the GC is not for me. it is too sluggish my what i was expecting.

i do like some other things about it as i said above.

 

so i guess it depends on what you are going to do with the unit as to how good it is for your needs.

i thought about recomended a different unit for my gf, but she liked this one so i got another one.

i sooooo hope we dont have issues with this one. 2 bad units is enough.

 

as for the above mentioned comment about making sure you have the right battery type selected we have used just lithium in the GC so no need to worry about that. though i am considering rechargeables.

 

Monty

[robertlipe]

i think the price reduction is over at target, but not sure. it makes it easier to spend less money for it,

Within the hour, I was in a Target in TN. They were $159.

the GC doesnt have a magnetic compass either which might help the 62s.

It definitely does.

 

From your description, it sounds like there is still some tuning to do in the firmware but that overall it doesn't get totally mooned by a unit that's 2-3x the price. (More with maps...) Two failed units would definitely sour one on them.

[+musthavemuzk]

multiple bad units on one product would sour anyone. idk what the product is.

we went to lake red rock event near pella ia this past saturday and i saw 3 others with the GC. the one guy said he was on #2. his first got went and it was replaced. the other 2 ppl i didnt talk to. he seemed to like his GC.

 

i like some things about it, but overall i dont like it.

mayb the new explorists will have some of the same features and do well.

i agree though with mayb some firmware work and mayb some other things this could be a great caching unit.

i just dont see someone with a higher end unit being happy with it right now. or even someone that is coming from say the 60csx being happy with it. yes it is paperless, but it is not great is some aspects.

 

hopefully they follow the forums and have real testers out with it to give them honest real world input so they can improve it. or at least improve future releases of it.

 

i have seen a few UK ppl interested in it and i would like to help them, but with 2 frozen units i am not willing to do much playing with it right now. they have asked about maps on it for the UK. i would like to think it has a base map for the rest of the world, but idk how much detail it would have. or mayb they would end up releasing a european version?

 

it is a gps so you should be able to take it anywhere and get a sat lock. now the question is how are the maps in other areas of the world?

 

mayb i need to go back to target and see if the price is lower and what can be done about it if it is?

 

Monty

[+cterres]

There is a u.s.-version and a european version of the GC available.

Both have a basemap that contains streetlevel-details of north america and western europe.

The u.s.-version contains a 1gb-basemap, the european version got a 1.2gb map with additional map details for eastern europe.

So for england it is pretty much the same.

 

I have both versions in use/test here (germany), but i cant find any dealers for england, so afaik you need to look for a dealer outside britain. In France or germany you could find a shop.

[+Yshf]

I currently use an Iphone 3gs For Caching. Will The Gc be an upgrade from that? The Iphone updates Super slowly but that is the only thing i don't like about it.

Edited September 21, 2010 by team yeti smp

[+quiltingshirley]

We're new to geocaching and just got our GPS a couple of days ago. I know it says just click any button to turn on back lighting but when I do it takes me to a different area and then I need to hit the back button again. Is there a button you can press and it will just turn back on, like a camera does? It seems to be extremely accurate in our first few searches. When it says 0 ft we are right on it. (which is good since it was a micro -- those things are tiny)

[+ShaunEM]

I currently use an Iphone 3gs For Caching. Will The Gc be an upgrade from that? The Iphone updates Super slowly but that is the only thing i don't like about it.

 

I can tell you I have the GC and I frequently pull out my iphone still.

 

It really comes down to how you cache. I have not found ANYTHING as good as the google maps on the geocaching.com iphone map.

 

The story totally changes if you are looking for a cache in the woods or out of cell phone range. That is where a GPS will help you.

 

You are also going to find the process of loading caches (and its info) onto the GPS as a big step DOWN from the iphone app.

 

Shaun

[+gpsblake]

Arrow that spins like crazy still there when you aren't moving, inaccuate odometer still there, still not worth jack in the woods, unit about 3 seconds behind real time (thus the boomerang effect when geocaching), way too many button pushes to move around the menus (you shouldn't have to click the stick over dozen times to access options on a page), poor to see in daylight, small fonts, weird arrow pointer, horribly outdated street maps, software past 1.4 introduced even more problems, very faulty Magellan communicator software, Magellan pretty much abandoning software updates since the 310 came out, and that's just one minute of thinking....

 

All my GC does is collect dust now. I wasted my money on it. Never again.

 

If you must buy one, buy it real cheap, and do not upgrade the firmware past 1.4