Geocaching & Car(GPS)

[Avraker]

Hello ya'll

 

I'm new to geocaching, I tried it once with my iphone4 as gps, but it turned out to not be very good at all, loosing connection and closing from time to time.

 

So I'v decided to get myself a real gps.

The thing is, that i want a hand held GPS that works both for geocaching and when driving on the roads.

 

So I'm woundering if anyone of you could give me a tip on a good quality gps that works for my purpose?

 

I'v hear Garmin 60csx would meet my requierment, but as it is now I can't find any really good deals at the moment, so I just want to look into other options.

 

Garmin, or of equal quality is good.

 

I live in sweden if that has any to do with the outcome.

 

Best regards

Avraker

[+dfx]

any of the more advanced garmin handhelds can do car navigation, be it the 62 series, the oregons, the dakotas etc, provided you have routable maps installed. they will not be as good as a dedicated driving GPS though: the screen will be smaller, you'll need an extra windshield/dashboard mount, most likely a car power adapter and they will not talk to you, but instead only beep.

 

the other option would be to get a driving GPS and use that for geocaching. some of them have a special geocaching mode (nuvi 5x0), but no idea how well that really works. others can be configured to be somewhat usable for geocaching, but will never be as comfortable and convenient for that as a handheld.

 

so it pretty much depends on what your main usage focus is.

[+briansnat]

I've used a Garmin 60CSX for a number of years for automotive navigation and a 60CS before that. It's not perfect, small screen, no voice commands, but it gets me there. It has some nice features such as showing closeups of the intersection as you approach a turn. And it will beep when a turn is coming up and again right at it. You can proably get a good deal on a 60CSX these days. Still a great all around unit.

 

Also the Garmin Nuvi 500 series is waterproof, ruggedized and has a compass navigation screen and field replaceable batteries, so it's a decent choice for automotive use and geocaching. Still it has an awkward shape for hand held use and no lanyard, but most of the other issues that automotive units have have been addressed in the Nuvi 500 series..

[+Team Taran]

The other point to think about is you can get a dedicated Nuvi to use in the car for not much more than the cost of the maps needed to do auto routing on your Garmin handheld. Check out prices on Amazon. I've used both methods and find the dedicated car unit much easier especially if you often drive by yourself.

Team Taran

[Double:tap]

If you're looking to save some money, look for a refurb on ebay or elsewhere. I bought a Garmin 60cx for $184 shipped this summer and it is perfect. I've bought quite a few items over the years that were refurbs and never had a problem. Honestly, I think most of these get returned for reasons other than problems.

[+hukilaulau]

The other point to think about is you can get a dedicated Nuvi to use in the car for not much more than the cost of the maps needed to do auto routing on your Garmin handheld.

True, dat... I used a Magellan eXplorist 500 for both autorouting and geocaching, but the maps cost something like $150. Now I have a basic Nuvi (255) which does a much better job for autorouting, and i get all the caches on there with the GSAK macro.

[+SilentWolf]

I use the Oregon 300 with the street maps installed for routing. It's worked like a charm for me so far.

[+humboldt flier]

60CSX with street navigator micro SD card is an excellent option

[+humboldt flier]

60CSX with street navigator micro SD card is an excellent option

 

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, double post because the site has once again ground to a halt. ( or seemingly so )

Edited September 18, 2010 by humboldt flier

[+Sol seaker]

I've heard people complain a lot about using car GPS's for geocaching.

 

They say that they aren't as accurate and the battery doesn't last very long.

 

There are forums just on GPS's. Check it out.

[+Rich1010]

Using a car GPS will be a very fustrating experience. We started using one to geocache, after a second day out with it we just gave up and went home.

 

I would suggest 2x units. used car gps's can be got fairly cheap on ebay, then spend what you have left to get yourself a proper GPS for geocaching.

 

GSAK will allow you to export caches to a POI (point of intertest) file so that you can see where caches are on the car gps and use your geo gps for pinpointing.

[+Chuy!]

I have a Nuvi 750 for the dash. I've also used several of the older Street Pilot models.

 

I have a Vista HCx and Venture Cx, and a 60cs - all have routing maps.

 

My preference for all around, of these GPS', is the Vista HCx. I hike and bike alot and prefer it's compactness and lighter weight to the 60 series. If you don't hike/bike that much, then the 60 may be a better fit for the dash for it's larger screen size. The touch screens (Dakota-Colorado-Oregon) should also be considered - they appear limited only by their higher prices. But, if you are only going to have one GPS, you definitely want a handheld over a dash-dedicated unit because handhelds make much better dash units than dash units make a handheld. There are some hybrids such as the Nuvi 500/550, but there is a reason Garmin lists them under their dash unit category. The new Nuvi 295W looks interesting but battery only lasts 4 hours.

[+roziecakes]

I use my Nuvi 255 for caching all the time. I've found several hundred caches with it. If you actually learn how to use it for caching, and take the rigth steps it's pretty easy to do. HOWEVER, a handheld GPS is made much for much more rugged use and has better battery life, and is made for taking out hiking and for going around in inclement weather.

 

My ideal situation is to use my nuvi for car navigation and the handheld for walking to ground zero. It works great for me!

[knowschad]

The other point to think about is you can get a dedicated Nuvi to use in the car for not much more than the cost of the maps needed to do auto routing on your Garmin handheld. Check out prices on Amazon. I've used both methods and find the dedicated car unit much easier especially if you often drive by yourself.

Team Taran

Excellent suggestion. I use a 60csx for caching, but a Nuvi 550W for getting to the park, and also for holding the cache page information for paperless caching (using a macro that is available free for use with GSAK) Its a great combination!