Garmin Nuvi 1300 or 1450?

[+CrazyCate]

Does anyone use the Nuvi 1450? I am in need of upgrading my turn-by-turn and have been looking but can't decide. I love the 1450 because of the big screen, but will it download the caches into the mapping system. I have been trying to decide between the Nuvi 1300 and the 1450. Has anyone got any suggestions? I'm new at purchasing these and am getting antsy to get started with a gps that will do caching paperless. Thanks!

[+humboldt flier]

Just sprung for a 1450 the other day ... up graded from a 760.

 

I walked in the door of an REI store fully intending to drop the dollars on a 1300 series ... then I saw the larger screened 1450 ... yepper, went with the larger unit.

 

These old eyes are loving large screen units. You can input co-ords. directly into Garmin Nuvi car navigation units.

 

There is a Nuvi Macro associated with GSAK which will do the cache downloading deed, HOWEVER, I do not know if the 1450 is a supported unit.

 

I have other toys I download caches into sooooooo I am no help in that avenue.

Edited September 21, 2010 by humboldt flier

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

Just to be sure you realize, these are not ruggedized units, nor do they have a compass screen. A handheld model will serve you better for geocaching.

[+monahmat]

I use a 1300 with the GSAK macro for loading caches. It has the micro SD expansion, holds a ton of caches and allows for manual input of coordinates if you are doing a mutli or puzzle cache. I'd definitely recommend the unit. I recently upgraded to it from a Garmin Street Pilot.

[+monahmat]

Noticing Redwoods post I do agree, if you don't already have a handheld that would be my first investment. My 1300 simply does the road directions, my 60CSx takes me to the cache.

Edited September 22, 2010 by monahmat

[+Monkey Man & Lulu]

We have a Oregon 450, Nuvi 1450t and a 60CSx

 

You can down load waypoints from Gsak into the Nuvi and see them on the screen. We really enjoy the big screen, but would recommend using a handheld unit once you are at the cache site.

 

We really like our 60CSx for navigating at the cache site mostly because we know how to use it better. We are just learning to use the Oregon for navigating at the cache site. The one thing that is really nice about the Oregon is being able to quickly bring up the cache information, which is quicker than looking it up on our ipod.

 

Hope this helps

Monkey Man & Lulu

[+rising.sun]

Monkey Man & Lulu and monahmat,

 

From what I am reading in your posts, it sounds like a .GPX pocket query file from Groundspeak can not just be dropped into the GPX folder of the nuvi units and have it show the cache locations? The GSAK macro has to be the way to do this? Just curious.

 

I have a nuvi 1450 on order to go with our Oregon 550 and was hoping to use the 1450 on the road to get us close and see what's up ahead before switching to the handheld. If I have to get GSAK to make it work, that's what I will do, but I was hoping the nuvi had the capability of just accepting the pocket query gpx file.

 

Looking forward to your response(s).

[+BAMBOOZLE]

The ONLY Nuvi that is MADE for Geocaching is the 500 and 550. Loaded caches go right in and appear on the maps....there is a factory icon for Geocaching and the unit is totally paperless...it holds cache pages, hints, etc and you can upload field notes to your computer for fast logging.

For some reason these units stay under the radar ( I had bought a 780 not realizing a unit like the 500 existed.)

Its fairly rugged, waterproff, and has compass screen although a handheld ( hopefully one with a three-axis electronic compass ) is better for walking from car to cache.

[+a2n]

I use a Nuvi 1300 in my car to drive to the cache site, and switch to a Delorme Pn-40 for hiking to find it. I love them both. The Nuvi accepts the downloads and shows cache icons on the map as I drive. However, as mentioned above, it is not a rugged unit, and it's really hard to read the screen in bright sunlight. The hand-held is the way to go for geocaching on foot and can also navigate your drive (you can switch between 'drive' or 'hike' in routing preferences) The built in compass and "distance to cache" are important features.

The one dangerous downside about navigating/driving with a hand held is that it can be a major distraction to your road-focus unless you have it mounted somewhere at eye level. Be aware and be careful.

[+webwitch]

I bought a Garmin 1450t to replace the TomTom I misplaced. I chose the Garmin as it was recommended by Choice magazine and I also use a Garmin 550 handheld. I was able to load POI files that I exported from GSAK and also GPX files to the 1450t. I was disappointed that the 1450t only indicated the POIs with a single small icon, whereas on the TomTom I was able to load my own icon for each POI file. In this way I could distinguish between found and unfound caches.

 

Luckily for my geocaching (but not for my wallet) I found the TomTom under the couch where it had been hiding for a month. I think that one of my sons, who don't get geocaching, will get the 1450t.

[+IBcrashen]

I was disappointed that the 1450t only indicated the POIs with a single small icon, whereas on the TomTom I was able to load my own icon for each POI file. In this way I could distinguish between found and unfound caches.

 

try switching the .bmp file with the icon you want before you send it, make sure to name it exactly as the POI file. not positive this will work.

 

Found treasure chest

Unfound treasure chest

Edited April 26, 2011 by IBcrashen

[+webwitch]

 

try switching the .bmp file with the icon you want before you send it, make sure to name it exactly as the POI file. not positive this will work.

 

Found treasure chest

Unfound treasure chest

 

Thanks for the suggestion. This works on the TomTom but, sadly, not on the Garmin.

[+gelfling6]

You could use the Garmin POI loader to place info from the pocket query onto a Nuvi. There is also a 3rd party macro for GSAK, to export a custom POI file for the NUVI, which worked fairly well when I used it, that also uses the POI loader to place caches form the GSAK database onto the Nuvi. (I had to replace the Bell with a radar like tone.. the bell was driving me Bats!)

 

I ended-up removing it from my NuVi, because the database I was using had grown so big, it was choking the internal memory, (tried on the micro-SD as well, but even then the database grew too big) Now, I just keep a melanged map file on the SD card, of 3rd party maps (including trails!).. Even the Mapsource Topo maps work!)

 

It's possible.. I'm still hoping some poor soul got the Nuvi 205 I had, that they stole, and the constant pinging of the bell drives them bonkers too!

[+GrateBear]

I don't understand why a Nuvi is needed to navigate to the general location of a cache, and then a handheld for the find. I use a Dakota 20 for both, and it works just fine. As for car only units, I have a DroidX that works better than the Nuvi I have. All I need to do is hit the "voice" icon, say "navigate to" wherever I want to go, and away I go, with voice direction.

[+webwitch]

I don't understand why a Nuvi is needed to navigate to the general location of a cache, and then a handheld for the find. I use a Dakota 20 for both, and it works just fine. As for car only units, I have a DroidX that works better than the Nuvi I have. All I need to do is hit the "voice" icon, say "navigate to" wherever I want to go, and away I go, with voice direction.

 

I use the in-car sat nav to see where there might be any caches around where I am driving or to drive to a cache. By having a POI file of caches, I can look them up before I leave home. When I get to the park, bushland, landmark or where ever the cache I am targeting lives I then get out of the car and walk with my handheld. It is just a tad awkward to use a handheld will driving. It looks too much like a mobile phone and I would rather not get booked for using it while driving

[+a2n]

I agree, the handheld will certainly navigate just fine in the car, and I do use that for short caching runs around the local area, but when going for a cache out of town, it just makes more sense to use the car GPS to get there, then switch to hand held on hiking mode. I don't like the diriving distraction of a hand held. I suppose having a dash mount for it would make a difference, but this method works for me.

Edited April 29, 2011 by a2n

[+AirRaidFan]

Heads UP: Most recent post here is months old. Technology moves much faster than that.

Edited January 4, 2012 by AirRaidFan