+patandkat Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I am looking to buy my first GPSr. I have been caching with my phone for about 4 months, and have had pretty good luck. I am looking for something a little more solid, with some battery life and not quite so fragile as my Blackberry. After lots of review, I am down to either the Oregon(300, 400 or 450), The dakota 20 or the Delorme Earthmate PN40. I am looking for a little advice from the community about which you think I would be happiest with. I am looking for mostly geocaching with a little biking as well. Thanks! Patandkat Quote Link to comment
+dfx Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 If any of the Oregons, then a 450. The Dakota 20 is about the same, just smaller (with smaller screen and lower resolution). It also doesn't do Wherigo and I think it also stores less geocaches. No idea about the Delorme. Quote Link to comment
+Triple Crown Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I am looking to buy my first GPSr. I have been caching with my phone for about 4 months, and have had pretty good luck. I am looking for something a little more solid, with some battery life and not quite so fragile as my Blackberry. After lots of review, I am down to either the Oregon(300, 400 or 450), The dakota 20 or the Delorme Earthmate PN40. I am looking for a little advice from the community about which you think I would be happiest with. I am looking for mostly geocaching with a little biking as well. Thanks! Patandkat Well I'd narrow it further to the Oregon 450 since the 300 & 400 are discontinued. The Dakota 20 is slightly smaller overall but I like the bigger screen on the Oregon. I tried the PN-40 and it's a very good unit and the PN-60 is even better, but in the end I went with the (now discontinued) Oregon 300. Familiarity with Garmin products was a factor for me, but the clunkiness of the DeLorme settings and that I hated their mapping program finally swayed me. You might also consider the Garmin 62s which has all the paperless features and the screen is a little easier to read (non-touchscreen) if you're doing a lot of biking, since it's hard to adjust the screen angle once on the bike mount. Quote Link to comment
+Pax42 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I notice the PN-40 is on your list but not the PN-60. If your budget can handle the Oregon series then it could easily handle the Delorme PN-60. I don't see any deals on it right now but it often gets discounted at Amazon and several other retailers. The price has been as low as $250 during the holidays. May not see that price again for awhile but a sub $300 price isn't out of the question. As for the performance of the Delormes, I like both, but much prefer the 60 for it's better user interface and much longer battery life. Quote Link to comment
+dfx Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 You might also consider the Garmin 62s which has all the paperless features and the screen is a little easier to read (non-touchscreen) if you're doing a lot of biking, since it's hard to adjust the screen angle once on the bike mount. Depends on what mount you have. I have the Garmin mount and it's easy to move it up and down any time. Never had a problem reading my Oregon while on the bike. Quote Link to comment
+patandkat Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 So, the Dakota and the Oregon are similar as far as accuracy etc? I am leaning toward the Dakota. Also, I know the Oregons have a pressure sensitive screen, so they work in the winter. Is this the case with the Dakota as well? The reason I am leaning away from the gpsmap 60 or 62 is because I like having the name of the cache as well as a little bit to go on as far as description etc. Budget is 250ish. Quote Link to comment
+dfx Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 (edited) So, the Dakota and the Oregon are similar as far as accuracy etc? I am leaning toward the Dakota. Also, I know the Oregons have a pressure sensitive screen, so they work in the winter. Is this the case with the Dakota as well? Yes. Screen readabilty on the Dakotas is slightly worse though (partly because of the lower resolution). The reason I am leaning away from the gpsmap 60 or 62 is because I like having the name of the cache as well as a little bit to go on as far as description etc. You're right about this with the 60 series, but not the 62. The 62 has the same paperless capabilities as the Oregons and the Dakotas. Internally it's really the same device, but on the outside without the touchscreen, with buttons, with a bigger antenna, with a slightly different user interface, without Wherigo support and some other minor differences. Edited January 25, 2011 by dfx Quote Link to comment
+patandkat Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 (edited) Can someone comment regarding the accuracy between Delorme pn-40 and the Dakota 20? Its my understanding that all GPSrs that are at the price point are pretty similar. Is that a fair assumption. I am leaning heavily toward the Dakota, but looked a ton at the Delormes as well. I am seeing both for around $200ish. My wife and I are starting to look at doing some hides. We really want our coords dead on accurate. I know there is some flex with any unit. I just wondered if one of these 3 is a cut above the rest. Thanks and happy caching! Edited January 25, 2011 by patandkat Quote Link to comment
+Pax42 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 You are correct in that all models at that level and above are going to be very similar in accuracy. Quote Link to comment
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