Selecting a GPS is driving me crazy!

[writer@large]

I plan to start geocaching as soon as the snow melts -- I've been interested for years, and I need to exercise more. Right now, though, I'm just AGONIZING over the purchase of a GPS.

 

I'm a bit of a gadget guy, so I geek out at bells and whistles. But, I'm also a frugal guy, and I don't want to drop a wad of cash on a device I might use only once or twice, if it turns out I don't like GCing. But, I prefer higher quality tech to basic tech. But, for the price of a high-end GPS, I could get a GPS-enabled smartphone and have GPS capability, the Geocache.com app, and all the other things a smartphone offers. But, then I'd have an $80 a month phone bill.

 

... can you see my dilemma? I'm not so good with purchasing decisions.

 

I wish I had a friend who owned a GPS, so I could just borrow it and get a feel for it. But alas, I don't.

 

Anyway, what's your advice for GPS buy-in? Is it worth it nowadays to get a dedicated unit, or is a good smartphone with GPS capability just as good?

 

--W@L

[+StarBrand]

My advice is to buy a dedicated GPS unit.

 

They tend to be much more accurate, they are ruggedized for the kind of drops, falls and exposure to water you see while geocaching and many are ready to work with Geocaching GPX files.

 

I would also advise you to look at a paperless Geocaching unit if you like best technology. As for the actual unit - go to a large store where you can look at them and touch and feel them. Then go shopping for the best deal.

Edited February 25, 2011 by StarBrand

[writer@large]

Thanks for the perspective. Paperless is definitely something I'm interested in, though of course that means spending more. Ach, decisions, decisions!

[+eagsc7]

For just starting out in geocaching, I will recommend ANY GARMIN UNIT! They are by far the most accurate and widely used units in geocaching. I say this because I have used Garmin, maggies, tomtoms, and yes, even a Delorme unit The Garmin has always been the most accurate(comparative to surveyors equipment). Maggies have been off by anywhere from 40-150 Feet. TomTom dosen't really have a great way to transfer waypoints, and the Delorme was just a bit too wierd for my hands.

 

Of course, goto a store and see what you like. See if the store has a way to rent the unit for a day/week. If they do, rent one and find some caches. Either way, you will find yourself asking "Where's the nearest cache", and "Where do I want to take that next GeoVacation".

 

On the Smartphone... I have one as well(Droid2 Global). Haven't truely tested the accuracy of its GPS, but with the GPS on(Active), the battery DIES quickly. I DO NOT USE the geocaching app. Why pay for something in which you can get for free. I use c:geo, and its AWESOME. It is MUCH better to have the Premium membership than pay for the geocaching.com app.

 

The Steaks

[+MoonCatKDT & Peanut]

Get a GPS. We use both the iPhone and a Garmin Dakota 10, and the only time we ever use the iPhone is when we weren't expecting to cache but there's one nearby and the GPS is at home.

 

The problem with the phone is it's not built for Geocaching, let alone being outdoors at all. When it starts to rain, you put it away. When you are hopping over a stream, the first thing through your mind is OMG i hope i don't drop my phone! And, dropping it in the snow/mud is just as bad.

 

I've already replaced my iPhone after dropping it in a little stream while Geocaching, and trust me, it's a lot cheaper to just go with the GPS.

 

Edited to add: A GPS will get you closer to GZ, as well it won't bounce around our lag as much as the phone. the GPS makes it much easier to get to GZ.

 

Go with Garmin. I'd never go back!

Edited February 25, 2011 by MoonCat & KDT

[+dfx]

My personal and biased recommendation is the Oregon 450. It's about as high-tech as it gets with those things, but can be quite pricy if you don't catch it on sale somewhere or so. The Dakota 20 is the smaller and cheaper brother of it.

 

An even cheaper alternative would be the Magellan explorist GC. It's much simpler, not as high-tech and doesn't have as many features (esp. the lack of builtin compass might bite you if you like gadgets, cause this is something really cool to have), but does have paperless capabilities and is much cheaper. Personally I wouldn't recommend it, but if budget is an issue, it's definitely good enough to get started (pending a potential later upgrade).

Edited February 25, 2011 by dfx

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

All above have provided good advice.

 

One other note -- Don't look towards bottom-end, in the long run, you will not be happy (or if nothing else, you'll spend more to upgrade before long).

 

Figure out what you want, paperless, mapping, screen size, durability and above all - tech support! Once you have thought those through, only two or three possibilities will stand out. It eliminates a lot of arguing with yourself as to what you need/want.

 

Having said that... Dish out the bucks. The peace-of-mind in knowing that you didn't "chince-out" on yourself is worth it. Yes, you CAN buy happiness.

[+ventura_kids]

So many choices.....

 

Low end units.... Garmin Legend.

moving up the list...you will add maps with all the points of interest

 

High end units....Garmin 62S + street maps

includes turn by turn directions (tones), and is supported with paperless geocaching (you can see the cache pages)

 

It sounds like you are leaning towards a phone with geocaching apps. That works too!

 

The good news is...they all work just fine for geocaching.

If you get one that is not "all that", you can easily sell it and buy a better one.

[+Indotguy]

I plan to start geocaching as soon as the snow melts -- I've been interested for years, and I need to exercise more. Right now, though, I'm just AGONIZING over the purchase of a GPS.

 

I'm a bit of a gadget guy, so I geek out at bells and whistles. But, I'm also a frugal guy, and I don't want to drop a wad of cash on a device I might use only once or twice, if it turns out I don't like GCing. But, I prefer higher quality tech to basic tech. But, for the price of a high-end GPS, I could get a GPS-enabled smartphone and have GPS capability, the Geocache.com app, and all the other things a smartphone offers. But, then I'd have an $80 a month phone bill.

 

... can you see my dilemma? I'm not so good with purchasing decisions.

 

I wish I had a friend who owned a GPS, so I could just borrow it and get a feel for it. But alas, I don't.

 

Anyway, what's your advice for GPS buy-in? Is it worth it nowadays to get a dedicated unit, or is a good smartphone with GPS capability just as good?

 

--W@L

 

My gosh, buying a first GPS for Geocaching isn't like buying a house or new car. Go out and get a basic, inexpensive unit like a Garmin Etrex or similar and see how things work out. If you continue to cache, you will eventually want to upgrade to a better unit and by then you will have figured out which 'bells and whistles' you prefer. In my opinion you will have more fun in the long run if you start out with something simple and work your way up. More than once I've seen newbies get in over their head with an expensive, advance unit and then get frustrated and lose interest because they can't figure it out. I started Geocaching in '04 with an Etrex and have owned seven GPSers so far.

[+babybexar&ladybug]

I have a Sprint smart phone which I tried to use for geocaching. You have to be a premium member (and buy the other required software per month) and I never could pull up the pocket queries that would be sent to my phone. I also tried downloading another free geocaching navigation to my phone. It would get me to a general area like a street corner and say You're there. It wouldn't walk you to the cache, or give any further directions. Also bought a Magellan eXplorist 510 Waterproof Hiking GPS which is very expensive. It didn't work any better at getting me to the cache than the cheap GPS's I have now. So, I don't agree spending a lot will get you a better GPS. It does get you lots more bells and whistles, most of which are of no interest. Found it extremely frustration to use too, as it had thousands of intructions.

[+at play by jc/eaglei]

Here is a diffrent perspective to think about, I don't know if you have an REI store around where you live but you can also do REI on line, they sell top quality gear including GPS units in many prize ranges the advantage to REI is the life time guarntee if you use a GPS or any of there products and decide 5 years or 5 months down the road you don't like it you can take it back for a full refund, I have exchanged mine three times. So if you decide you would like to upgrade it won't cost you anything or if your unit has a problem you don't have to send it to the factory to get fixed you just take it back & get a new one. Yes you do pay a little more at REI you just have to decide if it is worth it...

[+saltygirl72]

I feel your pain. I did quite a bit of research on GPS's before buying. It really depends on what you will be using it for.

 

If it will used for strictly caching I would go with the Magellan eXplorist GC as it is designed for this purpose.

 

Garmins seem to be an accurate user friendly unit and they have quite a few with all the bells and whistles.

 

I ended up buying a Delorme PN-60w and these were my reasons:

 

I have a few backpacking buddies that told me if they could buy any unit this would be the one. The Delorme PN-60w comes with the SPOT tracker, which is a must if you go off the beaten track as you can send one-way text messages and even summon SAR if you find yourself in a real pinch and without cell phone coverage.

 

2. If you do go on solo missions your family and friends can track where you are in real time (every 10 minutes) from the SPOT website. I just recently lent it to a friend that went on a 7 day solo hiking trip to the desert southwest and we were able to "watch" his progress from 300+ miles away.

 

3. We have a group of friends that we camp with over the summers and as we are all working folks, none of us are able to leave at the same time. In the past this has meant the person who leaves first finds our camping spot and then has to to drive back to where they have cell coverage to let everyone else know where they are going. With this feature now all they have do is send out a text message from the spot and it will give us all their coordinates.....brilliant!

 

Downside is my unit is a bit complicated to figure out at first and it is pricey.

 

As for the smartphones, I don't suggest them if you feel like you want to do this as a hobby, down the road you will find yourself really wanting the accuracy of a GPS.

 

This is a great activity to get you outside and moving. Don't feel like you have to wait for the "snow to melt" though. There are plenty of city caches that you can find all year long.

[+tango501]

I started with a Garmin Nuvi 265W

worked so-so for GCing, and it teach me to search

then went to the Garmin 60csx-awesome unit

recently upgraded to Garmin 62st-WOW!

 

I also use my Droid with Groundspeaks app

coupled with C:geo

 

makes driving to near GZ alot easier

 

I have used/borrowed and tested many others

but my personal favs are these

 

60 I got on sale at Best Buy for 300 a few years ago

62 I scored on craigslist brandnew for 225

and yes, I check and it is not stolen

[+cfever]

All the bells and whistles won't help you find that cleverly hidden cache any faster! I use a Garmin 60CSx and an Ipod Touch with the Geosphere app for paperless. The 60CSx can be bought for around $150 - $200 new if you look around and they are super accurate, rugged GPSr's. The 62 series is paperless too. From what I have heard, the only drawback to the Oregon line is some complain that the touch screen is not very responsive and the display is not as bright as the 60 series. That and they supposedly are not as accurate as the 60 series either, from what I hear.

 

Really, the hunt is the most rewarding part for me, not the technology I use to play the game.

[Cath&Austin]

I'm also waiting for the snow to melt. I just got a 60CSx, and am dying to give it a try.

[writer@large]

Thanks for all the replies. I decided to target a used Garmin eTrex Venture HC on eBay, and just scored one for $76. So I will be geocaching as soon as this dang-blamed snow melts!

 

--W@L

[+briansnat]

Thanks for all the replies. I decided to target a used Garmin eTrex Venture HC on eBay, and just scored one for $76. So I will be geocaching as soon as this dang-blamed snow melts!

 

--W@L

 

Why wait for the snow to melt. There are thousands of goecachers out there finding caches in the snow. I just came back from the Adirondacks and found 5 or 6 caches with 3 feet of snow on the ground.

[writer@large]

Why wait for the snow to melt. There are thousands of goecachers out there finding caches in the snow. I just came back from the Adirondacks and found 5 or 6 caches with 3 feet of snow on the ground.

Because I'm totally new to this and staying local and really don't want to clomp around in the snow just yet.

[+tripletreasurehunter]

I suggest the Magellan Explorist GC. I love it, its 149.99 at Target so the price isn't way out there and it does have the paperless caching that lets you enter logs, etc. In my experience (about 6 months of exclusive use) it is extremely accurate, easy on the batteries...It shows the cache descriptions, hints, last 5 logs, etc. Its also water resistant and very rugged, I cache with two kids, a 6 year old who loves to take control of my gps so it gets dropped alot and a 6 month old who is normally strapped to me in a baby carrier so I drop it alot, I have had no issues and it shows no wear and tear... I highly recommend this GPS.

Edited March 15, 2011 by tripletreasurehunter

[ted_better-aka-Ed]

I suggest the Magellan Explorist GC. I love it, its 149.99 at Target so the price isn't way out there and it does have the paperless caching that lets you enter logs, etc. In my experience (about 6 months of exclusive use) it is extremely accurate, easy on the batteries...It shows the cache descriptions, hints, last 5 logs, etc. Its also water resistant and very rugged, I cache with two kids, a 6 year old who loves to take control of my gps so it gets dropped alot and a 6 month old who is normally strapped to me in a baby carrier so I drop it alot, I have had no issues and it shows no wear and tear... I highly recommend this GPS.

I use a android x and if a gps is more acurate that this it must find it for you.