Is there a reasonably prices GPS that will work in the car AND for Geocaching?

[dswood1]

Novice looking to buy a new GPS that will accept GPS coordinates, and work equally well for on the road navigation. I would appreciate any insight into the pros and cons of this kind of unit. I do not have a data plan on my phone, so that is not an option.

 

Thank you forum!

Edited April 5, 2011 by dswood1

[+mpilchfamily]

There are several options. Problem is most of the more affordable options are not all that great for Geocaching. They are generally not as rugged as a good hand held unit and may not be water resistant. Worst yet might be battery life. Those that have all of that tend to have a smaller screen then most regular nav units. Overall its best ot have separate units. Thats my opinion anyway.

[dswood1]

Thanks for the feedback mpilchfamily....let me know your preferences on brand then. I'll look into it and consider. We generally take a 6-8 week road trip every year and liked the Magellan we borrowed last year, but it did not have the Geocache ability. In the end, I think the street navigation will be used more than Geocaching, but you never know I guess, so we would consider both.

 

Thanks again

[+mpilchfamily]

Well most Nav units can Geocache. They aren't the easiest to use and as mentioned above they are not rugged and have bad battery life. Often your lucky to get more then an hour or 2 out of them unplugged. I first started caching using a Garmin Nuvi 1300. It was a bit confusing to use and i needed to have a compass on me to make sure i was heading in the right direction. I then picked up a Garmin eTrex Legend H after Christmas. For $109 i got a good quality hand held unit that covered all my needs for Geocaching. Mainly i wanted bearing and range to GZ. As you can see i favor Garmin.

[+Tobias & Petronella]

Car units vs. Hand held units

 

Both are good for what they. Some cachers like one over the other. We started with the Nuvi 255w and now use the Nuvi 1350T. Out of all the caches we have done only six were found using a hand held unit. For us the 1350T is easy to use and can be paperless. There are a few tricks you will need to learn if you go the Nuvi route. With having 2311 finds and 255 of them are FTFs (and Co-FTFs) we are happy with what we have. But that is us and may not be the best for you.

[+UKDAN]

You say you dont have a data plan on your phone ? With the iphone and android apps you can search and save all caches in the area you want to goto over wifi at home or at a free hotspot. Then just put the phone into airplane mode when you go out looking.

 

Dan

Edited April 8, 2011 by dansalemming

[+Chief301]

OP probably doesn't have an iPhone or other smartphone because if they did they would be required to carry the data plan (at least AT&T does). Even if you got the phone somewhere else.

[joesdolphins]

Garmin nuvi 500 its a car gps that has paperless caching. And is a s accurate as a hand held