First GPS

[greyfergie]

We have been using our sat nav with some small success and nearly coming to fisty cuffs! We are now ready to buy our first GPS, don't really want to spend over £125. Any suggestions?

[NordicMan]

Garmin Etrex Venture Hc is a great starter GPSr

Edited April 15, 2011 by NordicMan

[+Bardenl]

If you don't mind spending a lot less, you might consider a Geomate Jr. by Apisphere. I paid under $70 US for the gps and the update cable from Amazon. It's only for geocaching and I'm having a lot of fun. Check out the specs, and read the online manual if you want to fully understand the features. I've noticed a lot of errors in the forums (like saying it doesn't show altitude when it does).

[+DazeDnFamily]

Not sure today's conversion rate, but for US150, you can get a Magellan Explorist GC. It has a map background (Geomate has arrow/distance only), is completely paperless (Geomate has no cache info except name and location), and if memory serves, holds something like 5,000 caches (Geomate holds like 250k, but with almost no data at all. The GC holds the long and short description, hint and last 5 logs.) Also, the Geomate is US based. You have to buy a US25 update cable in order to get caches in Europe loaded into it. (That may have changed. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.) So, for the difference in 50 US dollars (you can prolly even find it cheaper. $150 is about the "norm"), you get a fully paperless GPS, that was designed specifically to support geocaching. The Geomate has gotten decent reviews, but in my experience, you will outgrow it in about a day. I'd easily say you will get FAR more than your $50 worth of difference with the GC. Honestly, with the GPSr's out there, I wouldn't even think of going with anything less than the GC, but a lot of people do have many many more finds than us, and use older, lesser equipped GPS units.

 

Hope this is helpful!

[+A & J Tooling]

It holds 10,000. My kids (wife) bought me one for Easter. Well, they got it for themselves since I still refuse to use one...

[grimaxe]

If you are just getting started, try E-bay. I have purchased three GPSr's, and none of them cost more than $45US even with the shipping. They all work great, and get me where I need to be every time. I would just recommend sticking to a name brand like Garmin or Magellan. Before you commit to buy just check the GPS reviews at geocaching.com. They are reviewed by folks using them for geocaching, so you get an idea of how they perform.

 

Why spend a lot of money until you know what features you really want or need. Once you get into the swing of things you will find out the features you will want on your next unit. Then, you can spend the big bucks.

[+Bear and Ragged]

You could always attend an event, and ask and try a few out.

Cachers will be happy to talk kit!

[+eusty]

I bought a Colorado which does paperless caching and I really like.

 

It was slightly more that £125, but I really like it Search on ebay

[+The Kings!]

I just picked up the Magellan Explorist at Target on clearance for $38. Looking forward to getting started with it.

[+skullsoup432]

I had a Geomate and it was great, but you will outgrow it quick. The reasons are multiple. First you can only see the nearest 20 caches. There is NO way to cycle through to the next 20 caches unless you move to a different location. This can be a bummer if you are trying to plan on caching away from your home town. After you find the first 20, you have no idea what caches the Geomate will have at the next location.

The Geomate is aimed at a younger audience. You will NOT be able to see tougher caches or caches that are past I think a two star terrain. No puzzle caches. I don't think you can see a cache that involves a long walk.You can not add waypoints. You could find your current coords, say, if you wanted to hide a cache, but it is cumbersome.

 

$70(US) for a Geomate then $25 for an update cable (plus shipping, as the cable is not sold in most stores)=$100.

As someone said, for $50 more, get the eXplorists GC. It has hints, last ten cachers logs, add waypoints, hide a cache, etc...

 

Hey, I'm not knocking the Geomate. It is a great unit. Just has to many limitations for me. I did, however, enjoy it when I had it.

[+popokiiti]

Another vote for the Magellan eXplorist GC - we paid $159 CDN (+ tax), so with the exchange rate it would seem to be close to your price range. I suggest checking their website. Good luck!

[+Nived87]

Garmin Etrex Venture Hc is a great starter GPSr

 

I second this. The Garmin eTrex Venture HC is my first and only GPSr. It works great for me.