What should I buy?

[El3mentGamer]

I don't like to spend money (I am certainly a penny pincher). So recently; my setup for geocaching has been my android and a free app called c:geo.

 

I was considering buying one of these but not both; should I buy a premium membership or the official geocaching app?

[AZcachemeister]

I don't like to spend money (I am certainly a penny pincher). So recently; my setup for geocaching has been my android and a free app called c:geo.

 

I was considering buying one of these but not both; should I buy a premium membership or the official geocaching app?

 

Tough call.

I'd say neither of your proposed purchases would truly improve the quality of your Geocaching experience.

[+HHD]

The premium membership gives you access to more caches but that's about it.

[El3mentGamer]

The premium membership gives you access to more caches but that's about it.

 

Define "more caches"

[+jellis]

Some cachers (cough cough) list their caches as PMO caches and are not viewed by regular members. But if you know a PM cacher who can give you the coords and info on the PMO caches you can still seek and log the caches.

[+Chrysalides]

Premium membership can be very useful if you actually use those features, which is the ability to download a large number of caches for offline processing and storage. It allows you to hunt for caches without cell phone reception, for example, with the right software.

 

Don't know if c:geo allows that, but many other geocaching apps do.

 

With premium membership you can also set up notifications - get email when a new cache is published, for example.

 

There's also a lot of minor benefits. Check out the Groundspeak help page if you're interested.

Edited January 19, 2012 by Chrysalides

[+Roman!]

Just get both, will it really matter if you die $10 or $30 poorer?

[+Otis.Gore]

You don't need the official app, just stay with c:geo. I've been using it for 2 years and it works perfectly.

[+The Real Boudica.]

IMHO I would get premium membership hands down, even if only for three months for $10 to see if you get the benefits.

 

As a phone user I got the app but didn't really rate it over others on the market I am afraid, it has a long lag, super drains the battery, just isn't as user friendly and crashes more.

 

I thought a long time about PM and was hesitant at first about as I wasn't sure there were many benefits to a phone cacher. I caved and got 3 months initially and find pocket queries are so much simpler than using data/wifi to download caches. I get much more value out of the PM than the app (I barely ever use it although if I were to be transported out of my normal area by spaceship I guess it might come in handy) I now am able to have all the caches I am likely to want to search for in my immediate area stored for off network use anytime I like with free apps whether c:geo, geobeagle or whatever your choice.

[+Arndtwe]

Premium membership can be very useful if you actually use those features, which is the ability to download a large number of caches for offline processing and storage. It allows you to hunt for caches without cell phone reception, for example, with the right software.

 

Don't know if c:geo allows that, but many other geocaching apps do.

 

With premium membership you can also set up notifications - get email when a new cache is published, for example.

 

There's also a lot of minor benefits. Check out the Groundspeak help page if you're interested.

This is good advice. Get the membership and stick with c:geo.

 

I have been using this app for some time now, I actually bought the official app and dislike it greatly. C:geo can store geocaches for offline use which is great if you do not have unlimited data.

 

Either way, you would support the website, which is key to playing the game at all.

 

Note: there is also an app called neongeo which I like as well. Worth looking into.