Blackberry App or Garmin eTrex 10 GPS

[Sandra McPherson]

I'm brand new to Geocaching and I'm very excited to get started. I'm looking on REI's website right now and seeing that their cheapest GPS is the Garmin eTrex 10 and it's priced at $115. The application that comes with a Blackberry is $9.99. I'd be thrilled if all I had to do was spend the ten dollars on the app, but I wanted people's opinion that have had experience with Geocashing. I don't know if it would be more of a pain relying on more phone or if it is the smarter and cheaper route. The other GPS device I was considering was the Magellan eXplorist GC GPS which is $150. If I were to put out the money for a GPS this is the one I think I would choose.

 

So, short and sweet. Is the Blackberry app called CacheSense as reliable and enjoyable to use as a GPS?

I would really appreciate to hear your feedback!

 

Thanks,

Sandra

[+ngrrfan]

I'm brand new to Geocaching and I'm very excited to get started. I'm looking on REI's website right now and seeing that their cheapest GPS is the Garmin eTrex 10 and it's priced at $115. The application that comes with a Blackberry is $9.99. I'd be thrilled if all I had to do was spend the ten dollars on the app, but I wanted people's opinion that have had experience with Geocashing. I don't know if it would be more of a pain relying on more phone or if it is the smarter and cheaper route. The other GPS device I was considering was the Magellan eXplorist GC GPS which is $150. If I were to put out the money for a GPS this is the one I think I would choose.

 

So, short and sweet. Is the Blackberry app called CacheSense as reliable and enjoyable to use as a GPS?

I would really appreciate to hear your feedback!

One of my caching partners has an app for her phone, as well as a dedicated GPSr. Earlier this year I asked her which she preferred, as she travels a lot with her job, and she said that her phone app usually got her to within 30 feet but her GPSr would get her to within 10 feet.

 

Her final answer was that if she had to she'd use the phone but that she much preferred her GPSr. My personal opinion is that a GPSr will prove more useful overall simply because of how many satellites it can receive and battery life. Since you are looking at the etrex 10, look at the etrex 20. Yes it consts more but maps, paperless, and everything else, it is worth it.

 

Another thing to do would be to purchase the app, see how it works, and if needed move up to a GPSr.

[Mr.Yuck]

I'm brand new to Geocaching and I'm very excited to get started. I'm looking on REI's website right now and seeing that their cheapest GPS is the Garmin eTrex 10 and it's priced at $115. The application that comes with a Blackberry is $9.99. I'd be thrilled if all I had to do was spend the ten dollars on the app, but I wanted people's opinion that have had experience with Geocashing. I don't know if it would be more of a pain relying on more phone or if it is the smarter and cheaper route. The other GPS device I was considering was the Magellan eXplorist GC GPS which is $150. If I were to put out the money for a GPS this is the one I think I would choose.

 

So, short and sweet. Is the Blackberry app called CacheSense as reliable and enjoyable to use as a GPS?

I would really appreciate to hear your feedback!

 

Thanks,

Sandra

 

If you said you had an Iphone or Droid, you'd get all kinds of testimonials from people who started within the last year, and have never once used a dedicated GPS unit, on how great the phones are, and you don't need a GPS unit. But since you said Blackberry, you won't get that.

 

The phone apps work fairly well. My opinion is sure, go ahead and try the app for a while. If you find yourself a totally addicted geo-fanatic after a while, then go out and buy a dedicated GPS unit. I also personally think the Explorist GC blows away the Etrex 10, but that is just my opinion.

[+The Wandering Drew]

It is a great idea to first try the phone apps, as they represent a small investment if it turns out that Geocaching is not for you.

[Mr.Yuck]

It is a great idea to first try the phone apps, as they represent a small investment if it turns out that Geocaching is not for you.

 

Correct. And you might think, hey, this Geocaching thing sounds totally awesome, and I'm going to do it for the rest of my life. Well, about 2 or 3 million accounts that never got over 25 finds disagree with you. And this is not necessarily you won't like it, or decide it's not for you, life gets in the way.

[+J the Goat]

I agree with the above posters, but here's a different look at it. If the etrex 10 is priced at 115, and the app is $10, that's a total of $125. You stated you're also looking at the Magellan priced at $150, it's less to buy both if you can't decide

 

It also depends on what kind of caching you plan on doing. The dedicated GPS unit will be a bit more accurate. If you plan on finding urban caches around town, your phone should work just fine to check things out. If you're more the type to spend a day on the trail, you may lose phone coverage, your GPS reception won't be as strong, and the battery life of the smart phones will tremendously limit your caching day.

 

If you do go with the etrex and decide a few months from now that it's not for you, they do have a decent resale value, so it's not a complete and total wash.

 

Good luck, and welcome!

[Sandra McPherson]

Thank you all very much for your responses! I think I'm going to go the route of buying the app first. I will probably be hitting some trails with it, so I'll see how it goes.

 

Happy Caching!

Sandra