Which GPS is best?

[+DebEriBilBry]

Hi!

My birthday is coming up and I would love a new GPS. I am using a Garmin nuvi right now and it is ok but hard to pin point GZ sometimes. I am wondering what ya'll use and what do you recommend?

I will subtly hint to my husband which name brand to look for for me.

 

Deb

from DebEriBilBry

[bigbad401]

Hi!

My birthday is coming up and I would love a new GPS. I am using a Garmin nuvi right now and it is ok but hard to pin point GZ sometimes. I am wondering what ya'll use and what do you recommend?

I will subtly hint to my husband which name brand to look for for me.

 

Deb

from DebEriBilBry

 

It is all personal preference. I use a Garmin 200 and that is fine for what I do, so I think that is the best. Look at each of the brands, look at the features and design, and make a choice.

[Forkeye]

I think most on here would advise that vehicle GPS units are not the best for geocaching,so any of the outdoor handhelds would probably be ok.So then you need to decide between touch and non-touch screens and their daylight read ability,screen size and button layout,and the actual unit size,then if you want a compass/altimeter,most of the other features are fairly similar.

Edited October 7, 2012 by Forkeye

[+Jmebd]

I agree. It's all based upon mainly two things. Personal preference (how the menus look, how easily you are able to traverse the learning curve for the two main manufacturers Garmin & Magellan, etc) is the first and the second & probably more of an influence on which you get is the amount of money you have available. Both manufacturers have some pretty nice offerings with regards to entry level units.

 

My suggestion is that you start attending events that are local to you and/or your region and just start asking a bunch of questions. Perhaps go out and tag along with some new-found friends at said event and maybe they'll let you try out their equipment. Worth a shot and probably the only way you'd be able to gain some hands on experience with some guidance without actually purchasing the units and using your own trial and error attempts.

 

Thing to keep in mind....PATIENCE! There is a learning curve on all units! There are some amazing things you can do on BOTH manufacturers' units....just will take you time to learn.

[+coachstahly]

My suggestion is that you start attending events that are local to you and/or your region and just start asking a bunch of questions. Perhaps go out and tag along with some new-found friends at said event and maybe they'll let you try out their equipment. Worth a shot and probably the only way you'd be able to gain some hands on experience with some guidance without actually purchasing the units and using your own trial and error attempts.

 

+ 1

 

Easiest way to get a hands on look AND ask the owner for what they like and dislike about their GPSr. I always bring mine with me to events so people can look at it and play with it for a bit.

[+DebEriBilBry]

Thank you all for your input. I will be attending my first event in one week so I will for sure ask around.

 

Deb

[team tisri]

I agree. It's all based upon mainly two things. Personal preference (how the menus look, how easily you are able to traverse the learning curve for the two main manufacturers Garmin & Magellan, etc) is the first and the second & probably more of an influence on which you get is the amount of money you have available. Both manufacturers have some pretty nice offerings with regards to entry level units.

 

My suggestion is that you start attending events that are local to you and/or your region and just start asking a bunch of questions. Perhaps go out and tag along with some new-found friends at said event and maybe they'll let you try out their equipment. Worth a shot and probably the only way you'd be able to gain some hands on experience with some guidance without actually purchasing the units and using your own trial and error attempts.

 

Thing to keep in mind....PATIENCE! There is a learning curve on all units! There are some amazing things you can do on BOTH manufacturers' units....just will take you time to learn.

 

This is very true. This kind of thread easily turns into little more than a bash-fest where the fans of different brands come out and extol their own preferences but so much of it is down to suitability for your purposes, how well you like the unit, and how it fits in with what you want to do with it.

 

Ultimately the best GPS is the one that you use because you like it, and the worst GPS is the one that you hate using so much it sits in a drawer gathering dust.

 

Personally I used to use a Garmin GPSMap 60CSx which was and still is a brilliant unit (my wife uses it now), and now have a Garmin Montana 650. The Montana is great with a beautiful screen but it's a bit bulky for hauling around, especially since it doesn't have the belt clip which made the 60 so convenient. I'd love to be able to just clip the Montana to the chest strap on my backpack rather than having it hanging on a long lanyard around my neck, swinging all over the place and banging against my camera when I'm using it.

[Forkeye]

Ultimately the best GPS is the one that you use because you like it, and the worst GPS is the one that you hate using so much it sits in a drawer gathering dust.

Entry level anything is all too often a mistake

[+BAMBOOZLE]

IMO the Garmin 62S is the best unit for geocaching.

[+Lineman101]

For me it's the Etrex 20

 

I agree. Love my 20.

[+DebEriBilBry]

So it sounds like it may be better to use one that is hand held as opposed to the one I have that is the garmin nuvi that I use in the car. I think having one that can hook somewhere would be good.

 

I also think I would like one with a compass.

 

I guess instead of what gps is best is what are the features you find most helpful with your GPS?

[+Jmebd]

Now that's another wide open question....I'll give my likes...

 

First, regarding one with a compass.....nearly all new GPSr's include some form of compass (ex. GPS based or electronic). I much prefer the electronic type but sometimes does have it's drawbacks. I've noticed my eXplorist x710 unit sway a bit if it gets close to my iPhone for some reason. The GPS compass based units will spin in circles whenever you stop moving since it's using the satellite signals to determine your direction of movement and will correct themselves whenever you start moving again.

 

Second, MAPS, maps, and more maps. I absolutely LOVE being able to make custom maps for my magellan unit. You can also make custom maps for the garmin units as well too. I use a program called MOBAC and have made FREE satellite imagery, Topographic and Terrain based maps for my area. I've been able to pretty much cover a 100 mile radius around my home after installing a 32GB microSD card into the unit to be able to handle all that data and it's great! Only thing I'd like to have is the ability to compile maps based upon OpenStreetMap data (which garmins can do relatively easily but magellans cannot) since a group of us have gotten all the DNR trail data input into OSM and it's FANTASTIC to let people know exactly where the trails go and where the caches are with regards to the trail.

 

Third, I LOVE the ability to do turn-by-turn routing on mine....the magellan x710 units come with everything you need out of the box to do this. It's great being able to select a cache and tell it to "go to" and give you verbal as well as on screen directions to the cache. It's not perfect by any means but it has done a GREAT job in helping me a LOT in cities that I'm not familiar with. The eXplorist x610 can do it as well but it's similar to the Garmin units where you have to purchase the routing maps separately and load them into the unit. Not really all that difficult but if price is a major factor then you can save a few dollars upfront and add this feature later. I personally was turned off by how nice the garmin units that are the high end expensive ones don't include them by default...I think they should for $500 range units but that's just my opinion. The explorist 710 can usually be found for that amount.

 

EDIT: Ok...so before I get a mild flame my way I guess I should say that I forgot about the "free routable OSM based" streetmaps that are available online. I know of one in particular at http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ that LOOKS really nice. I've not been able to use it since I don't have a garmin unit but it looks really nice. There is also another place where you can download daily extracts from the OSM planet db at http://download.geofabrik.de/openstreetmap/ ...... Both have REALLY nice packs but you have to know what you're doing to be able to utilize them. There is a place for us Magellan users that provides a great service of some free maps at http://maps4me.net/ and only has a minimal yearly charge for downloads. The owner, Sockey as he's known, has compiled maps for use on Magellan units that look absolutely awesome! Cost is about $12/year so really can't gripe about that. Hope this helps clarify things a bit. Garmin has the most widely available set of "stuff" for it (maps, hardware add-ons etc) at local retail stores around me but that's changing slowly. You can get some REALLY nice windshield mounts for just about anything at http://www.rammount.com/ . I have one for my Magellan unit and I take it with me offroad and the thing holds to the glass like it's been glued (suction only). END OF EDIT

 

Fourth, the addon software available....Garmins use something called Basecamp and Mapsend (I think...probably am wrong on that though). It's free but I've tried it and some stuff is pretty handy in it but I didn't really like the way it looks or the way it just generally works. Magellan has something called Vantagepoint. Works great with tracks, maps, and route making but as far as sending data to/from unit itself it stinks. MUCH better off using something called GSAK for sending PQ's to the units.

 

Fifth, I kinda wish I had wireless transfer ability like the garmin units have so I could transfer some stuff to fellow Magellan owners. Not a big deal but would be nice (Wish SOME unit had WIFI ability but that's for another discussion).

 

Sixth, and finally all I can think of at the time is I'd LOVE to have the CHIRP receive ability. I'd probably place some (eventhough they are kinda high priced for the little boogers) cause I just think all kinds of cool stuff could be done with them. It's just not taken off at all in my area though so I'm not crying over not having that.

 

Anyone else? I leave anything out? LOL Hope this helps get you thinking about possibilities.....there are MANY!!!

Edited October 8, 2012 by Jmebd

[+DebEriBilBry]

Now that's another wide open question....I'll give my likes...

 

First, regarding one with a compass.....nearly all new GPSr's include some form of compass (ex. GPS based or electronic). I much prefer the electronic type but sometimes does have it's drawbacks. I've noticed my eXplorist x710 unit sway a bit if it gets close to my iPhone for some reason. The GPS compass based units will spin in circles whenever you stop moving since it's using the satellite signals to determine your direction of movement and will correct themselves whenever you start moving again.

 

Second, MAPS, maps, and more maps. I absolutely LOVE being able to make custom maps for my magellan unit. You can also make custom maps for the garmin units as well too. I use a program called MOBAC and have made FREE satellite imagery, Topographic and Terrain based maps for my area. I've been able to pretty much cover a 100 mile radius around my home after installing a 32GB microSD card into the unit to be able to handle all that data and it's great! Only thing I'd like to have is the ability to compile maps based upon OpenStreetMap data (which garmins can do relatively easily but magellans cannot) since a group of us have gotten all the DNR trail data input into OSM and it's FANTASTIC to let people know exactly where the trails go and where the caches are with regards to the trail.

 

Third, I LOVE the ability to do turn-by-turn routing on mine....the magellan x710 units come with everything you need out of the box to do this. It's great being able to select a cache and tell it to "go to" and give you verbal as well as on screen directions to the cache. It's not perfect by any means but it has done a GREAT job in helping me a LOT in cities that I'm not familiar with. The eXplorist x610 can do it as well but it's similar to the Garmin units where you have to purchase the routing maps separately and load them into the unit. Not really all that difficult but if price is a major factor then you can save a few dollars upfront and add this feature later. I personally was turned off by how nice the garmin units that are the high end expensive ones don't include them by default...I think they should for $500 range units but that's just my opinion. The explorist 710 can usually be found for that amount.

 

EDIT: Ok...so before I get a mild flame my way I guess I should say that I forgot about the "free routable OSM based" streetmaps that are available online. I know of one in particular at http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ that LOOKS really nice. I've not been able to use it since I don't have a garmin unit but it looks really nice. There is also another place where you can download daily extracts from the OSM planet db at http://download.geofabrik.de/openstreetmap/ ...... Both have REALLY nice packs but you have to know what you're doing to be able to utilize them. There is a place for us Magellan users that provides a great service of some free maps at http://maps4me.net/ and only has a minimal yearly charge for downloads. The owner, Sockey as he's known, has compiled maps for use on Magellan units that look absolutely awesome! Cost is about $12/year so really can't gripe about that. Hope this helps clarify things a bit. Garmin has the most widely available set of "stuff" for it (maps, hardware add-ons etc) at local retail stores around me but that's changing slowly. You can get some REALLY nice windshield mounts for just about anything at http://www.rammount.com/ . I have one for my Magellan unit and I take it with me offroad and the thing holds to the glass like it's been glued (suction only). END OF EDIT

 

Fourth, the addon software available....Garmins use something called Basecamp and Mapsend (I think...probably am wrong on that though). It's free but I've tried it and some stuff is pretty handy in it but I didn't really like the way it looks or the way it just generally works. Magellan has something called Vantagepoint. Works great with tracks, maps, and route making but as far as sending data to/from unit itself it stinks. MUCH better off using something called GSAK for sending PQ's to the units.

 

Fifth, I kinda wish I had wireless transfer ability like the garmin units have so I could transfer some stuff to fellow Magellan owners. Not a big deal but would be nice (Wish SOME unit had WIFI ability but that's for another discussion).

 

Sixth, and finally all I can think of at the time is I'd LOVE to have the CHIRP receive ability. I'd probably place some (eventhough they are kinda high priced for the little boogers) cause I just think all kinds of cool stuff could be done with them. It's just not taken off at all in my area though so I'm not crying over not having that.

 

Anyone else? I leave anything out? LOL Hope this helps get you thinking about possibilities.....there are MANY!!!

 

Wow! You just sent my mind swirling. I hadn't even contemplated maps....