LCP1963 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I am new to geocaching and would appreciate some suggestions for Garmin GPS's for beginners. Thank you very much. LCP Quote Link to comment
+MarkKer Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Well,that depends mostly on your budget. How much are you willing (or able) to spend? Quote Link to comment
Andronicus Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 (edited) A good one to start would be eTrex 10 or 20. The Etrex 10 retails for $110 in Canada, and I have seen it on sale for less. If you are on a tight budget, you can likely get a used older eTrex for $40 or less. Just try to get one with an H in the name (eg. eTrex Legend HCx). Edit: Or if you have a smart phone, it may work fairly well. If you have one, what phone is it? Edited January 2, 2013 by Andronicus Quote Link to comment
+elDiablo11811 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I currently use my iPhone3GS and it works well but unfortunately drains the battery like no other, so... I have looked at the above mentioned units and like what I see, so thank you. That being said, I am looking to spend around $200 for a beginner unit... suggestions? Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment
+akkatracker Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I currently use my iPhone3GS and it works well but unfortunately drains the battery like no other, so... I have looked at the above mentioned units and like what I see, so thank you. That being said, I am looking to spend around $200 for a beginner unit... suggestions? Thank you in advance. A few years ago I struck it lucky and grabbed an Oregon 300 for $200 Don't know the range too well now but the new etrexs look promising Quote Link to comment
+FiremanFIFL Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I currently use my iPhone3GS and it works well but unfortunately drains the battery like no other, so... I have looked at the above mentioned units and like what I see, so thank you. That being said, I am looking to spend around $200 for a beginner unit... suggestions? Thank you in advance. I just got a smoking deal on an Oregon 450 from gpscity.com for $200 Decent size touch screen and waterproof 10' for 30 mins. Not sure how long it will be on sale, but I think its worth looking into Quote Link to comment
+MarkKer Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 The Oregon Series is definetly worthwhile looking into. I've got the 550T and I'm really happy with it. You wouldn't need the 'T' for Geocaching, a barometric altitude-sensor is overkill here, but I initially bought it for Paragliding and found it to be more than perfect for Geocaching. Quote Link to comment
+unabowler Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I have an Oregon 550 which I like a lot and should have bought when I first started, you can get one right now on Amazon for $250. I don't have the "T" and I agree with MarkKer that you don't the pre-installed topo maps for geocaching. I have a friend who has a ETrek and they will do the job, though. Quote Link to comment
+DogArtist Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I just got a smoking deal on an Oregon 450 from gpscity.com for $200 Decent size touch screen and waterproof 10' for 30 mins. Not sure how long it will be on sale, but I think its worth looking into Beginner here, and I bought one of those too. It should arrive today. Once it does, there goes my productivity on other tasks the rest of the day! I am very excited to get familiar with my new toy...errr, TOOL. BTW, I checked and that price is no longer being offered; the price was $279 when I looked yesterday. Quote Link to comment
+elDiablo11811 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Guys thank you so much so far, next question: For the Oregon Users, is there a model of the 550 that DOES NOT contain a camera? I can't help but feel that it is rather unnecessary for me. Thanks again Quote Link to comment
+unabowler Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 The 450 is the Oregon that doesn't have a camera, that's the only difference between the 450 and the 550. Quote Link to comment
+LJMoore98 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 A good one to start would be eTrex 10 or 20. The Etrex 10 retails for $110 in Canada, and I have seen it on sale for less. If you are on a tight budget, you can likely get a used older eTrex for $40 or less. Just try to get one with an H in the name (eg. eTrex Legend HCx). Edit: Or if you have a smart phone, it may work fairly well. If you have one, what phone is it? I Recommend the etrex 10 Quote Link to comment
+elDiablo11811 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 A good one to start would be eTrex 10 or 20. The Etrex 10 retails for $110 in Canada, and I have seen it on sale for less. If you are on a tight budget, you can likely get a used older eTrex for $40 or less. Just try to get one with an H in the name (eg. eTrex Legend HCx). Edit: Or if you have a smart phone, it may work fairly well. If you have one, what phone is it? I have an iPhone 3GS. Quote Link to comment
+elDiablo11811 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I was looking at the eTrex series as well, but without an hands on I can only keep thinking that seem "toy-like". From the photos I've seen they just seem... cheap? I dunno, without face-time I can only go on what I see. Thanks guys, this is all great information. Quote Link to comment
LCP1963 Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Well,that depends mostly on your budget. How much are you willing (or able) to spend? I would be willing to spend around $250 for the GPS. Thanks for responding. LCP Quote Link to comment
alandb Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 If you are willing to spend $250, go for the Oregon 550 at Amazon. Quote Link to comment
Andronicus Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 A good one to start would be eTrex 10 or 20. The Etrex 10 retails for $110 in Canada, and I have seen it on sale for less. If you are on a tight budget, you can likely get a used older eTrex for $40 or less. Just try to get one with an H in the name (eg. eTrex Legend HCx). Edit: Or if you have a smart phone, it may work fairly well. If you have one, what phone is it? I have an iPhone 3GS. From what I have heard, the 3GS will usualy be ok for finding caches, but not very good for hiding. If you are looking at getting a new phone soon, the newer iPhones are supposed to be fairly good for geocaching. I use my Samsung Gallaxy SII HD LTE. It is really great with a clear view to the sky. Under cover, not so much. I have to switch to something better then. I think this is a typical best case for smartphones. Depending on your typical caching locations, this may be good enough. As for the eTrex looking like toys, they are actualy fairly rugged. They are water proof, and shock resistant. You can also get some prety nice cases to make them almost indestructable. They are quite small, so if you need reading glasses, but don't want to use them when out caching, you may want to look for a GPS with a larger display. Quote Link to comment
LCP1963 Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 A good one to start would be eTrex 10 or 20. The Etrex 10 retails for $110 in Canada, and I have seen it on sale for less. If you are on a tight budget, you can likely get a used older eTrex for $40 or less. Just try to get one with an H in the name (eg. eTrex Legend HCx). Edit: Or if you have a smart phone, it may work fairly well. If you have one, what phone is it? I Recommend the etrex 10 I have a iPhone 4. Quote Link to comment
+elDiablo11811 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Andronicus, Thank you very much for the info. Personally I want to get away from using the phone hence my battery of questions. The eTrex series was suggested else where to me and I have been looking into them as well. I guess the bottom line is: I want something that is definitely Geocache friendly, maybe even designed for it, and affordable (around $200 or so). You guys have been super helpful so far and I thank you much for your time and opinions. Now, time to make a choice, with Winter in full swing (living in NYC) I have some time to pick one up in time for the Spring thaw. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment
+FiremanFIFL Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Got my Oregon 450 yesterday and completely love it. Took a little bit to tweak settings a few setting and figure out the automotive navigation. O verall I couldn't be happier, but what am I doing here I need to get out caching Quote Link to comment
Andronicus Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 (edited) A good one to start would be eTrex 10 or 20. The Etrex 10 retails for $110 in Canada, and I have seen it on sale for less. If you are on a tight budget, you can likely get a used older eTrex for $40 or less. Just try to get one with an H in the name (eg. eTrex Legend HCx). Edit: Or if you have a smart phone, it may work fairly well. If you have one, what phone is it? I Recommend the etrex 10 I have a iPhone 4. Although I have never used a iPhone 4, I have heard that they work fairly good for geocaching. The battery life and toughness can be a issue. Those problems can be compensated for. Get a tough case (otter box perhaps), and an external battery powered phone charger (with lots of mAh; more than 1000). That should get you set up really nice. Edited January 7, 2013 by Andronicus Quote Link to comment
+FiremanFIFL Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Now, time to make a choice, with Winter in full swing (living in NYC) I have some time to pick one up in time for the Spring thaw. After a few days out with my Oregon 450 I will completely recommend it, couldn't see caching without it. about 10 hours use and the battery meter just hit half! As for winter I bet there are plenty of caches you can still hit in NYC in the snow. I do know your sorrow though, Sunday I drove upto many caches that I knew were right there, but buried under 2' of heavy wet snow Quote Link to comment
+Lieblweb Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 What are you geocaching with now? I would spend a little more money and get a better unit to start off with. It'll have more & better features and be better to use....which will make your geocaching experiences easier and more fun. Whatever you buy, look at its features - some units don't do certain things (like 3 axis compass, support for certain caches, or whatever). If for some reason - you do not like the unit, or aren't geocaching as much as you would've wanted/liked - you can always post and sell the unit pretty quickly. We have both Oregon 450 and a 62s. At this point, I think the 62s is our favorite. Although - the touchscreen is nice (on the 450), the 62s(non touch screen) screen is much better looking and crisper/clearer and easier to SEE. I think both of these units get great reviews too. Search around....maybe you'll find a used one cheaper. Quote Link to comment
+6NoisyHikers Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I don't recommend the eTrex 10 simply because the maps are useless and can't be updated. My step-mom bought one that came as a geocaching bundle and was very disappointed that you can't even see the major highways here in BC. It will point you in the direction of the cache, but you can't see that it is on the other side of a lake or a freeway. The only reason she manages to find caches is because my Dad has his own high-end Garmin that he uses for search and rescue and he does the mapping to get them into the area. Quote Link to comment
+BlackRose67 Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I'm a bit biased, but of the new eTrex line of GPS units, I'd recommend the 20 over the 10. As 6NoisyHikers noted, the ability to add your own maps is a very desirable feature. Quote Link to comment
Andronicus Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 It is kind of astonishing that Garmin would even make a GPS without maps. What is this, 1996? How much does 8 GB of flash memroy cost nowdays? (incase you didn't know, about $8 retail). I suppose it is really made just to justify the higher price of the 20 and 30. Quote Link to comment
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