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I took a look at the link you provided and Canadian Tire does a nice job of introducing geocaching and gps selection. They sound like a good resource for your questions. That being said, I would ask you to take a look at the eTrex 20 or eTrex 30. The Magellan Explorist 310 does not have an SD card slot, and loads 1,000 caches. The eTrex 20/30 are at a similar price point and load 2,000 caches, have an SD slot. In addition the eTrex is capable of receiving both regular GPS and Glonass satellites. Also, if there is a local club, join and get some local cachers to cache with you and maybe show you a few features to set on your gps. Good luck whatever you decide. Peoria Bill :)

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My 2 cents...

 

1. Yes and no....if you're lucky enough to live near one or more of the 1,000 most popular preloaded geocaches then yes. Most likely, no. You'll have to download the caches from either here or open caching dot com.

 

2. For the price, I think so. I am a 710 user and I LOVE mine. I can do turn-by-turn navigation and does have an SD slot (don't know if the 310 does or not...) You CAN make your own maps for free if you download MOBAC (Topo, satellite, etc...) Or you can use the bundled software and pay a subscription and do it VERY easily (MOBAC has a steep learing curve).

 

3. Nothing extra is required but like in #2....you can almost never have too many maps and with this unit you will be somewhat limited in what maps you can upload to it. It is a good unit tho.

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My 2 cents...

 

1. Yes and no....if you're lucky enough to live near one or more of the 1,000 most popular preloaded geocaches then yes. Most likely, no. You'll have to download the caches from either here or open caching dot com.

 

Could be wrong here, but I think only the eXplorist GC comes pre-loaded with caches. None of the other Magellan unit details mention anything about pre-loaded caches.

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What did you buy? Does it working well? I wondered to buy a new GPS device (whether I should get Garmin or Tomtom); I tended to find Tomtom devices fair enough with great specs. Here at http://www.wiseguys.co.nz/phones/gps-devices, found some good models, will buy one of them soon. Any suggestion?

 

If you are buying a GPS primarily for Geocaching you won't want a TomTom. They are made for driving and they don't even offer any handheld models. They work great for what they are designed for (road navigation) but are definitely not the right tool for Geocaching.

 

For one thing, they're designed to be used mounted in a car, and are a bit awkward to carry and use in the hand. They're not rugged and waterproof like a handheld, so if you drop it on the trail it's likely toast. The battery life away from the vehicle is generally poor (since they're not designed to be used away from a vehicle). They only have road maps, not topographical maps of the areas off the road. And finally, it's difficult to even make it navigate off road.

 

Check out Garmin's line of handhelds (not automotive units). Many excellent options there. Magellan, Lowrance, and Delorme are other brands popular with Geocachers.

 

Some people who are unfamiliar with outdoor GPS units only know a GPS as a little screen that sits on your dashboard and tells you how to get to Starbucks. Do your homework and select an appropriate unit for your intended use or you will likely become very frustrated.

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What did you buy? Does it working well? I wondered to buy a new GPS device (whether I should get Garmin or Tomtom); I tended to find Tomtom devices fair enough with great specs. Here at http://www.wiseguys.co.nz/phones/gps-devices, found some good models, will buy one of them soon. Any suggestion?

 

I ended up the buying the Magellan Explorist 310 from Canadian Tire. I'm very impressed with it, as it does handle Paperless Geocaching which does come in handy. If you are in a close location to a Canadian tire you can get them on sale.

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I took a look at the link you provided and Canadian Tire does a nice job of introducing geocaching and gps selection. They sound like a good resource for your questions. That being said, I would ask you to take a look at the eTrex 20 or eTrex 30. The Magellan Explorist 310 does not have an SD card slot, and loads 1,000 caches. The eTrex 20/30 are at a similar price point and load 2,000 caches, have an SD slot. In addition the eTrex is capable of receiving both regular GPS and Glonass satellites. Also, if there is a local club, join and get some local cachers to cache with you and maybe show you a few features to set on your gps. Good luck whatever you decide. Peoria Bill :)

 

I will try to help since I'm a noobie and just bought a GPS. First off mine is a Garmin and they want you to use their site that they support and its easier to use than say this site IMO. I also found out without a membership here you get little on your GPS from this site when caches are downloaded.

 

That was a surprise but I planned on getting a membership and did. The GPS I have is not easy to use. Like the reply here I would suggest you find somebody with experience in the area and seak them out for help. That is what I did . There is a very supportive group here and some live in your area.

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