GPS Ideas

[+Soupjr48]

Hello fellow cachers,

My name is Chris and I hail from the great state of New Jersey. I began geocaching in August of this year after I was turned onto this wonderful world by a friend. I would consider myself a casual yet determined geocacher. I have exclusively been using my iPhone 6 for everything so far, tracking, compass, logging, etc. However I have noticed that my compass is rather jumpy and it really irks me. I have put into heavy consideration buying a handheld GPS system. I would like it to be small and easy to read. It would also be nice if I could punch in coordinates manually (which I know is backwards to the way most people want it). Can anyone help me out? I consider myself an above average tech person, but I don't want anything too fancy. I am very lost when it comes to this kind of stuff and wouldn't know where to start. Thank you all!

[Pacific NW]

If you're going to be inputting a lot of data manually, I'd suggest a touchscreen model from Garmin. Preferably one with a three-axis compass, too. There is the eTrex Touch 25 / 35 series (all with a magnetic compass), the Oregon 600 series, the Montana and Monterra (both larger touchscreen models). Also, there are still some older Dakota 20 and Oregon 450 & 550 models floating around out there, although they are in limited supply. Beware that newer Garmins can have firmware issues, so definitely do a little Googling before buying, and make sure the store has a good return policy.

 

But even with a dedicated GPS receiver, the compass may still be jumpy as you get close to the cache location. A much cheaper alternative would be buying a quality $15-20 compass.

 

Honestly, the iPhone 6 is hard to beat nowadays, especially with the interface, nice screen, etc. Where it becomes a problem is in regards to durability and battery life in the outdoors -- although there are rugged cases and portable battery chargers now.