GPS for geocaching

[Bill V]

Received an early Xmas present from my parents--money earmarked for the purchase of a GPS. My parents enjoy geocaching, and I've been interested in getting into it with our kids as well--but have never done it.



Now I need to figure out what we're going to get.



I know there are a lot of GPS units out there which are great for street navigation (the kind typically mounted to a car dash), but which have none of the features needed for geocaching whatsoever. On the other hand, there are others which are great for geocaching/hiking, but which are useless from a street navigation perspective. Is there anything which does decently at both? Our usage is probably going to skew more toward the geocaching side, but I'd like to be able to find my way to a street address as well.



Or would I simply be best off getting two units, one for each application?

 

[TRACket Paul]

This does both, dash mount is available.



Link fixed:

 

[Bill V]

TRACket Paul, link doesn't seem to work. Which model is it you were linking to? Thanks!

 

[Andy Chase]

I've got a Garmin E-trex. Its pretty easy to use once you get used to the click stick. Anyhow I know when you mark a waypoing you can put a little icon like hunting area, restaraunt, house etc. There is an icon for Geocaching too. They're not too bad price wise either.

 

[TRACket Paul]

Link fixed:

 

[2]

YES, what tracket Paul said,(Garmin 60CSx). That is what I use for my work, I have to find cut and capped well-bores out in the middle of freaking no-where. It gets me to within 0-5 metres (0-15 feet) of my locations (depending on reception). Buy the Mapsource software for it and it will navigate your roads for you. I have been using mine since 2005 and use it daily. I have dropped it a few times, used it in cold, hot, wet conditions and it keeps on ticking. If it died on me I would not hesitate to get a new one. :banana:

 

[Richard Gosdin]

I use a Garmin extex Legend for geocaching - but I use my gamin nuvi for the navigation portion. If you want an all in one, the Delorome PN-40 is a good unit and it stores 1000 waypoints where most other units only store 500. Also several of the Garmin's have nice map software. If you want to do any of the Wherigo geocaches - you may want to consider a pocketPC that has bluetooth and get a stand alone gps receiver or the Garmin Colorad. This is what I used the first year I geocached - but the whole recharging the battery thing gets old so I only use the PocketPC for reading the cache notes. Good luck and happy caching.

 

[Bill V]

Thanks for all the info everyon!



RichardG, I'm considering both the PN40 and the Colorado. Also the Oregon, the 60CSx, the Nuvi 500/550, and a couple eTrex models.



I've read lots of negative reviews about the Colorado's outdoor screen visibility--what was your experience?



Also, you said that "...the whole recharging the battery thing gets old..." I thought that unit took AA's?



The Nuvi 500/550 looks like it may have been ideal for me--except for the fact that I can't seem to locate any mention of it being WAAS compatible, which I therefore am assuming means that it is not.

 

[Richard Gosdin]

The recharging was on my PDA. I used the PDA and a stand alone gps receiver that communicated via bluetooth, it wasnt a hand held gps unit like you are looking to buy. All the handhelds do operate off double A batteries, I go several trips of geocaching before replacing batteries on my Garmin. Ive heard the same about the Colorado, I have friends that love them, I dont own one but they can do the Wherigo caches, if you dont plan on doing those (which there arent many anyways, only a couple in each state right now) I would go with something you feel comfortable with. The Nuvi should only be used to get you to the location of the cache where you want to park, it is useless for finding an actual cache. You need a handheld to go trekking through the woods for your actual cache hunt. I use my Nuvi to get me to where I am going to hunt and then use my etrx to do the actual searching, it is much more accurate. Also consider whether you want to go paperless or not, some of the more expensive handhelds like the Colorado allow you to take the gpx file from geocaching.com and look at all the notes, etc. The etrex dont. That's what I now use my PDA for. To say teh least, I have alot of gear when I head out . Let me know if you ahve any questions, you can shoot me an email if you want.

 

[Bill V]

Thanks Richard. FYI, I did find where rei.com does state that the Nuvi 500 is WAAS compatible. It also has the geocaching and whereigo modes (although there is not a single whereigo in Minnesota at this time). And it's waterproof--It's basically designed to be a crossover, use in the car until you run out of road, than unclip it from the dash and go the remainder of the way.



I ran to REI over lunch, and saw the Colorado screen in person--and have to agree, its visibility does suck. Which is too bad--other than that, it (and the Oregon) seem great. And the Colorado is now on sale there for $350, and there's a $50 rebate, so a $300 net (although City Navigator maps will then cost another $100).



The Nuvi 500 is $300, and includes both CityNavigator and Topo maps (for the lower 48, Hawaii, and PR). It may be tough to pass up...