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My current thinking is that there is not one “all-purpose” GPS out there that is best for everything… so I have quite a few GPS units. (Maybe I have this mindset as an excuse to buy more electronic toys? )
For in vehicle navigation: Want a large color screen, detailed maps with services, autorouting, and turn prompts. If it can talk to you and tell you what to do and where to go, all the better. Something like a Garmin StreetPilot or Quest would be ideal.
For geocaching: Want something small, lightweight, waterproof, and able to take abuse. Want it to be hard to lose (a bright color or strapped to your wrist), and if does get lost or destroyed, you won’t shed any tears. Also want it to be able to hold a lock under tree cover. Maps are usually not needed, and once you aren’t using maps a color screen isn’t important. I use a Foretrex 101 (similar features to a Geko), and possibly carry Garmin 12 and/or 60c units as back up for really heavy tree cover.
Bottom line: Your Geko is probably more than adequate for geocaching once you are parked, but upgrading to something with autorouting maps to get you to the caches when driving would definitely be worth it.
We started out in caching by borrowing a yellow E-Trex and it was a great unit. It had everything we needed for caching and then some.
When we finally purchased our own unit, we decided on the E-Trex Legend. It holds twice the number of waypoints and the toggle switch is much easier to use than the buttons. This alone made it worth the upgrade.
The most worthwhile upgrades for us have been in the form of software. We have a laptop that sits in our van so a good mapping program that interfaces with our GPS and GSAK were the two biggest improvements we made.
The data you can pull out of GSAK is amazing and being able to export it into detailed mapping software is really nice.
Now we have a nice 12″ screen between the driver and passenger. Using our serial cable to the GPS, the computer screen displays our position on the map as well as any caches or other points of interest we decide to import. In addition, we can easily download updates on construction detours so we can plan our route better.
Hope the info helps!
Doni started with the yellow etrex. down in florida, under the palm trees, i couldn’t keep a lock on the satelites. so i went to a geo breakfast and talked to people about their gps units. decided on the garmin 60c. i love it. i use the maps all the time. needing reading glasses to see small print, i like the color screen and larger screen size. i use a little floating compass that i have pinned onto by caching bag to point me in the right direction at startup. don’t have to hold it, and way cheaper than the 6ocs additional cost. i borrowed a 60cs once and didn’t like the compass feature at all. and now garmin is putting new chips in a bunch of the units to make them read the satelites better.
I guess one of the minority here using a Magellan MeriGold. I did some research when I was shopping and found it had more of the features I wanted at a lower price than some of the others. Bought it just after getting another boat, so we wanted something that had the largest screen for a handheld, mapping, and SD card memory slot for very quick uploads of data and maps.
I did purchase DirecRoute, though I agree with many others that it doesn’t usually choose the best route, but I mainly got it for the more detailed maps and POIs. Autorouting can be a help for heading into a new area, though it isn’t always optimal routes, it still gets you there.To summarize what’s been said:
1. electronic compass ‘feature’ finicky and not worth it.
2. people use mapping in vehicles, not necessarily for caching (if they map at all)
3. people like color screens
4. People like toggle switches
5. Cathunter, who looks forward to someday kayaking the Bering Straits from Alaska to Russia, fears driving in downtown Chicago.
thanks to all that replied!
I started out with a Garmin Legend. Every now and then I look at the color units and think of how cool they are. Then I remember that my Legend still gets me to the cache just fine, so it’s the unit I still own.
However… this past winter, I bought a bluetooth GPS for the car. No screen or anything just a small black box with a couple of LEDs on it. It’s paired up with my Powerbook running Streets and Trips (via VirtualPC) so I have a handy in-car navigation system. It was only $70, a lot cheaper than a StreetPilot.
quote:
Originally posted by DCexplorer:
To summarize what’s been said:1. electronic compass ‘feature’ finicky and not worth it.
2. people use mapping in vehicles, not necessarily for caching (if they map at all)
3. people like color screens
4. People like toggle switches
5. Cathunter, who looks forward to someday kayaking the Bering Straits from Alaska to Russia, fears driving in downtown Chicago.thanks to all that replied!
I think I’m just a freak then. I have a Vista and my wife has a Legend and I just can’t use hers because I need the magnetic compass. I do have to do the “Compass Calibration Dance” (spin in two circles) everytime I go out.
And I love my maps when driving. I always use them when in the country to find the closest road to the cache, or to navigate through the city.
I would like a color screen eventually. My brother had his Legend C at Christmass and the color maps are just so cool. I still couldn’t use it all the time, though (no compass).
Toggle switches are nice. I agree with that part.
Don’t know about Cathunter.
Mike
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