This topic contains 27 replies, has 13 voices, and was last updated by 
jsdad 15 years, 9 months ago.
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Hi Everyone.
We do a lot of camping and hiking and I thought geocaching would be a great new addition to try for the family this summer.I’ve been a fan of the Garmin units for the car and cycle, so I’d like to stay with them (I have the 2610 & Nuvi 255W). I was thinking about purchasing a hand held eTrex Legend HCx? I was reading that the base map is pretty much useless. I found some free WI Topo maps @ http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/150/
Would this be enough to get me started? The cost of a Legend is all I could handle to start with, and don’t want to spend another $100. for a Garmin topo map to boot 😯
Thanks for the advice.
I used the cheepie yellow etrex one for over half my finds. So any unit will do. It’s just a question of what you all want your unit to do. I currently have a etrex Legend cx. I don’t use the topo map to geocahe so it doesn’t bother me.My wife keeps the standard etrex in her car for stops on her way home from work! Both work well! Which ever kind you choose, have fun and enjoy our hobby!
I use the free WI Topo maps in my Garmin 60CSx. And they work good for me.
DawnYou have already got a Nuvi to get you to the park. All you need now is the little arrow to point you in the right direction. you really don’t need any more than that to have an enjoyable experience.
That unit will do ya fine. My 1st unit was the old Blue Etrex. Worked fine till I forgot it on the roof of my Tahoe, it fell off and got run over my a pulp truck. Those free maps work well also.
i would probably get a garmin venture HC or higher series for starting out.
they are not expensive but get you to the cache.
walmart.com has the best prices and they will ship it to your house or to your locale wally world for ya.I just scored a Garmin Colorado 300 on eBay for $220 less than a month ago. Now I think paperless geocaching is the ONLY way to go. 🙂
Hey thanks for all the tips. This is all very new for me. Wasn’t sure if the basic map that comes with the units would even be any good for geocaching. Want to start out middle of the road, without spending a ton of money right off the bat.
Started with the eTrex H, just got the eTrex Legend HCx. Both are good, but we don’t use GPS maps much. Getting used to the extra features on the new one now. Has the capability of adding more maps from any source.
Like the H in a receiver for quicker and better lock on the satellites. Higher sensitivity. Went the WalMart order route both times. The new one came direct to home for a couple of bucks in just four days.
And you’ll love geocaching as an outdoor activity, especially for the kids. Come back to the forums if you need more info on anything, or just to share your adventures.
I use the Etrex Legend HCx with the free topo maps from gpsfiledepot. It does everything I’ve needed it to do at this point and I can’t complain at all. It’s a great value for the money. It’s doesn’t provide all the bells / whistles for paperless caching, but it’s definately a great starter / mid-range model.
And just a note. If you have an older I-pod, there is also a free program that works on the I-pod for paperless caching. I bought a I-pod just for this reason. DOn’t have a song on it yet. Also GSAK works on the I-pod also and the free program is called “Cache Magnet”.
@codejunkie wrote:
I use the Etrex Legend HCx with the free topo maps from gpsfiledepot. It does everything I’ve needed it to do at this point and I can’t complain at all. It’s a great value for the money. It’s doesn’t provide all the bells / whistles for paperless caching, but it’s definately a great starter / mid-range model.
How many hoops do you have to jump thru to get the files from gpsfile depot into the Legend HCx? Do you have to use Garmin’s software to load, or can you just copy the file to the card from the PC and load the card into the GPS Receiver and select it from the map menu in the receiver? My Nuvi 255W has a card feature too. Would a topo map load into it the same way? It would be fun to try the Nuvi in off road, pedestrian mode before I buy the Legend.
Thanks for the help.
@jsdad wrote:
@codejunkie wrote:
I use the Etrex Legend HCx with the free topo maps from gpsfiledepot. It does everything I’ve needed it to do at this point and I can’t complain at all. It’s a great value for the money. It’s doesn’t provide all the bells / whistles for paperless caching, but it’s definately a great starter / mid-range model.
How many hoops do you have to jump thru to get the files from gpsfile depot into the Legend HCx? Do you have to use Garmin’s software to load, or can you just copy the file to the card from the PC and load the card into the GPS Receiver and select it from the map menu in the receiver? My Nuvi 255W has a card feature too. Would a topo map load into it the same way? It would be fun to try the Nuvi in off road, pedestrian mode before I buy the Legend.
Thanks for the help.
I downloaded the 100+MB file, ran the install and then used the Garmin MapSource software to transfer the maps. It’s a one time setup, so not too big of a deal.
I agree with the “if you got a Nuvi already, anything with an arrow will work”. As also stated by others, the only other reason to get fancier is to go paperless … in which case if you got the money you might want to consider a Garmin Oregon 400t … you can add the map miniSD card for $79 (Amazon.com).
But the Oregon and map card would be assuming you decide to really get into caching. Consider what your caching style will be like … will you be driving along and suddenly decide you want to cache; or will you plan ahead, in which case maybe you want to start out with a more economical model and a $3 ream of paper for your printer. You can always upgrade in the future … by then the prices will come down even more, or they’ll have some amazing mind-reading GPSr that you just stick in your sock.
We go paperless using our nuvi 200. We upload our waypoints using GSAK. It contains all we need, the cache discription, cache page, the last five logs and even the hint when available. I have used the pedestrian mode a few times but it is not as accurate as an etrex and usually I end up finding the cache by going through the likely spots.
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