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Which GPS for an older couple?


r_mcguffin

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Hi there,

 

I introduced my parents to geocaching a while back and they love it! But so far they have only been able to do it when I am around as they don't have gps or smart phones.

 

I was thinking about getting them a gps for Christmas, but not sure which would be suitable. Any suggestions on what would be a good buy? My mother is reasonably good at picking up new technologies, but nothing too complicated. My father suffers from arthritis so something with easy to use buttons would be good.

 

Any help greatly appreciated!

 

R

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I'm normally a fan of Garmin handhelds, but in this case I think I would recommend the Magellan GC Explorist. Most new handhelds have paperless Geocaching features these days, but the GC Explorist was actually designed primarily for Geocaching. Should play nicely with the GC.com website, simple to operate and is reasonably priced.

 

Mind you I've never actually used one, but they seem to have a decent reputation in the Geocaching community.

Edited by Chief301
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When we started, the Garmin Legend (blue) was what we started with. Couldn't stand the toggle.

When the Garmin 60csx came out, with it's easy-to-use buttons and awesome accuracy, I was hooked and CJ got one shortly after.

We still have 'em.

If it ever dies (haven't killed it yet), I'd be looking at the newest 64 series, or maybe a slightly older 62 if a great deal.

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In my opinion, the GC is a poor choice. Small fonts, small screen, much harder to read in the sun, shorter battery life, and it's an abandoned product by Magellan, meaning no more updates will ever be published as all their developers have been terminated.

 

The Garmin 62s, large fonts, no click stick going through menu after menu, good large buttons. Much easier to use then the GC in the field. longer battery life, way more accurate.

Edited by gpsblake
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The 62s or Oregon 6XX, where the 62 is probably better for a starter, because it has no issues AFAIK.

The Oregon has some minor issues sometimes, but the keyboard input is easy.

Important to know there will be a learning curve, but there are many easy to understand video's on YT and gpscity.

 

Garmin is used by many many people, almost everything is based on Garmin and probably you have a geocache club meeting nearby, where they will be helped, if you take an abandoned product from the start you will have incompatibility issues sooner or later.

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How do they feel about touchscreen tech?

How much caching do they do with or without you?

Do they need/want the whole cache page on the gps?

Would they learn how to use PQs?

Do you feel confident in learning new tech and teaching it?

How much do you want to spend?

My folks do well with a 30 but in sure they'd throw my 650 in a lake! The touch screen part is a deal breaker for them.

Edited by Panther&Pine
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