Which GPS would be the best investment for me.

[+Narvengers]

I started geocaching a few year ago and then kind of let it fade away. Some of my friends have recently taken the hobby up which has gotten me back into it as I truly could not remember why it had faded before. After a couple weeks of caching again I now remember! It is the frustration I would get from looking for a cache down long hiking trails in the hills of eastern Kentucky with my cellphone constantly losing coordinates. I will walk 180 feet this way to be told I need to go back up trail another .5 mile, to then see I should have walked over the hill just below my previous location. With all that being said I do really enjoy this activity and it gives great quality family time for me and my family, we are outdoors a lot and this is a nice activity to keep in the mix of things we do together. I have been researching some GPSr units within my current point and have decided on either the Garmin Etrex 35 or the Garmin Oregon 600. Between these to units or something close to the same price point could you guys give recommendation on which unit I should choose? Also some of the pros and cons between the two units. Thanks!

[+cerberus1]

You don't say what phone you have.

We've seen the newer phones are usually comparable to a handheld GPSr, with only battery life, and fragility as the only deciding factors (for us) against using 'em with the caching we do (mountain gorges and rock mostly).

 

I don't care to have my GPSr used like a phone, and prefer buttons.

On rope (or rock) with gloves, it just seems easier (for me).

If ours ever die, we'd pick a Garmin 64s as the next.

[team.moo]

I am in the same situation as you just about to start up again with a dedicated GPS rather than a phone. My issue with the phone was not the GPS signal, that worked well, it was the inability to download caches and battery life, could only find one cache before it died. I used an old phone I would never use my current one for fear of damage. I also owned a very old GPS that again only accepted manual cords I didn't like that much either as it didn't have maps.

 

The models you are looking at are newer than mine (I purchased second hand). I would buy new if I could as you have the option to return it.

 

After initial disappointment (see my thread) and the help of the very kind posters on here I am now really pleased with my decision to get a dedicated GPS, unlike a phone it will survive a 9 year old using with without me having to watch every second he doesn't drop/damage it.

 

The one thing I would suggest is good maps, with the phone I had a very good map and would miss it so I made sure my GPS came with maps. I managed to find a seller with one that had 1.50K OS maps for the whole of my country (UK) at just a few quid extra than a standard version.

 

Good luck

Edited July 9, 2016 by team.moo

[ohgood]

I started geocaching a few year ago and then kind of let it fade away. Some of my friends have recently taken the hobby up which has gotten me back into it as I truly could not remember why it had faded before. After a couple weeks of caching again I now remember! It is the frustration I would get from looking for a cache down long hiking trails in the hills of eastern Kentucky with my cellphone constantly losing coordinates. I will walk 180 feet this way to be told I need to go back up trail another .5 mile, to then see I should have walked over the hill just below my previous location. With all that being said I do really enjoy this activity and it gives great quality family time for me and my family, we are outdoors a lot and this is a nice activity to keep in the mix of things we do together. I have been researching some GPSr units within my current point and have decided on either the Garmin Etrex 35 or the Garmin Oregon 600. Between these to units or something close to the same price point could you guys give recommendation on which unit I should choose? Also some of the pros and cons between the two units. Thanks!

 

if the phone bounces half a mile it's not using the GPS antenna.