(Not familiar with geocaching? Wikipedia to the rescue!
Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little monetary value. Today, well over 350,000 geocaches are currently placed in 222 countries around the world, which are registered on various websites devoted to the sport.Do you love her now?)
I'm don't think we need the fanciest handheld because I've already got two GPS devices that serve me well. I use the GPS navigation built into my Prius when I'm driving near my home and I connect my laptop to an Earthmate GPS-LT-20 via USB when I'm driving a rental car. (I think that Earthmate GPS-LT-20 is a must-have for anyone who carries a laptop and rents cars in the States. It's bundled with Street Atlas for $99.95US MSRP.)
We're "car campers" and not hikers, so the handheld GPS would probably just augment the car-based GPSes we already use. I picture that we'll drive most of the way to a location using the car's GPS and then use the handheld for the last parts of the approach.
Some of the places I've visited during my research:
- Geocaching.com's "Buying a GPS Unit" (which is really just an excerpt from the book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching").
- gpsinformation.us' "Important features for a hiking GPS"
- Google Product Search Beta, formerly known as Froogle.
- gpsreview.net
- Garmin's product comparison tool. Click here, here and here to see the Garmin handhelds I'm comparing.
- J. Goods' "Stuff I use for Geocaching" list at Amazon
Shopping comparison chart
| GPS unit | Review(s) | MSRP | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magellan Meridian Gold | gpsinformation.us Aug 2004 | $329.99US | 12 channels, IPX7 (submersible to one meter for 30 minutes), floats |
| Magellan Meridian Platinum | gpsinformation.us Aug 2004 | $399.99US | Same as gold plus 3-axis compass, barometer, and temperature sensor. |
| DeLorme Earthmate GPS PN-20 | gpsreview.net Jan 2007, backpackgeartest.org Apr 2007 | Basic: $369.95US Travel bundle: $409.95US Deluxe bundle: $449.95US | Topographic maps (sample) but can be pricey to purchase large areas (according to comments here). |
| Garmin GPS 60 | $192.84US | Grayscale display, up to 28 hr battery life, 1 MB RAM, serial and USB interface, 500 waypoints, geocaching mode (see video), IPX7 | |
| Garmin GPSMAP 60 | $249.99US | Same as GPS 60 but 24MB RAM, basemap, can add maps, turn by turn routing on roads | |
| Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx | $428.56US | Same as GPSMAP 60 but color display, shorter (18 hr) battery life, "high-sensitivity receiver", no built-in memory but accepts microSD cards (64MB card included), 1000 waypoints, custom POIs | |
| Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx | gpsinformation.us 2006 | $482.13US | Same as GPSMAP 60Cx plus electronic compass, barometric altimeter |
| Garmin GPS 76 | $179.99US | Grayscale display, 1 MB RAM, serial interface, 500 waypoints | |
| Garmin GPSMAP 76 | $199.99US | Same as GPS 76 but 8 MB RAM, can add maps, 1000 waypoints | |
| Garmin GPSMAP 76S | gpsinformation.us 2006(?) | $249.99US | Same as GPSMAP 76 but 24 MB RAM, electronic compass, barometric altimeter |
| Garmin GPSMAP 76Cx | $428.56US | Color display, microSD card slot, 128 MB microSD card, geocaching mode (see video), serial and USB interface. (Might be able to do topo maps through Google Earth + TerraServer [for topo] for free; I need to check.) | |
| Garmin GPSMAP 76CSx | gpsreview.net Nov 2005 | $482.13US | Same as 76Cx plus electronic compass and barometric altimeter |
After all that research, what did I decide to get?
Trick question, as it turns out. Once I saw how much money a really good GPS would cost I realized that I wasn't looking broadly enough. I've decided not to get any of the above right now and to research the alternatives to a dedicated GPS handheld. I'll cover that in a another post, soon.
