BuffaloBill Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 But want handheld that we can take with us when travelling or using one of the other cars. Do any of you have any thoughts on what is the "best" and why? My primary problem is that my wife has - one - an insanely bad sense of direction and two - if something has more than three buttons on it her brain is just not wired to use it effectively. So my priorities in order are ease of use from a user interface standpoint, accuracy and price. What experience have you had with anything out on the market right now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 But want handheld that we can take with us when travelling or using one of the other cars. Do any of you have any thoughts on what is the "best" and why? My primary problem is that my wife has - one - an insanely bad sense of direction and two - if something has more than three buttons on it her brain is just not wired to use it effectively. So my priorities in order are ease of use from a user interface standpoint, accuracy and price. What experience have you had with anything out on the market right now? Driving? Hiking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Driving? Hiking? 99% Driving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 The handhelds have more things they can do than the car units like navigation, hiking, geocaching, have topo and street maps loaded on them. But the car ones (Nuvi and Tom Tom, etc) are bad for hiking and geocaching. I have a five and a half year old GPS for geocaching, so I am not up on the newest ones. Friends of mine, who are the #4 geocachers in the world use their handheld to street navigate to geocaches although they have a GPS built into the dash of their Accura. They use the factory installed one to find restaurants and gas stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Hands down Garmin Nuvi. I can't think of a single unit I've used that I've liked better. They are small, portable, but work unbelievably well. The only downside to Garmin vs. any other GPS is that they can take longer to link up to the satellites than other brands. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....mp;Order=RATING Here's a list from newegg.com they typically have them on special every week or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Hands down Garmin Nuvi. I can't think of a single unit I've used that I've liked better. They are small, portable, but work unbelievably well. The only downside to Garmin vs. any other GPS is that they can take longer to link up to the satellites than other brands. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....mp;Order=RATING Here's a list from newegg.com they typically have them on special every week or so. Thanks - I am probably going to buy a Garmin but my wife has a friend with a tom tom so she thinks based on this we should get a tom tom. I understand voice recognition software is supposed to be better in Garmin units. This will be important because I don't see my wife sitting there patiently punching info in via touch screen. She will much prefer to talk to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Thanks - I am probably going to buy a Garmin but my wife has a friend with a tom tom so she thinks based on this we should get a tom tom. I understand voice recognition software is supposed to be better in Garmin units. This will be important because I don't see my wife sitting there patiently punching info in via touch screen. She will much prefer to talk to it Just make sure she doesn't talk to it like I'm sure she talks to you...the machines can only take so much information at one time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Just make sure she doesn't talk to it like I'm sure she talks to you...the machines can only take so much information at one time ..... true oh so true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Thanks - I am probably going to buy a Garmin but my wife has a friend with a tom tom so she thinks based on this we should get a tom tom. I understand voice recognition software is supposed to be better in Garmin units. This will be important because I don't see my wife sitting there patiently punching info in via touch screen. She will much prefer to talk to it With the handhelds, for geocaching, it seems people prefer Garmins over Magellans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 With the handhelds, for geocaching, it seems people prefer Garmins over Magellans. What is geocaching, by the way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 What is geocaching, by the way? Had to look it up myself ... guess we're just old guys ... not very hip .. anyway it is a form of treasure hunting where an individual hides something and people use GPS units and clues to go find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Mine just died and I replaced it with the 265T. The free traffic alerts are good if you live in an area where they send them. There are some tiny ads that show up on top when you're stopped but for free lifetime traffoic, who cares. Very good unit and the only one that actually uses the route that I knew was the quickest to work, so I am assumming the routing everywhere will be best. Only had it for a month so I don't know all the goods and bads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 What is geocaching, by the way? It's what the younger crowd uses to toe tap in the stall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 What is geocaching, by the way? People hide things in containers, from eraser sized containers to ammo cans or pickle buckets in size. They have a logbook in them and some times trinkets (usually for the kids). People hide it (never buried), and post a webpage about it. You download the coords to GPS, and the description to a PDA, and search for it. When you find it, you sign the log, put it back where it was hidden, and also log it on the hobby's web site. People have t-shirts that say " I use billions of dollars of technology to find Tupperware in the woods". It gets you out all over the place. Over five years ago I wanted to get some exercise, but thought walking or biking up the same trail was bring. I saw an article on it, tried it and was hooked. It's better than being a couch potato all weekend. There are hundreds of thousands all over the world. Some soldiers even geocache on the military bases in Iraq. There are likely several less than a mile from you, unless you live way in the sticks ( Alaska has about 1000 total). A couple met at a picnic for the hobby in my area and their daughter (now three) has about 1600 finds (when she is with mommy or daddy, they write a cute log for her). Families and all ages of people can do it. I have gotten to see just about all the parks in my area, and many beautiful views. I have to travel for work, so I download several where I am going to be and if I have time, I look for a few after I am done for the day. In 5.5 years, I have found about 4000 caches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Had to look it up myself ... guess we're just old guys ... not very hip .. anyway it is a form of treasure hunting where an individual hides something and people use GPS units and clues to go find it. Even the old guys can do it. I'm >50. There are several retired people I know that geocache. I met a woman geocacher one time that was 80! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Even the old guys can do it. I'm >50. There are several retired people I know that geocache. I met a woman geocacher one time that was 80! Was she good looking? I may take this up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=63679 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=63679 Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 People hide things in containers, from eraser sized containers to ammo cans or pickle buckets in size. They have a logbook in them and some times trinkets (usually for the kids). People hide it (never buried), and post a webpage about it. You download the coords to GPS, and the description to a PDA, and search for it. When you find it, you sign the log, put it back where it was hidden, and also log it on the hobby's web site. People have t-shirts that say " I use billions of dollars of technology to find Tupperware in the woods".It gets you out all over the place. Over five years ago I wanted to get some exercise, but thought walking or biking up the same trail was bring. I saw an article on it, tried it and was hooked. It's better than being a couch potato all weekend. There are hundreds of thousands all over the world. Some soldiers even geocache on the military bases in Iraq. There are likely several less than a mile from you, unless you live way in the sticks ( Alaska has about 1000 total). A couple met at a picnic for the hobby in my area and their daughter (now three) has about 1600 finds (when she is with mommy or daddy, they write a cute log for her). Families and all ages of people can do it. I have gotten to see just about all the parks in my area, and many beautiful views. I have to travel for work, so I download several where I am going to be and if I have time, I look for a few after I am done for the day. In 5.5 years, I have found about 4000 caches. Sounds cool Maybe we can hid the deans pot stash and get some REAL entertainment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I prefer Rand McNally. Always did like reading maps and figuring out myself where I was going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts