Apr 28th, 2010 | Written by S. Thompson | Posted in Hobbies |

Best GPS for Geocaching

When you’ve just been introduced to the fabulously fun outdoor sport of geocaching, you, like every other beginner, wants to know what is the best GPS for geocaching. While you will eventually want other equipment like a compass and a cache bag (backpack for geocaching), the most important piece of equipment is your GPS device.

There are many GPS receivers on the market and finding one that suits your individual needs and pocket book won’t be difficult.  Garmin and Megellan are the most popular manufacturers, with Garmin being the industry leader.

One good way to find out about the various GPS receivers is visit some of the geocaching message boards online.  The boards are loaded with useful information about what’s good and what’s bad about any particular make or model.  Best GPS prices can typically be found on the Web, but you could also run into a good sale locally.

There are a few features that would be considered essential in the best GPS for geocaching. Since geocaching is an outdoor sport, and it entails hunting for treasure in all kinds of weather and over all types of terrain, it would be smart to purchase a rugged waterproof unit. Ask any seasoned geocacher, the GPS will get banged up and wet; it’s just the nature of the game.

Another thing to be aware of is how heavy is the unit? You may be trekking for miles, through God knows what kind of country. Make hunting easy on yourself; get a lightweight, small sized GPS. Every bit of weight on a long hunt can make a difference. The idea is to enjoy yourself, not wear yourself down.

Get one that has a display screen with enough contrast so that it can be read in bright sunlight, and get one with at least 10 hours battery life. It should also continue to receive signals whether you’re under heavy cloud or tree cover, in deep canyons, or even when you’re in the middle of a bunch of skyscrapers.

Ask other geocaching families about the GPS they use. Find one that every member of the family can easily read and operate. Geocaching is a healthy activity that the entire family can enjoy.  Small kids can be taught to handle and read a basic GPS device. Picture every member of your family being able to really join in the fun.

Really, finding the best GPS for geocaching is up to each person, but anyone that you do purchase specifically for the purpose of hunting down caches, should have the basic features we’ve talked about in this article.

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