Garmin Dakota 10 Handheld GPS

This has been one of our best buys. We had a Garmin eTrex back from 10 years ago when these things were quite new, and as geocachers it wasn't quite getting the accuracy of coordinates that we needed. The Dakota 10 is very geocaching friendly and we can download caches straight from the website (we upgraded to premium membership for this). As other people say, the maps are a disgrace but having read the reviews here I went on to talkytoaster and easily loaded the free maps which make all the difference.

It's the bottom of the range as far as geocaching-ready GPSs go, but I am not sure that the extra money is worth the extra bells and whistles. With the Dakota 10 we have had amazing accuracy even in trees and tall buildings and it always finds the satellites quickly and easily - you can't ask for more than that.

I wanted to go paperless with Geocaching so I bought this as a replacement for my Garmin ETrex Venture Hc.It does the job perfectly and I can geocache without reames of paper as it holds all the description of the caches, logs and hints for me to look at on screen.
It was good value for money offering paperless feature and additional features too.Other units with similar features were really expensive so this seemed a cost effective option.I at first wished I had shelled out the extra and got the Dakota 20 when I had realised The map I purchased at the same time was sd card and not the dvd I nneed to load onto Dakota 10,but It was not a problem sending it back and buying the correct Map software.

I have used it for a few days and what a Geocaching difference it has been - having cache descriptions, hints, logs and so on available on the unit.it's a big improvement from printing all the details.At first I had a little trouble as I was looking at the wrong reading as with my venture the reading for distance to cache was in a different position.Then I realised I can also customise these readings and positions to suit the way I want to see/read it.The 'Accuracy of GPS' field is helpful too when searching for that elusive cache to get an idea of where you need to look. I had to upgrade to be a Premium Member on the Ground speak website, but it's well worth the few £'s. Once the Pocket Query [I did approx 100 caches in one go]results are copied into the relevant folder on the device, there are tons of caches and their information available at the touch of the screen.
It is user friendly and very neat and easy to carry and store on your person when not in use.I had to get a screen protector as I worry about messing up the screen therefore making it unreadable as there is a touch screen,and my nails would eventually make a mess of it.also a case for a little added protection while it is knocking around in my bag.

The basemap that comes with it is rubbish which I had expected from my experience with the Venture HC so I was prepared and as I said before bought A map at the same time [pity it was in the wrong format].Once I got the correct map I,after a little research on the net on how to load the map I managed to put the map onto my device and it works a treat .personally I think all these type of devices should come with a decent map,base maps are pathetic and only show major cities,rail and major rivers etc...But then this is how the manufacturers make their money as the maps are not exactly cheap.

I have only had it a short time so I'm still in the playing with it faze,but so far it does not disappoint me.
I now also have a bike bracket so I can see how it works while on he move.

I bought this as I wanted to go paperless with Geocaching. It was the lowest cost Garmin product (my preferred manufacturer, no other reason) offering this feature and to be honest, the additional features of other units didn't justify their unbelievable costs; especially the Dakota 20. The extra money seems to go for an SD card slot, magnetic compass and pairing!!! Big deal. As you can connect to the Dakota 10 using USB, and it has over 800Mb of internal storage the SD card is not a requirement of mine. The compass works fine when moving, so that wasn't an essential need either.

I have been using it for a few days and what a Geocaching revelation it has been - having cache descriptions, hints, logs available on the unit is a HUGE improvement from printed or remembered details. The 'Accuracy of GPS' field is helpful too when searching for that elusive microcache to get an idea of where you need to look. You do have to upgrade to be a Premium Member on the Groundspeak website, but it's well worth the $30. Once the Pocket Query results are copied into the relevant folder on the device, there are tons of caches and their information available at the press of a few buttons. Plus, there are Premium Member only caches - nice.

The interface is nice and customisable and I especially like the way you can add/remove/reposition all the menu items per profile. The trip computer is great too as you can decide exactly what you want to see, as you can on the maps and compass too. As I am primarily a Geocacher rather than hiker/walker I have not explored the route/track options to a great degree, but they look good and I will be getting into them the more I get out and about.

Now - the downside. The basemap that comes with it is....well, it rhymes with 'map'. As a previous reviewer has said, this isn't good enough; I agree 100% - the map is unbelievably poor and the costs of commercial maps are outrageous given that it's an essential part of a GPS. This device SHOULD come with a decent map - sort yourselves out Garmin. It did feel like buying a book with an amazing cover to discover that it only has chapter headings in it and no story. However, as Martin wrote on the comments to this other review - FREE maps are available to put onto the device. I followed his fantastic advice and tried it out and the results are terrific (thanks Martin). Just Google "talkytoaster" and follow the instructions.

The battery life is great, the interface is great, the features are great, it's great!! For the Amazon price you can't go wrong if you want to take your Geocaching to the next level. Go on, treat yourself.