Magellan eXplorist GC Waterproof Hiking GPS

I've had this since September last year and used it exclusively for geocaching - which isn't surprising as it's what it was intended for. Prior to this I used an Android smartphone - which was good but battery life was lacking. This unit has proven itself time and again in the field.

Pro's

* holds up to 10,000 geocaches - I currently have it loaded with 9,000+ caches centred on my house and it's very speedy at managing them
* fully paperless - all descriptions, hints, photographs, logs, etc. available on the device
* battery life - easily lasts several long days out caching if you use the correct batteries. I tend to use rechargeables which don't last as long but still get several days caching out of them (couple of hours each day)
* integrates very well with GSAK (geocaching swiss army knife - useful free tool)
* robust and waterproof - I've banged it around, dropped it a few times and got it soaked - and it's never stuttered.
* good reception - my phone loses the GPS signal in the trees, this device keeps a lock on a lot longer.

Con's

* map base is seriously lacking in detail - I recently went around a local reservoir and using the GC I couldn't tell which side of the water I was supposed to be on at times - and sometimes it pointed me right into the middle (the map was off, what it thought of as water was actually dry land)
* the lack of an inbuilt compass means if you stand still you lose all sense of where you're going. As long as you keep moving it's not a problem.
* interface a bit clunky in places - but workable if you persevere
* inability to upgrade or replace maps means new areas not reflected on what's shown - already it's out of date in some streets around here.
* tend to not carry it around, always have the phone for ad-hoc caching but only take the GC when planning a longer walk (where battery life and reception become paramount).

Overall well worth it for geocaching - but there's a lot of new contenders coming up which are going to give it a run for its money - especially smartphones and the often free software they have available. If you get it make sure you install the newest OS onto it however - freely available from the Magellan support site - and enjoy the adventure.

If you are ever stuck for hours and hours of fun with the kids over the long Summer holidays, you wont go wrong with this great piece of kit. Downloading the paperless geocaching maps is fast and easy and the unit is straight forward to use, with logical menus, so you spend your time hunting for caches and not buttons! Packed with lots of fun extra features to keep the kids occupied like graphics for logs and merit-based awards to show off your successes - it was certainly my buy of the Summer.

Brilliant piece of kit, it does what it says on the tin. Best of all it is optimised for geocaching, you can import all the data from the geocaching website, including description and decrypted hints of the cache site. You can then upload your filed notes directly back onto your area of the geocache site. The only downside is the fairly basic background mapping and the inability to import maps. However, if you use the device with a programme such as Quo you can use OS maps of 50 or 25,000 scale to plot the caches directly from the GPS onto the OS map. Its cover on the move is good, and works OK under tree cover, however, when stationary it flits around a bit especially if there is poor reception. Battery life is good and I now use rechargeable batteries and it seems to pick up charge from my laptop. The waterproofing is OK but I would not like to dunk it in water as you would be relying on the cover to the USB port being properly closed, but it is more than adequate in heavy rain. Very pleased with it.