Best GPS For Geocaching

With the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS), navigation has become a lot easier than it was earlier. Along with the military services, civilians also use this technology to navigate across the globe. GPS, developed by the United States Department of Defense, can be used anywhere in the world for free.

Geocaching
It is an outdoor activity which makes use of the navigational tools provided by the GPS. Geocaching is kind of a 'hide and seek game' which, along with GPS, requires treasure-hunting, orienteering and way-marking skills. Around 8,50,000 geocaches are placed across the world in 100 countries. These geocaches are placed in all the seven continents of the world.

Best GPS for Geocaching
For geocaching to be interesting and fun-filled, the GPS one possesses needs to have some basic features. With the improvement in technology, more and more advanced features would be added to the GPS over time. Having as many advanced features in the GPS would make it easier for navigation. Let's have a look at the basic and advanced features of GPS used in geocaching.

Basic Features Required

• Following are the basic features a GPS needs to have in order to navigate with ease and accuracy. A GPS should be compact. Size does matter when one needs to carry the GPS during navigation.
• Battery life plays an important role in navigation. The best geocaching GPS units generally run for 20-28 hours. Few years back, the technology developed for geoaching was still in its infancy stage. The GPS units of that time had no more than 3-5 hours of power storage. Thus, one should opt for modern GPS units. Unlike the older units which had a single channel, the GPS receivers developed after the year 1997, have 12 parallel channels. The processing of information thus, takes place quickly and thereby increases the accuracy.
• The waypoints are locations that are recorded as one navigates along the trail in order to return to the exact location. A GPS that stores at least 500 locations is considered suitable for geocaching.
• There are chances of the GPS unit getting wet during the geocaching activity. Thus, GPS units need to be waterproof.

Advanced GPS Features
The advanced features give us an edge while navigating during geocaching. A GPS provides accuracy of up to 10-50 feet. However, having an electronic compass narrows down the search to 2-3 sq. feet. The compass also doubles up as emergency help if the GPS loses the satellite lock or the battery dies. If the GPS has a computer interface, sending and receiving data from other computers becomes possible. One can obtain information in the form of track logs, digital points, routes and waypoints. One should not forget to take along the cable that transfers data from the PC to the GPS unit. Nowadays, GPS units have map databases stored in their memory. These maps provide information regarding waterways, roadways and other aspects of cities. The external antenna helps catch the signals easily, while the address finder helps search through addresses from the base map database.

Geocaching Products
They are many companies that offer products for geocaching. 'Garmin Geko 201' and 'Garmin Colorado 400t' are among the best geocaching GPS products available in the market. Let us check out the information regarding these products.

Garmin Geko 201
The specialty of this product is the speed and accuracy it provides. It receives signals clearly, even through dense tree cover. It is lightweight and waterproof. The maps displayed by this unit aren't detailed enough, however, the routes are clear and the necessary landmarks are displayed.

Garmin Colorado 400t
This is an easy to use handheld GPS unit. It provides the user with different modes such as the on-road, in-car, geocaching, off-road and the compass. The control wheel provided by this GPS unit is very easy to handle. Up to 1000 waypoints can be stored in this unit. It provides detailed maps, up to 50 routes and a battery life of 14-16 hours.

The above mentioned features and products enable us to pick up the right GPS unit. With the improvement in technology, new models of GPS will be released by manufacturing firms. One should keep track of the trends and technological developments in order to get the best GPS for geocaching.