Magellan eXplorist GC is the first GPS device 100{0e3fbd49920d66d312335c9ab31e3d7b441ff7521e58af8d4d0648ba5d548198} dedicated to geocaching that includes out-of-the-box paperless geocaching, seamless connection to geocaching.com, a brilliant color screen, rich graphics, and a simple user interface all packed into a rugged and waterproof device. The device is powered by two AA batteries for up to 15 hours of outdoor adventure along with a highly-sensitive SiRFstarIII GPS chipset that provides 3-meter accuracy. The device is made for geocaching with an uncomp
$ 199.00
Magellan ExploristGC,
A decent GPS for geocaching. It comes with street maps for the entire United States and Canada and base maps (major highways) for the rest of the world. In the US and Canada you can navigate (it does NOT auto-navigate) yourself to a geocache by watching the mapping screen and choosing a route.
Included is a 30 day premium membership to Geocaching.com. In order to fully utilize the features of this unit you MUST be a premium member. Paperless caching, pocket queries and bookmarks, uploading field notes all require maintaining a premium membership ($30 per year).
I have been geocaching more than 7 years and have experience with Magellan, Garmin and DeLorme GPS units. I attended a C.I.T.O. event in San Francisco earlier this year and won an ExploristGC in a drawing at that event. My thanks to Magellan.
The unit comes with an (abbreviated) User Handbook packaged in the box. For the complete User Handbook you will need to access MagellanGPS.com and either read it online or download the Adobe acrobat file to your computer. It is one of the better user handbooks that I have seen for GPS units. Learning to use the unit (for me) was relatively easy and quick.
Cons:
Small text. Hard to read while bouncing in a car.
Transflective screen. Hard to see even in bright sunlight. I needed to use the backlight most of the time.
Battery life. About 10 hours for rechargeables (because I needed to use the backlight most of the time.)
Position Update. Most of the time pretty good. Occasionally VERY slow (up to 2 minutes).
Switching between screens. The Map screen and the Dashboard screen are used extensively for geocaching. It is not possible to rapidly switch between these two screens.
Awards. The unit is preprogrammed to “award” you for 10 miles traveled, your 1st, 10th, etc. cache found. No way to turn this off.
Pros: (with Geocaching premium membership)
Making field notes and uploading those notes to Geocaching.com
Paperless caching (including viewing any photographs and graphics from the cache pages.)
Memory capacity. The unit will hold the information for thousands of caches.
I would give the ExploristGC another star if the position update was faster and more reliable. It is VERY irritating to be 10 or 15 feet away from a cache and not know which way to go. On numerous occasions I have walked past a cache by 30 to 40 feet before the unit updates my distance from the cache and the arrow swings on the compass to point toward the cache. (I see this problem listed on some other reviews but not all, so this problem could be limited to some but not all units.)
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|A well-priced, well-made geocaching device for neophytes and those on a budget,
What is Geocaching? It’s an outdoor activity akin to treasure hunting, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to hide and seek containers (called “geocaches” or “caches”) anywhere in the world.
Sound interesting? Then you might want to give the Magellan eXplorist GC Handheld Geocaching GPS Navigator a whirl. It’s an entry-level GPS geocaching device that is perfectly suited for neophytes, yet has enough capabilities to suit the basic needs of geocaching veterans.
The good:
– No-frills geocaching device is perfect for newbies as it covers all the basics expected from a geocaching device;
– The eXplorist has a nice, colorful screen;
– The eXplorist’s interface is intuitive and easy to use, with an effective button layout;
– The eXplorist has very good GPS tracking capabilities, on par with more expensive geocaching devices, while also including a useful compass feature;
-The eXplorist is small (but not too much so), ruggedly-built, waterproof and feels very comfortable in the hands;
– Battery life is stated by Magellan to be a very good 15 hours, but my experience with the eXplorist GC using standard Duracell batteries has averaged battery life at around 17-18 hours;
– The eXplorist has a “suspend mode” that preserves battery life;
– The eXplorist comes preloaded with 1,000 of the most popular worldwide geocache locations; it includes a highly detailed worldwide basemap;
– The eXplorist can accommodate up to 500 waypoints and 5,000 point tracklogs; USB interface is non-proprietary;
– Various plug-ins and firmware updates (as well as the device’s user manual) is (or will be) available through Magellan’s website, promising increased device functionality and software improvements;
– Optional 30-day trial for premium geocaching membership services, which allow for great features such as paperless caching, pocket queries and bookmarks (after the 30 day trial, there is a $30 annual fee or a $10 three-month fee for the optional membership service);
– The price is right for a GPS geocaching device of this caliber.
The bad:
– No other GPS capabilities besides geocaching included in package;
– No option to add external memory;
– The screen is somewhat dimly lit and the text is fairly small, potentially making reading a chore for those with strained eyesight;
– Software response is somewhat sluggish;
– Very basic features means this is a no-frills geocaching device which, while perfect for newbies, may not be satisfactory for more experienced (or wealthier) geocachers who are looking for more “bells and whistles” in their geocaching device;
– As mentioned earlier, after the 30-day trial expires, in order to get the maximum benefit of this device, you will have to fork over either a $30 annual fee or a $10 three-month fee for Magellan’s premium geocaching membership services (IMO, totally worth the extra cost for the premium features).
For those who have had issues with the eXplorist’s lack of “pinpoint” accuracy, please keep in mind that this is an issue with most, if not all, of GPS geocaching devices, regardless of make or cost, due to various types of cover and terrain, which will interfere with GPS tracking. In all, considering its terrific price point and what you get right out of the box, the Magellan eXplorist GC Handheld is strongly recommended for newbies or those on a tight budget.
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|Upgraded to the Magellan eXplorist GC,
I upgraded from a very basic GPS to the eXplorist GC because I only use my GPS for geocaching. After looking at the reviews of other products I chose this one because it kept billing itself as the GPS solely for geocaching and it was paperless. I really enjoy the whole paperless feature. I have found a dozen or so caches in different terrain. Here is what I’ve noticed so far.
PRO:
I love the fact the hints, descriptions, and a couple logs are all in the unit. (I guess that would be true with any paperless geocaching unit.
I love that I didn’t have to pay for a unit that provides the sunrise/sunset times, tides, or detailed topographical information.
I love having the roads and rivers/lakes show up on the display.
I like the USB connection.
CON:
The unit takes a bit to get a signal.
It doesn’t come with a real manual. You have to go online to get the PDF file.
There is a little bit of a learning curve, especially when it doing multi-caches and puzzles.
I haven’t been able to upload my field notes.
All that being said I am glad I bought this unit. I’m still getting used to the unit, but I love the paperless aspect. I’m able to find plenty of help online, so the lack of an actual manual hasn’t really been a problem.
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