Triton 500 and geocacheing

dukesilver

My wife wants to take a geocaching course with our young children. She has no idea if they'll be interested or not. As such, she doesn't want to spend a lot of money on a handheld GPS.

I see the Magellan triton series is really inexpensive. I also see that topo maps can be had at maps4me.net.

Since the old Nat Geo map issue seems to be resolved - would the Triton 500 make for a decent geocaching unit? I also know my wife hates touchscreen technology - so the 1500/2000 models are out.

I also see the Triton Adventure pack which comes with Nat Geo topos on ebay. Even if Nat Geo doesn't support the topos in this format anymore - does the Triton 500 work with the supplied topo software or is there still a problem in using the Nat Geo topo software (in CD form)?

Thanks in advance

Boyd

How much is "really inexpensive"? Personally I would avoid that device. I know someone who had one with problems and he was not happy with Magellan support. I have a Triton 1500 (similar but with a touchscreen) but never use it anymore. I have the NJ National Geo topo map and it works fine. Not sure if this is different on the 500 series. If you can find the map you want, you will probably be OK, but they are no longer made and evidently hard to come by.

If it cost $50, maybe it would be worth a chance. Personally I would pass though, and get something newer that has better support. If you don't like touchscreens, the Garmin eTrex 20 is ~$150. You will get good support with this device, lots of free maps available at GPSFileDepot.com, Birdseye satellite imagery for $30, GLONASS support and more.

We just saw the Oregon 450 on sale for $150 a couple days ago at Cabela's also. Athough a touchscreen, this is a really great unit that is very popular. Price has gone up to $170 now, but still a great deal.

dukesilver

Thanks Boyd.

The Etrex20 and Oregon were 2 other models I was looking at as well.

Think I'll wander in that direction.