Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I purchased two of these, one for my kids and one for a friend.
THE GOOD
For my kids, this is the perfect unit. We use the geocaching app on my Iphone as our main geocaching tool to get us into the vicinity and then the kids use their Geomate Jr to get them to the cache. My 6 year old can run into trees with it, fall on it, etc and it takes a licking and keeps on ticking (much better than him doing that with my iphone!) Because we have already been geocaching, we were able to understand how to use this tool after a few button pushes. We did a side-by-side test with my iphone and the Geomate jr and the Geomate updated faster than my iphone and was more accurate under heavy tree cover conditions. Under normal conditions, both the Iphone and Geomate Jr updated at similar times and had readings within 2 feet of each other.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
This tool is billed as the Grab and Go geocaching tool, so easy that it will encourage everyone to get in the game. Well, not quite. If you aren't already very familiar with geocaching, trying to figure out what these buttons mean will just be confusing. You will need to read a book or go on the [...] website before you'll understand what a GC code is or have any clue what those coordinates mean. After you do make a find, you can only mark 20 caches as found. You need the update kit to mark up to 99 caches as found (though they represent that it will eventually be up to 1000 found). However, these issues are not a big deal because after you buy the update kit and do some reading, you're as good as gold.
NO MAPPING
But perhaps the biggest feature that is lacking that truly prevents this unit from being a true Grab and Go unit is the the lack of a mapping capability. For this reason, this is best as a supplemental unit. Mapping is important in geocaching because trying to find a geocache by going 3.6 miles NNE is about impossible to drive to. Roads generally don't travel in the direction that your compass happens to be pointing. And by the time you take a road in that general direction, the compass will be pointing .6 miles West. You could drive around like this all day. The Iphone app shows the map of the area and where the geocache is located on the map so that you can drive to the general vicinity and then get out and hunt. The work around for this lack of a mapping feature on the Geomate Jr. is to go to the geocaching.com website and print out the maps to the geocaches you want to seek. Of course this relegates you to only planned geocaching trips instead of geocaching on the go because you happen to have a few extra minutes like you can do with the Iphone.
SUMMARY
This is a great supplemental unit and a must have for kids in a family of geocachers. However, unless and until they provide a mapping capability on the Geomate Jr., this is not a true Grab and go unit and may not be the best choice as a stand alone unit.
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Apisphere Geomate Jr. Handheld Geocaching GPSThe easiest and quickest way to get in on the geocaching fun, the Geomate.jr is an incredibly affordable and amazingly easy to use geocaching GPS--just switch it on anywhere in the U.S., and be directed to your closest geocache. It's really that easy! With over 250,000 pre-loaded geocache locations covering all 50 U.S. states, it's an outdoor adventure just waiting to happen anywhere, anytime, straight out of the box! No downloads, internet connection, or typing in coordinates necessary.
Discover Geocaching
An exciting outdoor adventure for the whole family, geocaching is a high-tech GPS-based treasure hunt. Hidden all over the U.S.--behind bushes, inside logs, under park benches, practically anywhere--are "geocaches," containers of various size (some can be a small as a quarter piece, while others as large as a bucket) with a log book and trinkets that you can trade stashed inside. Your mission as a Geocacher is to find them.
About the Geomate.jr
Loaded With Geocaches Unlike any other GPS on the market, the Geomate.jr comes preloaded with approximately 250,000 geocache locations covering all 50 U.S. states.
A Breeze to Use Simply go outside, turn it on and follow the arrow and distance to your closest geocache. Hit the "Next" button and the Geomate.jr will take you to the next closest geocache. To make the hunt a little easier, along with the geocache location, you also get information like terrain, difficulty, size of the geocache, and the geocache code. You can also set a "home" waypoint so you can always navigate back to where you started--a bit of a "get lost proof" feature.
After a good find, the "found geocache" log allows you to mark geocaches as found and review them later.
Solid Technology The Geomate.jr includes core GPS functionality like latitude, longitude, height, heading, and GPS tracking information. Based on high-sensitivity SiRFstarIII GPS technology, the Geomate.jr delivers excellent GPS performance and accuracy.
The Geomate.jr gets more than 12 hours of operation out of a couple AAA batteries (not included).
Loads of Fun Whether you are taking a road trip, visiting the relatives, camping, or just taking a stroll through the local park, the Geomate.jr is always ready to go and is perfect for that spontaneous outdoor adventure with friends or the family.
Add an Udpate Kit With new geocaches being added every day, an optional Geomate.jr Update Kit allows you to add all the newest geocaches for the U.S., get geocaches for other countries, or even give your Geomate.jr a nickname!
What's in the Box
Apisphere Geomate jr. Handheld GPS Geocacher, Quick Start Guide
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