Geocaching and choosing a good adventure GPS

A look at geocaching and GPS adventure devices

An outdoors activity which has developed in the last 10 years or so, geocaching combines a mixture of orienteering, high tech gadgetry and outdoors fun. Developed in the early 2000s, it is a game which centres upon navigation, finding a hidden cache, or store, recording something on a logbook, and perhaps picking up or leaving something for the next visitor. It is a sport which is massively popular in the USA, and also gaining popularity here in the UK. Crucial to this activity, of course, is the adventure handheld GPS. Here we have a quick look at the main components to this fun activity, and also what to look for in a GPS device if you want to have a go yourself at geocaching.

These days you can find plenty of websites on geocaching, which give you details of the different activities, locations, and indeed the coordinates of different geocaches so you can get out there and enjoy yourself. When you get a set of coordinates detailed, the game is simple. Simply you’re your adventure handheld GPS, enter the coordinates and do your best to navigate yourself to the exact spot. Once there, you need to look for some kind of hidden box, or cache. It will be often hidden in a tree, under a bench, or even underwater in some more extreme cases! It's a fun activity for all of the family.

There is of course different types of activities within the sport of geocaching. Some geocaches will have multiple sites, and clues hidden in each different storage. Mystery, or puzzle geocaching involves solving riddles and moving from site to site using your problem solving skills and intelligence. There are even weekends, and group activities where large numbers of participants get together for extended activities.

So, there is the activity itself, now what about the hardware? A decent GPS adventure handheld device is crucial for geocaching. You need to look out for a few basic features in order to get the best out of the sport. Of course you will need something that gives the basic coordinates; the geographical positioning including latitude and longitude. This kind of thing is basic in an adventure GPS these days, but you'll also do well to look out for features like a decent, strong GPS receiver which responds well in all types of environments. It's also a good idea to have something which might store waypoints, and also a feature which allows you to judge distance, and time to next destination.

Geocaching is not the only activity which benefits from adventure GPS. Hiking, camping, biking, fishing, and wilderness exploration are areas where adventure GPS has now become commonplace. Even the rescue services are using their GPS in emergency situations such as search and rescue. The rendering of maps on the GPS devices are becoming increasingly good. It's now possible to go out with a small device in your hand, and never really have any excuse to get lost.

There is plenty to choose from out there in the world of adventure GPS, but choosing something can be tricky. We recommend you do your research if you're thinking about doing geocaching or any other activity with an adventure handheld GPS. Here is a great website with all of the information on the latest GPS, features, pros and cons, and relevant prices. Get out there and have fun!