So now we move into the realm of Geocaching and review the Magellan eXplorist GC dedicated geocaching Device.

So disabled or not this is something mostly anyone can do. I would like to see if there is a set of Geocachers that are in wheelchairs that have them set in places that a person can get to if they are wheelchair bound. Would this also depend on what kind of wheelchair that you have? But that is for another review.

Well you might ask “What the heck is geocaching?” or if you are just learning or what most would call a beginner.  You can go to http://www.geocaching.com and read all about it.

Let’s move on to the guts of this review the Magellan eXplorist GC As soon as I pulled it out of its box you could tell that the eXplorist gc was a rugged little device.  The Magellan eXplorist GC is designed to be a standalone, paperless geocaching device. So the idea is that you should be able to power up this device and go right to geocaching out of the box.

When you first open the box, you will see and feel that the eXplorist GC is ruggedized for the outdoors which makes sense for what the devise if for. Now for all of you that have become so used to using touch screen devices this one is not, hence the four rubber buttons and one joystick.

So let’s have a bit of a look at the back now, as you can see from the image below there is one twist knob to open the back to place your batteries. So it is pretty easy to open and close with no fiddly screws.

So for most people that I know are very competitive and well, this would also be a good outdoor activity for them. You can use the Magellan eXplorist GC and compete so you can see who took what time to find a specific cache. You can do this by using the “time to find” feature that records the time it takes to find each cache. The eXplorist GC will keep a record of the time it takes you to find each cache in the geocache details page and average all the finds in your user profile.

Features:

I was just going over the features and let me tell you there are quite a few for such a small item, but as they say good things come in small packages. So what I will do is give you the full list as I have noticed from looking around the internet at some of the other reviews not many give the entire list. I personally think that if am looking around the internet for a review on an item I am considering on buying I would like to see all what it offers not just what the reviewer thinks I need to know.

1. a.Seamless Connection to Geocaching.com User Community
2. a.Free 30 Day Premium Membership to Geocaching.com
3. a.Pre-Loaded with the Most Popular Geocaches
4. a.Paperless Geocaching
5. a.Easy to Navigate Menus and Rich Graphics
6. a.Brilliant, sunlight readable color screen
7. a.Store up to 10,000 geocaches on the device
8. a.Geocache Awards
9. a.Rugged and waterproof to IPX- Focus on the adventure not protecting the device.
10. a.High-sensitivity SiRFstarIII GPS with 3-5 meter accuracy
11. a.Picture Viewer
12. a.Pre-loaded Worldwide Map
13. a.18 Hours of battery life using 2 AA batteries
14. a.Suspend Mode
15. a.On-board user memory
16. a.Create and Store 500 Waypoints
17. a.Record Active Track and See "Breadcrumbs" on the Map Screen
18. a.Trip Summary
19. a.NMEA Message Output (USB Only)
20. a.Multiple Coordinates and Map Datums

If you are like some of my friends and love their bling and toys, I can hear the question now “What accessories can I get to go with it?”

Well if you got to Magellan’s site Magellan eXplorist GC Accessories then click the Accessories tab. You can get extras like the Carry Case, or if you are a geocasher that loves using your bike the eXplorist has a handlebar mount.

Also come with a 30-day Groundspeak Premium membership: Before you sign up I do suggest you got to https://www.geocaching.com/membership/ and read what you are getting and what the cost per month is and so forth.

Well as usually I will try to give you the prices that I have found on the internet, for the Magellan eXplorist GC it seems to range between £113.00 and £195.00 so before you rush out and buy one remember to check the internet and your local stores and always always remember that even if a store is a big name one try to haggle it does work.  Plus the cost of some AA batteries.

Now it comes down to the verdict:

If you are considering getting into Geocaching, then I do suggest that you check out the Magellan eXplorist GC.

We here at IAMa-Network give the Magellen eXplorist GC a BUY verdict.

Obligatory Specs:

DEVICE

Dimensions (English)2.2" x 4.4" x 1.4"

Dimensions (Metric)56mm x 111mm x 36mm

Weight (English)5.20z

Weight (Metric)147g

Battery Type2xAA

Battery Life18 Hours

WaterproofIPX-7

Available User Storage500 MB

CPU400MHz

Temperature Range (F)14F to 140F

Temperature Range (C)-10C to 60C

Suspend ModeYes

Internal Memory2 GB

SCREEN

Display Resolution, WxHQVGA, 240 x 320

Screen Size2.2"

Display TypeColor, Transflective

GPS & SENSORS

GPS AccuracyUp to 3-5 meters

High-Sensitivity GPSSiRFstarIII™

Antenna TypeMultidirectional Patch

WAAS/EGNOS/MSASYes

MAPPING & NAVIGATION

Preloaded MapsWorldwide Map

Coordinates Systems & DatumsYes

Audible Proximity AlarmsYes

USER GENERATED CONTENT

Accepts GPX FilesYes

Waypoints500

Geocaches10000

Paperless GeocachingYes

Picture ViewerYes

Tracks1

Points Per Track5000

User Data Online SharingYes

INTERFACE & COMMUNICATIONS

Communication ProtocolUSB Mass Storage

USB PortYes

NMEA OutputUSB Only

PC CompatibleYes