Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocaching GPS

Comments about Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocacher:

We picked a pair of these at our local REI on a whim to take with us on a trip to Yosemite as gifts for our kids, ages 9 and 11. We had heard there were a couple caches near the Tenaya Lodge where we stayed. The kids opened the packages after we arrived and had figured out what to do and were off in about 15 minutes. Convincing them to go on a hike can take some doing, but the encouragement of new handheld electronics got a much better reception! They were thrilled to find their first geocache and trade trinkets, and I got a nice vigorous hike keeping up with them. They wore them on lanyards for the rest of the trip, and updated us on nearby geocaches even from the car, so there seems to be "replay value" for future trips. At this price, I let the kids carry them around without too much fear they will be lost or damaged.

It's clearly not a device for GPS powerusers- but I don't think we would have tried geocaching if it had required a more expensive device or advance downloading of coordinates, so the preloaded data and smaller cost commitment were a perfect solution for us. We were particularly interested in the "home" button that allows you to set a start location- if we manage to lose our way while caching, or one of the kids wanders off, this could also help them find their way back.

Comments about Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocacher:

This little guy is perfect for beginners and kids, and that's about it.

Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful little device, but if you're like me and got into geocaching as a serious hobby rather quickly, there's only so much patience you'll have with it after about 5 or 6 outings.

Eventually, you notice that, although the chipset is quite accurate, the compass is not. The best way to use this device is to go by the North and West coordinates using a printed out list of caches.

Geocaches are only listed by GCxxxxx code, so you don't get the usual hints you might through the title and hints of caches.

Additionally, if you aren't willing to buy the update kit, although the device contains roughly 250,000 caches built-in, I noticed that roughly 1/10th of those seemed to be disabled, or contained complicated instructions on the cache listing page (which can't be accessed within the device).

The device lists container size, diff/terr and that's it. The rest is left to your wits.

I would DEFINITELY recommend this product, though, to those who might cache casually, but not to those that I think might soon become enthusiasts.

If you TRULY enjoy geocaching, and already know so, do yourself a favor and splurge for the Garmin GPSmap 60csx. Now THAT is a geocaching device with a solid userbase and extreme versatility. I'd give that one a 5.

But, if you've got some money to throw around, live in an highly-urban area, and want to find something that might get your kid out of the house, then this is the device for you. :-)

Comments about Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocacher:

I've struggled to get my 12 year old daughter off the sofa and away from her TV and FaceBook page. So discovering the Geomate.jr seemed like an opportunity combine her love of gadgets with a little outdoor fun. Plus, at only [$] trying the product seemed like a no-brainer.Given the price, I was a little concerned that the device might be a piece of junk but I was pleasantly surprised. It's well made and has a very solid feel to it. The screen is small and I found it a little hard to read with my 40-something eyes but no daughter had no issues.We live a block from Central Park so it was pretty cool to find our first geocache only 15 minutes after turning the device on. The GPS accuracy seemed way better then my BlackBerry Bold and it worked even under heavy tree cover.

Comments about Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocacher:

WARNING: If you believe you need hi-res satellite imagery, a live weather feed, a Swiss army knife of GPS receivers, a backup GPS receiver, a backup for your backup GPS receiver, climbing equipment, and a 4x4 outfitted with long range fuel tanks to go geocaching, then stop reading now. This product is not for you.But if you're looking for something that reads off the charts on the outdoor family-fun-o-meter, then read on!First, I gotta say, I'm impressed with the performance of this little guy. I own a few GPS receivers – 7 to be exact – and I found 'junior' more than a match for any of them. The direction arrow is rock solid, the accuracy is bang on, and it's more than happy to take a knock or two (and in the hands of a 7 year old, it certainly has taken its share of knocks).But the thing that turned me into a huge fan (and the desire to write this) was how it gave me and the kids something to go out and enjoy together. Our first try was at a large local park. After reading all 3 steps in the user manual (yep, count them, three), we were off searching for our first cache. Four caches later and after much running, and racing each other to the caches (not to mention a few grass stains), I was a fan - albeit an exhausted one.The key I think was just how simple it was to use. You just switch it on, and it directs you to the closest cache (the caches are already loaded). So rather than reading page 47 part B of your new tech-gizmo-things manual, you're already off racing each other to be the first to find the cache. It does only give you direction as the crow flies, so unless you have a D9 bulldozer handy you need to work your way around things. But we found that was half the fun – watching the kids go every which way but then working together to figure it out.Does it do everything that a $300 GPS does? Nope. But for[$]and the fun it brought our family, it easily gets a 5.

Comments about Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocacher:

Some friends recently introduced me to geocaching during a weekend hike, and I was hooked immediately. I don't own a GPS receiver, and didn't want to spend much money on one to get into this game.

Two things sold me on the product over a "normal" GPS receiver:
1. The price.
2. The caches are pre-loaded into the device. So I don't have to "plan" my excursion to find caches. I can simply turn on the device and start following the arrow.

It was a very cloudy day when I first turned it on so it took a bit for the GPS to "find" itself. Once it did, it showed the closest cache was 1500 ft. away. I found it within 15 minutes. When you find the cache you can mark it as found, so you know not to look for it again.

Once I understood the menu button sequences, it was easy to navigate through them. I found the size, terrain difficulty, and how-hard-is-it-to-find icons helpful.
And it told me the distance to the 20 closest caches.

It started to pour rain while I was searching for a cache and it didn't seem to phase the device, although I did try to keep it covered.

An unexpected bonus is the home setting. I set my car to "home" before starting a hike (hoping to find some geocaches along the way). I ended up using that feature to see how far I had left in the hike, rather than where my car was.

Overall I am very happy with this product. I find the preloaded caches so convenient. I brought the device back east with me, and it was so easy to fire it up and start searching. I look forward to the release of the update cable so I can get the most up-to-date cache list.

I would highly recommend this to a friend, especially if they have kids. I can see my nephew loving this as a high-tech treasure hunt. I intend to get him one for Christmas.

Comments about Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocacher:

I love geocaching and plan adventures whenever I can find the time, which is less often than I would like. A friend of mine tipped me off about the potential for casual caching with the geomate.jr, so I bought one (my 4th GPS device!) and have kept it in my backpack for the last week. Its been great! I've pulled it out whenever I've had a few spare moments, and because of the preloaded database it has automatically shown me which caches are nearby and how far away. No planning ahead required! Now, there has not always been a good cache available, but I've still found 3 caches this way already -- and was close to finding a 4th yesterday when I had to catch the bus I was waiting for! It is like having an instant adventure available anytime.

So, I think it is an excellent choice for the geocaching junkie who wants adventure at any moment.

Comments about Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocacher:

My husband and I are just getting into geocaching and this little device is the best thing ever! We spent all morning walking around 6 miles in our city and found about 7 caches in that radius. We plan to bike around tomorrow... this is a really fun way to get outside and enjoy time with your family!

Comments about Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocacher:

This is my third GPS reciever, I have a dedicated running/training device, a general outdoor mapping unit and now a dedicated geocaching device. The Mapping GPS also handles geocaching quite well, but does require prep, planning and loading the geocaches for our destintation. The geomate is ready to go, anytime, anywhere. I find geocaching to be a group activity, individuals (not just kids!) like to participate in the hunt, so I originally bought the geomate jr as a second device for our geocaching adventures, but it's quickly become the primary geocaching device with the bigger, more expensive outdoor unit in the secondary role. The geomate jr. was designed for geocaching and it does it well.

Comments about Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocacher:

Love it – what a fantastic product! Great price, real easy to use, compact and tons of fun. It exceeded all my expectations. I've been geocaching with friends before but never got my own GPS as I neither wanted to spend the money on any of the other more expensive GPS products nor wanted to be bothered about downloading coordinates for geocaches. I've used it multiple times so far and never had any issues at all. The product is perfect for me.

Comments about Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocacher:

This is an awesome product for new Geocachers and is great for kids. It is also great for the casual user!