HOW TO ANSWER THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: HOW MUCH FURTHER IS IT? ARE WE THERE YET? WHERE ARE WE?

As a back-country hiker and a fan of gadgets, I’d like to offer a performance review of the Delorme Earthmate PN-60 hand-held GPS.  I generally hike with my sisters, and we each have our particular duties as part of the team.  I’m in charge of weather and keeping us on course.  I strongly recommend carrying a light-weight GPS on any hike.  It’s always good to know your position and, with advances in hand-held units, it’s really nice to see where you are on the map.  I’ve been working with GPS technology for about 15 years.  I’ve used everything from the primitave Garmin GPS-12 – one of the first hand-held units – to the PN-60 with its advanced features.  I worked with GPS while navigating boats, and I’ve also worked with high-precision mobile mapping GPS units while collecting infrastructure data.  So, let me tell you why I like the PN-60.

The PN-60 is a relatively small, light-weight handheld that’s perfect for back-country hiking.  It’s rugged and waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about breaking it.  It also features a high level of accuracy achieved through what’s known as WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) functionality that utilizes several GPS satellites to calculate position.  This might sound like overkill, but, when you’re halfway up that long incline, it’s nice to know precisely where you stand – literally.  A detailed base-map comes pre-installed.  I opted for the higher-detail Delorme Topo maps.  The higher level of topographic detail is nice to have.  The Delorme software allows users to create way points, tracks, and custom cut map tiles for just what’s needed.  This saves a lot of memory space on the unit and increases overall performance.  There’s also a barometric altimeter built into the unit which gives the user altitude detail both real-time and throughout the hike.  We always look back at our hike tracks and marvel at some of the elevation changes we endure.  Some folks may not desire the detail, but it’s nice to have if you want it.  Speaking of hike tracks, as with any decent unit, the PN-60 will store tracks that can later be downloaded to Google Earth, or the Delorme Topo software.  The PN-60 will run for a couple of days on two AA Lithium batteries, but there’s no need to leave it on unless you’re recording a track.  The unit has 32 satellite channels, so acquiring enough satellites to calculate position is generally quick.  The PN-60 is a great hand-held GPS unit for hiking.  Its full-functionality and rugged construction make it a great unit for all-weather conditions.  There are several other options on the market, so do a little research.  There are cheaper models out there, but be sure to consider rugged construction and water tightness.  Feel free to send me any questions you have on this, or just about any hand-held GPS on the market.  I’m happy to help.  Happy hiking.