Reliable companion but short battery life
Written: May 11 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: nice feature set
easy to use
compass
Topo 7.0 data
Cons: battery life
Topo 7.0 interface
no keylock feature
Li-Ion battery not included
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend it. Has quirks, but all the GPS units have quirks. PN-40 interface is highly intuitive, easy to use. Topo 7.0 horrible to use, but has great data.
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| consumerdude's Full Review: DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 Handheld GPS Receiver |
===background===
First, let me say that I am not a hard-core hiker and we don't geocache. I just wanted something that would help me feel empowered on a easy short hikes to get back to where I started. We have 3 kids, so I really just needed something that would help us answer the question of (are we there yet?). This was my first hiking GPS unit.
===competition===
My research led me to the PN-40 based on value. At the time, the nearest unit in price and features was the eTrex Summit HCX. Garmin's extra $100 charge for the topo maps s swung the deal in favor of the Delorme. However, a few weeks later, I found myself forced to spend $50 on the Li-Ion battery pack, so things actually evened out a bit on the cost front between the Garmin and DeLorme.
===skiing===
As a hiking unit, I'd say it works pretty well. I paid the $30 for the annual map subscription and it is worth every dollar paid. It's quite cool to select from a variety of map databases to download to the unit. I've been on couple hikes so far. It's handy, accurate, and fun to add to a hike.
As a car navigation unit, I'd say that DeLorme is wise to keep a only low level promotion of car navigation. The navigation works, but it lacks options such as shortest or fastest routing. The unit is seriously handicapped when attempting to re-route on the fly. If you go off route, be prepared to pull over and wait a minute before the unit comes up with a solution. If you don't pull over, but continue driving, the unit goes into about 20 loops of "wait while I recalculate a route....I've got your new route!!...ohhh...you're in a different place than when I started the recalculation....let me recalculate again.....". Just for kicks I've done this and watched the unit go silly for a few minutes until it finally gives up and asks if you want to quit attempting to find a solution. Yes, there is a cancel button, but good luck trying to hit it while it goes through it's loops. Basically, it's a very very basic car navigation unit. It's nice that they added it on to this trail GPS. Just don't expect too much of it.
Also, for a day trip of car navigation, you will need the Li-Ion pack. Read on for more about that.
===battery life===
Horrible. I used 2600mAh AA NiMH batteries, and I couldn't coax 4 hours out of it while skiing. Understandably, 20F temperatures are harsh on battery life, but something seemed very silly about changing batteries on the chair lift at noon. I had the display brightness completely OFF.
Even on a warm day, 2600mAh batteries will not last 8 hours. To make matters worse, DeLorme does not enable USB charging of NiMH batteries.
===Li-Ion Accessory Pack===
After a few weeks with the unit, I grew weary of unscrewing the military style battery door clasps everytime I wanted to use the unit. I bought the Li-Ion accessory pack for $50. I now count it as an absolute necessity. The Li-Ion pack has about the same endurance as the 2600mAh batteries I was using, BUT I can now charge through the USB port. And the pack gives you a nift little USB socket that can stay permanently attached to the PN-40. Without this, you have to haul around the goofy custom USB cable adapter that came with the unit.
Always bring a USB charger or extra set of batteries.
===DeLorme Map Library Subscription===
Highly Recommended. It's a great feature to add to a GPS unit. It adds another dimension of usability for a hiking GPS. Some might think it's silly but it really does give you an idea of what might be down the trail. The biggest detriment to the feature is the absolute byzantine method of getting the map onto your PN-40. Suffice to say that I have a Masters in Information Systems, and it took me at least two hours to figure the whole thing out.
Some limitations of note: Depending upon the map set you're choosing, you limited to a specific number of grids of map data that can be downloaded to the Topo 7.0 software, i.e. you cannot select & download a whole state. Once the maps are downloaded to your PC & Topo 7.0 software, you'll find another more limiting restriction on what size maps can go onto the PN-40. To give you an idea of what the limitation is, I was just barely able to get enough the color aerials to cover Killington Mountain's trails.
If you've just unboxed the unit the night before a big hike, you might find yourself staying up later than you'd imagined. You'll need at least 2 hours to figure out the whole download thing, 3 hours to figure out Topo software, and maybe another hour to figure out the PN-40 itself.
===DeLorme Topo 7.0 Software===
I think quite a bit has been written about this already, but I'll add in that the software is putrid, but the data is quite good. Once you get over the steep learning curve things are pretty tolerable. The 3-D views of my Killington ski trip were mesmerizing.
Oh and if you were some how led slightly astray by the DeLorme marketing materials (as I was), you might be inclined to believe that you'll get the 3-D view on the PN-40 unit itself. You won't.
I understand that as of May 10, the units are shipping with Topo 8.0 now.
===Fit & Finish===
Poor. The unit looks enticing and even sexy (yes I'm a geek) in pictures. But the unit in the flesh was considerably less appealing. The buttons don't have a rich expensive feel to them. The battery door material has a very different feel than the rubber around the unit, even though they are the same color. During the first month, one of the buttons wore down enough to reveal an ungainly white plastic underneath. It really looks and feels cheap overall.
===Display===
It's small, but I haven't found myself really looking or needing more resolution on a hike. For car navigation, the display really should be larger.
===Interface===
Surprisingly, given the sadists that foised Topo 7.0 or any earlier version upon us, most people would think the PN-40 interface would be painful. But, I'd have to say the PN-40 interface is very intuitive. It is so easy to use in fact, that I never opened the manual. Hard to believe that both the PN-40 and Topo 7.0 software came from the same company.
===Strap Eyelet===
The strap eyelet at the top of the unit? Who designed that? It works with a wrist strap, but if you want to wear it around your neck the strap is always blocking your view.
===keylock===
Where's the keylock? During my ski trip, the jostling in my jacket activated the correct sequence of buttons to turn off logging.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
consumerdude
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Location: Northeast US
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Uber geek
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