GPS: DeLorme PN-40 vs Garmin Oregon 400T

[Shawn Peyton]

Sorry to raise a question that has probably been gone over again and again. But like an idiot I do not archive my emails. I'm looking at getting into GPS for fun, I still rely on maps but would like to explore the technology. Well meaning I would always have map backups and it would be fun to pretend to rely upon technology lol. Anyway long story short these are the two units I have settled on but going on reviews upon reviews it's hard to choose. Just wondered if anyone used either of these units or been under the same consideration. Just like to have a few more opinions before I plunk down the cash. My general use would be dayhikes/backpacks in the Northern Minnesota/Wisconsin area. Maaaaaaaaaybe some geocaching if I get into it.
 
Thanks!
Shawn


     

[Ralph Oborn]

Have you looked at the reviews from backpackgeartest.org?

Ralph

On Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 12:34 PM, Shawn Peyton <alifeoutdoors@...>wrote:

>
>
> Sorry to raise a question that has probably been gone over again and again.
> But like an idiot I do not archive my emails. I'm looking at getting into
> GPS for fun, I still rely on maps but would like to explore the technology.
> Well meaning I would always have map backups and it would be fun to pretend
> to rely upon technology lol. Anyway long story short these are the two units
> I have settled on but going on reviews upon reviews it's hard to choose.
> Just wondered if anyone used either of these units or been under the same
> consideration. Just like to have a few more opinions before I plunk down the
> cash. My general use would be dayhikes/backpacks in the Northern
> Minnesota/Wisconsin area. Maaaaaaaaaybe some geocaching if I get into it.
>
> Thanks!
> Shawn
>
>
>
>

[William Comer]

I have thought a lot about changing to the delorme unit but the small screen
size is keeping me held off it. I love the delorme mapping software so that
draws me to the unit. I have a very old monochrome screened Garmin that is
the 76s model. I like the large screen size but the newer units that are
popular all have the smaller screens and thicker bodies on them. One
suggestion for you is learn to use utm's and a grid tool and you will get
the bigger picture when used with the usgs maps.

Have you read anything negative on the garmin units "joystick" ? I know at
one time there were issues with them but I'm unsure if the particular unit
you talked about has one. I know the units with the built in camera that
will put a positional stamp on the picture interest me to help keep all the
pencil markings off my 7.5 usgs maps. I can't cut borders off them because
that is where all my note as far as references are jotted down. As far as
garmin in general goes, they make very good units that lock on fast and hold
up very well, IMO, from use of my hand held and marine units in boats I have
either been in or owned. My handheld unit fell off my truck tail gate once
at 35 mph on tar and chipped stone road where I maintain trail. A few
scratches but still works as well as it ever did, which is excellent in my
experience with several units. It was a brain fart on my part to leave it
there but I was hot and thirsty and getting  back to my trailer was my main
thought when I forgot I laid the unit there while unloading my packs trail
tools.

On Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 2:34 PM, Shawn Peyton <alifeoutdoors@...>wrote:

>
>
> Sorry to raise a question that has probably been gone over again and again.
> But like an idiot I do not archive my emails. I'm looking at getting into
> GPS for fun, I still rely on maps but would like to explore the technology.
> Well meaning I would always have map backups and it would be fun to pretend
> to rely upon technology lol. Anyway long story short these are the two units
> I have settled on but going on reviews upon reviews it's hard to choose.
> Just wondered if anyone used either of these units or been under the same
> consideration. Just like to have a few more opinions before I plunk down the
> cash. My general use would be dayhikes/backpacks in the Northern
> Minnesota/Wisconsin area. Maaaaaaaaaybe some geocaching if I get into it.
>
> Thanks!
> Shawn
>
>  
>
>

[e_l_green]

--- In BackpackingLight@..., Shawn Peyton <alifeoutdoors@...> wrote:
> Anyway long story short these are the two units I have settled on but going on reviews upon reviews it's hard to choose.

I have the PN-40, I do not have that exact Garmin but have a similar one.

Pluses and minuses:

PN-40:
  + Can load digitized topo maps and aerial photos onto it.
  + Excellent geocaching functionality
  + The buttons are big enough and functional enough to use w/light gloves on
  + Comes with mapping software and maps, and the NetLink download feature
      allows downloading topos and aerial photos for a modest flat fee that's much
      cheaper than Garmin's charge for maps.
  + Massive built-in memory (with the SE edition purchased from DeLorme)
  + Uses standard SD card for additional memory (more capacity/faster than MicroSD)
  - Small screen
  - Awkward size
  - No belt clip
  - Can take a while to get a GPS lock
  - Software only runs on Windows
  - Terrible battery life (I average 8 hours on Lithiums)

Garmin:
  + Big screen
  + Optional high-def vector-based topo maps (much higher resolution than Delorme's)
  + Software runs on both Windows and Mac
  + Gets a GPS lock quicker than the DeLorme, though the two seem equal once
      they have a lock.
  + Good battery life (I average 12 to 16 hours on Lithiums)
  - Cannot load digitized topo maps or aerial photos onto it
  - Touch interface unusable with gloves on
  - (this one) not as rugged as the PN-40 (get 60CSx if want rugged).
  - MicroSD memory cards are slower and less memory than SD cards used by
     DeLorme.
  - The detailed topo maps are *extra cost*. You will pay $95 at Amazon.com for
    several states.  E.g. the west coast + Nevada is a single DVD, and then if you
    want to hike the Grand Canyon between Nevada and Arizona you need
    *another* DVD that has Arizona and the rest of the Southwest. Factor this in while
    deciding how expensive the Garmin *really* is -- it is *much* more expensive
    than the PN-40 when you consider the cost of maps. (Note: There are ways to
    get around this with shareware software and the USGS downloadable data sets,
    but it is incredibly difficult and annoying to do that).

In general both GPS's have similar capabilities, thus why you're conflicted I suspect. I suppose the next question is, where do you hike? For desert hiking the PN-40 is awesome. There's no trees to get in the way of a GPS lock, it seems to hold its GPS lock fairly well even in slot canyons, and the aerial photo feature allows you to quickly check out things like, "where does this unknown trail go?" without needing to go down it.  The cost of all this is that those things take up a *lot* of space on the PN-40's memory card. Even with a 16GB memory card you aren't going to keep a lot of aerial photographs on the PN-40.

For forest hiking the Garmin seems to get a lock better under cover, I can get consistent coverage with the Garmin in conditions where the PN-40 skips in and out. For long distance hiking you can load the entire length of the PCT onto the Garmin, the only way to do that with the Delorme is to stick with the digitized topos and the lesser-resolution vector maps (no photos or other features), at which point the better GPS reception, screen size, and battery life might be more important than the digitized paper topos (which have details on them that are not on the vector maps that Garmin uses, but the vector maps have their own advantages when it comes to zooming in and out and being able to route on trails that are on the vector maps).

Which one to buy? I have no idea. There's a reason why I have too many electronic gadgets, not a single one of them does *everything*. I think if just getting into GPS's, the PN-40 is cheaper than the Garmin (remember, the Garmin comes only with low-res 100k maps, 24k maps usable for backpacking are extra cost!), and while the Delorme software is clumsy and clunky and runs only on Windows it is acceptable.  If ruggedness is important, the PN-40 is an overall better GPS than the Garmin 60CSx, Garmin's similarly-rugged handheld which is starting to show its age (it was last redesigned several years ago, and uses previous-generation internals for its mapping components although it has an excellent GPS chip). But the Garmins in generally have much better battery life than the PN40 and while the MicroSD cards are smaller and slower than the PN40's SD cards, they are *tiny* so if necessary you can haul multiple MicroSD cards w/o a problem.

So you'll have to decide based on what you intend to do with the thing, sorry, no magic "this is the one" from here :).

[e_l_green]

--- In BackpackingLight@..., William Comer <WillyP1956@...> wrote:
> Have you read anything negative on the garmin units "joystick" ? I know at

The Oregon 400T is a touchscreen unit. No "joystick". Durability appears to be an issue, in that if you drop it on the touchscreen side down it's probably toast. Also not as usable with gloves on as the button-driven Garmins.

> either been in or owned. My handheld unit fell off my truck tail gate once
> at 35 mph on tar and chipped stone road where I maintain trail. A few
> scratches but still works as well as it ever did, which is excellent in my
> experience with several units. It was a brain fart on my part to leave it

I had a similar incident happen when I was climbing a waterfall on one trail (a simple bouldering problem doable by toddlers but still requiring some attention), I turned wrong and my Garmin 60csx unclipped from my belt and it fell about six to eight feet. I learned to tether it through a beltloop :). But the unit, though scratched, still works fine. The big ridge around the screen helps protect the screen, and the relatively small size of the screen compared to the new touchscreen Garmins helps too.