DeLorme Earthmate PN-30

If you are in the market for a GPS, I highly recommend Delorme! After much research I finally settled on getting either the Garmin eTrex Legend HCx vs. the DeLorme Earthmate PN-30. I finally selected the Delorme due to the fact that it comes with Topo maps that are handy for off roading and hiking and to buy those for the Garmin would have cost me more than to just get the Earthmate PN-30. I'm currently deployed to Iraq (COB Speicher) and I was having issues with battery life when using the Earthmate PN-30 (I could only get a set of lithium batteries to last a couple of hours instead of like 6-8 hours). I contacted the company via email and they sent me a new unit without question PLUS an extra SD card preloaded with maps of Iraq and Afghanistan! Talk about customer service! The Earthmate PN-30 is very intuitive to use, bright screen that can easily be read in full sunlight, and compared to my buddy's eTrex Vista, more accurate while geocaching. Even if I had not received such stellar customer service I would have recommended this GPS, but after such a great experience, I will never buy a different GPS brand. DeLorme has created a loyal customer.

 

I bought the Delorme PN-40 and found it is difficult to use. I haven't been able to find any maps specific to California. The maps I have found are maps of places I rearely visit. I hoped to get it so I could go fishing. I haven't been able to find any preloaded maps for lakes here. I don't have any training in topographical maps either. It looks like a cool GPS unit and I like the features it has. I haven't had enough time and patience to figure it out though. I am more of a hands on person and I think I need to find someone who knows how to use it so I can figure it out.