wupulamp

Has anybody had trouble with the battery cover on their Meridians? I looked at a Meridian in WalMart yesterday and I wasn't able to get the battery cover back on to where it looked very waterproof. I could almost see inside the battery compartment even! That problem, if it wasn't user error immediately eliminates the Meridian line for me because I can guarantee that everything I carry will get wet, much of it submerged as I wade through a stream/river/etc. Even though the SporTrak series battery compartment is a royal pain to get open, I'm much more confident in it's waterproofness. Can anyone tell me I'm wrong on my assessment of the Meridians? I'd like to be because I like the removable memory over the SporTraks.

hrmm, I bought the National Geographic Topo! software and it can do that much. Seems like a good idea until you try it - very cumbersome. I'm hoping for something more like getting directions from mapquest - enter the to/from locations and it does all the drawing for me. I may need to buy DirectRoute for that, I guess. Like I said before though, this feature isn't a priority, it'd just be really nice to have.

Any thoughts on how these compare to the SporTrak series, specifically the SporTrak Topo? I bought a SporTrak Pro a couple weeks ago but I'm considering giving it back to Wal-mart so I can buy the Topo model from the linked dealer here at Groundspeak. I am also considering the Meridian series though for the larger amount of "whatever-I-want-to-load-it-with" memory vs the SporTrak Topo. My main uses for the GPSr are as a Cavalry Scout with the National Guard on the weekends (need quality topo data), geocaching, and road trips (turn-by-turn routing). In that order. I hope I'm not hijacking Slurpey's thread. I don't think so though since we're both looking at the same price range.

I've been considering this software but I'm curious - does it include the ability to tell it that I'm starting at 123 S Ash in Anytown, TX and I'm going to 456 N Birch in Nowhere, CA and then create a 'turn-by-turn' route that I can upload to my GPSr? My main use for the GPSr is on foot in the sticks so the topo detail is the priority but I'd like to be able to use it on the road too.