Wife lost Dakota 10...Thinking of buying her a Delorme PN-30

[+jeepdelfuego]

My wife lost her Dakota 10 Bike & Hike Bundle (Dakota 10 with City Navigator). So, I decided to give her my Garmin Oregon 200 with tons of maps including the City Navigator map because she has the habit of getting lost all the time. Anyway, we got her unit for $202 on sale last year. I can't seem to find a replacement for her unit for less than $290. So, I am now looking for a non Garmin replacement. I have pretty much narrowed it down to the Delorme pn-30 for $199. The maps that come with it have pretty much clinched the deal for me. But, I don't know how well it fares for paperless geocaching. Has anyone used the pn-30 and an Oregon/Dakota for geocaching? It's pretty easy with the Oregon's and Dakota's. I'd like to also know the maximum amount of geocaches that it can load and whether it works with GPX files directly. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

~JeepDelFuego

[+StarBrand]

The PN30 is a nice unit with nice mapping features. It does offer paperless caching support and is a very accurate unit.

 

However you should be aware of a few things. The unit requires a propritary interface cable, it eats through batteries twice as fast as most Oregon units, requires software to transfer geocaches over to the unit and has poor door to door routing cabilities. It does routing - just slowly and not very well.

 

With the latest firmware you can have a nearly unlimited number of Geocaches loaded on a memory card but only 1000 available in the unit at a time. You have to switch files into the unit to see more. Not overly difficult but takes some learning.

 

I find the Garmin units to be much easier to use.

Edited January 20, 2010 by StarBrand

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

I do this all the time.......... blame it on my wife. Don't always get my way, though!

 

I was able to get a PN-40, however. And yes, she loves it!

[+embra]

Here is a post on the DeLorme blog that shows the screens allowing paperless caching.

 

Everything Starbrand said is true enough, although my view of those relative deficiencies is more tolerant (I don't have the benefit of any Dakota/Oregon experience; maybe I'd change my mind if I did). Here's my take:

 

Proprietary cable - true, but you get one in the package and you can buy another one if needed from DeLorme. It's nice to use non-proprietary, but you still need a cable for that kind of transfer. I'll admit in some situations an available non-proprietary cable might work where a proprietary cable is not available--I just haven't ever encountered such a situation myself.

 

Batteries - the dual processor uses batteries more quickly. I bring an extra set for backup; the battery I use gets me through a day's use most all the time anyway. Bigger problem for extended backcountry use.

 

Software to transfer caches - yup. Since I have to use a computer, firing up a program isn't too big a deal.

 

Routing - serves fine for geocaching, and I use a Nuvi for road routing.

 

These are just my perspectives on the points Starbrand raised; to other people they may reasonably represent more significant issues. It is very possible that my bliss is positively correlated with my ignorance of alternatives to my usual practices.

[+OldA'sFan]

My wife lost her Dakota 10 Bike & Hike Bundle (Dakota 10 with City Navigator). So, I decided to give her my Garmin Oregon 200 with tons of maps including the City Navigator map because she has the habit of getting lost all the time. Anyway, we got her unit for $202 on sale last year. I can't seem to find a replacement for her unit for less than $290. So, I am now looking for a non Garmin replacement. I have pretty much narrowed it down to the Delorme pn-30 for $199. The maps that come with it have pretty much clinched the deal for me. But, I don't know how well it fares for paperless geocaching. Has anyone used the pn-30 and an Oregon/Dakota for geocaching? It's pretty easy with the Oregon's and Dakota's. I'd like to also know the maximum amount of geocaches that it can load and whether it works with GPX files directly. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

~JeepDelFuego

You may want to ask your wife how she feels about which unit she likes. She may not want to give up the touchscreen features of the Dakota so easily. Just speaking from experience gained after many years of marriage.

OldA'sFan

[+Famous Drew]

I'm another fan of the DeLorme products. It's fast, easy and extremely accurate - like scary accurate. My caching buddy has an OR300 and swears by it. It's a very nice unit but has its own quirks. They all do.

 

Some people cache by compass (me) and some cache by map. Some folks will love DeLorme and other will love Garmin. More than anything, I think, it's about what you learned with and what you're used to.

[+jeepdelfuego]

Well, she is inheriting my Oregon 200. She is not too crazy about it because it is a little bigger than her Dakota. But, she can live with it. I am the one who will be using the PN-30. Ideally, if the prices were lower, I would buy an Oregon 450T. But, you are right. The wife needs to be consulted on all decisions, even if it involves which toilet paper to buy for the house.

 

You may want to ask your wife how she feels about which unit she likes. She may not want to give up the touchscreen features of the Dakota so easily. Just speaking from experience gained after many years of marriage.

OldA'sFan

[+jeepdelfuego]

Thank you very much for your input. It is going to come down to price right now. I really like the Oregon's & Dakota's, but the price that Garmin charges for maps borders on the ridiculous. So, unless the Dakota Bike & Hike deal comes back by this weekend, I'll be ordering the PN-30 for 199.99 from Amazon.

[+StarBrand]

Thank you very much for your input. It is going to come down to price right now. I really like the Oregon's & Dakota's, but the price that Garmin charges for maps borders on the ridiculous. So, unless the Dakota Bike & Hike deal comes back by this weekend, I'll be ordering the PN-30 for 199.99 from Amazon.

Lots of free maps available for the Garmin's out there at gpsfiledepot.com and other places - even some routable maps.

[+jeepdelfuego]

Thank you very much for your input. It is going to come down to price right now. I really like the Oregon's & Dakota's, but the price that Garmin charges for maps borders on the ridiculous. So, unless the Dakota Bike & Hike deal comes back by this weekend, I'll be ordering the PN-30 for 199.99 from Amazon.

Lots of free maps available for the Garmin's out there at gpsfiledepot.com and other places - even some routable maps.

 

Would it be possible to get a routable map for California?

[+user13371]

Routable Garmin maps for anywhere: http://garmin.na1400.info/routable.php

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

The PN-40 is routable, you get a choice to hike or drive. I imagine the PN-30 does the same. This is without any additional maps.

[+sledgehampster]

I imagine the PN-30 does the same. This is without any additional maps.

 

The only difference between the PN-30 and 40 is case color and the 30 lacks electronic compass and altimeter.

The PN's come with TOPO 8 so you can install detail maps to the unit.

[+Maingray]

she has the habit of getting lost all the time.

 

She really will be lost all the time with the PN-30 and it's very poor road routing ability. I will guarantee she will want City Navigator back with in a day of using the PN.

[+The Yinnies]

she has the habit of getting lost all the time.

 

She really will be lost all the time with the PN-30 and it's very poor road routing ability. I will guarantee she will want City Navigator back with in a day of using the PN.

The PN-40 does road route,but as you said it is not great, but works OK. I know you like an all in one unit, but I just like the PN-40 better than the Oregon 300 and the Dakota 20. The Garmins have the plus for the auto routing but the PN-40 is usable. I also have a Nuvi 500.

Thanks

[+jeepdelfuego]

she has the habit of getting lost all the time.

 

She really will be lost all the time with the PN-30 and it's very poor road routing ability. I will guarantee she will want City Navigator back with in a day of using the PN.

The PN-40 does road route,but as you said it is not great, but works OK. I know you like an all in one unit, but I just like the PN-40 better than the Oregon 300 and the Dakota 20. The Garmins have the plus for the auto routing but the PN-40 is usable. I also have a Nuvi 500.

Thanks

 

Thanks for all of the input. I ended up going with an Oregon 300. I loaded it with the Topo 2008 maps and a free routable map from OSM. I couldn't be happier.